Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, 61741-61743 [2020-21606]
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jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 190 / Wednesday, September 30, 2020 / Notices
implementing a new multiple building
design approach. The updated strategy
is consistent with recommendations
from a project peer review of the UPF
[‘‘Final Report of the Committee to
Recommend Alternatives to the
Uranium Processing Facility Plan in
Meeting the Nation’s Enriched Uranium
Strategy’’] conducted in 2014. As
approved in the 2016 AROD, under the
new multiple building design approach,
the single-structure UPF concept would
be separated into multiple buildings,
each being constructed to safety and
security requirements appropriate to the
building’s function and NNSA would
perform necessary maintenance and
upgrades to some existing EU facilities.
As the result of a lawsuit filed against
DOE and NNSA, the federal district
court issued several rulings related to
NNSA’s NEPA documents for Y–12. See
the 2019 AROD ((October 4, 2019, 84 FR
53133)) for a detailed discussion of that
lawsuit and the associated NEPA
documents for Y–12. Based on its
determination that additional NEPA
analysis of new information pertaining
to seismic risks at Y–12 was needed, the
judge vacated several of the Y–12 NEPA
documents that were prepared
subsequent to the Y–12 SWEIS,
including the 2016 AROD. However, the
court held that NNSA’s revised strategy
of upgrading existing EU buildings
pursuant to the Extended Life Program
and constructing UPF with multiple
buildings was adequately considered as
part of the Y–12 SWEIS. Consequently,
the court did not vacate the 2011 ROD
or Y–12 SWEIS or enjoin any activities
at Y–12. The court further held that
NNSA is not required to prepare a
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the UPF Project or the
Extended Life Program. See
Memorandum Opinion and Order in
Case 3:18–cv–00150–PLR–DCP. Thus,
consistent with 10 CFR 1021.315(e),
NNSA determined that the existing 2011
ROD for the Y–12 SWEIS could be
amended, and in October 2019, NNSA
issued the 2019 AROD (84 FR 53133)
that authorized continuing
implementation of the improvements
previously authorized in the vacated
2016 AROD on an interim basis,
pending the completion of the
additional seismic analysis ordered by
the court. In accordance with the court’s
determination that additional NEPA
analysis of new information pertaining
to seismic risks at Y–12 is needed,
NNSA prepared the 2020 SA.
Summary of Impacts Associated With
Continued Operation of Y–12
NNSA prepared the 2020 SA to
present an unbounded accident analysis
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17:36 Sep 29, 2020
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of earthquake consequences at Y–12,
using updated seismic hazard analyses.
The 2020 SA presents the earthquake
impacts for the UPF and Extended Life
Program facilities based upon updated
seismic hazard information and
analyses, including analysis of the 2014
U.S. Geological Survey seismic hazard/
maps. The 2020 SA compares and
contrasts those impacts with impacts
from the Y–12 SWEIS accident analysis.
Two types of impact comparisons are
presented: (1) Facility-to-facility; and (2)
alternative-to-alternative. These
comparisons support conclusions/
determinations as to whether the
earthquake consequences constitute a
substantial change that is relevant to
environmental concerns; or if the new
seismic information constitutes
significant new circumstances or
information relevant to environmental
concerns and bearing on continued
operations at Y–12 compared to the
analysis in the Y–12 SWEIS.
As discussed in the 2020 SA, the
potential impacts to non-involved
workers and the offsite population
associated with an earthquake accident
at Y–12 would be less than impacts
presented in the Y–12 SWEIS, both in
considering the potential consequences
of such an accident as well as the risks
that such an accident would occur. The
2020 SA shows that the UPF designbasis earthquake accident and a seismicinduced criticality event in either the
9215 Complex or 9204–2E Facility (the
two existing EU buildings)—or both
facilities combined—would have
insignificant impacts to non-involved
workers and the offsite population and
would have a very low likelihood of
occurring. Under the worst case
scenario of a beyond design-basis
earthquake at the UPF, consequences of
less than one latent cancer fatality
would likewise be expected to the
offsite population and non-involved
workers and would have an extremely
low risk of occurring. The 2020 SA also
confirms that potential impacts to
involved workers would be similar to or
less than impacts presented in the 2011
SWEIS. Based on the results of the 2020
SA, NNSA determined that: (1) The
earthquake consequences and risks do
not constitute a substantial change; (2)
there are no significant new
circumstances or information relevant to
environmental concerns; and (3) no
additional NEPA documentation is
required at this time.
