Crow Butte License Renewal Documents Pertaining to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and Solicitation of Public Comments
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has received an application from Crow Butte Resources, Inc. (CBR) to renew its NRC source materials license SUA-1534 to continue operation of an in-situ uranium recovery (ISR) facility for an additional 10 years. CBR's ISR facility is located in Crawford, Dawes County, Nebraska. The NRC staff is conducting an environmental review in accordance with the Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 51 (10 CFR Part 51), which implements the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). The NRC staff is also conducting a Section 106 review in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended (NHPA). NRC Staff initiated its consultation under Section 106 for the proposed renewal of CBR's Crow Butte operating ISR facility in September of 2010. In July of 2013, NRC Staff completed its Section 106 review and is providing four documents for public consideration and comment consistent with 36 CFR § 800.4(d)(1).
The area of potential effect is defined as the current project site boundary of the proposed license renewal project which consists of 2,875-acres. The NRC staff consulted with the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and interested Native American Tribes to identify historic properties, including ones of religious and cultural significance to the Tribes. The NRC staff also reviewed the information provided by CBR in its license renewal application. The NRC acknowledges that the Tribes possess special expertise in identifying properties of cultural and religious significance and assessing the significance of these properties to their individual Tribes. The NRC Staff invited Tribes to participate in a field study to identify historic properties. A Traditional Cultural Property field survey completed by the Santee Sioux Nation and the Crow Nation is the first bulleted link below. Based on the information found in that survey and the NRC Staff's independent analysis, the NRC Staff has preliminarily concluded that there are no sites or areas of historic, cultural, or religious significance to Tribes or other historic properties present in the area of potential effects of the proposed project site. Therefore, the NRC's Section 106 finding at this time is that no historic properties would be affected. The NRC Staff's letter to the Nebraska SHPO requesting concurrence on its completion of Section 106 consultation is the second link below. The Nebraska SHPO's response to the NRC Staff is the third link below. The Nebraska SHPO concurred with the NRC's finding and, therefore, the NRC considers its responsibilities under Section 106 fulfilled and the Section 106 process complete, unless it receives any new information contrary to this finding. The NRC Staff has documented its preliminary determination, detailing the Section 106 activities and cultural resources findings, which is available in the fourth link below.
NRC is soliciting comments from the public on the documents provided above or on the information stated here. The NRC is interested in any information that would call into question any of the conclusions stated here or in the enumerated documents. NRC Staff will accept comments until Friday, November 1st, 2013. Please submit your comments by emailing CrowButte-LicenseRenewal.Resource@nrc.gov.
For additional information regarding the proposed action, CBR's license application is publicly available from the NRC's Agency Wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). The accession numbers for CBR's license renewal application are ML073480267, ML073480266, and ML073470645. Information about the proposed actions can also be found in the project's web page.
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Thursday, March 25, 2021