Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and Announcement of Public Hearing, 18947-18948 [2020-06557]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• National Nuclear Security Administration

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 65 (Friday, April 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18947-18948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-06557]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site in South 
Carolina and Announcement of Public Hearing

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearing.

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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-
autonomous agency within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy 
(DOE), announces the availability of a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site in 
South Carolina (SRS Pit Production EIS) (DOE/EIS-0541). NNSA is also 
announcing a 45-day public comment period and one public hearing to 
receive comments on the Draft EIS. NNSA prepared the Draft EIS to 
evaluate the potential environmental impacts of producing a minimum of 
50 war reserve pits per year at SRS and developing the ability to 
implement a short-term surge capacity to enable NNSA to meet the 
requirements of producing pits at a rate of not less than 80 war 
reserve pits per year beginning during 2030 for the nuclear weapons 
stockpile.

DATES: NNSA invites Federal and state agencies, state and local 
governments, Native American tribes, industry, other organizations, and 
members of the public to review and submit comments on the Draft SRS 
Pit Production EIS through May 18, 2020. NNSA is

[[Page 18948]]

planning to hold one public hearing on the Draft EIS as follows:
    In light of recent public health concerns, NNSA will be hosting an 
internet-based, virtual public hearing in place of an in-person 
meeting. The date of the hearing will be provided in a future notice 
posted on the following website: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room. NNSA will hold the hearing no earlier than 15 days from 
the posting of the notice.

ADDRESSES: Written and oral comments will be given equal weight and 
NNSA will consider all comments received or postmarked by the end of 
the comment period in preparing the Final EIS. Comments received or 
postmarked after the comment period will be considered to the extent 
practicable. Written comments on the Draft EIS or requests for 
information related to the Draft EIS should be sent to Ms. Jennifer 
Nelson, NEPA Compliance Officer, National Nuclear Security 
Administration, Savannah River Field Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 
29802; or sent by email to [email protected]. Before including your 
address, phone number, email address, or other personally identifiable 
information in your comment, please be advised that your entire 
comment--including your personally identifiable information--may be 
made publicly available. If you wish for NNSA to withhold your name 
and/or other personally identifiable information, please state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. You may also submit 
comments anonymously.
    The Draft SRS Pit Production EIS is available on the internet at: 
https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room and https://www.energy.gov/nepa/listings/latest-documents-and-notices.
    Information related to the online public hearing, including 
internet and telephone access details, and instructions on how to 
participate will be available at the following website: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room and announced in local media 
outlets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this 
Notice, please contact Ms. Jennifer Nelson, NEPA Compliance Officer, 
National Nuclear Security Administration Savannah River Field Office, 
P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC 29802; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: National security policies require DOE, 
through NNSA, to maintain the United States' nuclear weapons stockpile, 
as well as the nation's core competencies in nuclear weapons. NNSA has 
the mission to maintain and enhance the safety, security, and 
effectiveness of the nuclear weapons stockpile. Plutonium pits are 
critical components of every nuclear weapon, with nearly all current 
stockpile pits having been produced from 1978-1989. Today, the United 
States' capability to produce plutonium pits is limited.
    NNSA's pit production mission was emphasized as a national security 
imperative by the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, issued in February 2018 
by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and subsequent congressional 
statements of the policy of the United States. The 2018 Nuclear Posture 
Review announced that the United States will pursue initiatives to 
ensure the necessary capability, capacity, and responsiveness of the 
nuclear weapons infrastructure and the needed skill of the workforce, 
including providing the enduring capability and capacity to produce no 
fewer than 80 pits per year by 2030. The 2018 Nuclear Posture Review 
concludes that the United States must have sufficient research, design, 
development, and production capacity to support the sustainment of its 
nuclear forces. Additionally, in Section 3116 of the National Defense 
Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, Congress required 
NNSA to produce 80 plutonium pits per year beginning during 2030.
    To that end, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and 
Sustainment and Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator 
of the NNSA issued a Joint Statement on May 10, 2018, identifying their 
recommended alternative to meet the pit production requirement based on 
the completion of an Analysis of Alternatives, an Engineering 
Assessment, and a Workforce Analysis. To achieve the nation's 
requirement of producing no fewer than 80 pits per year beginning 
during 2030, NNSA has proposed to repurpose the Mixed-Oxide Fuel 
Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at SRS to produce plutonium pits while also 
relying upon pit production activities at the Los Alamos National 
Laboratory (LANL). This two-pronged approach--with a minimum of 50 pits 
per year produced at SRS and a minimum of 30 pits per year at LANL--is 
considered the best way to manage the cost, schedule, and risk of such 
a vital undertaking. This approach improves the resiliency, 
flexibility, and redundancy of our Nuclear Security Enterprise by 
reducing reliance on a single production site.
    The SRS Pit Production EIS is an important element of the overall 
NEPA strategy related to fulfilling national requirements for pit 
production, which NNSA announced on June 10, 2019 (84 FR 26849). In the 
Draft EIS, NNSA evaluates the potential impacts to the environment and 
human health from the following alternatives: (1) Proposed Action to 
repurpose MFFF into the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility 
(SRPPF) to produce a minimum of 50 pits per year; and (2) No Action 
Alternative. The Proposed Action to construct and operate the SRPPF to 
produce a minimum of 50 pits per year includes, but is not limited to: 
Reconfiguration (including disassembly and removal of equipment and 
utility commodities) of the MFFF; installation of equipment necessary 
for activities associated with pit production before disassembly/metal 
preparation, pit assembly, machining, aqueous processing, foundry 
operations, material characterization, and analytical chemistry 
operations for certification); constructing and repurposing other 
facilities surrounding the SRPPF for support activities (e.g., waste 
handling, training, office space, roads, storage, and parking); 
security and nuclear safety upgrades to support pit production; 
providing reliable utilities and infrastructure required for pit 
production; and hiring and training necessary workforce to ensure the 
safe, secure, reliable, and responsive capability for pit production at 
SRS. Under the No-Action Alternative, the existing MFFF would remain 
unused and NNSA would utilize the capabilities at LANL to meet the 
Nation's long-term needs for pit manufacturing.
    Following this public comment period, and after consideration of 
comments received, NNSA will prepare a Final SRS Pit Production EIS. 
NNSA will announce the availability of the Final EIS in the Federal 
Register and local media outlets. If warranted, NNSA will issue a 
record of decision (ROD) no sooner than 30 days after publication by 
the Environmental Protection Agency of a Notice of Availability of the 
Final EIS.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 16th day of March 2020, for the 
United States Department of Energy.
Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty,
Under Secretary for Nuclear Security, Administrator, NNSA.
[FR Doc. 2020-06557 Filed 4-2-20; 8:45 am]
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