Amended Decision
Based on the Y–12 SWEIS and the
analysis in the 2020 SA, NNSA has
decided to continue to operate Y–12 to
meet the stockpile stewardship mission
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61741
critical activities assigned to the site.
NNSA will also meet EU requirements
using a hybrid approach of upgrading
existing EU buildings under its
Extended Life Program and separating
the single-structure UPF into multiple
buildings, with each constructed to
safety and security requirements
appropriate to the building’s function.
This amended decision will enable
NNSA to maintain the required
expertise and capabilities to deliver
uranium products while modernizing
production facilities. This amended
decision to continue operations will
avoid many of the safety risks of
operating aged buildings and equipment
by relocating processes that cannot be
sustained in existing, enduring
buildings or through process
improvements. Through the Extended
Life Program, mission-critical existing
and enduring buildings and
infrastructure will be maintained and/or
upgraded, which will enhance safety
and security at the Y–12 site.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of
Energy was signed on September 18,
2020, by Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, Under
Secretary for Nuclear Security and
Administrator, NNSA, pursuant to
delegated authority from the Secretary
of Energy. That document with the
original signature and date is
maintained by DOE. For administrative
purposes only, and in compliance with
requirements of the Office of the Federal
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal
Register Liaison Officer has been
authorized to sign and submit the
document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of
the Department of Energy. This
administrative process in no way alters
the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on September
22, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020–21622 Filed 9–29–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security
Administration
Notice of Availability of Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
Plutonium Pit Production at the
Savannah River Site in South Carolina
National Nuclear Security
Administration, Department of Energy.
AGENCY:
E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM
30SEN1
61742
ACTION:
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 190 / Wednesday, September 30, 2020 / Notices
Notice of availability.
The National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA), a
semi-autonomous agency within the
United States (U.S.) Department of
Energy (DOE), announces the
availability of the Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for Plutonium
Pit Production at the Savannah River
Site (SRS) in South Carolina (SRS Pit
Production EIS) (DOE/EIS–0541). NNSA
prepared the Final 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 no fewer than 80 war reserve pits per
year beginning during 2030 for the
nuclear weapons stockpile.
DATES: NNSA will not issue any Record
of Decision (ROD) on the proposal for a
minimum of 30 days after the date that
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of
Availability (NOA) in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Requests for additional
information related to the EIS should be
sent to Ms. Jennifer Nelson, NEPA
Document Manager, National Nuclear
Security Administration, Savannah
River Field Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken,
SC 29802; or sent by email to NEPASRS@srs.gov. The Final SRS Pit
Production EIS is available on the
internet at: https://www.energy.gov/
nnsa/nnsa-nepareading-room and
https://www.energy.gov/nepa/listings/
latestdocuments-and-notices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information about this Notice,
contact: Ms. Jennifer Nelson, NEPA
Document Manager, National Nuclear
Security Administration Savannah River
Field Office, P.O. Box A, Aiken, SC
29802; phone: (803) 557–6372 or (803)
557–NEPA; or email: NEPA-SRS@
srs.gov.
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.
Since 2014, Federal law has required
the Secretary of Energy to produce no
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SUMMARY:
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17:36 Sep 29, 2020
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less than 30 war reserve plutonium pits
during 2026 and now requires that the
nuclear security enterprise produces not
less than 80 pits per year during 2030
(50 U.S.C. 2538a). 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 beginning no later than
during 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.
