NRC Source Material License for the Dewey-Burdock project
Updated September 10, 2011
Issuing Agency: United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
Authority: Atomic Energy Act, Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA)
NRC Application Review Schedule
NRC Dewey-Burdock license application page
DEADLINES FOR HEARING ACTIVITIES -- 10 CFR PART 2, SUBPART L
DOCUMENTS (newest first)
Letter from U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission rejecting Powertech's request for withholding information from public disclosure for the proposed Dewey-Burdock project - Ronald A. Burrows, Project Manager, Uranium Recovery Licensing Branch - February 10, 2011 (PDF 86 KB, 5 pages) NRC staff reject claims by Powertech permit chief Dick Blubaugh that release of drill hole locations and depths may cause substantial harm to Powertech and its shareholders should competitors and/or opponents of the proposed Dewey-Burdock project attempt to reinterpret and publish the data for the purposes of negatively affecting the licensing and permitting or economic valuation of the proposed project. The NRC's letter points out that Powertech provided no specific examples of how disclosure was likely to cause substantial economic harm.
OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE CALLS ON NRC TO SPONSOR REGIONAL MEETING OF TRIBAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICERS - Tribe says proposed Dewey-Burdock uranium mine represents "substantial potential threat to the preservation of cultural and historic resources"; cites "egregious" failure to reclaim abandoned open pit mines as well as Powertech's desire to turn area into a regional uranium processing center; calls Powertech's analysis "incomplete" and "unsupported"; says company "failed to include any direct input from any tribal sources" - Letter from the Oglala Sioux Tribe's Tribal Historic Preservation Office to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding "Invitation for formal consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act; request for information under the National Environmental Policy Act; proposed Powertech Inc. Dewey-Burdock in-situ leach uranium mine (NRC Docket No. 040-09075)" - Michael Catches Enemy, Natural Resources Director, and Wilmer Mesteth, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer - January 31, 2011 (PDF 1,687 KB, 3 pages)
Powertech (USA) Inc.'s Response to the NRC Staff's Requests for Additional Information Concerning the Dewey-Burdock Project, Custer and Fall River Counties, South Dakota: Docket No. 40-9075 - December 23, 2010:
Cover/transmittal letter (PDF 119 KB, 2 pages)
Volume I (PDF 29,530 KB, 259 pages)
Volume II (PDF 31,318 KB, 338 pages)
Volume II cont. (PDF 27,291 KB, 250 pages)
Surface & subsurface water quality (PDF 14,696 KB, 358 pages)
Meteorological characterization, geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, groundwater use, abandoned exploration wells, local drainages, floodplains, surface water quality (PDF 40,284 KB, 256 pages) This is a "public version" of the document(s) submitted by Powertech to the NRC. "Sensitive information" has been redacted.
Powertech's response to Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff request for clarification of statements regarding air emissions from well drilling - Richard E. Blubaugh, VP - Environmental Health & Safety Resources - November 17, 2010 (PDF 292 KB, 6 pages) The last page of this submittal contains a table of "Hole counts by project year." Powertech expects to drill 5,590 boreholes during the first eight years of the Dewey-Burdock project. The breakdown of the holes: delineation holes - 609, monitoring wells - 500, production wells - 1,438, deep disposal wells - 8, and injection wells - 3,035.
Letter from Tribal Historic Preservation Office of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate accepting the NRC's invitation for formal consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act regarding the proposed Dewey-Burdock In Situ Recovery Facility - Dianne Desrosiers, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer - November 2, 2010 (PDF 886 KB, 2 pages) The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate (SWO) are two combined bands/nations of the Eastern Dakota division of the Great Sioux Nation. The tribal government is located on the Lake Traverse Reservation in northeastern South Dakota. According to the letter, "The SWO is interested in working with the NRC to identify and protect the cultural and historic resources threatened by the project."
