NRC expands Wyoming oversight of radioactive materials in rare earth processing

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has handed Wyoming a bigger role in the radioactive edge cases that can slow down rare earth and critical-mineral projects. The amendment, approved April 23 and effective April 30, lets the state regulate source material recovered during mineral processing, including rare earth processing, when uranium or thorium is not the primary product.

That shift matters because it moves a slice of oversight from Washington to Cheyenne at exactly the point where Wyoming is trying to turn geology into operating plants. The state can now license, inspect and enforce rules for source material that shows up as a side stream or waste during other mineral-processing activities. The NRC said one existing federal license will be transferred to Wyoming’s program, including the license for Rare Element Resources, Inc.’s Bear Lodge Project.

The commission framed the change as part of a broader national push to strengthen U.S. supply chains for critical minerals used in energy, defense and advanced technologies. In practical terms, the amendment gives companies a clearer state-led route for handling radioactive materials that appear while processing non-uranium ores, which could reduce one layer of uncertainty for rare earth developers trying to move from exploration and permitting into construction.

Wyoming has regulated uranium recovery facilities and certain byproduct materials under an NRC agreement since September 2018, but this amendment broadens that authority into a wider mineral-processing environment. The NRC staff found Wyoming’s Source Material Program, housed in the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Land Quality Division, adequate and compatible with federal requirements under 10 CFR Part 40. The state also revised its statutes to cover source material recovered from minerals processed primarily for purposes other than obtaining source material content.

The public comment period on the proposal closed March 2, after the Federal Register notice ran February 13. The NRC received just two anonymous submissions, one general comment and one essay-style submission that the agency summarized into five paraphrased comments. Wyoming first signaled its intent in a February 21, 2023, letter and formally submitted the amendment request on August 5, 2025.

Governor Mark Gordon said the deal was meant to bring authority “closer to the ground” while supporting innovation, investment and jobs. His office said House Bill HB0061 in the 67th Legislative Session drove the effort and that the Land Quality Division was authorized to add two full-time positions for the new Source Material Program.

For Wyoming’s rare earth push, the timing is telling. Ramaco Resources, Inc.’s Brook Mine near Sheridan has been presented as a major critical-minerals project, and the Bear Lodge transfer gives the state a test case for how radioactive byproducts will be handled as these projects move from concept to commercial reality.