In the Matter of Homestake Mining Company of California; Grants Reclamation Project, 16429-16435 [2017-06645]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16429-16435]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06645]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 040-08903; EA-16-114; NRC-2017-0087]


In the Matter of Homestake Mining Company of California; Grants 
Reclamation Project

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Confirmatory order; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a 
confirmatory order (Order) to Homestake Mining Company of California 
(HMC), to memorialize the agreements reached during alternative dispute 
resolution mediation sessions held on December 12, 2016, and February 
15, 2017. This Order will resolve the apparent violations that were 
identified during an NRC records review to determine if HMC was in 
compliance with regulatory and license requirements for HMC's 
activities at the Grants, New Mexico site. This Order is effective upon 
its issuance.

DATES: Effective Date: This order was issued and was effective on March 
28, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2017-0087 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly-available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2017-0087. Address 
questions about NRC dockets to Carol Gallagher; telephone: 301-415-
3463; email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For questions about this order, 
contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT 
section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``ADAMS Public Documents'' and 
then select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, 
please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 
1-800-397-4209, 301-415-4737, or by email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The 
ADAMS accession number for each document referenced (if it is available 
in ADAMS) is provided the first time that it is mentioned in this 
document.
     NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public 
documents at the NRC's PDR, Room O1-F21, One White Flint North, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susanne Woods, Office of Enforcement, 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-001; 
telephone: 301-287-9446, email: S.Woods@nrc.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The text of the Order is attached.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of March 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Patricia K. Holahan,
 Director, Office of Enforcement.

United States of America

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

EA-16-114

In the Matter of Homestake Mining Company of California Grants 
Reclamation Project Confirmatory Order Modifying License

I

    Homestake Mining Company of California, (HMC or Licensee) is the 
holder of Materials License No. SUA-1471 issued on November 10, 1986, 
by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pursuant to Part 40 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR). The license 
authorizes HMC the possession, incidental to decommissioning, of 
residual uranium and byproduct material in the form of uranium waste 
tailings and other byproduct waste generated by the licensee's past 
milling operations in accordance with their license. The facility is 
located on the Licensee's site in Grants, New Mexico.
    This Confirmatory Order is the result of an agreement reached 
during Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mediation sessions 
conducted on December 12, 2016, and February 15, 2017.

II

    The NRC staff conducted a records review from approximately October 
2014 to May 2016. The NRC staff reviewed records dated from 1998 to 
2015, including a letter, dated May 14, 2015, sent by HMC to the NRC in 
response to the NRC's request for information. The purpose of the 
records review was to determine whether HMC was in compliance with 
regulatory and license requirements for HMC's activities at the Grants, 
New Mexico site. Based on the evidence developed during its records 
review, the NRC identified five apparent violations.
    On October 4, 2016, the NRC issued a letter (Agencywide Documents 
Access and Management System [ADAMS] Accession No. ML16251A526) to HMC 
that detailed the results of the records inspection and outlined five 
apparent violations. The apparent violations involved: (1) 
Implementation of the Reinjection Program in a manner inconsistent with 
HMC's groundwater Corrective Action Program (CAP); (2) discharge of 
liquid effluents from the Reverse Osmosis (RO) Plant in excess of the 
site ground water protection standards established in the license; (3) 
failure to report to the NRC the results of all effluent monitoring 
required by the license; (4) failure to obtain monthly composite 
samples as required by the license; and (5) the discharge of liquid 
effluents containing byproduct material to land application areas 
without first obtaining NRC approval.
    In the October 4, 2016 letter, the NRC offered HMC the choice to: 
(1) Request a Pre-decisional Enforcement Conference (PEC) or (2) 
request ADR.
    In response to the NRC's offer, HMC requested the use of the NRC's 
ADR process. The ADR mediation sessions conducted on December 12, 2016 
and February 15, 2017 between HMC and the NRC were mediated by a 
professional mediator, arranged through Cornell University's Institute 
on Conflict Resolution. The ADR process is one in which a neutral 
mediator, with no decision-making authority, assists the parties in 
reaching an agreement on resolving any differences regarding the 
dispute. This Confirmatory Order is issued pursuant to the agreement 
reached during the ADR process.

