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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDRC-2012-001694 - 0901a068802f7aabDENISO MINES DRC-2012-001694 July 11,2012 VIA PDF and FEDERAL EXPRESS Mr Rusty Lundberg Director Division of Radiation Control Utah Department ofEnvironmental Quality 195 North 1950 West Salt Lake City, UT 84116-3097 Denison Mines (USA) Corp 1050 17th street, Suite 950 Denver, CO 80265 USA Tel 303 628-7798 Fax 303 389-4125 www denisonmines com Re: Stipulated Consent Agreement, Docket No. UGW12-03 Dear Mr Lundberg Enclosed are two signed and undated copies of the Revised Stipulated Consent Agreement Per the DRC e-mail dated, July 11, 2012, the attachments will be retumed with the fully executed copy Please retum one fully executed copy to me for our records Yours Very Ddcj/itSl C 'FVydenlund Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Counsel Enclosure cc Harold R Roberts Jo Aim Tischler David Turk Kathy Weinel UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN THE MATTER OF DENISON MINES (USA) CORP. 1050 17*" Street, SUITE 950 DENVER, COLORADO 80265 STIPULATED CONSENT AGREEMENT DOCKET No. UGW12-03 A. STATUTORY AUTHORITY This STIPULATION AND CONSENT AGREEMENT (AGREEMENT) is between Denison Mines (USA) Corp (DUSA) and the Director of the Utah Division of Radiation Control' (DIRECTOR) under the Utah Water Quality Act, Utah Code Ann (UCA) §§ 19-5-101 to 19-5- 124 (the ACT), including sections 19-5-104, -106, -111 and -115 This AGREEMENT is also executed in accordance with the Utah Administrative Procedures Act, Utah Code Ann §§ 6304- 101 to -601 and Administrative Procedure Rules, Utah Admin Code R305-6 Under the Water Quality Act, Utah Code Ann Title 19, Chapter 5, "Director" for purposes of groundwater quality at a facility hcensed by and under the jurisdiction of the Division of Radiation Control, means the Director of the Division of Radiation Control Utah Code Ann § 19-5-102(6) The DIRECTOR may enforce rules made by the Water Quality Board in accordance with Utah Code Ann § 19-5-106(2)(d) B. APPLICABLE STATUTORY AND REGULATORY PROVISIONS 1 Utah Code Ann §19-5-107( 1 )(a) requires that "Except as provided in this chapter or rules made under it, it is unlawful for any person to discharge a pollutant into waters of the state or to cause pollution which constitutes a menace to public health and welfare, or is harmful to wildlife, fish or aquatic life, or impairs domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational, or other beneficial uses of water, or to place or cause to be placed any wastes in a location where there is probable cause to believe it will cause pollution " 2 DUSA was issued Utah Ground Water Quality Discharge Permit No UGW370004 (Permit) on March 8, 2005 Said Pennit was modified by the DIRECTOR on March 17, 2008, January 20, 2010, June 17, 2010, February 15, 2011 and was last modified on July 14,2011 3 The DIRECTOR issued DUSA a May 9, 2011 Notice of Violation and Compliance Order, Docket No UGWl 1-02 (NOV) for multiple violations of the Permit, including violations of UCA § 19-5-107 and Part I G 1 of the Permit for exceeding Permit Ground Water Concentration Limits (GWCL's) m Table 2 of the Permit for two consecutive sampling events (out-of-compliance status), and Part I G 4(c) of the Permit for failing to subsequently submit required reports and to conduct required source assessment activities ' Effective May 8, 2012 and m accordance with Utah Code Ann § 19-1-105 the title "Executive Secretary" was changed to "Division Director " for wells/monitoring parameters in out-of-compliance status 4 Part E 2 of the NOV required DUSA to submit a report with revised statistics for Field pH for several of the facility ground water monitoring wells on or before June 30, 2011 This requirement was included to address out-of-compliance status for pH at several ground water monitoring wells, and as per a DUSA February 1, 2011, letter notifying the DIRECTOR that the out-of-compliance status appeared to be due to the Permit GWCL's being based on historic laboratory results instead of field measurements C. FINDINGS OF FACT 1 DUSA receives and processes natural uranium-beanng ores, including certain specified altemate feed materials, and possesses byproduct material in the form of uranium waste tailings and other uranium byproduct waste generated by the Licensee's milling operations This facility is located approximately six (6) miles south of Blanding, Utah on White Mesa in Sections 28, 29, 32 and 33, Township 37 South, Range 22 