Venable partner Kathryn Floyd was quoted in a May 2, 2013 Fuel Cycle Week article on navigating the National Regulatory Commission's (NRC) mining regulations. Specifically, the publication cited her remarks from a recent Uranium Recovery Workshop in Denver, CO about how the NRC’s handling of the National Preservation Act’s (NHPA) Section 106 process has slowed the filing of uranium license applications.
Floyd advised uranium companies on how to comply with the section 106 requirements even though the NRC has not yet provided an official guidance document. She said "While new to NRC, it is not the first federal agency to deal with Section 106. There are a lot of tools out there" such as delegating a lot of the related responsibility to the licensee. She added that she's "never heard of a federal agency taking the position that it couldn’t start the process until an application is filed. Some federal agencies require applicants to come in six months before filing to start the NHPA process."
Floyd also addressed the argument that the NRC is slow to tackle the Section 601 process because it is an independent agency, saying that "the Surface Transportation Board is also an independent agency. It’s used existing tools, guidelines, regulations, and processes for projects much bigger than any of NRC’s uranium recovery ones."
Floyd advised uranium companies on how to comply with the section 106 requirements even though the NRC has not yet provided an official guidance document. She said "While new to NRC, it is not the first federal agency to deal with Section 106. There are a lot of tools out there" such as delegating a lot of the related responsibility to the licensee. She added that she's "never heard of a federal agency taking the position that it couldn’t start the process until an application is filed. Some federal agencies require applicants to come in six months before filing to start the NHPA process."
Floyd also addressed the argument that the NRC is slow to tackle the Section 601 process because it is an independent agency, saying that "the Surface Transportation Board is also an independent agency. It’s used existing tools, guidelines, regulations, and processes for projects much bigger than any of NRC’s uranium recovery ones."