DRC-2020-018173 - 0901a06880d74bd0

ENERGY FUELS
VIA EMAIL AND EXPEDITED DELIVERY
November 3, 2020
Mr. Ty L. Howard
Director
Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
195 North 1950 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
Re: White Mesa Uranium Mill
Utah Ground Water Discharge Permit No. UGW3700004
White Mesa Uranium Mill — Notice Pursuant to Parts I.E.8.c) and I.G.3 of the Permit
Dear Mr. Howard:
Please take notice pursuant to Parts I.E.8.c) and I.G.3 of the White Mesa Mill's (the "Mill's") State of
Utah Groundwater Discharge Permit No. UGW370004 (the "Permit"), that Energy Fuels Resources
(USA) Inc. ("EFRI"), as operator of the Mill and holder of the Permit, identified damage to the Cell 4A
Liner System as described in more detail below.
Repairs to the liner will be completed in accordance with Section 9.4 of the approved June 2007
Geosyntec Consultants Cell 4A Construction Quality Assurance Plan. Repairs are scheduled for the
latter part of the week of November 2, 2020, weather permitting. As required by Part I.E.8.c) of the
permit a repair report will be submitted to the Director with the next quarterly Discharge Minimization
Technology ("DMT") Report (4th Quarter 2020, due on or before March 1, 2021) following completion
of the repairs. The cell will remain in service during and after the repairs.
1. Facts and Background Information
a) Part I.E.8.c) of the Permit requires that:
"Liner Maintenance and Repair - all repairs to the liner shall be completed in accordance
with Section 9.4 of the approved June 2007 Geosyntec Consultants Cell 4A Construction
Quality Assurance Plan (CQA/QC Plan) as found in Table 5 of this Permit. Repairs shall
be performed by qualified liner repair personnel and shall be reported in a Liner Repair
Report, certified by a Utah licensed Professional Engineer. The Liner Repair Report shall
be submitted to for Director approval, in accordance with Part I.F.3 of the Permit. Any
leak, hole, or other damage to the liner will be reported to the Director pursuant to the
requirements found in Part I.G.3."
b) Although Part 1.G.3 of the Permit is stated to apply to circumstances where the Permittee
fails to maintain DMT or Best Available Technology ("BAT") standards, Part I.E.8.c)
Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc.
225 Union Blvd. Suite 600
Lakewood, CO, US, 80228
303 974 2140 DRC-2020 -m6 175 www.energyfuels.com
Div of Waste Management
and Radiation Control
NOV - 5 2020
Letter to Ty L. Howard
November 3, 2020
Page 2 of 3
requires that the notification provisions of Part I.G.3 also apply to liner defects or damage,
regardless of whether or not the liner defect or damage constitutes a failure of DMT or
BAT. Under Part I.G.3, the Permittee is required to submit to the Director a notification
and description of the defect or damage orally within 24-hours of the Permittee's
discovery, followed by written notification within five calendar days."
c) On October 29, 2020 during a routine inspection of the Cell liners, Mill Environmental
Personnel noted a small tear in the liner of Cell 4A. The tear is on the west dike, on top of the
liner, approximately 2 to 3 feet from the anchor trench. The tear is approximately 1 inch by 1
inch (see Attachment 1). The tear is not within the solution storage area of the cell.
d) Mill Environmental Personnel contacted the EFRI Quality Assurance Manager ("QAM") on
October 29, 2020 to report the liner damage.
e) EFRI noted that prior to the inspection, routine maintenance activities were conducted on the
Cell 4A piping in the vicinity of the tear. The tear appears to be the result of a dropped tool or
brace.
2. Actions taken
The following actions were taken following identification of the liner tear.
a) Initial notice of this outage was given by telephone to Mr. Russ Topham of the Division of
Waste Management and Radiation Control ("DWMRC") at approximately 2:30pm on
Thursday October 29, 2020 (within 24 hours of the QAM receiving notice, and within 24
hours of Mill Environmental Personnel discovery).
b) EFRI opened an investigation into the possible causes.
c) Repairs were scheduled.
3. Actions Taken to Prevent a Recurrence of This Incident
The following actions will be taken to prevent a reoccurrence of this incident:
As discussed above, the liner tear was identified, and likely occurred due to routine maintenance
activity.
During routine monthly training, Mill Personnel will be reminded to take extra precautions with tools
and equipment when performing maintenance activities on or near the cell liners.
4. Required Reporting
As required by Part I.E.8.c) of the permit and by the approved June 2007 Geosyntec Consultants Cell 4A
Construction Quality Assurance Plan, a repair report will be submitted to the Director with the next
Leiter to Ty L. Howard
November 3, 2020
Page 3 of 3
quarterly DMT Report following completion of the repairs. Repairs are scheduled for the latter part of
the week of November 2, 2020, weather permitting. The repair report will be submitted with the fourth
quarter 2020 DMT Report on or before March 1, 2021. The repair report will contain the following
elements:
• Repair narrative describing the nature of the damage and the repair work completed to repair the
damage.
• Repair material type used to complete the repair
• Repair material description
• Post repairs test specifications
• Test Methods (ASTM or other)
• Daily reports during the repair work
• Repair test results
• Quality Assurance/Quality Control Information
5. Affirmative Defense
EFRI does not believe that identification of a defect or damage to the Cell 4A liner caused by
maintenance activities and repair of such defect or damage in accordance with the Mill's Liner
Maintenance Provisions constitutes a failure of BAT under the Permit. Further, the damage to the Cell
4A liner was above the level of any tailings contained in the cell. As a result, EFR is not making a claim
for an affirmative defense under Part I.G.3 of the Permit.
If you have any questions, please contact me at [phone].
Yours very_truly,
)(i ENERGY FUELS RESOURCES (USA) INC.
Kathy Weinel
Quality Assurance Manager
cc Scott Bakken
David Frydenlund
Julia Hoffmeier
Tanner Holliday
Garrin Palmer
Logan Shumway
Terry Slade
Steve Snyder
ATTACHMENT 1