United Nuclear Corporation; Church Rock Uranium Mill Site, 2376-2378 [2023-00273]
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2023 / Notices
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Further information with reference to
these meetings can be obtained from
David Travis, Office of Guidelines &
Panel Operations, National Endowment
for the Arts, Washington DC 20506;
travisd@arts.gov, or call 202/682–5001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
closed portions of meetings are for the
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evaluation, and recommendations on
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including information given in
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The upcoming meetings are:
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Date and time: February 2, 2023; 2:00
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Jazz Masters Fellowships (review of
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Dated: January 9, 2023.
David Travis,
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[FR Doc. 2023–00537 Filed 1–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7537–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40–8907; NRC–2019–0026]
United Nuclear Corporation; Church
Rock Uranium Mill Site
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Environmental impact statement
and programmatic agreement; issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is issuing a final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS),
NUREG–2243, ‘‘Environmental Impact
Statement for the Disposal of Mine
Waste at the United Nuclear
Corporation Mill Site in McKinley
County, New Mexico,’’ for United
Nuclear Corporation’s (UNC) request for
a license amendment to allow the
disposition of about 1 million cubic
yards of mine waste from the Northeast
Church Rock (NECR) Mine Site at UNC’s
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SUMMARY:
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uranium mill site in McKinley County,
New Mexico. The NRC is also issuing a
final Programmatic Agreement (PA)
under section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) that
provides requirements for the NRC, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and UNC to follow to ensure that
cultural resources are protected during
project activities.
DATES: The EIS and PA referenced in
this document are available on January
13, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2019–0026 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of
information regarding these documents.
You may obtain publicly available
information related to these documents
using any of the following methods:
• Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID NRC–2019–0026. Address
questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301–415–0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, 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
‘‘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. For the
convenience of the reader, instructions
about obtaining materials referenced in
this document are provided in the
‘‘Availability of Documents’’ section.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR,
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–
4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Time (ET), Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Project Website: Information related
to the Church Rock project can be
accessed on the NRC’s public website at
https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/
decommissioning/uranium/unitednuclear-corporation.html.
• Public Libraries: A copy of the final
EIS will be made available at each of the
following public libraries:
PO 00000
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Octavia Fellin Public Library, 115 W
Hill Ave., Gallup, NM 87301
Gallup Zollinger Library at the
University of New Mexico, 705 Gurley
Avenue, Gallup, NM 87301
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christine Pineda, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555–0001, telephone:
301–415–6789, email:
Christine.Pineda@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC
is issuing two documents, a final EIS
and a final PA. These documents are
described in the following subsections.
I. Environmental Impact Statement
Background
In accordance with section 51.118 of
title 10 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (10 CFR), ‘‘Final
environmental impact statement—
notice of availability,’’ the NRC is
making available NUREG–2243, the
NRC’s final EIS for a proposed license
amendment that would allow UNC to
place uranium mine waste into a
repository at UNC’s NRC-licensed
uranium mill site and to make certain
improvements at the site. Notices of
availability of the draft EIS were
published in the Federal Register (FR)
on November 13, 2020, by the NRC (85
FR 72706) and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (85 FR 72649). After
granting two extensions, the NRC closed
the public comment period for the draft
EIS on May 27, 2021. On June 17, 2021,
in response to a request from the
President of the Navajo Nation, the NRC
re-opened the public comment period
until November 1, 2021 (86 FR 32285).
Appendix B of the final EIS contains
summaries of and responses to the
comments received. A separate report
containing the as-received comments is
available in the ‘‘Availability of
Documents’’ section. This report follows
the organization of EIS Appendix B.
