[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 166 (Friday, August 26, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58921-58923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-20501]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for Disposition of Depleted Uranium Oxide Conversion Product
Generated From DOE's Inventory of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intention to
prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for its
proposal to disposition depleted uranium oxide (DUOX)
conversion product from its depleted uranium hexafluoride
(DUF6) conversion facilities at the Paducah, Kentucky, and
Portsmouth, Ohio, sites at up to three offsite low-level waste disposal
facilities. The Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for
Disposition of Depleted Uranium Oxide Conversion Product Generated from
DOE's Inventory of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DOE/EIS-0359-S1; DOE/
EIS-0360-S1) will analyze potential environmental impacts from the
proposed action to identify a final disposition location or locations
for the DUOX conversion product from both operating
DUF6 conversion facilities.
The proposed scope of the draft SEIS includes an analysis of
potential environmental impacts from activities associated with the
transportation to and disposition of depleted uranium oxide at three
proposed disposition location alternatives: the DOE-owned low-level
radioactive waste disposal facility at the Nevada National Security
Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada; the EnergySolutions, LLC (formerly
known as Envirocare of Utah, Inc.) low-level waste disposal facility in
Clive, Utah; and the newly identified location at the Waste Control
Specialists, LLC (WCS) low-level waste disposal facility in Andrews,
Texas.
ADDRESSES: Questions concerning the project or requests to be placed on
the document distribution list can be sent to: Ms. Jaffet Ferrer-
Torres, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Document Manager,
Office of Environmental Management, U.S. Department of Energy, EM-4.22,
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585; or to
[email protected]. Additional information regarding the SEIS is
available at: http://www.energy.gov/em/disposition-uranium-oxide-conversion-depleted-uranium-hexafluoride.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on DOE's
DUF6 long-term management and disposal program, please
contact Ms. Jaffet Ferrer-Torres, U.S. Department of Energy at the
above ADDRESSES.
For information on DOE's NEPA process, please contact Ms. Carol M.
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20585-0103; Telephone: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at (800) 472-
2756; or email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The use of uranium as fuel for nuclear power plants or for military
applications requires increasing the proportion of the uranium-235
isotope found in natural uranium. Industrial uranium enrichment in the
United States began as part of atomic bomb development during World War
II. Uranium enrichment for both civilian and military uses was
continued by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and its successor
agencies, including DOE. Uranium enrichment by gaseous diffusion was
carried out at three locations: the Paducah Site in Kentucky, the
Portsmouth Site in Ohio, and the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee.
[[Page 58922]]
DUF6 results from the uranium enrichment process. The
DUF6 that remains after enrichment typically contains 0.2
percent to 0.4 percent uranium-235 and has been stored as a solid in
large metal cylinders at the gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment
facilities. The DUF6 must be converted into a more stable
form for disposal. The conversion process results in DUOX
and aqueous hydrogen fluoride \1\ (HF). DOE's existing inventory has
over 760,000 metric tons (MT) (1 MT = 1,000 kilograms, approximately
2,205 pounds) of DUF6. Approximately 54,000 MT, or 7% of
this total, has already been converted at the end of calendar year
2015. DUF6 is stored as a solid in steel cylinders that each
hold approximately 10 to 14 MT of material. These cylinders are stacked
two layers high in outdoor areas known as ``yards.'' The Paducah Site
has approximately 44,000 DUF6 cylinders, and the Portsmouth
Site has approximately 19,000 DUF6 cylinders, for a total of
about 63,000 cylinders. All DUF6 cylinders produced at
facilities in Tennessee were previously transported to the Portsmouth
Site. Operating at planned capacity, the conversion plants would
produce approximately 10,800 MT (11,900 tons) of DUOX
annually at Portsmouth and 14,300 MT (15,800 tons) of DUOX
annually at Paducah. The duration to convert the inventory of
DUF6 to DUOX is expected to be 18 years for the
Portsmouth DUF6 inventory and 25 years for Paducah's larger
DUF6 inventory.
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\1\ The HF produced during conversion will be recycled into
commercial product.
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Relationship to Existing NEPA Analyses
This SEIS represents the third phase of an environmental review
process being used to evaluate and implement the DUF6 long-
term management program. As a first step and pursuant to Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) and DOE NEPA implementing regulations at 40
CFR parts 1500-1508 and 10 CFR part 1021, respectively, DOE evaluated
potential broad management options for its DUF6 inventory in
the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Alternative
Strategies for the Long-Term Management and Use of Depleted Uranium
Hexafluoride (DUF6 PEIS) (DOE/EIS-0269) issued in April 1999
(64 FR 19999; April 23, 1999). In the DUF6 PEIS Record of
Decision (ROD) (64 FR 43358; August 10, 1999), DOE decided to promptly
convert the DUF6 inventory to a more stable uranium oxide
form and stated that it would use the depleted uranium oxide as much as
possible and store the remaining depleted uranium oxide for potential
future uses or disposal, as necessary. DOE did not select specific
sites for the conversion facilities or disposal at that time, but
reserved that decision for subsequent NEPA review.