Letter from Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to Administrative Judges regarding estimates of issuance dates for draft and final documents associated with its review of Powertech's Source Materials License application (In the Matter of POWERTECH (USA) INC., Docket No. 40-9075-MLA; ASLBP No. 10-898-02-MLA-BD01) - November 1, 2010 (PDF 33 KB, 2 pages) The Staff’s current best estimates are: Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) - June 2011, Final Safety Evaluation Report (SER) - October 2011, Final SEIS - January 2012
Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff request for clarification of inconsistencies among maps submitted by Powertech, and request for raw data - September 30, 2010 (PDF 104 KB, 3 pages) Apparently, Powertech permit chief Dick Blubaugh submitted multiple copies of a "Fuson Isopach" map to the NRC that are "substantially different", causing NRC staff to ask numerous clarifying questions and triggering a request for the raw data used to construct the maps. (Another stellar performance by Blubaugh and the Powertech permitting team....)
Transcript of pre-hearing conference (via teleconference) - In the Matter of Powertech (USA), Inc. (Dewey-Burdock In-Situ Uranium Recovery Facility) - U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission - Atomic Safety and Licensing Board - September 23, 2010 (PDF 3,113 KB, 70 pages) In this teleconference held to discuss procedural matters, NRC staff attorney Michael Clark provides estimated dates that key licensing documents will be released: Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement - June 2011, Final Safety Evaluation Report - October 2011, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement - January 2012. Powertech acquired its Dewey-Burdock leases in May 2006 and obtained its first exploration permit in January 2007. In a 2007 interview, CEO Dick Clement boasted "We expect that production will occur during the latter half of 2009."
ORDER (Rescheduling Conference Call) In the Matter of POWERTECH (USA), INC. (Dewey-Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility) - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD - August 31, 2010 (PDF 115 KB, 4 pages)The conference call with the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, Powertech, NRC staff, Oglala Sioux Tribe, and other mine opponents has been rescheduled to Thursday, September 23 at 11:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time. Members of the public who wish to listen to the conference call should contact Ashley Prange at (301) 415-0110 to obtain the telephone number and pass code.
RESPONSE TO NRC STAFF’S MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION In the Matter of POWERTECH (USA), INC. (Dewey-Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility) - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD - August 26, 2010 (PDF 20 KB, 6 pages) Powertech expresses "concern" that the Licensing Board judges "may not understand the facts of the ISR process."
NOTICE OF HEARING In the Matter of POWERTECH (USA), INC. (Dewey-Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility) - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD - August 20, 2010 (PDF 150 KB, 7 pages) In this notice from the ASLB, the board explains that nonparties may submit written position statements.
NRC staff's MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION REGARDING SCOPE OF ADMITTED CONTENTIONS In the Matter of POWERTECH (USA), INC. (Dewey-Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility) - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD - August 16, 2010 (PDF 135 KB, 15 pages) NRC staff carries Powertech's water by attempting to narrow contentions raised by Oglala Sioux Tribe and other parties.
ORDER (Scheduling Initial Telephone Prehearing Conference Call) In the Matter of POWERTECH (USA), INC. (Dewey-Burdock In Situ Uranium Recovery Facility) - U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION, ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD - August 13, 2010 (PDF 121 KB, 8 pages) The evidentiary hearing process begins...
Emails between the NRC's Ronald Burrows and Powertech's Richard Blubaugh concerning an estimated date for Powertech to submit responses to the NRC's technical requests for additional information on the Dewey-Burdock project - July 20, 2010 through August 10, 2010 (PDF 114 KB, 3 pages) Dick to Ron: "Thanks for the reminder."
"Tribe, others can weigh permits for Edgemont mine" - Associated Press - August 8, 2010
News Release - "Powertech to amend Dewey-Burdock NRC license application" - Powertech Uranium Corp. - June 16, 2009 (PDF 118 KB) The Powertech spin machine is running full bore in this news release about its deficient NRC permit application for the Dewey-Burdock project in South Dakota. During an initial review, the NRC found several substantial "material deficiencies" that relate to the central question of whether the proposed mining may contaminate ground water. Powertech downplays the deficiencies by characterizing them as "five areas out of literally 100s of issues", and that Powertech simply needs to "clarify" the issues. Powertech also asserts that it is voluntarily withdrawing the application to amend it. In fact, NRC staff was clear that the agency would reject the application if it was not withdrawn. (See the June 14 blog entry for more details.)