03-21657. Notice of Receipt of License Amendment Request from the Sequoyah Fuels Corp. To Approve a Ground Water Monitoring Plan for Its Gore, Oklahoma Facility, and Opportunity To Request a Hearing

AGENCY:

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

ACTION:

Notice of consideration of amendment request, and opportunity to request a hearing.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Myron Fliegel, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Telephone: [phone]; Fax: [phone]; and/or by e-mail: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received, by letter dated June 12, 2003, a request from Sequoyah Fuels Corp. (SFC) for approval of a license amendment to Materials License SUB-1010 to approve its proposed ground water monitoring plan.

The SFC facility, a nuclear fuel cycle facility located near Gore, Oklahoma, operated from 1970 to 1993. In response to a request from SFC, on December 11, 2002, NRC amended the license to allow possession of 11e.(2) byproduct material, in addition to source material. In its request, SFC proposes a plan to monitor the ground water at its site that is designed to meet the requirements in 10 CFR part 40, appendix A.

The staff will review SFC's request for conformance with 10 CFR parts 20 and 40, using NUREG-1620, “Standard Review Plan for the Review of a Reclamation Plan for Mill Tailings Sites Under Title II of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act” and other applicable agency regulations and guidance. If NRC approves SFC's request, the approval will be documented in an amendment to SFC's license. However, before approving the request, NRC will need to make the findings required by the AEA and NRC regulations. These findings will be documented in a Technical Evaluation Report and either an Environmental Assessment or an Environmental Impact Statement.

II. Opportunity To Request a Hearing

The NRC hereby provides notice that this is a proceeding on an application for an amendment of a license falling within the scope of Subpart L, “Informal Hearing Procedures for Adjudications in Materials and Operator Licensing Proceedings” of NRC's rules and practice for domestic licensing proceedings in 10 CFR part 2. Pursuant to § 2.1205(a), any person whose interest may be affected by this proceeding may file a request for a hearing in accordance with § 2.1205(d). A request for a hearing must be filed within 30 days of the publication of this Federal Register notice.

The request for a hearing must be filed with the Office of the Secretary, either:

(1) By delivery to the Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff of the Office of the Secretary of the Commission at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays; or

(2) By mail or telegram addressed to the Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555, Attention: Rulemaking and Adjudications Staff. Because of continuing disruptions in the delivery of mail to United States Government offices, it is requested that requests for hearing also be transmitted to the Secretary of the Commission either by means of facsimile transmission to [phone], or by e-mail to [e-mail].

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, Sequoyah Fuels Corporation, P.O. Box 610, Gore, Oklahoma, Attention: Mr. John Ellis; and

(2) The NRC staff, by delivery to the Office of the General Counsel, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852, between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m., Federal workdays, or by mail addressed to the Office of the General Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555. Because of continuing disruptions in the delivery of mail to United States Government offices, it is requested that requests for hearing also be transmitted to the Office of the General Counsel, either by means of facsimile transmission to [phone], or by e-mail to [e-mail].

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;

(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 § 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 § 2.1205(d).

III. Further Information

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the NRC's “Rules of Practice,” details with respect to this action, including the application for amendment and supporting documentation, are available electronically for public inspection and copying from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/​reading-rm.html. These documents may also be examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC Public Document Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 15th day of August, 2003.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Myron H. Fliegel,

Senior Project Manager, Fuel Cycle Facilities Branch, Division of Fuel Cycle Safety and Safeguards, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.