III

    During the ADR mediation session on February 15, 2017, HMC and the 
NRC reached a preliminary settlement agreement. Prior to the ADR 
mediation session on February 15, 2017, HMC completed the following 
corrective actions:
    1. As of November 2012, HMC ceased discharging irrigation water 
with effluents containing byproduct material, to land application 
areas, which consisted of the following lands in Township 12 North, 
Range 10 West:
    a. Section 28 (approximately 100 acres).
    b. Section 33 (approximately 150 acres and approximately 24 acres);
    c. Section 34 (approximately 120 acres); and
    2. As of August 2016, HMC ceased operation of the re-injection 
system

[[Page 16430]]

described as apparent violation 1 in the NRC's October 4, 2016 letter.
    The elements of the preliminary settlement agreement developed 
during the ADR mediation sessions included the following:
    1. The Parties' agreement is a voluntary settlement of a dispute 
between the Parties and does not constitute any admission by HMC with 
respect to non-compliance with License No. SUA-1471. The NRC and HMC 
agree to disagree that the activities resulted in violations of NRC 
requirements.
    2. The NRC will issue the agreement as a Confirmatory Order 
pursuant to 10 CFR 2.202.
    3. In consideration of the commitments delineated herein, the NRC 
agrees to forgo seeking an NOV or civil penalty in this matter. The NRC 
will consider the Confirmatory Order as an escalated enforcement. 
However, NRC agrees that it will not use this Confirmatory Order as an 
element in any future action assessing civil penalties per the 
Enforcement Policy unless the action involves a violation of this 
Confirmatory Order.
    4. This agreement is binding upon the successors and assigns of 
License No. SUA-1471.
    5. Unless otherwise specified, all documents required to be 
submitted to the NRC pursuant to this agreement prior to NRC approval 
of the revised groundwater Corrective Action Program (CAP) described in 
Condition 11 of this section will be sent to: Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, One White Flint North, 
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738, with a copy to the 
Deputy Director, Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and 
Waste Programs, Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 
MD 20852-2738.
    6. HMC will submit its root cause protocol to an independent third 
party consultant with expertise in root cause analysis and provide a 
copy of the independent third party reviewed protocol to the NRC within 
120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order. The root cause 
protocol will also be available for review during future inspections. 
The root cause protocol submitted to the NRC will identify any changes 
made by the independent third party reviewer and include a 
qualification statement for the independent third party reviewer. This 
protocol will be used to complete Conditions 7, 8 and 9 of this 
section.
    7. Within 30 days of submitting to NRC the root cause protocol in 
Condition 6 of this section, HMC will use the root cause protocol to 
analyze the reasons for the apparent violations documented in the NRC's 
October 4, 2016 letter (ADAMS Accession No. ML16251A526). HMC will 
submit any proposed corrective actions to the NRC for review and 
approval within 60 days of completing the root cause analyses.
    8. HMC will complete an assessment of all HMC activities to 
determine whether all activities are authorized and are being conducted 
in compliance with NRC requirements. The assessment will identify areas 
where clarity could be added to the license. The assessment will 
include a written report that identifies all areas assessed, the scope 
of the assessment, the method used to perform the assessment, the 
results of each assessment and any corrective actions deemed 
appropriate. This report will identify any proposed changes to the 
license and procedures. This assessment will include a review of the 
licensee's Safety Culture, to identify any actions that may be 
