Board Minutes
RADIATION CONTROL BOARD MINUTES
Note: The minutes presented here have not yet been approved by the Radiation Control Board. This will occur at the next regular meeting. Any modification to board minutes occurring at the board meeting will be reflected in item I, approval of minutes for the specific meeting date.
Date: June 5, 1998
Location: Department of Environmental Quality (Bldg. #2), 168 North 1950 West, Conference Room 101, Salt Lake City, Utah
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT	STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT
James J. Thompson, Ph.D., Chairman Gary L. Edwards, Vice Chairman Dianne R. Nielson, Ph.D. William J. Sinclair, Exec. Sec. Robert J. Hoffman Teryl W. Hunsaker Barbara S. Reid, M.D. J. Jerald Boseman, D.D.S. Lowell D. White, Ph.D. K. C. Jones	Mina Larson Craig Jones Ray Nelson Yoli Shropshire Bill Craig John Hultquist
BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT \ EXCUSED	GUESTS
None	Patrick Thomas, W.S. Adamson & Assoc. Michelle Rehmann, International Uranium Corp. Larry Mize, DEQ, DWQ Denise Chancellor, Office of the Attorney General Mark Ledoux, Envirocare of Utah, Inc. Ken Alkema, Envirocare of Utah, Inc. Maggie Wilde, Laidlaw Environmental Services

The Radiation Control Board convened in the Department of Environmental Quality (Bldg. #2), 168 North 1950 West, Conference Room 101, Salt Lake City, Utah. The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. by Dr. James Thompson, Chairman, Utah Radiation Control Board. Dr. Thompson reminded the public that if they wish to comment on a specific agenda item or other issue to be sure to sign the form provided at the back of the conference room. This is a result of the Board policy which was approved on August 8, 1997.

Gary Edwards made a motion that the minutes of the May 1, 1998, meeting be approved, seconded by Dr. Barbara Reid.

 CARRIED AND PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

No Items

No Items

No Items

ITEM V. RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL (Board information items)

1. Envirocare license renewal - Public hearings held on June 4, 1998.

   Bill Sinclair reported that the first hearing was held at DEQ Building #2, Conference Room 201, 168 N 1950 W. Salt Lake City, at 10:00 a.m. There were 35 people in attendance. Five people offered testimony at the hearing. The main range of comments was supportive of the license renewal for Envirocare. The representative from the Sierra Club raised some issues that will be evaluated following the public comment period and prior to a license decision.

   The second public hearing was held at the Tooele County Health Department building auditorium in Tooele at 6:30 p.m. Eighteen people were in attendance. Two people offered comments, both of which were positive in support of the license renewal for Envirocare.

   Bill stated that the public comment period on the license renewal and major modification to the Groundwater Discharge permit expires on Monday, June 15, 1998.

2. NRC Inspection Report/Investigation Report Demand for Information, letter of April 21, 1998.

   Bill Sinclair indicated that in the Board packet is a letter that details the results of NRC Inspections and their investigation regarding the special nuclear material possession limits. The letter requests additional information from Envirocare so NRC can determine if "careless disregard" was conducted by Envirocare in handling of special nuclear material. The letter defers any further NRC enforcement actions pending the outcome and review of the Division of Radiation Control enforcement actions and the Stipulation and Consent Order.

3. Stipulation and Consent Order (SCO) of May 13, 1998, Envirocare of Utah.

   Bill Sinclair reported that the SCO settles all enforcement actions against Envirocare relating to special nuclear material. Notices of Violation (NOVs) were issued in May 1997 and September 1997 relating to possession of special nuclear material over the allowable limits. As a result of these NOVs and concurrent action by the NRC, Envirocare was required to initiate certain actions to get back into compliance with the possession limits. Currently, Envirocare is maintaining compliance with the possession limits.

   Settlement terms involve Envirocare agreeing to pay a $100,000 civil penalty with $20,000 deferred pending no more violations for one year (until May 14, 1999). As a result of this settlement, all hearing requests pending before the Utah Radiation Control Board regarding special nuclear material have been withdrawn.

