[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13039-13040]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6865]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Proposal To Revoke Designations of Inactive Uranium Mill Tailings
Sites in North Dakota Previously Designated Under the Uranium Mill
Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978
AGENCY: Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of proposal to revoke designations of inactive uranium
mill tailings sites in North Dakota previously designated under the
provisions of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978.
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SUMMARY: In 1979, the Secretary of Energy designated inactive uranium
milling sites, including two sites at Belfield and Bowman, North
Dakota, for cleanup under the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control
Act of 1978. In 1995, the State of North Dakota requested that the
designations of the Belfield and Bowman sites be revoked citing its
belief that there will be minimal risk to the public and the
environment if the sites are not cleaned up and the State's inability
to pay its 10 percent share of the cleanup costs required by UMTRCA.
The Department of Energy is proposing to revoke the designations of
these sites because of the low risks to the public and the environment
at the sites, DOE's lack of
[[Page 13040]]
authority to clean up the two sites without costsharing by the State,
and the existence of alternative authority to regulate the sites
following revocation of the designations. Following revocation, these
two sites will no longer be eligible for cleanup under the provisions
of UMTRCA.
DATES: Public comments will be accepted on this proposed action.
Comments should be submitted by April 16, 1998. If the Department does
not receive any comments on this proposed action that would cause it to
reconsider its proposal, the revocations shall be effective on May 18,
1998; and the Belfield and Bowman, North Dakota, processing sites and
associated vicinity properties will no longer be eligible for remedial
action by the Department of Energy under the provisions of UMTRCA.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to: Loretta B. Fahy, Office of
Environmental Restoration, EM-45, U.S. Department of Energy, 19901
Germantown Road, Germantown, Maryland 20874.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta B. Fahy, Office of
Environmental Restoration, (301) 903-3895.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of the Uranium Mill Tailings
Radiation Control Act of 1978 is to provide, in cooperation with
interested States, Indian tribes, and persons who own or control
inactive uranium milling sites, a program of assessment and remedial
action at certain designated sites to stabilize and control the
tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner and to minimize or
eliminate radiation health hazards. Section 102(a)(1) of UMTRCA, 42
U.S.C. 7912(a)(1), required DOE to designate twenty-two sites specified
in the Act and gave the Secretary discretionary authority to designate
other sites. The Belfield and Bowman sites were designated under this
discretionary authority of the Secretary (44 FR 74982, December 18,
1979).
Under the provisions of section 107(a) of UMTRCA, 42 U.S.C.
7917(a), the Secretary is authorized to pay only 90 percent of the cost
of remedial action at designated sites not on Indian lands, and the
State is required to provide the remaining 10 percent. If the State
does not provide its share of the remedial action costs, the Secretary
lacks the necessary authority to perform remedial action at the sites
in that State.
The State of North Dakota, by letter dated March 14, 1995,
requested that the Department of Energy take whatever action is
necessary to revoke the designations of the Belfield and Bowman sites
under UMTRCA and terminate the Cooperative Agreement between the State
and the Department. The State's request expressed the view that there
would be minimal risk to the public and environment if the sites were
not cleaned up and noted that the North Dakota legislature was not
likely to appropriate funds for the State's 10 percent share of the
cleanup costs.
Under section 102(a)(1) of UMTRCA, 42 U.S.C. 7912(a)(1), the
Department has the implicit authority to revoke the designations of the
two sites. There are three reasons why the Department is taking this
action. First, the risk to the public and environment is low, and the
public will be protected through State regulation of the radioactive
material at the sites. In arriving at this conclusion, the Department
prepared an Environmental Assessment and has issued a Finding of No
Significant Impact for this proposed action. Second, since the State of
North Dakota has declined to appropriate the State's cost share, the
Department lacks the authority under UMTRCA to conduct the cleanup.
Third, neither the Nuclear Regulatory Commission nor the
Environmental Protection Agency has expressed any objection to the
Department's proposed action. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff
has advised the State and the Department that the State of North Dakota
can regulate the sites under separate existing State authority. The
Environmental Protection Agency has advised the Department that it will
not object to the Department's action, provided that the State assumes
regulatory responsibility for the sites. The State has notified the
Department of its willingness to assume this responsibility.
Issued in Washington, D.C. on this 10th of March, 1998.
James J. Fiore,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 98-6865 Filed 3-16-98; 8:45 am]
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