necessary to improve upon or enhance the Safety Culture.
    9. HMC will engage an independent third party consultant to review 
and evaluate HMC's assessments described in Condition 8 of this 
section. That review will include a written report that identifies all 
areas assessed, the scope of the assessment, the method used to perform 
the assessment, the results of each assessment, and any proposed 
corrective actions. The evaluation will include the effectiveness of 
any actions proposed by HMC.
    a. HMC will submit the name and qualifications of the consultant 
for NRC approval within 30 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order.
    b. HMC will submit a copy of the assessment described in Condition 
8 of this section to the independent third party consultant within 120 
days of NRC approval of the independent third party consultant.
    c. HMC will provide a copy of the HMC assessment, the consultant's 
review report, and any modifications by HMC as a result of the third 
party consultant's report to the NRC within 120 days of submission of 
the HMC assessment to the independent third party consultant.
    d. NRC will perform an audit of the assessment and the independent 
third party report and provide NRC audit results in writing, including 
any recommended changes. HMC will incorporate NRC audit results in the 
actions described in Condition 10 of this section.
    e. HMC will maintain copies of all reports at the site for NRC 
inspection.
    10. Unless otherwise specified, for any changes or additions to the 
license or procedures resulting from this Confirmatory Order, HMC will 
either (1) submit to the NRC a license amendment request(s), for NRC 
approval, or (2) update the appropriate HMC procedure(s) after 
notification of the NRC. All license amendment requests resulting from 
this Confirmatory Order will be submitted to the NRC within 60 days of 
receiving the results of NRC's audit(s). All notifications of updates 
to procedures resulting from this Confirmatory Order will be made to 
the NRC by the end of calendar year 2018.
    11. HMC will submit a revised groundwater CAP to the NRC by the end 
of calendar year 2018, including amendments to the license approved by 
that date. The NRC and HMC will work, aggressively and in good faith, 
toward a goal of final approval of the groundwater CAP within a year 
from the date of submittal.
    12. HMC will conduct initial and annual refresher training for all 
individuals (employees and vendors, commensurate with their duties) 
engaged in licensed activities.
    a. The initial and annual training will address awareness and 
understanding of regulatory and license No. SUA-1471 requirements, 
including but not necessarily limited to informing HMC employees of the 
jurisdiction of the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the 
New Mexico Environment Department over the Grants site. The training 
may be an electronic read and sign format.
    b. HMC will maintain documentation for each training session 
conducted. The training documentation will include a summary of the 
contents of the training and the individuals in attendance. The 
training documentation will be maintained available for NRC inspection 
for 5 years after each training session.
    13. HMC will use the mass balance methodology described in its 
revised 2012 groundwater CAP submittal, incorporating the issues raised 
in the Requests for Additional Information provided by NRC (ADAMS 
Package No. ML13360A224), and adapting the methodology for the purpose 
of completing an analysis of the re-injection system's impact to the 
time estimate for completion of the groundwater CAP. The analysis will 
be completed within 120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order. No 
less than 30 days prior to its finalization of the re-injection 
analysis, HMC will discuss with NRC the methodology, data, and 
analysis. HMC will provide to NRC all discussion material at least 10 
days prior to the discussion. NRC will perform an audit of the 
analysis, and provide in writing NRC audit results,

