Split Rock, Wyoming Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act Title II Disposal Site; Jeffrey City, Wyoming, 74211-74213 [2023-23806]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 208 (Monday, October 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74211-74213]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23806]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 40-1162; NRC-2021-0120]


Split Rock, Wyoming Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act 
Title II Disposal Site; Jeffrey City, Wyoming

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

[[Page 74212]]


ACTION: Environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact; 
issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewed a Long-
Term Surveillance Plan (LTSP) for the Split Rock, Wyoming Uranium Mill 
Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) Title II Disposal Site, Jeffrey 
City, Wyoming submitted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), by 
letter dated April 29, 2020. The NRC staff prepared an environmental 
assessment (EA) for this LTSP in accordance with its regulations. Based 
on the EA, the NRC concluded that a finding of no significant impact 
(FONSI) is appropriate. The NRC is also conducting a safety evaluation 
of the proposed license transfer.

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
October 30, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2021-0120 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 NRC-2021-0120. 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, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. The ADAMS accession number for 
each document referenced in this document (if that document is 
available in ADAMS) is provided the first time that a document is 
referenced.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. 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 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Caverly, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-7674, email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction

    The NRC is evaluating the LTSP for the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA 
Title II Disposal Site submitted by the DOE for the long-term care and 
custodianship of the former uranium mill tailings site. The DOE 
submitted its request by letter dated April 29, 2020, (ADAMS Accession 
No. ML20121A280) and amended on August 11, 2023 (ADAMS Package 
Accession No. ML23223A152). The LTSP demonstrates the DOE 
responsibilities as the long-term custodian of the site, fulfilling its 
requirements associated with the general license under part 40 of title 
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Domestic Licensing of 
Source Material.''
    In accordance with 10 CFR part 51, ``Environmental Protection 
Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,'' 
which implements the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as 
amended, the NRC staff's environmental review of the LTSP is documented 
in its EA (ADAMS Accession No. ML23236A452). The purpose of the EA is 
to assess the potential environmental impacts of the activities 
included in the long-term care of the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title 
II disposal site. The NRC is also conducting a safety evaluation of the 
LTSP, which will be documented in a separate technical evaluation 
report (TER).
    The long-term surveillance and maintenance program presented in the 
LTSP entails performing the following activities at the site: annual 
site inspection and reporting, annual ground water and surface water 
monitoring and reporting, and minor maintenance. The NRC will approve 
transfer of the site to DOE under the general licensing authority of 10 
CFR part 40, following publication of the FONSI in the Federal 
Register, the EA, and the TER.

II. Final Environmental Assessment Summary

    The Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title II disposal site is currently 
under a specific license with Western Nuclear Inc. (WNI) for the 
possession and storage of source or byproduct material from processing 
and extraction activities associated with uranium milling and as 
defined in 10 CFR part 40. Past activities include disposal, 
decommissioning, and reclamation activities at the site. Once those 
activities are complete, the license must be transferred to the long-
term custodian under a general license. Under the UMTRCA Title II, a 
general license is issued for the custody and long-term care, including 
monitoring, maintenance, emergency measures necessary to protect the 
public health and safety, and other actions necessary to comply with 
site closure under Title II of UMTRCA. The long-term custodian will be 
the DOE.
    The purpose of the LTSP is to establish the parameters of the long-
term custodian's maintenance and surveillance of the site, consistent 
with 10 CFR 40.28, to demonstrate and ensure that uranium and thorium 
mill tailings disposal sites will be cared for in a manner that 
protects the public health, safety, and environment after closure. The 
DOE proposed an LTSP for the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title II 
disposal site and requested NRC review and approval. The NRC considered 
the proposed action and the no-action alternative of denying the LTSP 
and transfer of the site to a general license. The results of the NRC's 
environmental review can be found in the final EA (ADAMS Accession No. 
ML23236A452). The NRC staff performed its environmental review in 
accordance with the requirements in 10 CFR part 51. In conducting the 
environmental review, the NRC contacted the Wyoming State Historic 
Preservation office (ADAMS Accession No. ML21056A423), and seventeen 
Native American Tribes (ADAMS Accession No. ML20329A081) and ran a 
query using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Information for 
Planning and Consultation database (ADAMS Accession No. ML21047A315).
    If the NRC approves the LTSP and concurs with Wyoming's termination 
of WNI's radioactive material license (WYSUA-56), the site will be 
transferred to an NRC general license for long-term custody (10 CFR 
40.28(b)). Concurrent with this action, the WNI's deed and title to the 
site within the long-term site boundary will be transferred to the DOE. 
The remaining balance of the property is federally owned or privately 
held and under institutional control restrictions. Disposal structures 
(i.e., the disposal cell and its associated surface water diversion 
structures) are designed to last ``for up to 1,000 years, to the extent 
reasonably achievable, and, in any case, for at least 200 years'' (10 
CFR part 40, appendix A, ``Criteria Relating to the Operation of 
Uranium Mills and the Disposition of Tailings or Wastes

[[Page 74213]]

Produced by the Extraction or Concentration of Source Material from 
Ores Processed Primarily for Their Source Material Content,'' Criterion 
6), in addition, there is no termination of the general license for the 
DOE's long-term custody of the site (10 CFR 40.28(b)). Representatives 
of the NRC must be guaranteed permanent right-of-entry for periodic 
site inspections. Perpetual access to the site is gained by a local 
county road.
    To meet the NRC's license requirements at 10 CFR 40.28 and 10 CFR 
part 40, appendix A, criterion 12, the DOE as long-term custodian must, 
at a minimum, fulfill the following requirements:
     annual site inspection,
     annual inspection report,
     follow-up inspections and reports, as necessary,
     site maintenance, as necessary,
     emergency measures, and,
     environmental monitoring.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    Based on its review of the proposed action in the EA, in accordance 
with the requirements of 10 CFR part 51, the NRC staff determined that 
approval of the LTSP for the Split Rock, Wyoming UMTRCA Title II 
disposal site authorizing long-term surveillance activities, will not 
significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The proposed 
action would not result in any new construction or expansion of the 
existing footprint beyond the area previously disturbed and approved. 
No significant radiological or nonradiological impacts are expected 
from the long-term surveillance and maintenance. The proposed action 
will not affect potentially eligible historic properties if any are 
present. Therefore, the NRC staff determined that pursuant to 10 CFR 
51.31, preparation of an environmental impact statement is not required 
for the proposed action, and pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, a FONSI is 
appropriate.

    Dated: October 24, 2023.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
John M. Moses,
Deputy Director, Division of Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial 
Support, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2023-23806 Filed 10-27-23; 8:45 am]
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