Discussion
The NRC is issuing the final EIS for
an application from UNC requesting an
amendment to license SUA–1475 for the
UNC mill tailings disposal site in
McKinley County, New Mexico. The
proposed license amendment would
allow UNC to transfer and dispose of
uranium mine waste from the nearby
NECR Mine Site, located across New
Mexico Highway 566 from the UNC Mill
Site. Approximately 1 million cubic
yards of mine-impacted soil and debris
present at the NECR Mine Site (on
primarily tribal trust lands) would be
removed and placed in a repository to
be constructed at the UNC Mill Site. The
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2023 / Notices
proposed license amendment would
also authorize certain improvements to
the existing tailings impoundment. The
proposed NRC action would facilitate an
action by the EPA under the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act to remove the mine waste from the
Northeast Church Rock Mine Site, as
documented in a 2013 EPA Record of
Decision (EPA 2013).
The final EIS is being issued as part
of the NRC’s process to decide whether
to approve the requested license
amendment. In this final EIS, the NRC
staff has assessed the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed
action, two secondary alternatives
(options for implementing certain
aspects of the proposed action), and the
no action alternative on land use,
transportation, geology and soils, water
resources, ecological resources, air
quality, noise, historic and cultural
resources, visual and scenic resources,
socioeconomics, environmental justice,
public and occupational health, and
waste management. The NRC staff
determined that the potential impacts
from the proposed action and two
secondary alternatives would range
from ‘‘small’’ to ‘‘small to moderate’’ for
the analyzed environmental resource
areas. The NRC staff also concludes that
local Navajo Nation communities,
namely the Red Water Pond Road,
Pipeline Road, and Pinedale
communities, are closer than any other
community to the proposed project area,
and these communities have
experienced a range of significant
impacts because of historical uranium
mining and milling activities over many
decades. The staff concludes that the
activities of the proposed action, which
would occur primarily within a three to
four year period, would likewise affect
these communities disproportionately
with regard to traffic and transportation,
air quality, noise levels, and visual
disturbances.
The NRC staff also considered the noaction alternative, under which the NRC
would not approve UNC’s license
amendment request. A key distinction
between the proposed action (including
secondary alternatives) and the noaction alternative is the timing of
impacts associated with the cleanup of
the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site. If
the NRC does not approve the license
amendment request, the mine waste
would not be transferred to the UNC
mill site and the EPA would need to
evaluate or reevaluate other options for
disposing of the mine waste.
During the comment period on the
draft EIS, the NRC received 100
comment submittals resulting in 1,300
unique comments. Comments were
submitted by individuals, organizations,
and government agencies, including
Navajo Nation government agencies.
Because the proposed project would be
conducted on and near Navajo Nation
land and communities, Sections 1.4.2
and B.2.1.1 of the EIS provide
descriptions of the topics and concerns
raised by Navajo individuals and the
Navajo government about the proposal
and past uranium mining and milling
activities.
After evaluating the impacts of the
proposed action and two secondary
alternatives, and comparing them to the
no-action alternative, the NRC staff, in
accordance with 10 CFR part 51, sets
forth its National Environmental Policy
Act recommendation. The potential
adverse environmental impacts of the
proposed action and the two secondary
alternatives do not preclude issuing a
license amendment. This
recommendation is based on (i) the
license application, which includes the
environmental report and supplemental
documents and the licensee’s responses
to the NRC staff’s requests for additional
information; (ii) consultation with
Federal, State, Tribal, and local agencies
and input from other stakeholders,
including all comments received on the
draft EIS; and (iii) independent NRC
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19:26 Jan 12, 2023
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staff review as set forth in this EIS. The
NRC staff concludes that removal of
mine wastes from the former Northeast
Church Rock Mine Site and
consolidation of the mine materials over
existing mill tailings on private property
would minimize the footprint of waste
disposal facilities and make the land
available again for unrestricted use by
the Navajo Nation.
II. NHPA Section 106 Programmatic
Agreement
Background
The NRC is issuing a final PA to
ensure compliance with Section 106 of
the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 306108) and its
implementing regulations (36 CFR 800).
The NRC published a notice of
availability of the draft PA on December
6, 2021 (86 FR 69103) and closed the
comment period on January 20, 2022.