[[Page 16431]]

including any recommended changes. HMC will incorporate NRC audit 
results in the actions described in Condition 10 of this section.
    14. As soon as practicable, but not to exceed 30 days from issuance 
of this Confirmatory Order, HMC will adjust operations to better ensure 
compliance with the Ground Water Protection Standards (GWPS) in License 
Condition 35B as required by License Condition 35C and described in 
HMC's submittal dated January 15, 1998 (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML12291A910) and the NRC's approval dated March 5, 1998 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML14203A023). HMC will evaluate the procedure required by 
License Condition 23 to ensure that the process is adequate to reduce 
constituent concentrations to values below the GWPS listed in License 
Condition 35B before discharge.
    15. HMC will use the methodology described in NUREG-1620 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML032250190) to analyze the impact of exceedances 
documented in the NRC's October 4, 2016 letter to HMC. The analysis 
will be completed within 120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory 
Order. No less than 30 days prior to its finalization of the impact of 
exceedances analysis, HMC will discuss with NRC the methodology, data, 
and analysis. HMC will provide to the NRC all discussion material at 
least 10 days prior to the discussion. The NRC will perform an audit of 
the analysis and provide in writing, the NRC audit results, including 
any recommended changes. HMC will incorporate the NRC audit results in 
the actions described in Condition 10 of this section.
    In the event of a future non-compliance related to the GWPS, HMC 
will perform a similar assessment of the impacts of the non-compliance. 
HMC will report the incident to the NRC in accordance with License 
Condition 40 within 30 days of receipt of initial and confirmatory 
laboratory results.
    16. Condition 35C of License No. SUA-1471 is amended by this 
Confirmatory Order to read as follows:
    ``Implement the corrective action program described in the 
September 15, 1989 submittal, as modified by the reverse osmosis system 
described in the January 15, 1998 submittal, excluding all sampling and 
reporting requirements for Sample Point 1, with the objective of 
achieving the concentrations of all constituents listed in License 
Condition 35B. Composite samples from Sample Point 2 will be taken 
monthly and analyzed for the constituents listed in License Condition 
35B; the results of these analyses will be reported in the semi-annual 
and annual reports required by License Conditions 15 and 42.''
    17. HMC will develop written procedures to ensure that HMC will 
sample all required composite samples from Sample Point 2 (SP2) monthly 
and will report the results of those sample results in the semi-annual 
and annual reports required by License Conditions 15 and 42. The 
procedure will include a requirement that if sampling is not performed, 
a justification will be provided in the semi-annual report required by 
License Condition 15 for that sampling period, e.g., ``inadequate 
volume of water collected per the appropriate sampling procedure due to 
the RO plant being inoperable for 25 out of 30 days during that 
sampling period.'' For clarity, this reporting requirement does not 
apply to additional samples taken for operational purposes. For any 
report submitted to NRC, HMC will clearly identify all values at SP2 
that exceed GWPS or regulatory or license limits for the COCs 
identified in License Condition 35B and corrective actions taken, if 
any, as a result of the exceedances. HMC will submit these procedures 
to NRC within 120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order.
    18. Condition 15 of License No. SUA-1471 is amended by this 
Confirmatory Order to read as follows:
    ``The results of all effluent and environmental monitoring required 
by this license and regulation shall be reported semi-annually, by 
