NRC Board License Hearing Concluded NRC Board License Hearing Concluded
Published: Aug 27, 2014 12:09 a.m. ET
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, CO, Aug 27, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) -- Powertech Uranium Corp. (PWE), pending a name change to Azarga Uranium Corp., ("Powertech") announces that the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board's ("ASLB") oral hearing was completed on August 21, 2014.
Richard F. Clement, President and CEO of Powertech stated; "We are pleased to be completing this portion of the ASLB process, which from our stand point appears to have gone very well. We also applaud the efforts to explain the licensing decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ("NRC") staff as well as our team of consultants who served as expert witnesses. Powertech looks forward to proceeding with the remaining post-licensing NRC process over the balance of this year."
The evidentiary hearing, lasting three days, was conducted as a matter of regulation following the issuance by the NRC of the Final Source and Byproduct Materials License for the Dewey-Burdock Project, which took place on April 8, 2014.
William J. Froehlich served as Chairman of the ASLB for the hearing and was supported by Dr. Richard F. Cole and Dr. Mark O. Barnett, both of whom have technical backgrounds based in engineering disciplines. All written expert testimony and rebuttal was submitted prior to the hearing and was additionally deliberated by the board during the week. The ASLB asked questions of three panels of expert witnesses, which covered contentions admitted by the ASLB.
Importantly, there were no contentions filed on the Powertech license SUA-1600 or the Safety Evaluation Report (SER). Therefore, they were not directly under scrutiny in the hearing and remain in full effect and can be used for construction and operation of the project pending completion of additional permitting.
The contentions that were proffered by the interveners were focused primarily on the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (FSEIS) as well as procedural issues in regard to the licensing process completed by the NRC staff.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Froehlich noted his intent to provide the final filing by the parties by October 6, 2014.