DRC-2011-006636 - 0901a06880246e30

State of Utah
GARY R. HERBERT
Governor
GREG BELL
Lieutenant Governor
June 23, 2011
Department of
Environmental Quality
Amanda Smith
Execuiive Director
DIVISION OF RADIATION CONTROL
Rusty Lundberg
Director
CERTIFIED MAIL
(Return Receipt Requested)
Billy Ray, Site Manager
Rio Algom Mining LLC
P.O. Box 218
Grants, NM 87020
Subject:
Dear Mr. Ray:
February 7, 2011 DRC Confirmatory Action Letter, June 2, 2011 Rio Algom
Action Plan to Assess Out of Compliance at Well RL-1 and Extension Request:
DRC Approval and Notice of Enforcement Discretion
This is in response to your submittal dated June 2, 2011 and received by DRC via email on June 2,
2011. Your submittal was in response to the DRC Notice of Enforcement Discretion and
Confirmatory Action Letter (CAL) dated February 7, 2011. The DRC CAL was written to address
DRC findings and concems related to an increasing Total Uranium trend at groundwater
monitoring well RL-1. The CAL includes agreed upon actions and deadlines to be undertaken by
Rio Algom to evaluate this increasing concentration trend. The goal of the project is to determine
whether the Lisbon Valley Facility is operating within or outside of the analyzed conditions ofthe
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved "Application for Alternate Concentration
Limits (NRC Approved May 11, 2004)" and "Long Term Ground Water Monitoring Plan (dated
February 19, 2004)."
Your June 2, 2011 submittal requests that:
1. The Executive Secretary approve the attached "Action Plan to Assess Out of Compliance
Conditions at Target Action Level Well RL-1" (Memorandum from Hale Barter and Tim
Leo of Montgomery & Associates to Rio Algom), and,
2. The Executive Secretary approve an extension of time to submit the project final report,
from August 1, 2011 (per the DRC NOED and CAL) to August 12, ^011. i
These approvals are provided below.
Per DRC review of the work plan, the Montgomery and Associates consultants will review the
195 North 1950 West • Salt Uke City, UT
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 144850 • Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4850
Telephone [phone] • Fax [phone] • T.D.D. [phone]
www.deq.utah.gov
.Printed on 100% recycled paper
Billy Ray
Rio Algom Lisbon Work Plan
Page 2
Lisbon facility existing groundwater monitoring data, conceptual site model (Task 1), and
groundwater computer modeling (Task 2) to insure that current conditions correspond with the
analyzed conditions and modeled predictions approved by the NRC.
DRC did note that the submitted Work Plan does not include a logic diagram as
required/anticipated by the DRC CAL. Per the "Project Progression and Schedule" section of the
Work Plan, Montgomery and Associates noted the lacking diagram and stated that they were
instead providing a narrative description which serves a similar purpose. Rio Algom requested
that DRC approve the Work Plan without the Logic diagram based on the inclusion of this
narrative. In order to expedite the review process and allow Rio Algom to continue with the
project, DRC will approve the Work Plan without the logic diagram and schedule.
Notice of Enforcement Discretion:
DRC also noted that per the CAL, the work plan was required on or before May 1, 2011 but was
not received by DRC until June 2, 2011 (32 days late). It appears that no extension of time was
requested by Rio Algom. Regarding this non-compliance the DRC will apply enforcement
discretion since the delay does not significantly change the required submittal date ofthe final
report.
Work Plan Approval:
Per Executive Secretary review of the June 1, 2011 Work Plan, received by DRC on June 2, 2011
it appears that the outlined tasks will achieve the performance objectives in the February 7, 2011
DRC CAL. The Work Plan is therefore approved.
Approval for an Extension of Time to Submit the Final Report:
The February 7, 2011 DRC CAL requires a final report, which provides conclusions for all
performance objectives listed in the approved action plan on or before August 1, 2011. Per the
Rio Algom June 2, 2011 submittal it was requested that this date be extended to August 12, 2011
(11 day extension). The extension of time is approved.
If you have questions or concems regarding this letter, please contact Tom Rushing at
[phone]. Thank you.
Sincerely,
UTAH RADIATION CONTROL BOARD
Rusty Lundberg, Executive Secretary
RL:TR:tr
F:\Rio Algom\ACL Model ReviewVAction Plan Approval and NOED.doc