ML20147B054

Summary of 781031 Site Visit Re Gulf Mineral Resources Mill Site.Topics Discussed:Fault Area Under Ne End of Proposed Tailing Dam,Seepage Rates from Unlined Impoundment & Surface Water Drainage

ML20147B054
Person / Time
Issue date:	11/30/1978
From:	Manger S NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	Scarano R NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
References
REF-PROJ-M-13 NUDOCS 7812150073
Download: ML20147B054 (4)

Text

.

I4 UMITED STATES g

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION g

WASHINGTON, D.C 20S55 p

/

1 NOV 3 01978 MEMORANDU FOR: Ross A. Scarano, Section Leader Uranium Mill Licensing Section Fuel Processing & Fabrication Branch FROM:

Steve F. Manger Uranium Mill Licensing Section

SUMMARY

OF SITE VISIT REGARDING GULF MINERAL RESOURCES MILL SITE Purpose A visit to the Gulf Mineral Resources Mill Site conducted as a part of the NRC review of the Gulf proposal, at the request of the State of New Mexico.

Place and Date Gulf Mineral Resources Mill Site at San Mateo, New Mexico, 60 miles WNW of Albuquerque, October 31, 1978.

Attendees:

Nex Mexico EID - Ted Wolff, Ted Brough, Bruce Gallaher, and Gerald Stewart.

USNRC - Steve Manger and Jim Mackin Colorado State University - John Nelson Gulf Mineral Resources - Bill Rogers, L. E. Lewis and R. E. Bohm W. A. Waller & Associates - Forrest Gifford and Dennis Buranek.

Discussion Manger and Mackin met Nelson of CSU at the Albuquerque Airport on the evening of October 30.

Pre-site visit discussions that evening and enroute to the site the following morning revealed 4 subject areas of common concern.

o R. A. Scarano.

1.

The fault area under the NE end of the proposed tailings dam location; 2.

The seepage rates from the unlined impoundment, as calculated by W. A. Wahler associate; 3.

The surface water drainage in relation to the impoundment; 4.

The proposal for six feet of cover or state-of-the-art reclamation.

All attendees met at 9:45 a.m. MST at the EID field office in Milan, N.M., and after introductions, and a brief discussion of the geology of the area and the Gulf tailings impoundment alternatives, all proceeded to the San Mateo area in two corporate vans.

Eight alternative sites were visited (see attached map). These sites were selected by Woodward Clyde Associates during a 1975 survey of potential sites in the vicinity of the Mine and proposed mill. The site selection criteria are not fully understood but were stated to be any site with the capacity to store the throughput of tailings from the proposed mill during a 20 year operation. All tailings management options were for above grade impoundments.

Seven of the sites were rejected for reasons which included:

proximity to a residence; the relatively shallow Point Lookout formation (aquifer); U.S. Forest Service surface management; extensive upstream drainage; the presence of springs; and, permeable canyon walls.

From these reasons and other statements made during the visit, it is surmised that the selected option, no. 4 on the map, was chosen because the surface was privately owned, the distance to the ground-water was great enough to allow the development of an unlined pond (according to Gulf's consultant's calculations), the surface drainage area is acceptably small, and there is adequate potential for above grade impoundment expansion if the mill capacity is enlarged, or its operating life is extended.

After the visit to site four, the size of the surface drainage has faded as a possible issue, however, both the potential effects of the fault zone underlying the proposed dam site, and the calculated l

seepage rate remain issues and are being evaluated by Mr. Nelson, NRC's consultant. As an alternative, in the event these situations cannot be mitigated, it was suggested that Gulf consider a below grade impoundment in an area such as site five which is located near the proposed mill.

(No statements were made which suggest that site fiveisacceptable)

It was also stated that Gulf's proposed reclamation

0 R. A. Scarano must meet NRC and New Mexico performance objectives for radon and gamma radiation attenuation.

~

A potential pitfall in Gulf's proposal is the apparent unwillingness

.of the Lee Ranch owners to relinquish title to the impoundment area. Mr. Rogers of Gulf holds hope that federal or-state ownership will not be mandatory when the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 is implemented.

It was suggested to Gulf that if such ownership is mandatory, U.S. Forest Service managed land may become a more attractive alternative for tailings management.

~he site visit concluded 3:45 p.m. MST with the assurance that NRC will give prompt attention to the Gulf proposal, and that specific questions on their proposal would be forthcoming.

In particular Gulf personnel appeared to be receptive to further discussion of tailings management alternatives.

bh h$wf v S.teve Macger Uranium Mill Licensing Section Fuel Processing & Fabrication Branch

Enclosure:

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