[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 20033]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10009]
[[Page 20033]]
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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
[Docket No. 40-8027]
Decommissioning of Sequoyah Fuels Corporation Uranium Conversion
Facility in Gore, Oklahoma: Notice of Intent To Conduct a Public
Rescoping Meeting for Sequoyah Fuels Uranium Conversion Facility
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Conduct a Public Rescoping Meeting.
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SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will conduct a meeting
to discuss the status of the environmental review of decommissioning
activities at the Sequoyah Fuels Corporation (SFC) facility near Gore,
Oklahoma. The NRC recently determined that some of the waste at the
site could be reclassified as byproduct material (see Supplementary
Information). The SFC license was subsequently amended to authorize
SFC's possession of the reclassified material. This license amendment
had the effect of transferring the regulatory oversight of site
decommissioning activities from subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 (license
termination requirements) to Appendix A of 10 CFR part 40 (concerning
uranium mills and tailings). These changes will be discussed at the
public meeting. Additionally, the NRC will request public comments on
the effects the changes may have on human health and the environment.
Ample time will be provided for public comment at the meeting, although
comments and questions will generally be limited to the remediation of
the SFC facility. This meeting is part of the continuing process to
keep affected stakeholders and the public informed of plans, schedules
and important issues related to the remediation of the SFC facility.
DATE/TIME: Tuesday, May 13, 2003, from 7 to 10 p.m. The environmental
portion of this meeting will start at approximately 8 p.m.
Place: Gore High School cafeteria, 1200 Highway 10N, Gore,
Oklahoma.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Tadesse, Environmental and
Performance Assessment Branch, Division of Waste Management, Office of
Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, Mail Stop T-7J8, Washington, DC 20555-0001, telephone: 301-
415-6221; fax 301-415-5397; or e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NRC has been preparing an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the decommissioning of the SFC uranium
conversion facility in Gore, Oklahoma, and is holding this rescoping
meeting to discuss changes to the EIS that may be needed due to the
shift in regulatory oversight of the Sequoyah Fuels site corrective
actions.
From 1970 until 1993, the SFC uranium conversion facility operated
under the authority of an NRC license issued pursuant to 10 CFR part
40. The main process was the conversion of uranium oxide (yellowcake)
to uranium hexafluoride. A second process, begun in 1987, consisted of
the conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride to uranium
tetrafluoride.
Sequoyah Fuels supplied formal notice of its intent to seek license
termination in accordance with 10 CFR 40.42(e) in a letter dated
February 16, 1993. Based on available information, at least some of the
identified waste and contamination at the site was known to exceed
NRC's radiological criteria for decommissioning. Therefore, SFC was
required to remediate the site to meet NRC's radiological criteria for
license termination in 10 CFR part 20. In 1998, the company submitted
to NRC a site characterization report and a study of remediation
alternatives. A decommissioning plan was submitted in 1999. The
remediation alternative proposed at that time by SFC was an on-site
disposal cell.
In July 2002, the Commission concluded that some of the waste at
the site could be reclassified as byproduct material, which is defined
in Section 11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act as wastes from extraction
or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed for
source material. Sequoyah Fuels submitted a request for a license
amendment that would authorize its possession of this reclassified
material and, on December 11, 2002, the NRC granted the license
amendment request. Due to the reclassification of the waste, regulatory
oversight of the decommissioning and remediation of the SFC facility
was transferred from subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 (criteria for license
termination) to Appendix A of 10 CFR part 40 (which includes criteria
for the disposition of mill tailings or wastes). In accordance with
part 40 requirements, SFC submitted a reclamation plan (January 2003)
and will submit a groundwater corrective action plan. The remediation
alternative proposed by SFC continues to be an on-site disposal cell,
with an approach similar to that previously proposed under the license
termination process. The option to take responsibility for long-term
custodial care of the site would be provided first to the State of
Oklahoma. Should the State decline this role, the Department of Energy
(or other federal agency) would take custody of the site.
The NRC is preparing an EIS to determine whether SFC's proposal for
reclamation of the site is acceptable. Information from the reclamation
plan and the groundwater corrective action plan will be used to
reassess the potential impacts of the proposal under part 40
regulations. The EIS will evaluate impacts such as effects on water
resources, air quality, ecological resources, socioeconomic and
community resources, human health, noise, and environmental justice.
The EIS will also assess the proposed approach and alternatives, such
as disposing of the contaminated material off-site in a licensed
disposal facility. The NRC will consider the information and
conclusions in the EIS in reaching its decision on the acceptability of
the proposed approach.
Previous scoping meetings were held on October 15, 1995, and
October 17, 2000. The NRC has issued summary reports of both previous
scoping processes.
Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of April 2003.
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Lawrence E. Kokajko,
Acting Chief, Environmental and Performance Assessment Branch, Division
of Waste Management, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 03-10009 Filed 4-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P