In June 2004, DOE issued two EISs for construction and operation of
DUF6 conversion facilities and other actions at its Paducah,
Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio sites (69 FR 34161; June 18, 2004). Both
the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Construction and Operation
of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Paducah,
Kentucky Site (DOE/EIS-0359) and the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium
Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio Site (DOE/EIS-
0360) were prepared as a second phase of the environmental review
process to evaluate and implement DOE's DUF6 long-term
management program. These EISs evaluated the potential environmental
impacts of transportation and disposition of depleted uranium oxide at
two potential off-site locations: at the DOE-owned low-level
radioactive waste disposal facility at the Nevada Test Site (now known
as NNSS), and at Envirocare of Utah, Inc. (now known as
EnergySolutions, LLC), a commercial low-level waste disposal facility
in Clive, Utah. RODs were published for both of these EISs on July 27,
2004 (69 FR 44649, 69 FR 44654). However, DOE deferred a decision on
the transportation and disposition of the conversion product and
committed to addressing that action at a later date.
In 2007, DOE prepared a draft Supplement Analysis (SA), in
accordance with DOE NEPA implementing regulations at 10 CFR 1021.314,
in order to determine whether there were substantial changes to the
proposal or significant new circumstances or information relevant to
environmental concerns that require preparation of a Supplemental EIS
to decide disposition locations committed to in the 2004 RODs. DOE made
the Draft Supplement Analysis for Location(s) to Dispose of Depleted
Uranium Oxide Conversion Product Generated from DOE's Inventory of
Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DOE/EIS-0359-SA-1 and DOE/EIS-0360-SA-1)
publicly available on April 3, 2007 (72 FR 15869). The comments
received associated with the scope of the draft SA suggested
consideration of WCS's Andrews, Texas, site as a reasonable
alternative, which will be considered in this SEIS. DOE determined that
more time was needed to allow for resolution of regulatory questions at
the disposal sites and did not issue a final SA.
In August 2014, the WCS facility near Andrews, Texas, was granted a
license amendment by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would allow
disposal of bulk uranium. As a result, DOE assumes, for purposes of
planning, that WCS may be a new reasonable alternative as a disposal
site for depleted uranium oxide conversion product. After due
consideration of the existing DOE NEPA analyses summarized above, and
any changes in the disposition activities currently being considered,
DOE determined in March 2016 that a Supplemental EIS is warranted given
that there are substantial changes to the proposal (in this case, a new
alternative disposal site is under consideration), or potentially
significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental
concerns given the time lapse since the 2004 EISs.
Purpose and Need for Agency Action
The purpose and need for this action is to dispose of
DUOx that results from converting DOE's DUF6
inventory to a more stable chemical form. This need follows directly
from the decisions presented in the 2004 RODs for construction and
operation of DUF6 conversion facilities and other NEPA
actions at its Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio sites, that
deferred DOE's decision related to the transportation to and disposal
of depleted uranium oxide at potential off-site facilities.
Alternatives Considered
The proposed scope of the draft SEIS includes an analysis of the
potential impacts from three action alternatives and the No Action
alternative (in accordance with 40 CFR 1502.14). Under the No Action
alternative, transportation to and disposal of the conversion product
at an offsite low-level waste disposal facility would not occur and
refilled cylinders of DUOx conversion product would remain
at the DUF6 conversion facility sites at DOE's Paducah and
Portsmouth sites. The SEIS will also analyze and compare the potential
impacts from three action alternatives that include transportation to
and disposal of DUOx at three proposed alternative
locations, including government-owned and privately-owned facilities:
(1) The DOE-owned Area 5 waste disposal facility at the NNSS; (2) the
EnergySolutions LLC, low-level waste disposal facility in Clive, Utah;
and (3) the newly identified location at the WCS federal low-level
[[Page 58923]]
waste disposal facility in Andrews, Texas.
The SEIS analysis will include a review of available environmental
data and information; comparative analyses of potential environmental
and human health and safety impacts of DUOx disposal at the
three alternative locations (including updated information for the two
offsite disposal locations previously identified and studied in the
2004 EISs); analyses of the potential environmental impacts of
transporting DUOx by rail or truck to each alternative site;
and an evaluation of the No Action alternative.
Identification of Environmental Issues
The SEIS will examine potential public health and safety effects
and environmental impacts from the proposed action. This notice is
intended to inform agencies and the public of DOE's proposal. Although
the following is not intended to be all inclusive or to imply any
predetermination of impacts, these general categories of impacts will
be considered in the SEIS: Land use; geology, soils, and geologic
hazards, including seismicity; water resources (surface water and
groundwater); biological resources; protected, threatened and
endangered species, including species of special concern; human health
and safety (both routine operations and potential accidents); air
quality; noise; cultural and historic resources; waste management;
environmental justice; and socioeconomics.
Public Participation in the SEIS Process
A public scoping process is optional for DOE Supplemental EISs (10
CFR 1021.311(f)), and there will be none for this project. However, DOE
will provide opportunities for public review and comment, including
public hearings, on the draft SEIS.
SEIS Preparation and Schedule
DOE expects to issue the draft SEIS in 2016.
Issued at Washington, DC, on August 19, 2016.
Frank Marcinowski,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-20501 Filed 8-25-16; 8:45 am]
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