The Honorable Jim Geringer
Governor of Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002
Dear Governor Geringer:
In my letter to you dated June 6, 1996, I indicated that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff was developing an action plan to eliminate the backlog of work currently in the uranium recovery program by the end of Fiscal Year 1997 (September 1997). I also committed to provide you additional information once that analysis was complete. I am writing to you now to inform you that the NRC staff has developed the uranium recovery program action plan.
The NRC plan realigns resources to provide a major increase in staff and contractor support for the elimination of the uranium recovery work backlog. This increase should help the NRC staff to improve the timeliness of uranium recovery licensing actions while continuing to maintain adequate protection of public health and safety. We expect to concentrate on supporting the licensing of new facilities, the resumption of operation for existing facilities, the renewal of licenses for existing facilities, and the completion of ground-water and surface reclamation reviews for non-operating mills. We also believe that we will be able to support the statutorily mandated schedule for the Department of Energy to complete its work at abandoned uranium mills while at the same time ensuring that commercial operation and reclamations at licensed facilities receive the attention needed.
I believe the previous actions taken by NRC to improve the efficiency of the uranium recovery program, along with the additional resources dedicated to uranium recovery work, should help eliminate the current work backlog and ensure timely reviews in the future.
cc: M. Loomis