ATTACHMENT A UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD PANEL Before Chief Administrative Judge B. Paul Cotter, Jr. , Presiding Officer Administrative Judge Thomas D. Murphy, Special Assistant ) In the Matter of ) ) HYDRO RESOURCES, INC. ) Docket No. 40-8968-ML 2929 Coors Road ) Suite 101 ) ASLBP No. 95-706-01-ML Albuquerque, NM 87120 ) __________) AFFIDAVIT OF ERIC BLINMAN Eric Blinman, being duly sworn, states: 1. My name is Eric Blinman. I am of sound mind and body and am competent to make this declaration. The factual statements herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge, and the opinions expressed herein are based on my best professional judgment and experience. 2. The purpose of this declaration is to respond to "ENDAUM's And SRIC's Motion For Stay, Request For Prior Hearing, And Request For Temporary Stay," dated January 15, 1998. This declaration includes specific responses to issues raised in affidavits by William A. Dodge and Klara B. Kelley, submitted as exhibits 2 and 3 of the Motion for Stay. These affidavits address the procedures and adequacy of cultural resources investigations conducted in advance of the issuance of a materials license to Hydro Resources, Inc. ("HRI") by the U.S. Nuclear Regula­ tory Commission ("NRC''). 3. It is my professional opinion that, considering the fact that phased review of the undertak- ing was proposed by the NRC and accepted without objection by the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Division ("NMSHPD") and the Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department ("NNHPD"), and based on accepted practice in the conduct of cultural resource investigations within the framework of National Historic Preservation Act ("NHPA") § 106 consultations, the current cultural resources review of HRI's proposed development is proper, adequate, and in full compliance with NHPA § 106. Moreover, Section 106 review will continue as required by Condition 9.12 of the NRC operating license for HRI and will fully comply with all applicable provisions of the NHP A. STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS 4. I am the Assistant Director of the Museum of New Mexico, Office of Archaeological Studies ("OAS"). My academic training includes an A.B. degree with high honors in anthropol­ ogy and distinction in general scholarship from the University of California, Berkeley (1975); an M.A. degree in anthropology from Washington State University (1978); and a Ph.D. degree in anthropology from Washington State University (1988). My archaeological field experience dates back to 1970. I have been employed in various aspects of cultural resource investigations including NHPA Section 106 compliance since 1976 and have worked within the Southwest 2 cultural area since 1979. Since 1988, I have been a full-time employee of the Museum of New Mexico, OAS, and since 1991, I have been responsible for conducting and overseeing all cultural resources projects undertaken by the OAS on the Colorado Plateau. My personal vita is attached to this affidavit. 5. Since 1953, the Museum of New Mexico has conducted cultural resources investigations on behalf of clients in advance of development projects. The OAS currently executes this func­ tion within the Museum, serving clients who are complying with the provisions of the NHP A and other federal, state, tribal, county, and municipal laws and regulations concerning the treatment of cultural resources. Its principal client is the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department, but the OAS also conducts investigations on behalf of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals And Natural Resources Department, the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and a wide variety of public agencies and private corporations. The OAS currently has a staff of more than 60 archaeologists, ethnohistorians, and support personnel, and its legislatively approved budget is in excess of $2.5 million for the current fiscal year. The OAS staff produces 30-40 cultural resources reports each year, most designed to comply specifically with the requirements ofNHPA § 106. 6. 20 members of the OAS staff, including myself, are permitted by the NNHPD as Persons in Direct Charge or Persons in General Charge of cultural resources investigations on lands ad­ ministered by the Navajo Nation. The OAS and OAS staff also hold permits for conducting cul­ tural resource investigations on State, private, and federal agency administered lands in New Mexico. 