The Nuclear Energy Institute on Wednesday said it was urging the state of Wyoming to change it status to a mining “agreement state,” which would place its uranium mining activities under the regulatory oversight of the state, rather than both the state and the federal government.
A change of status is provided for in the Atomic Energy Act of 1958, the NEI said. The move, which would place the state's uranium mining under the regulatory jurisdiction of the Department of Environmental Quality, would “benefit Wyoming by allowing mining to proceed under a state license alone,” NEI said.
NEI President and Chief Executive Officer Marvin Fertel said in a letter to the state's legislative committee for minerals, business and economic development that the switch would eliminate “duplicative federal regulation that is not needed to ensure safety yet slows the licensing process and diverts millions of dollars to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would be more effectively spent mining uranium in Wyoming.”
“This solid and well-established arrangement has been implemented successfully for uranium recovery activities in other states, with resulting benefits in jobs and revenue for state treasuries,” Fertel said.
The NEI noted that the NRC regulates approximately 10 percent of the 22,400 licenses covering the use of radioactive material in settings that include industrial, academic and medical.
Thirty-seven states have agreements with the NRC that grant them regulatory oversight over the use and processing of nuclear materials in their states, “including in situ mining,” the NEI noted.
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