Nuclear Regulatory Commission January 13, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing for public comment the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Proposed Fluorine Extraction Process and Depleted Uranium Deconversion Plant. By letter dated December 30, 2009, International Isotopes Fluorine Products, Inc. (IIFP), a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Isotopes, Inc., submitted a license application, which included an Environmental Report that proposes the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a fluoride extraction and depleted uranium deconversion facility to be located in Lea County, New Mexico (the ``proposed action''). This Draft EIS is being issued as part of the NRC's process to decide whether to issue a license to IIFP, pursuant to Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 40, to build and operate the proposed depleted uranium deconversion facility. Specifically, IIFP proposed to deconvert depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) into uranium oxide compounds for long-term disposal. The NRC staff will hold a public meeting on February 2, 2012, to present an overview of the licensing process and the contents of the Draft EIS, and to accept oral and written public comments on the Draft EIS. The meeting will take place at the Lea County Event Center, 5101 Lovington Highway in Hobbs, New Mexico. For 1 hour prior to the public meeting, the NRC staff will be available to informally discuss the proposed IIFP project and answer questions in an ``open house'' format. This ``open house'' format provides for one-on-one discussions with the NRC staff involved with the preparation of the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS public meeting will officially begin at 5:30 p.m. The meeting will include the following agenda items: (1) A brief presentation of NRC's roles and responsibilities and the licensing process; (2) a presentation summarizing the contents of the Draft EIS; and (3) an opportunity for interested government agencies, Tribal governments, organizations, and individuals to provide comments on the draft EIS. The public meeting will be transcribed by a court reporter, and the meeting transcript will be made publicly available at a later date. Persons wishing to provide oral comments at the public meeting may register in advance by contacting Ms. Antoinette Walker-Smith at (800) 368-5642, ext. 6390 no later than January 26, 2012. Those who wish to present comments may also register at the meeting. Individual oral comments may have to be limited by the time available, depending upon the number of persons who register. Written comments can also be provided at the meeting, and should be given to an NRC staff person at the registration desk at the meeting entrance. If special equipment or accommodations are needed to attend or present information at the public meeting, the need should be brought to the attention of Ms. Antoinette Walker-Smith at (800) 368-5642, ext.6390, no later than January 26, 2012, to provide NRC staff with adequate notice to determine whether the request can be accommodated. Please note that comments do not have to be provided at the public meeting and may be submitted at any time during the comment period, as described in the DATES section of this notice. Any interested party may submit comments on the Draft EIS for consideration by NRC staff. Comments may be submitted by any of the methods described in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.