To that end, DoD 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, describing NNSA’s
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 no later than during
2030, NNSA has proposed to repurpose
the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication
Facility (MFFF) at SRS to produce
plutonium pits while also maximizing
pit production activities at the Los
Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
This two-prong (two-site) 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
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) strategy related to fulfilling
national requirements for pit
production, which NNSA announced on
June 10, 2019 (84 FR 26849). In that
announcement, NNSA stated that it
would prepare at least three documents,
including this SRS Pit Production EIS.
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
On April 3, 2020, NNSA
electronically published the Draft SRS
Pit Production EIS and published an
NOA in the Federal Register
announcing a 45-day public comment
period for the Draft EIS (85 FR 18947).
EPA also published its NOA of the Draft
SRS Pit Production EIS on April 3, 2020
(85 FR 18957). The comment period was
scheduled to end on May 18, 2020. On
April 23, 2020, NNSA notified the EPA
that it was extending the comment
period until June 2, 2020. On May 1,
2020, the EPA published a notice in the
Federal Register that announced the
extension to the public comment period
(85 FR 25436).
In light of the Coronavirus Disease
2019 (COVID–19) national emergency
and guidance from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention on
public gatherings, NNSA held an
internet-based (with telephone access)
virtual public hearing in place of an inperson hearing. The virtual public
hearing was held on April 30, 2020. In
addition to the public hearing, the
public was encouraged to provide
comments via U.S. postal mail or
electronically via email. Approximately
400 comment documents were received
from individuals, interested groups, and
Federal, State, and local agencies during
the public comment period on the Draft
EIS.
In the Final SRS Pit Production EIS,
NNSA evaluates the potential impacts to
the environment and human health
from the following alternatives: (1)
Proposed action to repurpose MFFF to
produce a minimum of 50 pits per year;
and (2) No-Action Alternative. NNSA
considered all comments received on
the Draft EIS in preparing the Final EIS
and revised the Draft EIS to incorporate
changes as a result of public comments.
In addition, NNSA updated the Final
EIS to describe and analyze evolution of
the details associated with the Proposed
Action. The Final EIS also includes
NNSA’s responses to all comments
received.
NNSA will consider the
environmental impact analysis
presented in the Final SRS Pit
Production EIS, along with other
information, in making decisions
regarding plutonium pit production at
SRS. NNSA will not issue any ROD on
the proposal for a minimum of 30 days
after the date that EPA publishes its
NOA in the Federal Register. NNSA
will publish any ROD in the Federal
Register.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of
Energy was signed on September 18,
2020, by Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, Under
E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM
30SEN1
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 190 / Wednesday, September 30, 2020 / Notices
Secretary for Nuclear Security and
Administrator, NNSA, pursuant to
delegated authority from the Secretary
of Energy. That document with the
original signature and date is
maintained by DOE. For administrative
purposes only, and in compliance with
requirements of the Office of the Federal
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal
Register Liaison Officer has been
authorized to sign and submit the
document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of
the Department of Energy. This
administrative process in no way alters
the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on September
22, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020–21606 Filed 9–29–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. RP20–1204–000]
jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
ANR Pipeline Company, Columbia Gas
Transmission, LLC, Columbia Gulf
Transmission, LLC; Notice of Petition
for Declaratory Order
Take notice that on September 21,
2020, pursuant to Rule 207(a)(2) of the
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission’s (Commission) Rules of
Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR
385.207(a)(2) (2020), ANR Pipeline
Company, Columbia Gas Transmission,
LLC, and Columbia Gulf Transmission,
LLC (collectively, TC Energy Pipelines
or Petitioner) filed a petition for a
declaratory order seeking a Commission
order holding that if Gulfport Energy
Corporation (Gulfport) files for
bankruptcy, the Commission will have
concurrent jurisdiction, under sections
4 and 5 of the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C.
717c and 717d (2018), with U.S.