East, Sah Lake Baseline and Meridian, San Juan County, Utah 2 Part E 2 of the NOV required DUSA to submit a report with revised statistics for Field pH for several of the facility ground water monitoring wells on or before June 30, 2011 This requirement was included to address out-of-compliance status for pH at several ground water monitoring wells, and as per a DUSA February 1, 2011 letter notifying the DIRECTOR that the out-of-compliance status appeared to be due to the Permit GWCL's being based on historic laboratory results instead of field measurements 3 In response to the NOV, DUSA submitted several documents to provide updates and work plans to investigate the out-of-compliance wells/monitormg parameters (and updates regarding the revised pH statistics) in order to comply with the Act, Permit and NOV A summary of the pertinent updates and documents follows A) The pH study was not provided according to timelines set m the NOV On June 30, 2011, DUSA e-mailed the DIRECTOR requesting an extension ofthe submittal date This request included a summary of the suspected root cause of pH exceedences, a discussion of actions taken and recommended future actions Based on DUSA's request, the DIRECTOR concurred that additional coordination was needed in order to agree upon elements of additional pH study related to the apparent decreasing trends B) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated June 13, 2011 for violations cited in the NOV for the l'\ 2"^ 3'^^ and 4^'' quarters of 2010 and also included actions for GWCL exceedences in the 1^^ quarter of 2011 C) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated September 7, 2011 for out-of- compliance parameters in the 2"^* quarter 2011 D) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated January 20, 2012, for assessment of pH under Utah Groundwater Discharge Permit UGW370004 E) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated April 13, 2012, for assessment of pH under Utah Groundwater Discharge Permit UGW370004 (Revised based on e-mail and telephone communication between representatives of DUSA and the Division of Radiation Control) Corrective action for the out of compliance wells/parameters will be in accordance with the terms of this AGREEMENT, and based on outlined studies, objectives and schedules m the DUSA Plan and Time Schedules (dated June 13, 2011, September 7, 2011, and April 13, 2012). If future information indicates that this agreed upon course of action is inadequate, additional measures may be required by the DIRECTOR through separate correspondence or formal enforcement action as deemed appropriate DUSA retains all administrative and judicial rights to appeal or otherwise contest such action(s) D. AGREEMENT DUSA will complete an investigation of the causes of out-of-compliance parameters and decreasing pH trends according to "Plan and Time Schedule" documents dated June 13, 2011, September 7, 2011 and April 13, 2012 (Included as Attachments A, B, and C of this SCA respectively) DUSA shall follow all elements of the Plan and Time Schedule Documents, as modified below, and further agrees that A) A sample of existing cuttings and/or core will be submitted for laboratory analysis of pyrite for each of the monitoring wells listed on Table 5 of the April 13, 2012 Plan and Time Schedule, regardless of the results of visual examination and XRF screening Each such cutting and/or core sample will be collected from within the vertical portion corresponding to the screened interval of the well All other provisions of the April 13, 2012 Plan and Time Schedule remain unchanged, except for certain modifications of deliverable timelines as detailed below DUSA will submit a source assessment report for all activities outlined in the DUSA June 13, 2011, Plan and Time Schedule to the DIRECTOR within 90 calendar days of the effective date of this AGREEMENT. The source assessment report will detail the results of all analysis performed and the conclusions drawn from the analyses, including any proposed revisions to existing GWCL's The source assessment report will also identify any further studies that the analysis indicates should be performed, and will propose, for DIRECTOR review and approval a plan and time schedule for completion of any such additional studies {per the June 13, 2011, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) DUSA will submit a source assessment report for all activities outlined in the DUSA September 7, 2011 Plan and Time Schedule to the DIRECTOR within 90 calendar days following the