The NRC staff received and addressed
two substantive comments on the draft
PA.
Discussion
The PA describes the measures that
UNC would follow to mitigate or
eliminate the potential for adverse
impacts to cultural resources during the
implementation of the proposed action,
if approved. The NRC, EPA, the
Department of the Interior’s Bureau of
Indian Affairs, the New Mexico State
Historic Preservation Officer, the Navajo
Nation President, Navajo Nation Tribal
Historic Preservation Officer, and UNC
are signatories to the PA. The EPA is the
lead agency for implementing the PA,
which was executed on the date of the
last signature, June 13, 2022. Sections
3.9 and 4.9 of the EIS contain
information about the PA and cultural
resources in the project area.
III. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the
following table are available to
interested persons through one or more
of the following methods, as indicated.
ADAMS accession No./web link
Final EIS: ‘‘NUREG–2243, Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal of Mine Waste at the United Nuclear Corporation Mill Site in
McKinley County, New Mexico’’.
Report of Comments on the Draft EIS: ‘‘Public Comments on the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal of Mine Waste at
the United Nuclear Corporation Mill Site in McKinley County, New
Mexico’’.
Draft EIS: ‘‘NUREG–2243, Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposal of Mine Waste at the United Nuclear Corporation Mill Site in
McKinley County, New Mexico’’.
Programmatic Agreement for UNC Church Rock Mill Site License
Amendment and Northeast Church Rock Mine Site Cleanup.
EPA Record of Decision: ‘‘United Nuclear Corporation Site, McKinley
County, New Mexico. USEPA ID NMD030443303; Operable Unit:
OU 02, Surface Soil Operable Unit,’’ dated March 2013.
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ML22356A145, https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2235/ML22356A145.pdf.
ML22110A106, https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2211/ML22110A106.pdf.
ML20289A621, https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2028/ML20289A621.pdf.
ML22074A047, https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2207/ML22074A047.pdf.
ML13095A352, https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1309/ML13095A352.pdf.
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2378
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 9 / Friday, January 13, 2023 / Notices
Dated: January 5, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher M. Regan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking,
Environmental, and Financial Support, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023–00273 Filed 1–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2022–0225]
Availability of Revised NRC Form 3,
‘‘Notice to Employees’’
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Generic communications;
issuance.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) is announcing the
availability of the latest version of NRC
Form 3, ‘‘Notice to Employees.’’ The
NRC Form 3 describes certain
responsibilities and rights of employers
and employees who engage in NRCregulated activities, including how
employees can report violations or other
safety concerns directly to the NRC.
Licensees are required by law to post
the form at prominent locations at the
workplace to permit workers to view it
easily.
DATES: The revised form is available as
of December 20, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID
NRC–2022–0225 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 Website: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov and search
for Docket ID N NRC–2022–0225.
Address questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301–415–0624; email:
Stacy.Schumann@nrc.gov. For technical
questions, 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
‘‘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. NRC Form 3,
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SUMMARY:
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19:26 Jan 12, 2023
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‘‘Notice to Employees,’’ and Form 3A, a
Spanish version of the same form are
available in ADAMS under Accession
Nos. ML13083A002 and ML17292A077,
respectively.
• NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
purchase copies of public documents,
by appointment, at the NRC’s PDR,
Room P1 B35, One White Flint North,
11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. To make an
appointment to visit the PDR, please
send an email to PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1–800–397–4209 or 301–415–
4737, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Time (ET), Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lisamarie L. Jarriel, Office of
Enforcement, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
0001, telephone: 301–287–9006, email:
Lisamarie.Jarriel@NRC.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section
19.11(e)(1) of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), states that
licensees shall prominently post the
most recent version of NRC Form 3,
‘‘Notice to Employees’’ within 30 days
of receiving the revised NRC Form 3
from the Commission. In a 1997
rulemaking, 10 CFR 19.11 (62 FR 48165)
was amended to incorporate a reference
to the latest version of NRC Form 3.