3 RESPONSE TO CULTURAL RESOURCES ISSUES RAISED IN THE MOTION FOR STAY 7. The Motion for Stay asserts that cultural resources information necessary for compliance with NHPA § 106 is incomplete. That assertion ignores the concurrence of the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer ("NMSHPO") with the NRC requirement that cultural resources be evaluated within an NHP A § 106 review process for each phase of the proposed mining development. The first phase was defined as proposed developments within the Church Rock Site (subsumed within Section 8 and a portion of Section 17, Tl 6N, Rl 6W) and potential developments at a surface water disposal site north of Crownpoint, New Mexico (Section 12, Tl 7N, R13W). In my experience, phased NHPA § 106 consultations are common and necessary for long term development projects such as that currently proposed by HRI. 8. Prior to October 1996, an archaeological survey was completed for portions of the first phase mining areas -- Sections 8, 12, 17 -- by various archaeologists, and a traditional cultural property inventory was conducted for the entire area by Mr. Earnest Becenti, Sr. Between Octo­ ber 21 , 1996 and March 15, 1997, the OAS staff conducted a detailed archaeological survey of these areas, reviewed the adequacy of prior traditional cultural property investigations, and aug­ mented the accuracy and precision of all prior cultural resources investigations of these areas. Standard inventory methods were applied, equaling or exceeding the requirements of the NMSHPO, the NNHPD, and the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM"), Farmington District Office, and applicable laws and regulations (such as NNHPD Interim Fieldwork and Report Standards and Guidelines and NNHPD Navajo Nation Policy to Protect Traditional Cultural 4 Properties). A synthesis of prior work relevant to this phase of the mining development and the results of new investigations are presented in the report: "Cultural Resources Inventory of Pro­ posed Uranium Solution Extraction and Monitoring Facilities at the Church Rock Site and of Proposed Surface Irrigation Facilities North of the Crownpoint Site, McKinley County, New Mexico," by Eric Blinman ("Blinman 1997"). 9. Cultural resources information within these areas is adequate and complete for the pur- poses of determining the presence of archaeological and traditional cultural properties eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places (the "National Register"). Blinman 1997 identified eligible archaeological resources in the first phase mining areas but did not find any eligible traditional cultural properties. An unpermitted modern burial plot was identified on BLM land at the Church Rock Site. However, burial plots do not constitute a traditional cultural property in the land-use definitions used by the BLM, and other regulations protect such sites. Additionally, two possible modern burial locations were identified within an eligible archaeo­ logical site at Section 12. Blinman 1997 provided specific recommendations that would ensure that the mining development would not affect those archaeological resources that were eligible for protective consideration under NHP A § 106, and the two possible burial locations described above are protected within the archaeological resource. 10. In its letter dated November 20, 1997, the NMSHPO formally concurred with the find- ings of Blinman 1997 with respect to the eligibility of above-mentioned archaeological sites for inclusion in the National Register. The NRC is also in agreement with the eligibility findings of Blinman 1997. Thus, the identification stage of the Section 106 review process for the first 5 phase of proposed development by HRI is now complete per 36 C.F.R. § 800.4, and all that is left to be done is for the NRC and NMSHPO to reach an agreement on the finding of no effect by Blinman 1997. 11 . Within the framework of the phased development of HRI mining facilities, all require- ments for compliance with the NHP A § 106 process are being met. RESPONSES TO ISSUED RAISED IN THE AFFIDAVIT OF WILLIAM A. DODGE 12. Mr. Dodge's opinion that the cultural resources information is inadequate is predicated on the assumption that the phased approach to NHP A § 106 is improper. That issue is addressed above and also in the affidavit prepared by Lorraine Heartfield. In any case, no mining develop­ ments can occur on lands other than those addressed in Blinman 1997 until the NHP A § 106 process is completed for cultural resources on those specific lands. 13 . Mr. Dodge also asserts (Dodge Affidavit at section 22) that traditional cultural properties that lie outside of the project area may be affected by "visual or noise intrusion or alteration of their setting." In addition to the OAS investigations, potential traditional cultural prope11ies in the vicinity of the first phase developments were identified and assessed by Mr. Earnest C. Be­ centi, Sr. (former Church Rock Chapter president, registered traditional practitioner, and an indi­ vidual whose recommendations are accepted by the NNHPD for the purposes of the