effective date of this AGREEMENT The source assessment report will detail the results of all analysis performed and the conclusions drawn from the analyses, including any proposed revisions to existing GWCL's The source assessment report may be combined with the source assessment report required for the June 13, 2011, Plan and Time Schedule (Agreement 2 above) The source assessment report will also identify any further studies that the analysis indicates should be performed, and will propose for DIRECTOR review and approval a plan and time schedule for completion ofany such additional studies {per the September 7, 2011, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) 4 During the pH investigation activities, DUSA will provide a written notice to the DIRECTOR at least 14 calendar days prior to all collection of core and/or cuttings samples for pynte analysis DUSA will allow the DIRECTOR the opportunity to inspect the collection of these samples 5 DUSA will submit a report to the DIRECTOR within 150 calendar days following the effective date of this AGREEMENT which descnbes the screening, selection and submission of samples, the results of the sample screening process and the visual and analytical methods employed The report will provide the visual and analytical results and will include an assessment of the results with regard to the potential for pyrite oxidation to affect pH at site perched monitoring wells {per the April 13, 2012, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) 6 DUSA will submit a report to the DIRECTOR within 120 calendar days of the effective date of this AGREEMENT which provides statistical analysis of pH in all wells at the Mill site which will quantify the decreasing trends m pH at the site as a whole and indicate which monitoring wells have significant decreasing trends in pH DUSA will follow the Groundwater Data Preparation and Statistical Process Flow Chart for Calculating Groundwater Protection Standard, White Mesa Mill Site, San Juan County, Utah, included as figure 17 in the New Wells Background Report {per the April 13, 2012, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) 1 If It IS detemiined by the DIRECTOR that further analysis is required after DIRECTOR review of the Source Assessment Reports, required by parts 2 and 3 above, DUSA will conduct the additional assessments in a timely manner and as approved by the DIRECTOR E. STIPULATED PENALTIES DUSA agrees to pay stipulated penalty amounts for not complying with this AGREEMENT If DUSA fails to comply with the agreements above, DUSA agrees to pay the stipulated amounts set forth below 1 If DUSA fails to meet any of the agreed upon timelines for submissions of reports or field work notification mandated by this AGREEMENT, DUSA agrees to pay stipulated penalties m the amount of $500 per calendar day per violation 2 If the DIRECTOR determines that any of the required reports listed in the AGREEMENT above have omitted any information or content requirements or failed to provide any of the study elements, performance standards or objectives mandated by the AGREEMENT, (e g failure to provide full statistical analysis for revised GWCL's where applicable), the DIRECTOR will advise DUSA by written notice and DUSA will be required to remedy such omissions or failures on or before a due date as determined appropnate by the DIRECTOR If DUSA fails to remedy such omissions or failures on or before the due date, DUSA agrees to pay stipulated penalties in the amount of $500 per calendar day for every day a required report remains incomplete 3 DUSA agrees to pay any required penalties within 30 calendar days of written notice from the DIRECTOR, in the form of a check, made payable to the State of Utah, and delivered or mailed to Division of Radiation Control Utah Department of Environmental Quality PO Box 144850 195 North 1950 West Salt Lake City Utah, 84114-4850 F. NOTICE Compliance with the provisions of this ORDER is mandatory Providing false information may subject DUSA to further civil penalties or criminal fines UCA § 19-5-115 provides that a violation of the ACT or a related order may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day of violation Under certain circumstances of willfulness or gross negligence, violators may be fined up to $25,000 per day of violation AGREED to this day of DENISONAlINfes (USA) CORR 'Id C frydenlund Vice President and Counsel Denison Mines (USA) Corp ,2012 UTAH DIVISION OF RADIATION CONTROL By. Rusty Lundberg Director F \DUSA\QOC Plan and Time Schedule and