4. Notice of Violation of May 14, 1998 - Envirocare of Utah.

   John Hultquist reported as a result of routine inspections at Envirocare, several items were noted to be in noncompliance and a Notice of Violation prepared and issued. The violations included improper distribution of debris on a lift, improper disposal of special nuclear material, improper storage of waste, exceedance of the winter blanket requirements, failure to properly manage wastewater, not following resin blending procedures, and failure to control wind dispersed litter. Severity Levels for these violations ranged from Severity Level IV to III. A total civil penalty liability was calculated to be $14, 850. Envirocare has thirty days to respond to the NOV.

5. Upcoming Northwest Interstate Compact Meeting to be held June 23, 1998, in Seattle .

   Bill Sinclair indicated to Board members that enclosed in the packet is a copy of the draft minutes from the last Compact meeting and also the draft agenda for the upcoming June meeting. Bill continued by stating as members review the minutes and agenda, it is very typical as to items to be discussed. Bill emphasized one important issue that is going to be discussed at the upcoming Northwest Interstate Compact Meeting, There is to be a discussion regarding potential changes to the 1995 Resolution and Order and a significant time has been allocated to address this issue. The Resolution and Order stipulates what low-level wastes Envirocare can receive. Currently, the Resolution and Order defers to the State of Utah Radioactive Materials license. The license is conditioned so that generators shipping to Envirocare must receive export approval from the appropriate Compact or unaffiliated state. There has been some discussion regarding the impact on Envirocare's operations on other Compact siting efforts within the country. Bill indicated he would report at the next meeting the results of the meeting.

6. Federal Court Ruling concerning Department of Energy (DOE) Waste. .

   Bill Sinclair stated that on May 14, 1998 there was a U.S. Court of Appeals decision in the case of Waste Control Specialists versus The U.S. Department of Energy. Bill then further stated that the most significant part of this ruling was the court upheld that if DOE chooses to regulate or control private waste disposal sites then they are exempt from state or NRC licensing requirements. However, on the opposite hand, the court affirmed that if there are sites where the DOE does not exercise such control, then the NRC and the Agreement States retain their power to regulate the commercial sites. Bill concluded that it was a very important ruling for the State of Utah because it reconfirms the State's ability to regulate sites that receive DOE waste. Envirocare is one of those sites.

7. NRDC petition to the NRC under 10 CFR 2.206 for additional enforcement actions regarding Envirocare of Utah of May 6, 1998.

   Bill Sinclair indicated that the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) are asking for additional enforcement actions regarding Envirocare. Bill indicated that by simply reading this particular petition, it appears that NRDC is providing another version of their previous petition regarding the whistle blower issue to the NRC. Bill indicated that NRC has informed the State that they are looking at this issue and preparing a response to it. Part of this petition, again, was a request to the NRC to withdraw Agreement State status from the State of Utah. In this petition it appears that NRDC erred because they failed to file the necessary paperwork and justification to support Agreement State status withdrawal.

8. Low Level Forum Meeting, May 27-29, 1998, Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

   Bill Sinclair reported that he attended the Forum meeting and presented information on three topics: the Envirocare license renewal, the Envirocare Special Nuclear Material issue, and the proposed Laidlaw facility. Regarding the Envirocare License renewal, there was much interest among the Compact representatives there as to what were the differences in the license between what we have now under timely renewal and what is being proposed and what impact that might have on development of new sites across the country. There were several questions asked trying to clarify different positions and terms that we were trying to use within the license renewal itself. As far as the Laidlaw proposal, Forum participants were also very interested in that proposal and where it was in the process. They were very interested in what the Northwest Interstate Compact was going to do with three commercial sites within their region.

   Bill continued by stating that the presentation on Special Nuclear Material was actually done by James Kennedy of NRC's Division of Waste Management. He summarized the letter that was included in the Board packet regarding NRC's demand for information. Following Jim's remarks, a summary of where the State of Utah was in the process was given by Bill..

ITEM VI. URANIUM MILL TAILINGS UPDATE (Board Information Item)

1. Update on International Uranium Corporation (IUC) White Mesa Mill activities

   Bill Sinclair introduced Michelle Rehmann, International Uranium Corporation, who in turn addressed the Board. Michelle indicated that Harold Roberts, the Vice President of Operations had prepared a summary of operational updates for the White Mesa Mill that she would present to the Board.

