ML20217P958
| ML20217P958 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 04/29/1998 |
| From: | Joseph Holonich NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS) |
| To: | Poupart J AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20217P963 | List: |
| References | |
| REF-WM-5 NUDOCS 9805070154 | |
| Download: ML20217P958 (3) | |
Text
I j#
y.
4 UNITED STATES s'
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION a
o
(
4I WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001
% ++**/
i l
April 29, 1998 1
l l
i
)
Mr. John Poupart, President American Indian Research and Policy Institute
)
749 Simpson Street l
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104
SUBJECT:
URANIUM INDUSTRY-RELATED DEVELOPMENT ON AMERICAN INDIAN RESERVATIONS
Dear Mr. Poupart:
1 I
I am writing in regard to your April 9,1998 letter requesting information, maps u..u data on uranium mining and milling sites located within the boundaries of American Indian Reservations, in which any office of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is currently involved or may have been involved in the past. As a point of clarification, NRC's authority is restricted to uranium and thorium extracted for its source material content and the associated byproduct materials. NRC's responsibilities conceming the recovery of source material only commence with the initial benefication (i.e., milling) of the ore, and include byproduct material management j
and fuel fabrication. The NRC does not have authority to regulate uranium mining, and i
consequently does not retain information on mining activities that are regulated by individual states.
Conventional uranium mills and in situ uranium extraction facilities currently licensed by the NRC I
are not located within any American Indian Reservations. The Church Rock uranium mill tailings pile and the Hydro Resources, Inc. in situ uranium extraction facility are situated on Indian Lands near the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, but are outside the boundaries of the Navajo Reservation.
i The NRC is also involved in a review, concurrence, and generallicensing role for the U.S.
Department of Energy's (DOE) Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. Some
)
of the UMTRA Project sites are within American Indian Reservations. For these sites, the j
specific information and data you requested are more readily accessible from the DOE. For a specific information request for the UMTRA Project sites within American Indian Reservations you should contact:
Mr. Russel Edge, Project Manager Department of Energy
/
l Grand Junction Office l
2597 8 3/4 Road y
l Grand Junction, CO 81503 NEC Filf fMiEg ggpy #()2, Lf l
(970) 248-6037 I
gr l
9805070154 990429 PDR WASTE WM-5 PDR i
i e.
Mr. John Poupart 2
I have enclosed copies of two documents that may serve to describe the NRC's involvement in uranium recovery activities. These are the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) and the NRC's regulations in Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations Part 40. If you have any questions regarding the above information, you may contact the Hydro Resources, Inc.
Project Manager, Mr. Robert Carlson, at (301) 415-8165.
Sincerely, Dm.0 Joseph H. Holonich, Chief Uranium Recovery Branch Division of Waste Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards l
l
Enclosures:
l As stated 1
I