CHAPTER 12 PERMITS REQUIRED TO OPEN A URANIUM MILL
| Jurisdiction | United States |
(Nov 1976)
PERMITS REQUIRED TO OPEN A URANIUM MILL
Rocky Mountain Energy Company
Denver, Colorado
A uranium mill is a facility which takes ore containing uranium, and by a series of physical and chemical unit operations produces uranium oxide, commonly called yellowcake. The process also produces a waste product known as tailings. The tailings consist of essentially everything that was in the ore initially, except the uranium. No one can build and operate such a facility without first obtaining a variety of permits and approvals from a variety of regulatory agencies. This paper is designed to discuss the types of permits which are required, the processes for obtaining the key permits, and some of the current problems in the general permitting or licensing process. The processes discussed will apply only to today's conventional mill. It will not be applicable to "in-situ" operations (primarily because this is a subject in which the general rules are not defined. Further, the rules are subject to considerable change in the near future.)
A discussion of the permits required to construct and operate a uranium mill, is, by definition, a site-specific discussion. In general, no two mills will require the same set of approvals or licenses. However, there are certain distinct similarities. The intent here is to highlight these similarities, and generally to ignore the differences.
For purposes of discussion, we will assume that a mill is to be located in a state such as Utah or Wyoming, which, in the common jargon of the industry, are non-agreement states. The discussion will not directly apply to mills in Colorado, Texas, or New Mexico, so-called agreement states, although many of the concepts are similar. The primary difference between agreement states and non-agreement states is the level of involvement of the state government. In agreement states, the states have developed programs of their own which have been reviewed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and have been deemed to be as "good" as the Federal program. NRC has, therefore, pursuant to statute, delegated portions of its mandated responsibilities to the state. These states, then, are more heavily involved in the mill licensing or permitting process.
It is difficult to discuss the licensing of a mill without discussing the mine or mines which will provide the ore. Generally, the agencies regulating the mill are also involved in regulating the mine. Nevertheless, this discussion will, whenever possible, neglect the mining aspects.
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The Required Permits:
A great many permits are necessary to open a uranium mine. The involvement of various regulatory agencies is at all levels of government: Federal, State, and Local; and with all phases of the project: air emissions, water effluents, land disturbances, and physical structures to be constructed.
At the Federal level, the most important permit, and the one involving the most time, effort, and money to obtain for a conventional mill, is the Source Material License. In 1954, Congress passed the Atomic Energy Act. This Act, and its amendments, grants basic regulatory authority over radioactive materials to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The applicable regulations are found in Title 10, Energy, of the Code of Federal Regulations.
Part 40 of the regulations provide that no person can deal with "source material" without a license. "Source material", in this context, is defined as "1) uranium or thorium, or any combination thereof, in any physical or chemical form; or 2) ores which contain by weight one-twentieth of one percent (0.05%) or more of (i) uranium, (ii) thorium, or (iii) any combination thereof." (10 CFR 40.4 (h)). An exemption is given for possessing or using ore which is unrefined or unprocessed (i.e., ore prior to any processing such as grinding, roasting or benefication, or refining.) Thus, a source material license is required to start up a uranium mill.
Other Federal involvement with permits, reviews of impact, or any necessary approvals is generally more site-specific. Under authorities granted by the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency may be involved in the approval process involving operation at a mill if significant deterioration of air quality is involved in a pristine area, or if the mill is located in an Air Quality Maintenance Area. The EPA may also be involved under authorities granted by the Federal Water Pollution Control Amendments of 1972 if a discharge from the mill is contemplated. EPA also is involved with the states in certain water quality planning efforts which may influence the construction and operation of a mill. Another area of potential involvement, less well-defined currently, involves the Safe Drinking Water Act. The Corps of Engineers may also be involved in the future, depending on various interpretations of Section 404 of the FWPCA Amendments of 1972.
State involvement in the permitting or licensing of a uranium mill varies considerably from state to state. As mentioned earlier, in some states, the primary permit, the Source Material License, is issued by the state. For the typical mill in a non-agreement state, the types of permits discussed below may be required.
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All states, under programs given impetus by the Clean Air Act and delegations from EPA, have some form of permit required from an "Air Quality Division" or similar authority. This permit is usually divided into two phases: a permit to construct, and a permit to operate. The permit to construct involves pre-construction review of the site, its dispersion characteristics, etc., and of the planned facilities and their emissions. The permit to operate involves monitoring programs to insure that the impact is the same as that which was forecast.
Similarly, most states, under programs given impetus by the FWPCA Amendments of 1972, and delegations from EPA, require a permit for any liquid effluent discharge. All discharges of waters from a mill into any "waters of the United States" require permits. Where states have assumed control of the permitting program from EPA, they grant the necessary permits. Discharge permits may become more important from mills in the future because recent indications are that EPA may define "best practicable treatment" standards which allow a discharge. Even if there is no discharge, hence no need for a permit, many states require state approval for all waste water treatment systems such as the tailings pond, sewage lagoon, or septic systems.
Many states regulate milling activities under state authorities associated with mining. A mining permit or similar approval frequently addresses the disturbances...
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