ML20135B661

Forwards Copy of Minutes from Meeting Held Between NRC, K Sweeney & a Thompson on 970128 Re Relevant Issues in U Recovery Program

ML20135B661
Person / Time
Issue date:	02/26/1997
From:	Joseph Holonich NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	Sweeney K AFFILIATION NOT ASSIGNED
References
REF-WM-3 NUDOCS 9703030156
Download: ML20135B661 (3)

Text

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February 26, 1997 National Mining Association ATTN: Ms. Katie Sweeney 1130 17th Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036

SUBJECT:

MINUTES FROM JANUARY 28, 1997 MEETING BETWEEN THE U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMISSION AND THE NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION

Dear Ms. Sweeney:

Enclosed please find a copy of the minutes from the meeting held between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff, yourself, and Mr. Anthony Thompson of.Shaw, Pittman, Potts, and Trowbridge, on January 28, 1997, at the National Mining Association's (NMA's) offices. This meeting was one in a series of periodic meetings between the NRC staff and the NMA to discuss relevant issues in the uranium recovery program. As noted in the minutes, the next meeting is scheduled tentatively for Thursday, April 3, 1997, beginning at 2:00pm, at the NRC's offices in Rockville, Maryland.

If you have any questions about this letter or the enclosure, please contact Mr. James Park of my staff at (301) 415-6699.

Sincerely, (Original signed by)

Joseph J. Holonich, Chief

. Uranium Recovery Branch-Division of Waste Management Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards

Enclosure:

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j NEETING MINUTES PURPOSE:- Public meeting between the NRC staff (Uranium Recovery Branch) and the National Mining Association (NMA) to discuss relevant issues in the uranium recovery program DATE/ TIME / LOCATION: -January 28,.1997 / 9:00am - II:30am EST / NMA offices

. in Washington, DC l

j ATTENDEES: !LRQ jgg 1

Joseph Holonich Katie Sweeney

, James Park Anthony Thompson (Shaw, Pittman, et al.)

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!- MINUTES:

l March meeting on In-situ Leach (ISL) Standard Review Plan l - The NRC staff will be hosting a full-day public meeting on ' March 19, 1997, in i

Riverton, WY, to discuss the staff's development of a Standard Review Plan (SRP) for its reviews of in-situ leach uranium mining license applications and

, license renewal applications. This meeting will be held following the uranium mining conference sponsored by the Wyoming Mining Association. During the NRC's meeting, the uranium recovery industry and the public will. have an opportunity to aid in scoping the SRP by providing issues and areas of concern -

, they believe should be addressed in the document. Among the issues that the o NRC is considering addressing in the SRP are: (1) we11 field " flares," and (2) the use of total dissolved solids (TDS) levels, rather than individual-constituent levels, in excursion monitoring.

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NRC/lelA Uranium Recovery Industry Workshop i

The next uranium recovery industry workshop to be jointly sponsored by the NRC i and the NMA is scheduled tentatively for June 3-5, 1997, in Denver, Colorado.  !

The NMA will make the necessary conference hotel and room reservations. Among 1 i

the topics to be addressed, the NMA would like to have a presentation on the NRC's decommissioning rule, if the final rule has been published by June.

I' Financial Assurance

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The NRC is in the process of preparing a generic letter on its interpretation of the requirements in Criterion 9 of 10 CFR Part 40, Appendix A.

! In the November 1996 uranium recovery industry meeting, Mr. Thompson raised, for NRC consideration, the use of third-party (aka, standby) trust agreements 1

.as a viable surety arrangement. The NRC has conducted some internal meetings with its legal counsel concerning Mr. Thompson's inquiries; however, a followup call with Mr. Thompson has yet to be scheduled.

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i Enclosure l

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Other Items.

• The NRC staff indicated that the Commission's response to the 2.206 petition filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council concerning Envirocare's NRC license will be made public by February 7,1997.  ;

• The National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH) is conducting an independent study of the effects of uranium milling on mill workers.

NIOSH had conducted a similar study with Navajo mill workers in Arizona.

• The next bimonthly r.eeting between the NRC staff and the NMA was scheduled tentatively for April 3,1997, at 2:00pm, in the NRC's offices 4

in Rockville, MD.

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