March 31 and September 30. All groundwater monitoring data shall be 
reported per the requirements in License Condition 35.''
    19. HMC will identify sources of supply water, soil and groundwater 
data, and reports, and will use those data to develop a land 
application assessment of any impacts due to the use of the irrigation 
water containing byproduct material to past, current, or foreseeable 
future uses of the land application areas in Township 12 North, Range 
10 West, Sections 28 (approximately 100 acres), 33 (approximately 150 
acres and approximately 24 acres), and 34 (approximately 120 acres). 
The land application assessment will establish background 
concentrations, remedial action levels (radiological dose and non-
radiological risk), and current concentrations of COCs in its license 
at all areas used for land application. The land application assessment 
will also identify and assess impacts from soil pore water data at the 
land application areas. HMC's land application assessment will be 
consistent with the requirements of 10 CFR 20.2002 and in accordance 
with Appendix F1.4 of NUREG-1620 (ADAMS Accession No. ML032250190) to 
demonstrate that the discharge of byproduct material containing both 
radiological and non-radiological constituents did not impact and will 
not impact members of the public or the environment. In addition, HMC 
will take immediate action to ensure that the land application areas 
are not being used to produce crops for human consumption. The land 
application assessment will be submitted for NRC review and approval 
within 180 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order.
    20. If the results of HMC's analysis discussed in Condition 19 of 
this section indicates that radiological doses and non-radiological 
risks are in excess of the NRC-approved remedial action levels, HMC 
will propose appropriate measures to control both use and access to the 
impacted areas, a corrective action plan, if necessary, to achieve the 
NRC-approved remedial action levels, and final status survey plans to 
demonstrate that the radiological doses and non-radiological risks are 
below NRC-approved remedial action levels. If corrective actions are 
needed, HMC will submit corrective actions (that include completion 
timeframes), for NRC approval, within 60 days of NRC's approval of 
HMC's land application assessment.
    21. HMC will provide to the NRC an integrated table that sets forth 
all actions taken pursuant to this Confirmatory Order. An updated 
integrated table will be provided to the NRC semi-annually, until all 
license and procedure changes under this Confirmatory Order are 
completed.
    22. The NRC considers the actions discussed above, along with the 
NRC's specified approval, to be satisfactory, appropriately prompt, and 
comprehensively responsive to the apparent violations identified in the 
NRC's letter to HMC dated October 4, 2016.
    Based on the completed actions described above, and the commitments 
described in Section V below, the NRC agrees to not pursue any further 
enforcement action based on the apparent violations identified in the 
NRC's October 4, 2016 letter.
    On March 21, 2017, HMC consented to issuing this Confirmatory Order 
with the commitments, as described in Section V below. HMC further 
agreed that this Confirmatory Order is to be effective upon issuance, 
the agreement memorialized in this Confirmatory Order settles the 
matter between the parties, and that HMC has waived its right to a 
hearing.

[[Page 16432]]

IV

    I find that the HMC actions completed, as described in Section III 
above, combined with the commitments as set forth in Section V are 
acceptable and necessary, and conclude that with these commitments the 
public health and safety are reasonably assured. In view of the 
foregoing, I have determined that public health and safety require that 
HMC's commitments be confirmed by this Confirmatory Order. Based on the 
above and HMC's consent, this Confirmatory Order is effective upon 
issuance.

