ML18089A648

Letter to Mr. Russell Begaye, President, Navajo Nation; Re., Holtec International'S Proposed Hi-STORE Consolidated Interim Storage Facility for Spent Nuclear Fuel to Be Located in Lea County, New Mexico

ML18089A648
Person / Time
Site:	HI-STORE
Issue date:	04/02/2018
From:	Craig Erlanger Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental Review
To:	Begaye R Navajo Nation
Caverly J
Shared Package
ML17339A636	List: ML17339A865 ML17339A873 ML17340A358 ML18089A626 ML18089A629 ML18089A635 ML18089A641 ML18089A645 ML18089A647 ML18089A648 ML18089A649 ML18089A650 ML18089A651
References
Download: ML18089A648 (3)

Text

UNITED STATES NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001

April 2, 2018

Mr. Russell Begaye, President Navajo Nation P.O. Box 7440 Window Rock, AZ 86515

SUBJECT:

NOTIFICATION OF AND INVITATION FOR FORMAL SECTION 106 CONSULTATION PURSUANT TO THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT REGARDING HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL'S PROPOSED HI-STORE CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY FOR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL TO BE LOCATED IN LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO (DOCKET NUMBER: 72-1051)

Dear President Begaye:

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) received a license application from Holtec International (Holtec), by letter dated March 30, 2017, to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for spent nuclear fuel at a site in Lea County, New Mexico. Holtec requested a license from the NRC to store 500 caniste rs or up to 8,680 metric tons uranium in the CISF and proposes to eventually store up to 10,000 canisters in the CISF. The NRC accepted Holtec's application for detailed review on February 28, 2018. A map showing the proposed project location in Lea County, New Mexico, is enclosed (Enclosure 1).

The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be prepared in accordance with the regulatory provisions in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51, which implement the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). In accordance with 36 CFR Section 800.8 (Coordination with the National Environmental Policy Act), the NRC staff will use the NEPA process to comply with its obligations under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA). The EIS will include analyses of potential impacts to historic and cultural resources.

Through this letter, the NRC staff invites your Tribe to participate as a consulting party under Section 106 of the NHPA and assist in the identification and evaluation of historic properties that may be affected by Holtec's proposed action and in the development of proposals to address adverse effects that may be identified during the evaluation process.

Please indicate whether or not you wish to participate as a consulting party by completing the enclosed Tribal Response Form (Enclosure 2). The NRC staff asks that the form be returned soon, given our belief that early engagement on historic and cultural resources would be a benefit to the NHPA Section 106 consultation process. You may also contact us if you want to discuss concerns about the confidentiality of information that may be provided to the NRC.

Please note that according to NRC policy, correspondence provided to the NRC, including emails, may be made publicly available. Therefore, the NRC recommends that the Tribe avoid including any information in its submission that tribal officials do not want to be publically disclosed (e.g., personal email addresses).

For additional information, documents related to the Holtec CISF application are available on the NRC's project webpage at https://www.nrc.gov/waste/spent-fuel-storage/cis/holtec-international.html. If you would like a copy of the application or any other publically available project-related documents, please contact the NRC staff identified below.

The NRC appreciates the opportunity to consult with you on issues regarding this proposed license application. For the purposes of meeting with tribal leaders, the Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental Review's Di vision Director, Deputy Division Director, or Environmental Review Branch Chief will represent the NRC.

In accordance with 10 CFR 2.390 of the NRC's, "Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure,"

a copy of this letter will be available electronically for public inspection in the NRC Public Document Room or from the Publicly Available Records components of NRC's Agencywide Documents and Management System (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. If you have any questions or need any additional information regarding the license application or the EIS process, please contact Ms. Jill Caverly by telephone at 301-415-7674, or via email at Jill.Caverly@NRC.gov. Sincerely, \RA\

Craig G. Erlanger, Director

Division of Fuel Cycle Safety, Safeguards, and Environmental Review

Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Docket No. 72-1051

Enclosures:

1. Map of the Proposed CISF Location 2. Tribal Response Form

cc w/encl.:

Mr. Richard M. Begaye, THPO Navajo Nation P.O. Box 4950 Window Rock, AZ 86515

SUBJECT:

NOTIFICATION OF AND INVITATION FOR FORMAL SECTION 106 CONSULTATION PURSUANT TO THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT REGARDING HOLTEC INTERNATIONAL'S PROPOSED HI-STORE CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY FOR SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL TO BE LOCATED IN LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO (DOCKET NUMBER: 72-1051)

DATE: April 2, 2018 DISTRIBUTION: FCSE r/f S. Imboden, FCSE J. Cuadrado, DSFM

J. McKirgan, DSFM

ADAMS Accession Package No.:ML17339A636

• via email OFC FCSE/ERB FCSE/ERB OGC FCSE/ERB FCSE NAME JCaverly AWalker-Smith *LClark CRomán CErlanger DATE 03/28/2018 03/28/2018 12/19/2017 03/30/2018 04/ /2018 OFFICIAL RECORD COPY