   Activities at the White Mesa Mill continue to center on the processing of uranium and tantalum concentrate from the Cabot Corporation. During the first quarter of 1998 the mill processed a significant quantity of the ore material and shipped the first order of tantalum concentrate in early May. During the months of April and May 1998, the processing activities were halted while evaluations are ongoing to look at ways to improve the overall efficiency and cost of the processing as well as ways to enhance the possible recovery of additional minerals from that ore.

   The processing is expected to begin again in early July. In addition, the mill will also begin calcining or roasting approximately nine hundred tons of rare earth oxides from Molycorp beginning in July 1998. Michelle indicated that for the calcining project, IUC will use only a small portion of the vanadium recovery circuit. The material is not specifically an NRC license material, so no NRC licensing action was necessary although International Uranium did notify both the NRC and the State of Utah of the calcining activities. That project is expected to take approximately sixty days to complete.

   As far as mining is concerned, IUC International Uranium continues to produce uranium and vanadium ores from mines on the Colorado plateau. The Sunday Mine in western Colorado is currently producing at a rate of 4,000 to 5,000 tons per month and the Rim Mine in eastern Utah is producing approximately 1,000 to 1,500 tons per month. In addition the company’s ore purchase program is beginning to attract several ores from several independent mining concerns. We anticipate starting the White Mesa Mill on these conventional ores during the fourth quarter of 1998. At the present time, the mill is employing 90 people with the Colorado Plateau Mines employing another 35 people, all in the San Juan County area.

   Michelle concluded by stating in terms of regulatory activities that IUC has made several submittals in the past few months to the NRC and have attempted to keep the State informed of those activities. IUC met with Mr. Sinclair and Dr. Nielson today (June 5, 1998) to bring in another amendment request. Michelle indicated the submittals include a performance-based license condition request relative to acceptance of alternate feed materials. Another item is a petition to the NRC for them to reconsider guidance concerning alternate feed and certain elements of that guidance.

   Thirdly, IUC submitted an amendment request to process some material from a site in New York called Ashland II that has certain uranium content. As was mentioned earlier, IUC sent a copy of our letter to the NRC stating our intent to calcine the rare earth oxides from Molycorp. A copy of that was sent to the State. The alternate feed amendment requests that IUC submitted today (gave a copy to the state) is to process some materials from Cameco Corporation. These are uranium bearing ores that contain on the order of five to 10% uranium depending on the materials for separate materials.

   We learned yesterday that the National Mining Association intends to brief the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the “White Paper” which is a document summarizing issues that affect the uranium recovery industry, in-situ leaching (ISL) operations as well as conventional operations. That briefing will occur on June 17th at 10:00 a.m. at the NRC offices in Rockville, Maryland.

   Bill Sinclair indicated following Michelle’s remarks that he appreciated having the opportunity to meet with IUC today prior to the meeting. Bill indicated that as part of the meeting today that the State and IUC will explore how to resolve concerns of the State regarding performance-based licensing of alternate feed materials if the amendment request now pending before the NRC is approved.

2. Draft Biological opinion prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the proposed reclamation of the Atlas uranium mill of April 14, 1998, response by Atlas of May 7, 1998, to the draft Biological Opinion, and response by NRC of May 14, 1998, regarding draft Biological Opinion.

   Bill Sinclair summarized the recent activities surrounding the Atlas tailings reclamation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)issued a draft biological opinion (116 pages) on April 14, 1998. Excerpts from the draft opinion were provided to Board members. The opinion requests the NRC to impose groundwater corrective action, have bioassay studies conducted by a third party to assess the scope of the problem related to endangered fishes, deny all requests for alternative concentration limits proposed by Atlas, and redesign the pile to ensure that habitat is not destroyed. If the above cannot be accomplished, the NRC in cooperation with the USFWS needs to develop a plan to replace, restore, or enhance critical habitats for the Colorado squawfish and razorback sucker, reduce leachate from the pile in 36 months ensuring that water (leachate) removed is treated properly, impose a tighter cap on the pile, and ensure the millsite catchpit is cleaned up.

