MISSION: Southwest Research and Information Center is a multi-cultural organization working to promote the health of people and communities, protect natural resources, ensure citizen participation, and secure environmental and social justice now and for future generations

SRIC questions to NRC regarding redaction of DEIS on LES uranium enrichment plant

Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2004 10:14:07 -0700
To: nrcrep@nrc.gov
From: Don Hancock sricdon@earthlink.net
Subject: Docket No. 70-3103 - Request for extension of time

Dear People,

Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC) is a private nonprofit, educational organization based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that has been involved in issues related to uranium development in New Mexico for decades. As a result of its more than 30 years of work, including analyzing and experiencing the enormous and continuing extremely negative impacts of uranium mining and milling on people's health and the water, soil, air, and spiritual environment in New Mexico, SRIC has great interest in the proposed LES Gas Centrifuge Uranium Enrichment Facility. SRIC submitted scoping comments for NRC's environmental impact statement (EIS) of the LES plant.

In response to your Federal Register notice of December 21, 2004 (page 76485), SRIC has examined the "redacted" LES DEIS on your website. SRIC requests at least a 30-day extension of the comment period, beyond the approximately two weeks (until January 7, 2005) being provided.

Moreover, the comment period extension should be from the time that NRC makes publicly available the following information:

1. The criteria used to remove "potentially sensitive information" (the phrase used in the December 21 FR notice). No criteria or rationale is included in the "redacted" DEIS. The public should be able to comment on the criteria in commenting on the DEIS.
2. What is the status of the September 2004 DEIS? The "redacted" version has much less information and analysis than the September 2004 version.
3. Will NRC make available to the public all of the comments received on the DEIS, including those comments related to "redacted" portions of the DEIS? If not all public comments will be made available, what is NRC's legal authority to withhold such comments?
4. How will NRC respond to comments on the DEIS related to "redacted" portions? For example, are comments related to "potentially sensitive information" deemed unavailable to the public or outside of the scope of the DEIS?

Thank you for your prompt response to this request.

For further information contact us at sricdon@earthlink.net or call (505) 262-1862, fax: (505) 262-1864.