Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Roca Honda Mine

Chapter 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences
national parks that exceed 6,000 acres in existence on August 7, 1977. Table 23 contains a list of
all the PSD Class I areas within the State of New Mexico and their approximate distance from the
proposed site.
Table 23. Class I areas in New Mexico and their distance from the proposed site
Area Name Acreage
Approximate Miles (kilometers)
from Proposed Action
Bandelier Wilderness 23,267 84 (135)
Bosque del Apache Wilderness 80,850 112 (181)
Carlsbad Caverns National Park 46,435 285 (459)
Gila Wilderness 433,690 150 (242)
Pecos Wilderness 167,416 120 (194)
Salt Creek Wilderness 8,500 224 (360)
San Pedro Parks Wilderness 41,132 70 (112)
Source: EPA, 2011c.
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP)
Mine ventilation is a critical component of underground uranium mining. Fresh air must be
pumped through the mine to provide sufficient air to workers and to vent or exhaust air from the
mine to prevent buildup of contaminants, including radon-222 gas among others. Radon-222 and
its associated decay product concentration within the mine must be controlled to levels below
those published in Title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 57, Section 57.5037. All
radon-222 released from underground mine surfaces would either be contained in the ventilation
exhaust or it would decay in underground airways because of stagnation. As a result of the mine
ventilation, radon-222 and its associated decay products are released to the environment through
ventilation shafts or other mine openings. The magnitude of these emissions is directly related to
the amount of radon-222 emanated from underground mine surfaces.
Federal law regulates radon emissions from uranium mines. The NESHAP’s Subpart B
regulations, National Emission Standards for Radon Emissions from Underground Uranium
Mines, apply to an underground uranium mine that (a) has mined, will mine, or is designed to
mine over 100,000 tons of ore during the life of the mine, or (b) has had or will have an annual
ore production rate greater than 10,000 tons, unless it can be demonstrated … that the mine will
not exceed total ore production of 100,000 tons during the life of the mine (40 CFR 61.20). For
any mine meeting this definition, the mine operator must comply with the emission standard for
radon-222 as required at 40 CFR 61.22 and is subject to the annual NESHAP Subpart B reporting
requirements, where emissions of radon-222 to the ambient air from an underground uranium
mine shall not exceed those amounts that would cause any member of the public to receive in any
year an effective dose equivalent of 10 mrem/y (40 CFR 61.22).
184 DEIS for Roca Honda Mine, Cibola National Forest