Bankruptcy Courts with respect to each
of the TC Energy Pipelines’ respective
firm transportation service agreements
with Gulfport (Gulfport TSAs). The
petition also requests that the
Commission exercise that jurisdiction to
establish an adjudicative proceeding to
affirm that continued performance
under the Gulfport TSAs does not
seriously harm the public interest and
that any party wishing to abrogate the
Gulfport TSAs carries the burden of
establishing that the public interest
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:36 Sep 29, 2020
Jkt 250001
mandates such abrogation, all as more
fully explained in the petition.
Any person desiring to intervene or to
protest this filing must file in
accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of
the Commission’s Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214).
Protests will be considered by the
Commission in determining the
appropriate action to be taken but will
not serve to make protestants parties to
the proceeding. Any person wishing to
become a party must file a notice of
intervention or motion to intervene, as
appropriate. Such notices, motions, or
protests must be filed on or before the
comment date. Anyone filing a motion
to intervene, or protest must serve a
copy of that document on the Petitioner.
The Commission encourages
electronic submission of protests and
interventions in lieu of paper using the
eFiling link at https://www.ferc.gov.
Persons unable to file electronically may
mail similar pleadings to the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
Hand delivered submissions in
docketed proceedings should be
delivered to Health and Human
Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
In addition to publishing the full text
of this document in the Federal
Register, the Commission provides all
interested persons an opportunity to
view and/or print the contents of this
document via the internet through the
Commission’s Home Page (https://
www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link.
Enter the docket number excluding the
last three digits in the docket number
field to access the document. At this
time, the Commission has suspended
access to the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, due to the
proclamation declaring a National
Emergency concerning the Novel
Coronavirus Disease (COVID–19), issued
by the President on March 13, 2020. For
assistance, contact the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call
toll-free, (886) 208–3676 or TYY, (202)
502–8659.
Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time
on September 29, 2020.
Dated: September 24, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020–21600 Filed 9–29–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
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61743
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
Combined Notice of Filings #1
Take notice that the Commission
received the following electric rate
filings:
Docket Numbers: ER10–2566–010;
ER19–1819–001; ER18–1343–005;
ER19–1821–001; ER19–1820–001;
ER13–2322–006; ER15–190–012.
Applicants: Duke Energy Carolinas,
LLC, Broad River Solar, LLC, Carolina
Solar Power, LLC, Speedway Solar, LLC,
Stony Knoll Solar, LLC, Duke Energy
Progress, LLC, Duke Energy Renewable
Services, LLC.
Description: Amendment to January
27, 2020 Notice of Change in Status of
the Duke MBR Sellers.
Filed Date: 5/21/20.
Accession Number: 20200521–5203.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 10/5/20.
Docket Numbers: ER20–1668–003.
Applicants: Dominion Energy South
Carolina, Inc.
Description: Tariff Amendment: LGIP
Modifications Deficiency Filing to be
effective 11/24/2020.
Filed Date: 9/24/20.
Accession Number: 20200924–5081.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 10/15/20.
Docket Numbers: ER20–1777–001.
Applicants: Jersey Central Power &
Light Company.
Description: Compliance filing:
Compliance Filing to 287 to be effective
9/8/2020.
Filed Date: 9/24/20.
Accession Number: 20200924–5083.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 10/15/20.
Docket Numbers: ER20–2125–000.
Applicants: WGP Redwood Holdings,
LLC.
Description: Second Supplement to
June 22, 2020 WGP Redwood Holdings,
LLC tariff filing.
Filed Date: 9/17/20.
Accession Number: 20200917–5143.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 10/8/20.
Docket Numbers: ER20–2284–002.
Applicants: Southwest Power Pool,
Inc.
Description: Tariff Amendment:
2900R13 KMEA NITSA; Cancellations
of 1884R9, 1888R9 and 1890R9 Westar
NITSAs to be effective 6/1/2020.
Filed Date: 9/24/20.
Accession Number: 20200924–5055.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 10/15/20.
Docket Numbers: ER20–2503–001.
Applicants: Paulding Wind Farm IV
LLC.
Description: Tariff Amendment:
Deficiency Filing for Paulding Wind IV
E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM
30SEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 190 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61741-61743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21606]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement
for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site in South
Carolina
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.
