Overview of the United States Regulatory Framework for In-Situ Leach Uranium Extraction

David R. Turner and David Pickett
Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses (CNWRA), Geosciences and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX

Driven in part by global warming concerns and government incentives, the U.S. nuclear industry is anticipating a renaissance. As of September 2007, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) had received letters of intent from power generators identifying combined license (COL) applications for 32 potential new nuclear power plants. The first COL application was received in September 2007. This renewed interest has the potential to affect all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle, including the extraction of uranium. The spot price of uranium reflects this potential, increasing from around $10/lb yellowcake (U₃O₈) in 2003 to more than $100/lb in 2007. Domestic uranium production has generally shifted from conventional mining and milling to in-situ leach (ISL) extraction involving down-hole injection of solutions that mobilize uranium for production, processing, and recovery. This presentation discusses the framework for regulating domestic uranium recovery activities. ISL facilities are regulated either by NRC through its statutory authority under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1979 and NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 40, or by individual states through the NRC Agreement State program. NRC currently regulates uranium recovery in a number of western states, including the two states (Wyoming and New Mexico) with the largest domestic uranium reserves. In addition, potential environmental impacts are evaluated under the National Environmental Policy Act regulations in 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508 or 10 CFR Part 51, and groundwater quality is regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the states through underground injection control programs. This abstract describes work performed by the CNWRA, Geosciences and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute®. The work described here was not funded by the NRC.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90078©2008 AAPG Annual Convention, San Antonio, Texas