[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 137 (Monday, July 17, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44078-44079]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-18031]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-8681]
International Uranium (USA) Corporation
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of Receipt of Request from International Uranium (IUSA)
Corporation to Amend Source Material License SUA-1358 to Receive and
Process Alternate Feed Materials Notice of Opportunity for Hearing.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission has received, by letter dated July 5, 2000, a request from
International Uranium (IUSA) Corporation to amend its NRC Source
Material License SUA-1358, to allow its White Mesa Uranium Mill near
Blanding, Utah, to receive and process up to 2000 cubic yards of
alternate feed material from the Heritage Minerals Site located in
Lakehurst, New Jersey. The Heritage site is in decommissioning under
NRC Source Materials License No. SMB-1541. The Final Status Survey Plan
(``Decommissioning Plan'') includes the removal of a monazite sand pile
for shipment off-site. IUSA proposes to process the material for it's
uranium content and dispose of the tailings in their tailings cells.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. William von Till, Fuel Cycle
Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office
of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Mail Stop T7-J8, Washington, DC 20555. Telephone (301) 415-
6251. 2
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: By its submittal dated July 5, 2000, IUSA
requested that the NRC amend Materials License SUA-1358 to allow the
receipt and processing of material other than natural uranium ore
(i.e., alternate feed material) at its White Mesa uranium mill located
near Blanding, Utah. These materials would be used as an ``alternate
feed material'' (i.e., matter that is processed in the mill to remove
the uranium but which is different from natural uranium ores, the
normal feed material).
IUSA proposes to receive and process, for it's uranium content,
monazite sands that are being stored at the Heritage Minerals, Inc.
(HMI) site in Lakehurst, New Jersey. This site is regulated by the NRC
under Source Material License SMB-1541 and is in decommissioning. This
material consists of monazite sands which were processed for heavy
minerals (primarily titanium mineral ilmenite) by mechanical methods
with no chemical leaching or extraction. IUSA estimates the amount of
material for this amendment request to be up to 2000 yds\3\. HMI has
estimated that the material has a uranium content of approximately 0.05
weight percent, or greater. IUSA has determined that the material does
not contain listed hazardous waste as defined in the Resource Recovery
and Conservation Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. Section 6901-6991. IUSA
proposes to process the material in a similar manner to normal
processing of conventional ore, either alone or in combination with
other approved alternate feed materials.
IUSA has proposed that It will be a condition of the license that
the mill shall not accept any of the Heritage material at the site
unless and until the mill's Safety and Environmental Review Panel
(SERP) has determined that the mill has sufficient licensed tailings
capacity. The tailings capacity must be sufficient to permanently
store:
(1) All 11e.(2) byproduct material, as defined under the Atomic
Energy act, that would result from the processing of all of the
material;
(2) All other ores and alternate feed materials on site; and
(3) All other materials required to be disposed of in the mill's
tailings impoundments pursuant to the mill's reclamation plan.
The material will be shipped by rail and truck in intermodal
containers. The covered containers will be loaded onto railcars and
transported cross-country to a transfer point where the intermodal
containers will then be loaded onto trucks for the final leg of the
trip to the mill. The transfer point is expected to be either near
Grand Junction, Colorado; Cisco, Utah; Green River, Utah; or East
Carbon, Utah. The material will be shipped in exclusive containers as
``low specific activity'' (LSA) Hazard Class 7 Hazardous Material as
defined by Department of Transportation regulations.
This application will be reviewed using NRC formal guidance,
``Final Position and Guidance on the Use of Uranium Mill Feed Material
Other Than Natural Ores' and the guidance contained in the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission's Memorandum and Order, International Uranium
(IUSA) Corp., CLI-00-01, (February 10, 2000). The NRC has approved
similar amendment requests in the past for separate alternate feed
material under this license.
The amendment application is available for public inspection and
copying at the NRC Public Document
[[Page 44079]]
Room, in the Gelman Building, 2120 L Street NW., Washington DC 20555.
Notice of Opportunity for Hearing
The NRC hereby provides notice of an opportunity for a hearing on
the license amendment under the provisions of 10 CFR Part 2, Subpart L,
``Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in Materials and
Operator Licensing Proceedings.'' Pursuant to Sec. 2.1205(a), any
person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding may file a
request for a hearing. In accordance with Sec. 2.1205(d), a request for
hearing must be filed within 30 days of the publication of this notice
in the Federal Register. The request for a hearing must be filed with
the Office of the Secretary, either:
(1) By delivery to the Docketing and Service Branch of the Office
of the Secretary at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, MD 20852; or
(2) By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Docketing and
Service Branch.
In accordance with 10 CFR 2.1205(f), each request for a hearing
must also be served, by delivering it personally or by mail, to:
(1) The applicant, International Uranium (USA) Corporation,
Independence Plaza, Suite 950, 1050 Seventeenth Street, Denver,
Colorado 80265; Attention: Michelle Rehmann; and
(2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the Executive Director for
Operations, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD
20852, or by mail addressed to the Executive Director for Operations,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555.
In addition to meeting other applicable requirements of 10 CFR Part
2 of the NRC's regulations, a request for a hearing filed by a person
other than an applicant must describe in detail:
(1) The interest of the requestor in the proceeding;
(2) How that interest may be affected by the results of the
proceeding, including the reasons why the requestor should be permitted
a hearing, with particular reference to the factors set out in
Sec. 2.1205(h);
(3) The requestor's areas of concern about the licensing activity
that is the subject matter of the proceeding; and
(4) The circumstances establishing that the request for a hearing
is timely in accordance with Sec. 2.1205(d).
The request must also set forth the specific aspect or aspects of
the subject matter of the proceeding as to which petitioner wishes a
hearing.
In addition, members of the public may provide comments on the
subject application within 30 days of the publication of this notice in
the Federal Register. The comments may be provided to David L. Meyer,
Chief, Rules Review and Directives Branch, Division of Administration
Services, Office of Administration, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington DC 20555.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 11 day of July 2000.
For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Philip Ting,
Chief, Fuel Cycle Licensing Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and
Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 00-18031 Filed 7-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P