pH\SCA\Revised SCA UGW12-03\DUSA White Mesa OOC and pH SCA Final docx Attachment A DUSA Transmittal of Plan and Time Schedule under Utah Ground Water Discharge Permit UGW370004 Part I G 4(d), June 13, 2011 Attachment B DUSA Transmittal of Plan and Time Schedule under Utah Ground Water Discharge Permit UGW370004 Part I G 4(d), September 7, 2011 Attachment C DUSA Transmittal of Plan and Time Schedule under Utah Ground Water Discharge Permit UGW370004 Part I G 4(d), April 13, 2012 UTAH DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN THE MATTER OF DENISON MINES (USA) CORP. 1050 IT**" Street, SUITE 950 DENVER, COLORADO 80265 STIPULATED CONSENT AGREEMENT DOCKET No. UGW12-03 A. STATUTORY AUTHORITY This STIPULATION AND CONSENT AGREEMENT (AGREEMENT) is between Denison Mines (USA) Corp (DUSA) and the Director of the Utah Division of Radiation Control' (DIRECTOR) under the Utah Water Quality Act, Utah Code Ann (UCA) §§ 19-5-101 to 19-5- 124 (the ACT), including sections 19-5-104, -106, -111 and -115 This AGREEMENT is also executed m accordance with the Utah Administrative Procedures Act, Utah Code Ann §§ 63G4- 101 to -601 and Administrative Procedure Rules, Utah Admin Code R305-6 Under the Water Quality Act, Utah Code Ann Title 19, Chapter 5, "Director" for purposes of groundwater quality at a facility licensed by and under the jurisdiction of the Division of Radiation Control, means the Director of the Division of Radiation Control Utah Code Ann § 19-5-102(6) The DIRECTOR may enforce rules made by the Water Quality Board in accordance with Utah Code Ann § 19-5-106(2)(d) B. APPLICABLE STATUTORY AND REGULATORY PROVISIONS 1 Utah Code Ann § 19-5-107(1 )(a) requires that "Except as provided in this chapter or rules made under it, it is unlawful for any person to discharge a pollutant into waters of the state or to cause pollution which constitutes a menace to public health and welfare, or is harmful to wildlife, fish or aquatic life, or impairs domestic, agricultural, industrial, recreational, or other beneficial uses of water, or to place or cause to be placed any wastes m a location where there is probable cause to believe it will cause pollution " 2 DUSA was issued Utah Ground Water Quality Discharge Pennit No UGW370004 (Pemiit) on March 8, 2005 Said Pennit was modified by the DIRECTOR on March 17, 2008, January 20, 2010, June 17, 2010, February 15, 2011 and was last modified on July 14, 2011 3 The DIRECTOR issued DUSA a May 9, 2011 Notice of Violation and Compliance Order, Docket No UGWl 1-02 (NOV) for multiple violations of the Permit, including violations of UCA § 19-5-107 and Part I G I of the Permit for exceeding Permit Ground Water Concentration Limits (GWCL's) in Table 2 of the Permit for two consecutive sampling events (out-of-compliance status), and Part I G 4(c) of the Permit for failing to subsequently submit required reports and to conduct required source assessment activities ' Effective May 8, 2012 and m accordance with Utah Code Ann § 19-1-105 the title "Executive Secretary" was changed to "Division Director " for wells/monitoring parameters in out-of-compliance status 4 Part E 2 of the NOV required DUSA to submit a report with revised statistics for Field pH for several of the facility ground water monitoring wells on or before June 30, 2011 This requirement was included to address out-of-compliance status for pH at several ground water monitoring wells, and as per a DUSA February I, 2011, letter notifying the DIRECTOR that the out-of-compliance status appeared to be due to the Permit GWCL's being based on historic laboratory results instead of field measurements C. FINDINGS OF FACT 1 DUSA receives and processes natural uranium-bearing ores, including certain specified altemate feed materials, and possesses byproduct material m the form of uranium waste tailings and other uranium byproduct waste generated by the Licensee's milling operations This facility is located approximately six (6) miles south of Blanding, Utah on White Mesa in Sections 28, 29, 32 and 33, Township 37 South, Range 22 East, Salt Lake Baseline and Meridian, San Juan County, Utah 2 Part E 2 of the NOV required DUSA to submit a report with revised statistics for Field pH for several of the facility ground water monitoring wells on or before June 30, 2011 This requirement was included to address out-of-compliance status for pH at several ground water monitoring wells, and as per a DUSA February I, 2011 letter notifying the DIRECTOR that the out-of-compliance status appeared to be due to the Permit GWCL's being based