V

    Accordingly, pursuant to Sections 81,161b, 161i, 161o, 182 and 186 
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and the Commission's 
regulations in 10 CFR 2.202 and 10 CFR part 40.71, it is hereby 
ordered, EFFECTIVE UPON ISSUANCE, THAT LICENSE NO. SUA-1471 IS MODIFIED 
AS FOLLOWS:
    1. HMC will submit its root cause protocol to an independent third 
party consultant with expertise in root cause analysis and provide a 
copy of the independent third party reviewed protocol to the NRC within 
120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order. The root cause 
protocol will also be available for review during future inspections. 
The root cause protocol submitted to the NRC will identify any changes 
made by the independent third party reviewer and include a 
qualification statement for the independent third party reviewer. This 
protocol will be used to complete Conditions 2, 3, and 4 of this 
section.
    2. Within 30 days of submitting to NRC the root cause protocol in 
Condition 1 of this section, HMC will use the root cause protocol to 
analyze the reasons for the apparent violations documented in the NRC's 
October 4, 2016 letter (ADAMS Accession No. ML16251A526). HMC will 
submit any proposed corrective actions to the NRC for review and 
approval within 60 days of completing the root cause analyses.
    3. HMC will complete an assessment of all HMC activities to 
determine whether all activities are authorized and are being conducted 
in compliance with NRC requirements. The assessment will identify areas 
where clarity could be added to the license. The assessment will 
include a written report that identifies all areas assessed, the scope 
of the assessment, the method used to perform the assessment, the 
results of each assessment and any corrective actions deemed 
appropriate. This report will identify any proposed changes to the 
license and procedures. This assessment will include a review of the 
licensee's Safety Culture, to identify any actions that may be 
necessary to improve upon or enhance the Safety Culture.
    4. HMC will engage an independent third party consultant to review 
and evaluate HMC's assessments described in Condition 3 of this 
section. That review will include a written report that identifies all 
areas assessed, the scope of the assessment, the method used to perform 
the assessment, the results of each assessment, and any proposed 
corrective actions. The evaluation will include the effectiveness of 
any actions proposed by HMC.
    a. HMC will submit the name and qualifications of the consultant 
for NRC approval within 30 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order.
    b. HMC will submit a copy of the assessment described in Condition 
3 of this section to the independent third party consultant within 120 
days of NRC approval of the independent third party consultant.
    c. HMC will provide a copy of the HMC assessment, the consultant's 
review report, and any modifications by HMC as a result of the third 
party consultant's report to the NRC within 120 days of submission of 
the HMC assessment to the independent third party consultant.
    d. NRC will perform an audit of the assessment and the independent 
third party report and provide NRC audit results in writing, including 
any recommended changes. HMC will incorporate NRC audit results in the 
actions described in Condition 5 of this section.
    e. HMC will maintain copies of all reports at the site for NRC 
inspection.
    5. Unless otherwise specified, for any changes or additions to the 
license or procedures resulting from this Confirmatory Order, HMC will 
either (1) submit to the NRC a license amendment request(s), for NRC 
approval, or (2) update the appropriate HMC procedure(s) after 
notification of the NRC. All license amendment requests resulting from 
this Confirmatory Order will be submitted to the NRC within 60 days of 
receiving the results of NRC's audit(s). All notifications of updates 
to procedures resulting from this Confirmatory Order will be made to 
the NRC by the end of calendar year 2018.
    6. HMC will submit a revised groundwater CAP to the NRC by the end 
of calendar year 2018, including amendments to the license approved by 
that date. The NRC and HMC will work, aggressively and in good faith, 
toward a goal of final approval of the groundwater CAP within a year 
from the date of submittal.
    7. HMC will conduct initial and annual refresher training for all 
individuals (employees and vendors, commensurate with their duties) 
engaged in licensed activities.
    a. The initial and annual training will address awareness and 
understanding of regulatory and license No. SUA-1471 requirements, 
including but not necessarily limited to informing HMC employees of the 
jurisdiction of the NRC, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the 
New Mexico Environment Department over the Grants site. The training 
may be an electronic read and sign format.
    b. HMC will maintain documentation for each training session 
conducted. The training documentation will include a summary of the 
contents of the training and the individuals in attendance. The 
training documentation will be maintained available for NRC inspection 
for 5 years after each training session.
    8. HMC will use the mass balance methodology described in its 
revised 2012 groundwater CAP submittal, incorporating the issues raised 
in the Requests for Additional Information provided by NRC (ADAMS 
Package No. ML13360A224), and adapting the methodology for the purpose 
of completing an analysis of the re-injection system's impact to the 
time estimate for completion of the groundwater CAP. The analysis will 
be completed within 120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order. No 
less than 30 days prior to its finalization of the re-injection 
analysis, HMC will discuss with NRC the methodology, data, and 
analysis. HMC will provide to NRC all discussion material at least 10 
days prior to the discussion. NRC will perform an audit of the 
analysis, and provide in writing NRC audit results, including any 
recommended changes. HMC will incorporate NRC audit results in the 
actions described in Condition 5 of this section.
    9. As soon as practicable, but not to exceed 30 days from issuance 
of this Confirmatory Order, HMC will adjust operations to better ensure 
compliance with the Ground Water Protection Standards (GWPS) in License 
Condition 35B as required by License Condition 35C (as amended by this 
Confirmatory Order) and described in HMC's submittal dated January 15, 
1998 (ADAMS Accession No. ML12291A910) and the NRC's approval dated 
March 5, 1998 (ADAMS Accession No. ML14203A023). HMC will evaluate the 
procedure required by License Condition 23 to ensure that the process 
is adequate to reduce constituent