   A three-page summary of the NRC comments on the USFWS opinion was included in the Board packet. The summary basically answers the USFWS request or provides other alternatives (e.g., in lieu of bioassay, recommends monitoring of contaminant levels in the Colorado River and the biota as the groundwater cleanup progresses). The Atlas comments parallel the NRC comments. Bill indicated that any of these documents are available for Board members at their request..

1. Private Fuel Storage update

   A summary of the recent Environmental Impact Statement Scoping meeting held in Salt Lake City on June 3, 1998, by the NRC was provided to Board members. Board members were provided with a summary of the issues brought forth by commentors at the scoping meeting. Congressman Cook attended and provided a statement. Governor Leavitt offered comments via videotape that was played for all in attendance. The hearing was well attended with approximately 40 persons offering comments. A closed pre-hearing conference on the contentions raised by the State on the Private Fuel Storage security plan are scheduled for June 17, 1998 at the NRC offices in Rockville, Maryland.

2. Summary of Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors (CRCPD) meeting in Mesa, AZ

   Bill reported that this was the 30th anniversary of the annual CRCPD meeting. Regular sessions at the meeting focused on such diverse topics as mammography, portal monitor alarms response, and a tritium exposure incident resulting from exit signs. Media training was provided at the meeting on Saturday which focused on the specifics of dealing with radiological situations. At the business meeting, the following resolutions were considered and passed:

   1. Communicating factual radiation safety information relating to food irradiation
   2. Regulation of 11e. (2) material and the transfer of the FUSRAP program to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
   3. Voluntary use of a thyroid bioassay intercomparison program for the purpose of radiobioassay accreditation
   4. Minimum standards for persons who administer radiologic procedures
   5. Expression of thanks to the American College of Radiology (ACR) for providing financial support to continue the NEXT program.

   Continuing education credits were also provided by a training session for state mammography inspectors. Utah took advantage of this training and sent a representative to it. Overall the meeting was excellent.

3. Opening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP)

   Bill Craig reported that he is responsible for coordinating the WIPP Program which is a grant program from the Western Governors Association indirectly from the Department of Energy to prepare for shipments of transuranic radioactive waste from various sites to a disposal site in Carlsbad, New Mexico. These shipments will make their way through Utah mostly from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) near Idaho Falls. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a Certificate of Compliance which allows WIPP to begin receiving shipments of transuranic waste.

   The first shipment is scheduled in June 1998 from Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico. It is anticipated that shortly after that WIPP shipments from Idaho will travel through Utah to the Carlsbad site. Over the years, much effort has been focused on training primary responders along the Utah WIPP route including joint mock exercises. Equipment has also been provided to those agencies that would be likely to first respond to any incident. The Division has capability via the TRANSCOM satellite tracking system to monitor shipments as they move through the state.

4. Recognition of retiring Board members (Robert Hoffman, K.C. Jones, Jerald Boseman)

   Bill Sinclair recognized retiring Board members Hoffman, Jones, and Boseman and thanked them each for their service to the Board. The retiring Board members were presented with a plaque recognizing their service. Bill also indicated that at this time there were no replacement names to be announced but they were in the administrative pipeline such that the Board can be once again fully staffed in short order.

5. Fees Study by Revenue and Taxation Interim Legislative Committee

   Bill Sinclair indicated that the issue of disposal fees for solid, hazardous, and radioactive wastes have been discussed at the last three meetings of the Interim Committee. Dianne provided testimony at the last Committee meeting and it was indicated that more testimony will be taken at the next Committee meeting. The Interim Committee is following up on this study item on fees raised in the 1998 Legislative session. At some point, the Interim Committee will decide if any changes are to be proposed to the current fees structure..

ITEM VIII. OTHER ISSUES:

1. NO BOARD MEETING IN JULY 1998. Next Board Meeting - August 7, 1998, Conference Room 101, 168 North 1950 West, DEQ Building #2, 2 P.M.

   Bill Sinclair also announced that the September meeting has been rescheduled from the “normal” first Friday. It will be held on September 3, 1998 from 1-3 p.m. to avoid scheduling conflicts as a result of the Labor Day holiday. The September meeting will be held in Salt Lake City.

   Meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m.