[[Page 61742]]
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site
(SRS) in South Carolina (SRS Pit Production EIS) (DOE/EIS-0541). NNSA
prepared the Final 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 no
fewer than 80 war reserve pits per year beginning during 2030 for the
nuclear weapons stockpile.
DATES: NNSA will not issue any Record of Decision (ROD) on the proposal
for a minimum of 30 days after the date that the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) in
the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: Requests for additional information related to the EIS
should be sent to Ms. Jennifer Nelson, NEPA Document Manager, National
Nuclear Security Administration, Savannah River Field Office, P.O. Box
A, Aiken, SC 29802; or sent by email to [email protected]. The Final SRS
Pit Production EIS is available on the internet at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepareading-room and https://www.energy.gov/nepa/listings/latestdocuments-and-notices.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this
Notice, contact: Ms. Jennifer Nelson, NEPA Document Manager, National
Nuclear Security Administration Savannah River Field Office, P.O. Box
A, Aiken, SC 29802; phone: (803) 557-6372 or (803) 557-NEPA; or 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.
Since 2014, Federal law has required the Secretary of Energy to
produce no less than 30 war reserve plutonium pits during 2026 and now
requires that the nuclear security enterprise produces not less than 80
pits per year during 2030 (50 U.S.C. 2538a). 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 beginning no later than during 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.
To that end, DoD 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, describing NNSA's
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 no
later than during 2030, NNSA has proposed to repurpose the Mixed-Oxide
Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at SRS to produce plutonium pits while
also maximizing pit production activities at the Los Alamos National
Laboratory (LANL). This two-prong (two-site) 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
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) strategy related to fulfilling
national requirements for pit production, which NNSA announced on June
10, 2019 (84 FR 26849). In that announcement, NNSA stated that it would
prepare at least three documents, including this SRS Pit Production
EIS.
On April 3, 2020, NNSA electronically published the Draft SRS Pit
Production EIS and published an NOA in the Federal Register announcing
a 45-day public comment period for the Draft EIS (85 FR 18947). EPA
also published its NOA of the Draft SRS Pit Production EIS on April 3,
2020 (85 FR 18957). The comment period was scheduled to end on May 18,
2020. On April 23, 2020, NNSA notified the EPA that it was extending
the comment period until June 2, 2020. On May 1, 2020, the EPA
published a notice in the Federal Register that announced the extension
to the public comment period (85 FR 25436).
In light of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) national
emergency and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention on public gatherings, NNSA held an internet-based (with
telephone access) virtual public hearing in place of an in-person
hearing. The virtual public hearing was held on April 30, 2020. In
addition to the public hearing, the public was encouraged to provide
comments via U.S. postal mail or electronically via email.
Approximately 400 comment documents were received from individuals,
interested groups, and Federal, State, and local agencies during the
public comment period on the Draft EIS.
In the Final SRS Pit Production EIS, NNSA evaluates the potential
impacts to the environment and human health from the following
alternatives: (1) Proposed action to repurpose MFFF to produce a
minimum of 50 pits per year; and (2) No-Action Alternative. NNSA
considered all comments received on the Draft EIS in preparing the
Final EIS and revised the Draft EIS to incorporate changes as a result
of public comments. In addition, NNSA updated the Final EIS to describe
and analyze evolution of the details associated with the Proposed
Action. The Final EIS also includes NNSA's responses to all comments
received.
NNSA will consider the environmental impact analysis presented in
the Final SRS Pit Production EIS, along with other information, in
making decisions regarding plutonium pit production at SRS. NNSA will
not issue any ROD on the proposal for a minimum of 30 days after the
date that EPA publishes its NOA in the Federal Register. NNSA will
publish any ROD in the Federal Register.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on September
18, 2020, by Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, Under
[[Page 61743]]
Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator, NNSA, pursuant to
delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with
the original signature and date is maintained by DOE. For
administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of
the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE Federal
Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the
document in electronic format for publication, as an official document
of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way
alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the
Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on September 22, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020-21606 Filed 9-29-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