This eliminated the need to revise the
CFR whenever NRC Form 3 is changed,
which had been the previous practice.
The final rule published on September
15, 1997 (62 FR 48165) indicated that
the NRC would inform licensees of
future changes to NRC Form 3 by an
administrative letter and, in addition,
the availability of any new versions
would be noticed in the Federal
Register. Administrative letters were a
type of generic communication issued to
inform addressees of specific regulatory
or administrative information but were
discontinued in September 1999. As
such, in lieu of an administrative letter,
this revision and future revisions will be
publicized through an alternative
electronic means (e.g., website notice,
social networking service, etc.) to alert
all licensees of the new revisions, as
well as in the Federal Register.
A new version of NRC Form 3 was
issued in November 2022, to make a
correction to Region I’s mailing address
and add an email address for submitting
concerns. To view the current version of
NRC Form 3 (11–2022), please go to
https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/forms/. A
Spanish language version of the form
(NRC Form 3A) can also be found on the
same site.
Dated: January 10, 2023.
PO 00000
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For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
David L. Pelton,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 2023–00570 Filed 1–12–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590–01–P
NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION
[NRC–2023–0001]
Sunshine Act Meetings
Weeks of January 16, 23,
30, February 6, 13, 20, 2023. The
schedule for Commission meetings is
subject to change on short notice. The
NRC Commission Meeting Schedule can
be found on the internet at: https://
www.nrc.gov/public-involve/publicmeetings/schedule.html.
PLACE: The NRC provides reasonable
accommodation to individuals with
disabilities where appropriate. If you
need a reasonable accommodation to
participate in these public meetings or
need this meeting notice or the
transcript or other information from the
public meetings in another format (e.g.,
braille, large print), please notify Anne
Silk, NRC Disability Program Specialist,
at 301–287–0745, by videophone at
240–428–3217, or by email at
Anne.Silk@nrc.gov. Determinations on
requests for reasonable accommodation
will be made on a case-by-case basis.
STATUS: Public.
Members of the public may request to
receive the information in these notices
electronically. If you would like to be
added to the distribution, please contact
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Office of the Secretary, Washington, DC
20555, at 301–415–1969, or by email at
Wendy.Moore@nrc.gov or Tyesha.Bush@
nrc.gov.
MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED:
TIME AND DATE:
Week of January 16, 2023
There are no meetings scheduled for
the week of January 16, 2023.
Week of January 23, 2023—Tentative
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
9:00 a.m. Overview of Accident
Tolerant Fuel Activities (Public
Meeting); (Contact: Samantha Lav:
301–415–3487).
Additional Information: The meeting
will be held in the Commissioners’
Conference Room, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, Maryland. The public is
invited to attend the Commission’s
meeting in person or watch live via
webcast at the Web address—https://
video.nrc.gov/.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 9 (Friday, January 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2376-2378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00273]
=======================================================================
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-8907; NRC-2019-0026]
United Nuclear Corporation; Church Rock Uranium Mill Site
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Environmental impact statement and programmatic agreement;
issuance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a
final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), NUREG-2243, ``Environmental
Impact Statement for the Disposal of Mine Waste at the United Nuclear
Corporation Mill Site in McKinley County, New Mexico,'' for United
Nuclear Corporation's (UNC) request for a license amendment to allow
the disposition of about 1 million cubic yards of mine waste from the
Northeast Church Rock (NECR) Mine Site at UNC's uranium mill site in
McKinley County, New Mexico. The NRC is also issuing a final
Programmatic Agreement (PA) under section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) that provides requirements for the NRC, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and UNC to follow to ensure that
cultural resources are protected during project activities.
DATES: The EIS and PA referenced in this document are available on
January 13, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2019-0026 when contacting the
NRC about the availability of information regarding these documents.
