Press Release-11-112, NRC Determines No Major Environmental Impacts Preclude Licensing Lost Creek Uranium Recover Site in Wyoming

Press Release-11-112: NRC Determines No Major Environmental Impacts Preclude Licensing Lost Creek Uranium Recover Site in Wyoming

ML11171A627
Person / Time
Site:	04009068
Issue date:	06/17/2011
From:	Office of Public Affairs
To:
Dorsey C
References
Press Release-11-112
Download: ML11171A627 (2)

Text

NRC DETERMINES NO MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS PRECLUDE LICENSING LOST CREEK URANIUM RECOVERY SITE IN WYOMING The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined there are no major environmental impacts that would preclude licensing the Lost Creek uranium recovery project proposed for Sweetwater County in Wyoming.

In its final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Lost Creek project, the NRC determined only small to moderate environmental impacts would result from the construction, operation, aquifer restoration and decommissioning of the proposed in-situ recovery facility. Most of the impacts are projected to be "small," meaning they would be undetectable or so minor that they would not noticeably alter any important attribute of the resource in question. The SEIS also identifies "small to moderate" impacts on water resources and wildlife, as well as mitigation measures the facility operator has committed to implementing in order to lessen those impacts.

"Moderate" impacts are defined as being sufficient to alter the resource noticeably, but not destabilize its important attributes.

The Lost Creek report is a supplement to the NRC's Generic Environmental Impact Statement for In

-Situ Leach Uranium Milling Facilities (GEIS, NUREG

-1910), published in June 2009, which analyzed potential environmental impacts common to in

-situ recovery facilities in the western United States. The Lost Creek supplement analyzes potential environmental impacts specific to the proposed facility.

A draft SEIS for Lost Creek was published for public comment in December 2009. The final SEIS addresses comments received on the draft report.

Lost Creek ISR, LLC, submitted the license application for Lost Creek on Oct. 30, 2007. The company subsequently withdrew the application and later resubmitted it on March 31, 2008, with updated supporting documentation. The facility would recover and mill uranium for use in fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

The Lost Creek SEIS, NUREG

-1910 Supplement 3, is available on the NRC website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading

-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1910/s3/. NRC NEWS U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs Telephone: 301/415

-8200 Washington, D.C. 20555

-0001 E-mail: opa.resource@nrc.gov Site: www.nrc.gov Blog: http://public

-blog.nrc-gateway.gov No.11-112 June 17, 2011

1. 1. 1. News releases are available through a free listserv subscription at the following Web address: http://www.nrc.gov/public

-involve/listserver.html. The NRC homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E

-mail notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are posted to NRC's website.