At the end of April, the US Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) ruled on seven contentions raised by the Consolidated Intervenors and the Oglala Sioux Tribe with respect to the NRC Final Source and Byproduct Materials License for the project.
Azarga and the NRC will have 25 days to respond to the petition. The five-member commission will rule directly on the petitions.
The ASLB’s partial initial decision includes an opportunity to undertake further consultation between the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the NRC. It also requires monthly status reports from NRC staff until they address outstanding issues.
Azarga anticipates that the NRC would continue this process during review by the Commission.
Azarga Uranium chairman and CEO Alexander Molyneux said: "While we were actually happy with the main elements of the ASLB’s partial initial decision, we believe the ASLB was incorrect in determining that the NRC process had not met the requirements of NEPA and NHPA with respect to the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
"In the meantime, we will support the consultation process with the Oglala Sioux Tribe set out in the partial initial decision and are pleased that our NRC Final License remains in good standing."