[[Page 16433]]

concentrations to values below the GWPS listed in License Condition 35B 
before discharge.
    10. HMC will use the methodology described in NUREG-1620 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML032250190) to analyze the impact of exceedances 
documented in the NRC's October 4, 2016 letter to HMC. The analysis 
will be completed within 120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory 
Order. No less than 30 days prior to its finalization of the impact of 
exceedances analysis, HMC will discuss with NRC the methodology, data, 
and analysis. HMC will provide to NRC all discussion material at least 
10 days prior to the discussion. The NRC will perform an audit of the 
analysis and provide in writing, the NRC audit results, including any 
recommended changes. HMC will incorporate NRC audit results in the 
actions described in Condition 5 of this section.
    In the event of a future non-compliance related to the GWPS, HMC 
will perform a similar assessment of the impacts of the non-compliance. 
HMC will report the incident to the NRC in accordance with License 
Condition 40 within 30 days of receipt of initial and confirmatory 
laboratory results.
    11. Condition 35C of License No. SUA-1471 is amended by this 
Confirmatory Order to read as follows:
    ``Implement the corrective action program described in the 
September 15, 1989 submittal, as modified by the reverse osmosis system 
described in the January 15, 1998 submittal, excluding all sampling and 
reporting requirements for Sample Point 1, with the objective of 
achieving the concentrations of all constituents listed in License 
Condition 35B. Composite samples from Sample Point 2 (SP2) will be 
taken monthly and analyzed for the constituents listed in License 
Condition 35B; the results of these analyses will be reported in the 
semi-annual and annual reports required by License Conditions 15 and 
42.''
    12. HMC will develop written procedures to ensure that HMC will 
sample all required composite samples from Sample Point 2 (SP2) monthly 
and will report the results of those sample results in the semi-annual 
and annual reports required by License Conditions 15 and 42. The 
procedure will include a requirement that if sampling is not performed, 
a justification will be provided in the semi-annual report required by 
License Condition 15 for that sampling period, e.g., ``inadequate 
volume of water collected per the appropriate sampling procedure due to 
the RO plant being inoperable for 25 out of 30 days during that 
sampling period.'' For clarity, this reporting requirement does not 
apply to additional samples taken for operational purposes. For any 
report submitted to NRC, HMC will clearly identify all values at SP2 
that exceed GWPS or regulatory or license limits for the COCs 
identified in License Condition 35B and corrective actions taken, if 
any, as a result of the exceedances. HMC will submit these procedures 
to NRC within 120 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order.
    13. Condition 15 of License No. SUA-1471 is amended by this 
Confirmatory Order to read as follows:
    ``The results of all effluent and environmental monitoring required 
by this license and regulation shall be reported semi-annually, by 
March 31 and September 30. All groundwater monitoring data shall be 
reported per the requirements in License Condition 35.''
    14. HMC will identify sources of supply water, soil and groundwater 
data, and reports, and will use those data to develop a land 
application assessment of any impacts due to the use of the irrigation 
water containing byproduct material to past, current, or foreseeable 
future uses of the land application areas in Township 12 North, Range 
10 West, Sections 28 (approximately 100 acres), 33 (approximately 150 
acres and approximately 24 acres), and 34 (approximately 120 acres). 
The land application assessment will establish background 
concentrations, remedial action levels (radiological dose and non-
radiological risk), and current concentrations of COCs in its license 
at all areas used for land application. The land application assessment 
will also identify and assess impacts from soil pore water data at the 
land application areas. HMC's land application assessment will be 
consistent with the requirements of 10 CFR 20.2002 and in accordance 
with Appendix F1.4 of NUREG-1620 (ADAMS Accession No. ML032250190) to 
demonstrate that the discharge of byproduct material containing both 
radiological and non-radiological constituents did not impact and will 
not impact members of the public or the environment. In addition, HMC 
will take immediate action to ensure that the land application areas 
are not being used to produce crops for human consumption. The land 
application assessment will be submitted for NRC review and approval 
within 180 days of issuance of this Confirmatory Order.
    15. If the results of HMC's analysis discussed in Condition 14 of 
this section indicates that radiological doses and non-radiological 
risks are in excess of the NRC-approved remedial action levels, HMC 
will propose appropriate measures to control both use and access to the 
impacted areas, a corrective action plan, if necessary, to achieve the 
NRC-approved remedial action levels, and final status survey plans to 
demonstrate that the radiological doses and non-radiological risks are 
below NRC-approved remedial action levels. If corrective actions are 
needed, HMC will submit corrective actions (that include completion 
timeframes), for NRC approval, within 60 days of NRC's approval of 
HMC's land application assessment.
    16. HMC will provide to the NRC an integrated table that sets forth 
all actions taken pursuant to this Confirmatory Order. An updated 
integrated table will be provided to the NRC semi-annually, until all 
license and procedure changes under this Confirmatory Order are 
completed.
    In the event of the transfer of license SUA-1471 to another entity, 
the terms and conditions set forth hereunder shall continue to apply to 
the new entity and accordingly survive any transfer of ownership or 
license.
    Unless otherwise specified, all dates are from the date of issuance 
of the Confirmatory Order. The term ``days'' in the Confirmatory Order 
means calendar days.
    Unless otherwise specified, all documents required to be submitted 
to the NRC pursuant to this Confirmatory Order prior to NRC approval of 
the revised groundwater CAP described in Condition 6 of this section 
will be sent to: Director, Office of Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, 
Rockville, MD 20852-2738, with a copy to the Deputy Director, Division 
of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs, Two White 
Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852-2738.
    The Director, Office of Enforcement, may, in writing, relax or 
rescind any of the above conditions upon demonstration by HMC or its 
successors of good cause.