on historic laboratory results instead of field measurements 3 In response to the NOV, DUSA submitted several documents to provide updates and work plans to investigate the out-of-compliance wells/monitoring parameters (and updates regarding the revised pH statistics) in order to comply with the Act, Permit and NOV A summary of the pertinent updates and documents follows A) The pH study was not provided according to timelines set in the NOV On June 30, 2011, DUSA e-mailed the DIRECTOR requesting an extension of the submittal date This request included a summary of the suspected root cause of pH exceedences, a discussion of actions taken and recommended future actions Based on DUSA's request, the DIRECTOR concurred that additional coordination was needed in order to agree upon elements of additional pH study related to the apparent decreasing trends B) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated June 13, 2011 for violations cited in the NOV for the 1'', 2"^ 3''* and 4"" quarters of 2010 and also included actions for GWCL exceedences in the l^^ quarter of 2011 C) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated September 7, 2011 for out-of- compliance parameters in the 2"^^ quarter 2011 D) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated January 20, 2012, for assessment of pH under Utah Groundwater Discharge Permit UGW370004 E) DUSA submitted a Plan and Time Schedule dated April 13, 2012, for assessment of pH under Utah Groundwater Discharge Permit UGW370004 (Revised based on e-mail and telephone communication between representatives of DUSA and the Division of Radiation Control) Corrective action for the out of compliance wells/parameters will be in accordance with the terms of this AGREEMENT, and based on outlined studies, objectives and schedules in the DUSA Plan and Time Schedules (dated June 13, 2011, September 7, 2011, and April 13, 2012). If future information indicates that this agreed upon course of action is inadequate, additional measures may be required by the DIRECTOR through separate correspondence or formal enforcement action as deemed appropriate DUSA retains all administrative and judicial rights to appeal or otherwise contest such action(s) D. AGREEMENT DUSA will complete an investigation of the causes of out-of-compliance parameters and decreasing pH trends according to "Plan and Time Schedule" documents dated June 13, 2011, September 7, 2011 and Apnl 13, 2012 (Included as Attachments A, B, and C of this SCA respectively) DUSA shall follow all elements of the Plan and Time Schedule Documents, as modified below, and further agrees that A) A sample of existing cuttings and/or core will be submitted for laboratory analysis of pyrite for each of the monitoring wells listed on Table 5 of the April 13, 2012 Plan and Time Schedule, regardless of the results of visual examination and XRF screening Each such cutting and/or core sample will be collected from within the vertical portion corresponding to the screened interval of the well All other provisions of the April 13, 2012 Plan and Time Schedule remain unchanged, except for certain modifications of deliverable timelines as detailed below DUSA will submit a source assessment report for all activities outlined in the DUSA June 13, 2011, Plan and Time Schedule to the DIRECTOR within 90 calendar days of the effective date of this AGREEMENT. The source assessment report will detail the results of all analysis performed and the conclusions drawn from the analyses, including any proposed revisions to existing GWCL's The source assessment report will also identify any further studies that the analysis indicates should be performed, and will propose, for DIRECTOR review and approval a plan and time schedule for completion of any such additional studies {per the June 13, 2011, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) DUSA will submit a source assessment report for all activities outlined in the DUSA September 7, 2011 Plan and Time Schedule to the DIRECTOR within 90 calendar days following the effective date of this AGREEMENT The source assessment report will detail the results of all analysis performed and the conclusions drawn from the analyses, including any proposed revisions to existing GWCL's The source assessment report may be combined with the source assessment report required for the June 13, 2011, Plan and Time Schedule (Agreement 2 above) The source assessment report will also identify any further studies that the analysis indicates should be performed, and will propose for DIRECTOR