You may obtain publicly available information related to these
documents using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2019-0026. Address
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann;
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical
questions, 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 ``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 [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader,
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
NRC's PDR: You may examine and purchase copies of public
documents, by appointment, at the NRC's PDR, Room P1 B35, One White
Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. To make
an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between
8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), Monday through Friday,
except Federal holidays.
Project Website: Information related to the Church Rock
project can be accessed on the NRC's public website at https://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/uranium/united-nuclear-corporation.html.
Public Libraries: A copy of the final EIS will be made
available at each of the following public libraries:
Octavia Fellin Public Library, 115 W Hill Ave., Gallup, NM 87301
Gallup Zollinger Library at the University of New Mexico, 705 Gurley
Avenue, Gallup, NM 87301
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Pineda, Office of Nuclear
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-415-6789, email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC is issuing two documents, a final
EIS and a final PA. These documents are described in the following
subsections.
I. Environmental Impact Statement
Background
In accordance with section 51.118 of title 10 of the Code of
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Final environmental impact statement--
notice of availability,'' the NRC is making available NUREG-2243, the
NRC's final EIS for a proposed license amendment that would allow UNC
to place uranium mine waste into a repository at UNC's NRC-licensed
uranium mill site and to make certain improvements at the site. Notices
of availability of the draft EIS were published in the Federal Register
(FR) on November 13, 2020, by the NRC (85 FR 72706) and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (85 FR 72649). After granting two
extensions, the NRC closed the public comment period for the draft EIS
on May 27, 2021. On June 17, 2021, in response to a request from the
President of the Navajo Nation, the NRC re-opened the public comment
period until November 1, 2021 (86 FR 32285). Appendix B of the final
EIS contains summaries of and responses to the comments received. A
separate report containing the as-received comments is available in the
``Availability of Documents'' section. This report follows the
organization of EIS Appendix B.
Discussion
The NRC is issuing the final EIS for an application from UNC
requesting an amendment to license SUA-1475 for the UNC mill tailings
disposal site in McKinley County, New Mexico. The proposed license
amendment would allow UNC to transfer and dispose of uranium mine waste
from the nearby NECR Mine Site, located across New Mexico Highway 566
from the UNC Mill Site. Approximately 1 million cubic yards of mine-
impacted soil and debris present at the NECR Mine Site (on primarily
tribal trust lands) would be removed and placed in a repository to be
constructed at the UNC Mill Site. The
[[Page 2377]]
proposed license amendment would also authorize certain improvements to
the existing tailings impoundment. The proposed NRC action would
facilitate an action by the EPA under the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act to remove the mine waste from
the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site, as documented in a 2013 EPA Record
of Decision (EPA 2013).
The final EIS is being issued as part of the NRC's process to
decide whether to approve the requested license amendment. In this
final EIS, the NRC staff has assessed the potential environmental
impacts of the proposed action, two secondary alternatives (options for
implementing certain aspects of the proposed action), and the no action
alternative on land use, transportation, geology and soils, water
resources, ecological resources, air quality, noise, historic and
cultural resources, visual and scenic resources, socioeconomics,
environmental justice, public and occupational health, and waste
management. The NRC staff determined that the potential impacts from
the proposed action and two secondary alternatives would range from
``small'' to ``small to moderate'' for the analyzed environmental
resource areas. The NRC staff also concludes that local Navajo Nation
communities, namely the Red Water Pond Road, Pipeline Road, and
Pinedale communities, are closer than any other community to the
proposed project area, and these communities have experienced a range
of significant impacts because of historical uranium mining and milling
activities over many decades. The staff concludes that the activities
of the proposed action, which would occur primarily within a three to
four year period, would likewise affect these communities
disproportionately with regard to traffic and transportation, air
quality, noise levels, and visual disturbances.
The NRC staff also considered the no-action alternative, under
which the NRC would not approve UNC's license amendment request. A key
distinction between the proposed action (including secondary
alternatives) and the no-action alternative is the timing of impacts
associated with the cleanup of the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site. If
the NRC does not approve the license amendment request, the mine waste
would not be transferred to the UNC mill site and the EPA would need to
evaluate or reevaluate other options for disposing of the mine waste.