VI

    In accordance with 10 CFR 2.202 and 2.309, any person adversely 
affected by this Confirmatory Order, other than HMC, may request a 
hearing within thirty (30) days of the issuance date of this 
Confirmatory Order. Where good cause is shown, consideration will be 
given to extending the time to request a hearing. A request for 
extension of time must be directed to the Director, Office of 
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555,

[[Page 16434]]

and include a statement of good cause for the extension.
    All documents filed in NRC adjudicatory proceedings, including a 
request for hearing, a petition for leave to intervene, any motion or 
other document filed in the proceeding prior to the submission of a 
request for hearing or petition to intervene (hereinafter 
``petition''), and documents filed by interested governmental entities 
participating under 10 CFR 2.315(c), must be filed in accordance with 
the NRC's E-Filing rule (72 FR 49139; August 28, 2007, as amended by 77 
FR 46562; August 3, 2012). The E-Filing process requires participants 
to submit and serve all adjudicatory documents over the internet, or in 
some cases to mail copies on electronic storage media. Participants may 
not submit paper copies of their filings unless they seek an exemption 
in accordance with the procedures described below.
    To comply with the procedural requirements of E-Filing, at least 10 
days prior to the filing deadline, the participant should contact the 
Office of the Secretary by email at hearing.docket@nrc.gov, or by 
telephone at 301-415-1677, to (1) request a digital identification (ID) 
certificate, which allows the participant (or its counsel or 
representative) to digitally sign submissions and access the E-Filing 
system for any proceeding in which it is participating; and (2) advise 
the Secretary that the participant will be submitting a petition or 
other adjudicatory document (even in instances in which the 
participant, or its counsel or representative, already holds an NRC-
issued digital ID certificate). Based upon this information, the 
Secretary will establish an electronic docket for the hearing in this 
proceeding if the Secretary has not already established an electronic 
docket.
    Information about applying for a digital ID certificate is 
available on NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals/getting-started.html. Once a participant has obtained a 
digital ID certificate and a docket has been created, the participant 
can then submit adjudicatory documents. Submissions must be in Portable 
Document Format (PDF). Additional guidance on PDF submissions is 
available on the NRC's public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/electronic-sub-ref-mat.html. A filing is considered complete at the 
time the document is submitted through the NRC's E Filing system. To be 
timely, an electronic filing must be submitted to the E-Filing system 
no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date. Upon receipt of 
a transmission, the E Filing system time-stamps the document and sends 
the submitter an email notice confirming receipt of the document. The 
E-Filing system also distributes an email notice that provides access 
to the document to the NRC's Office of the General Counsel and any 
others who have advised the Office of the Secretary that they wish to 
participate in the proceeding, so that the filer need not serve the 
document on those participants separately. Therefore, applicants and 
other participants (or their counsel or representative) must apply for 
and receive a digital ID certificate before adjudicatory documents are 
filed so that they can obtain access to the documents via the E-Filing 
system.
    A person filing electronically using the NRC's adjudicatory E-
Filing system may seek assistance by contacting the NRC's Electronic 
Filing Help Desk through the ``Contact Us'' link located on the NRC's 
public Web site at https://www.nrc.gov/site-help/e-submittals.html, by 
email to MSHD.Resource@nrc.gov, or by a toll-free call at 1-866-672-
7640. The NRC Electronic Filing Help Desk is available between 9 a.m. 
and 6 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding government 
holidays.
    Participants who believe that they have a good cause for not 
submitting documents electronically must file an exemption request, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 2.302(g), with their initial paper filing 
stating why there is good cause for not filing electronically and 
requesting authorization to continue to submit documents in paper 
format. Such filings must be submitted by: (1) First class mail 
addressed to the Office of the Secretary of the Commission, U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Attention: 
Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff; or (2) courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service to the Office of the Secretary, 11555 
Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, Attention: Rulemaking and 
Adjudications Staff. Participants filing adjudicatory documents in this 
manner are responsible for serving the document on all other 
participants. Filing is considered complete by first-class mail as of 
the time of deposit in the mail, or by courier, express mail, or 
expedited delivery service upon depositing the document with the 
provider of the service. A presiding officer, having granted an 
exemption request from using E-Filing, may require a participant or 
party to use E-Filing if the presiding officer subsequently determines 
that the reason for granting the exemption from use of E-Filing no 
longer exists.
    Documents submitted in adjudicatory proceedings will appear in the 
NRC's electronic hearing docket which is available to the public at 
https://adams.nrc.gov/ehd, unless excluded pursuant to an order of the 
Commission or the presiding officer. If you do not have an NRC-issued 
digital ID certificate as described above, click cancel when the link 
requests certificates and you will be automatically directed to the 
NRC's electronic hearing dockets where you will be able to access any 
publicly available documents in a particular hearing docket. 
Participants are requested not to include personal privacy information, 
such as social security numbers, home addresses, or personal phone 
numbers in their filings, unless an NRC regulation or other law 
requires submission of such information. For example, in some 
instances, individuals provide home addresses in order to demonstrate 
proximity to a facility or site. With respect to copyrighted works, 
except for limited excerpts that serve the purpose of the adjudicatory 
filings and would constitute a Fair Use application, participants are 
requested not to include copyrighted materials in their submission.
    The Commission will issue a notice or order granting or denying a 
hearing request or intervention petition, designating the issues for 
any hearing that will be held and designating the Presiding Officer. A 
notice granting a hearing will be published in the Federal Register and 
served on the parties to the hearing.
    If a person (other than HMC) requests a hearing, that person shall 
set forth with particularity the manner in which his interest is 
adversely affected by this Confirmatory Order and shall address the 
criteria set forth in 10 CFR 2.309(d) and (f).
    If a hearing is requested by a person whose interest is adversely 
affected, the Commission will issue an order designating the time and 
place of any hearings. If a hearing is held, the issue to be considered 
at such hearing shall be whether this Confirmatory Order should be 
sustained.
    In the absence of any request for hearing, or written approval of 
an extension of time in which to request a hearing, the provisions 
specified in Section V above shall be final 30 days from the date of 
this Confirmatory Order without further order or proceedings. If an 
extension of time for requesting a hearing has been approved, the 
provisions specified in Section V shall be final when the extension 
expires if a hearing request has not been received.

[[Page 16435]]

    A REQUEST FOR HEARING SHALL NOT STAY THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS 
ORDER.

    Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 28th day of March 2017.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Patricia K. Holahan,
Director, Office of Enforcement

[FR Doc. 2017-06645 Filed 4-3-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P