review and approval a plan and time schedule for completion of any such additional studies {per the September 7, 2011, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) 4 Dunng the pH investigation activities, DUSA will provide a written notice to the DIRECTOR at least 14 calendar days prior to all collection of core and/or cuttings samples for pynte analysis DUSA will allow the DIRECTOR the opportunity to inspect the collection of these samples 5 DUSA will submit a report to the DIRECTOR within 150 calendar days following the effective date of this AGREEMENT which describes the screening, selection and submission of samples, the results of the sample screening process and the visual and analytical methods employed The report will provide the visual and analytical results and will include an assessment of the results with regard to the potential for pyrite oxidation to affect pH at site perched monitonng wells {per the April 13, 2012, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) 6 DUSA will submit a report to the DIRECTOR within 120 calendar days ofthe effective date of this AGREEMENT which provides statistical analysis of pH in all wells at the Mill site which will quantify the decreasing trends in pH at the site as a whole and indicate which monitonng wells have significant decreasing trends in pH DUSA will follow the Groundwater Data Preparation and Statistical Process Flow Chart for Calculating Groundwater Protection Standard, White Mesa Mill Site, San Juan County, Utah, included as figure 17 in the New Wells Background Report {per the April 13, 2012, DUSA Plan and Time Schedule, with modification as to time for submittal) 7 If it IS detemiined by the DIRECTOR that further analysis is required after DIRECTOR review of the Source Assessment Reports, required by parts 2 and 3 above, DUSA will conduct the additional assessments in a timely manner and as approved by the DIRECTOR E. STIPULATED PENALTIES DUSA agrees to pay stipulated penalty amounts for not complying with this AGREEMENT If DUSA fails to comply with the agreements above, DUSA agrees to pay the stipulated amounts set forth below 1 If DUSA fails to meet any of the agreed upon timelines for submissions of reports or field work notification mandated by this AGREEMENT, DUSA agrees to pay stipulated penalties in the amount of $500 per calendar day per violation 2 If the DIRECTOR determines that any of the required reports listed in the AGREEMENT above have omitted any information or content requirements or failed to provide any ofthe study elements, performance standards or objectives mandated by the AGREEMENT, (e g failure to provide full statistical analysis for revised GWCL's where applicable), the DIRECTOR will advise DUSA by written notice and DUSA will be required to remedy such omissions or failures on or before a due date as determined appropnate by the DIRECTOR If DUSA fails to remedy such omissions or failures on or before the due date, DUSA agrees to pay stipulated penalties in the amount of $500 per calendar day for every day a required report remains incomplete 3 DUSA agrees to pay any required penalties within 30 calendar days of written notice from the DIRECTOR, in the form of a check, made payable to the State of Utah, and delivered or mailed to Division of Radiation Control Utah Department ofEnvironmental Quality PO Box 144850 195 North 1950 West SaU Lake City Utah, 84114-4850 F. NOTICE Compliance with the provisions of this ORDER is mandatory Providing false information may subject DUSA to further civil penalties or criminal fines UCA § 19-5-115 provides that a violation of the ACT or a related order may be subject to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day of violation Under certain circumstances of willfulness or gross negligence, violators may be fined up to $25,000 per day of violation AGREED to this day of DENISON MINEfs (USA) CORR m\p CI Frydenlund Vice President and Counsel Denison Mines (USA) Corp 2012 UTAH DIVISION OF RADIATION CONTROL By_ Rusty Lundberg Director F \DUSA\OOC Plan and Time Schedule and pH\SCA\Revised SCA UGW12-03\DUSA White Mesa OOC and pH SCA Final docx Attachment A DUSA Transmittal of Plan and Time Schedule under Utah Ground Water Discharge Permit UGW370004 Part I G 4(d), June 13, 2011 Attachment B DUSA Transmittal of Plan and Time Schedule under Utah Ground Water Discharge Permit UGW370004 Part I G 4(d), September 7, 2011 Attachment C DUSA Transmittal of Plan and Time Schedule under Utah Ground Water Discharge Permit UGW370004 Part I G 4(d), April 13, 2012