During the comment period on the draft EIS, the NRC received 100
comment submittals resulting in 1,300 unique comments. Comments were
submitted by individuals, organizations, and government agencies,
including Navajo Nation government agencies. Because the proposed
project would be conducted on and near Navajo Nation land and
communities, Sections 1.4.2 and B.2.1.1 of the EIS provide descriptions
of the topics and concerns raised by Navajo individuals and the Navajo
government about the proposal and past uranium mining and milling
activities.
After evaluating the impacts of the proposed action and two
secondary alternatives, and comparing them to the no-action
alternative, the NRC staff, in accordance with 10 CFR part 51, sets
forth its National Environmental Policy Act recommendation. The
potential adverse environmental impacts of the proposed action and the
two secondary alternatives do not preclude issuing a license amendment.
This recommendation is based on (i) the license application, which
includes the environmental report and supplemental documents and the
licensee's responses to the NRC staff's requests for additional
information; (ii) consultation with Federal, State, Tribal, and local
agencies and input from other stakeholders, including all comments
received on the draft EIS; and (iii) independent NRC staff review as
set forth in this EIS. The NRC staff concludes that removal of mine
wastes from the former Northeast Church Rock Mine Site and
consolidation of the mine materials over existing mill tailings on
private property would minimize the footprint of waste disposal
facilities and make the land available again for unrestricted use by
the Navajo Nation.
II. NHPA Section 106 Programmatic Agreement
Background
The NRC is issuing a final PA to ensure compliance with Section 106
of the NHPA (54 U.S.C. 306108) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR
800). The NRC published a notice of availability of the draft PA on
December 6, 2021 (86 FR 69103) and closed the comment period on January
20, 2022. The NRC staff received and addressed two substantive comments
on the draft PA.
Discussion
The PA describes the measures that UNC would follow to mitigate or
eliminate the potential for adverse impacts to cultural resources
during the implementation of the proposed action, if approved. The NRC,
EPA, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, the New
Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer, the Navajo Nation
President, Navajo Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, and UNC
are signatories to the PA. The EPA is the lead agency for implementing
the PA, which was executed on the date of the last signature, June 13,
2022. Sections 3.9 and 4.9 of the EIS contain information about the PA
and cultural resources in the project area.
III. Availability of Documents
The documents identified in the following table are available to
interested persons through one or more of the following methods, as
indicated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Document ADAMS accession No./web link
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final EIS: ``NUREG-2243, Environmental ML22356A145, https://
Impact Statement for the Disposal of www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2235/
Mine Waste at the United Nuclear ML22356A145.pdf.
Corporation Mill Site in McKinley
County, New Mexico''.
Report of Comments on the Draft EIS: ML22110A106, https://
``Public Comments on the Draft www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2211/
Environmental Impact Statement for the ML22110A106.pdf.
Disposal of Mine Waste at the United
Nuclear Corporation Mill Site in
McKinley County, New Mexico''.
Draft EIS: ``NUREG-2243, Environmental ML20289A621, https://
Impact Statement for the Disposal of www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2028/
Mine Waste at the United Nuclear ML20289A621.pdf.
Corporation Mill Site in McKinley
County, New Mexico''.
Programmatic Agreement for UNC Church ML22074A047, https://
Rock Mill Site License Amendment and www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2207/
Northeast Church Rock Mine Site ML22074A047.pdf.
Cleanup.
EPA Record of Decision: ``United ML13095A352, https://
Nuclear Corporation Site, McKinley www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1309/
County, New Mexico. USEPA ID ML13095A352.pdf.
NMD030443303; Operable Unit: OU 02,
Surface Soil Operable Unit,'' dated
March 2013.
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[[Page 2378]]
Dated: January 5, 2022.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Christopher M. Regan,
Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support,
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-00273 Filed 1-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P
