DRC-2025-000954

March 19, 2025
Ryan Schietinger
Acting Superintendent New Mexico & Utah Sites
6840 N. Oracle Road
Tucson, AZ 85704
RE:2024 Financial Assurance Instrument Update Claim of Business ConfidentialityRAM License Number UT1900481
Dear Mr. Schietinger:
The Division has received the 2024 Financial Assurance Instrument Updatefor the Lisbon Valley Uranium Mill. In the cover letter you state that Rio Algom Mining LLC requests that the
Division consider the records to be confidential protected information. However, you do not provide a statement of the reasons that support the claim. Additionally, you submitted the
records by email to the Division. The Division does not consider email to be a secure method for submission of confidential information and cannot be responsible for the release of
records that were obtained by individuals outside the Division who obtained the records from email servers outside of the state's control.
The purpose of this letter is to provide you with an opportunity to provide a statement of the reasons that support your claim to assist the Division in its classification and management
of the Records.
Under the Government Records Access and Management Act(GRAMA), Utah Code Section 63G-2-309(1)(a)(i), a person who wants to claim that a record provided to the Division is protected from
disclosure to a member of the public because it is confidential business information (CBI) shall provide with the record (A) a written claim of business confidentiality; and (B) a concise
statement of reasons supporting the claim.Utah Code Section 63G-2-305(1) (trade secrets) and (2) (commercial information) describes the standards and requirements that apply to the kinds
of information that may be subject to a CBI claim. A request for CBI treatment must be reasonably specific as to the rationale for the CBI claim and which records, or portions of records,
are covered by the CBI claim. See Utah Code § 63G-2-309(1)(a)(i). Without this information, the Division is unable to determine whether the CBI claim is valid. Under Utah law, records
submitted to state agencies are presumptively public unless a statutory exception applies, or the submitter has satisfied its burden to demonstrate that the records qualify under the
business confidentiality standards.
AGENCY DETERMINATION:
Based on available information, the Division has made the following determinations: (1) your CBI claim is not sufficient to justify CBI classification of the Records; and (2) the Records
will be classified as Public Records within 30 days of the date of this letter.
However, the agency will afford you with an opportunity to submit additional information as to the CBI status of the Records within 30 days from the date that this notice is signed.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:
The Division has identified the following potential actions you may take in response to this letter:
OPTION 1. If you do not disagree with the Agency Determination (e.g., you did not intend to trigger CBI treatment for the Records), no further action is required, and the Division will
manage the Records as public after 30 days.
OPTION 2. If you believe that the Records qualify for CBI status, you must provide a statement containing the reasons supporting the claim to the Division within 30 days of the date
of this letter. Please also include a description of the specific pages of the Records or other content that you are claiming as CBI. More specifically, you may assert a CBI claim
by highlighting, bracketing, boxing, or circling the information claimed as CBI, and by marking the page or document with language such as “trade secret,” “proprietary,” “company confidential,”
or “CBI.” You must provide a copy of the documents in which all the content remains visible. In addition to the original submission, you may also submit a redacted version of the document
that blacks out or removes the information you are claiming as CBI.
If you provide the claim as explained above, the Division will re-evaluate the status of the Records and will provide you with separate notice of the agency’s determination. Any future
agency action will be subject to appeal rights.
Please note that the Division does not consider email to be a secure method for submission of confidential information. To submit documents that you want to claim as CBI, mail them
to:
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
P.O. Box 144880
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4880
For express delivery, send to:
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
195 North 1950 West, Second Floor
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
OPTION 3. If you disagree with the Agency Determination described above (specifically, if you believe that you have already complied with the requirements set forth in Utah Code Section
63G-2-309(1)(a)(i) as to the Records), you may appeal the Agency Determination described above within 30 days of the date of this letter by filing a notice of appeal, in accordance with
Utah Code 63G-2-401, to the following chief administrative officer for the Division:
Douglas J. Hansen, Division Director
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
P.O. Box 144880
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4880
If you file an appeal, the Division is required to maintain the Records under CBI status until after the end of the appeal process, including judicial appeals. See Utah Code § 63G-2-309(2)(a).
If you do not provide additional CBI justification under Option 2, or appeal this Agency Action under Option 3, within 30 days of the date of this letter, the Division will manage the
Records as public records in accordance with Utah Code Section 63G-2-309(2)(a).
If you have any questions, please call Tom Ballat [phone].
Sincerely,
Stevie Norcross, PhD,Assistant Director

Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
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c:Adam Wingate, UDEQ/DWMRC