Amended Record of Decision for the Continued Operation of the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), 61740-61741 [2020-21622]
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Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 190 / Wednesday, September 30, 2020 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board Chairs
Office of Environmental
Management, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open virtual meeting.
AGENCY:
This notice announces an
online virtual meeting of the
Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board (EM SSAB)
Chairs. The Federal Advisory
Committee Act requires that public
notice of this conference call be
announced in the Federal Register.
DATES: Monday, October 19, 2020, 12:00
p.m.–3:00 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, October
20, 2020, 12:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m. EDT.
ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held
virtually via WebEx. To attend, please
contact Alyssa Harris by email,
Alyssa.Harris@em.doe.gov, no later than
5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, October 12,
2020.
To Submit Public Comment: Public
comments will be accepted via email
prior to and after the meeting.
Comments received no later than 5:00
p.m. EDT on Monday, October 12, 2020,
will be read aloud during the virtual
meeting. Comments will also be
accepted after the meeting by no later
than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, October
23, 2020. Please send comments to
Alyssa Harris at Alyssa.Harris@
em.doe.gov.
SUMMARY:
Alyssa Harris, EM SSAB Federal
Coordinator, U.S. Department of Energy,
1000 Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20585. Phone (202)
430–9624 or Email: Alyssa.Harris@
em.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations
to DOE–EM and site management in the
areas of environmental restoration,
waste management, and related
activities.
Tentative Agenda Topics
Monday, October 19, 2020
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• EM Headquarters Update and Site
Statuses
• EM SSAB Chairs’ Round Robin
• Reading of Public Comment
• EM Budget Presentation
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
• Waste Management and Regulatory
Framework Presentation
• Reading of Public Comment
• Discussion of New Charges and Path
Forward for the EM SSAB
17:36 Sep 29, 2020
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Signed in Washington, DC on September
25, 2020.
LaTanya Butler,
Deputy Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2020–21588 Filed 9–29–20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
National Nuclear Security
Administration
Amended Record of Decision for the
Continued Operation of the Y–12
National Security Complex (Y–12)
National Nuclear Security
Administration, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Amended record of decision.
AGENCY:
The National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA), a
separately organized agency within the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is
amending its October 2019 Amended
Record of Decision (AROD) for the
Continued Interim Operation of the Y–
12 National Security Complex (2019
AROD) to continue to implement its
approach for meeting enriched uranium
(EU) requirements, by upgrading
existing EU processing buildings and
constructing a new Uranium Processing
Facility (UPF). Since publication of the
2019 AROD, NNSA finalized a
Supplement Analysis for the Final SiteWide Environmental Impact Statement
for the Y–12 National Security Complex,
Earthquake Accident Analysis (DOE/
EIS–0387–SA–04) (2020 SA), which
presented an accident analysis of
earthquake consequences at the Y–12
site using updated seismic hazard
analyses. Based on the analysis in the
2020 SA, NNSA determined that no
additional NEPA documentation is
required. This new 2020 AROD
combines elements of the two
alternatives previously analyzed in the
2011 Final Site-Wide Environmental
PO 00000
Frm 00023
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Impact Statement for the Y–12 National
Security Complex (DOE/EIS–0387) (Y–
12 SWEIS), and separates the singlestructure UPF design concept into a new
design consisting of multiple buildings,
with each constructed to safety and
security requirements appropriate to the
building’s function. All other defense
mission activities and non-defense
mission activities conducted at Y–12
under the alternative selected for
implementation in the 2011 ROD would
continue to be implemented.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information on this 2020 AROD
or on the 2020 SA, contact: Ms. Terri
Slack, Field Counsel, U.S. Department
of Energy, National Nuclear Security
Administration, NNSA Production
Office, P.O. Box 2050, Oak Ridge, TN
37831, (865) 576–1722. This 2020
AROD and related NEPA documents are
available at https://www.energy.gov/
nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
SUMMARY:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
Public Participation: The online
virtual meeting is open to the public.
Written statements may be filed with
the Board either before or after the
meeting by sending them to Alyssa
Harris at the aforementioned email
address. The Designated Federal Officer
is empowered to conduct the conference
call in a fashion that will facilitate the
orderly conduct of business. Individuals
wishing to make public comments
should email them as directed above.
Minutes: Minutes will be available by
writing or calling Alyssa Harris at the
address or phone number listed above.
Minutes will also be available at the
following website: https://energy.gov/
em/listings/chairs-meetings.
Y–12 is NNSA’s primary site for
uranium operations, including EU
processing and storage, and is one of the
primary manufacturing facilities for
maintaining the U.S. nuclear weapons
stockpile. Y–12 is unique in that it is the
only source of secondaries, cases, and
other nuclear weapons components for
the NNSA nuclear security mission. In
the Y–12 SWEIS, NNSA analyzed the
potential environmental impacts of
ongoing and future operations and
activities at Y–12, including alternatives
for changes to site infrastructure and
levels of operation. Five alternatives
were analyzed in the Y–12 SWEIS: (1)
No Action Alternative (maintain the
status quo), (2) UPF Alternative, (3)
Upgrade in-Place Alternative, (4)
Capability-sized UPF Alternative, and
(5) No Net Production/Capability-sized
UPF Alternative. In the 2011 ROD (July
20, 2011, 76 FR 43319), NNSA decided
to implement the Capability-sized UPF
Alternative, to continue operation of Y–
12, and to construct and operate a
single-structure Capability-sized UPF at
Y–12 as a replacement for certain
existing buildings. Subsequent to the
publication of the 2011 ROD, concerns
about UPF cost and schedule growth
prompted NNSA to reevaluate its
strategy for meeting EU requirements,
including the UPF design approach.
Under the updated strategy, approved
in a July 12, 2016, Amended Record of
Decision (2016 AROD), NNSA would
meet EU requirements using a revised
approach of upgrading existing EU
processing buildings and constructing a
smaller-scale UPF facility,
E:\FR\FM\30SEN1.SGM
30SEN1
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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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:36 Sep 29, 2020
Jkt 250001
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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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 190 (Wednesday, September 30, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61740-61741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21622]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Amended Record of Decision for the Continued Operation of the Y-
12 National Security Complex (Y-12)
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Amended record of decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a
separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),
is amending its October 2019 Amended Record of Decision (AROD) for the
Continued Interim Operation of the Y-12 National Security Complex (2019
AROD) to continue to implement its approach for meeting enriched
uranium (EU) requirements, by upgrading existing EU processing
buildings and constructing a new Uranium Processing Facility (UPF).
Since publication of the 2019 AROD, NNSA finalized a Supplement
Analysis for the Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the
Y-12 National Security Complex, Earthquake Accident Analysis (DOE/EIS-
0387-SA-04) (2020 SA), which presented an accident analysis of
earthquake consequences at the Y-12 site using updated seismic hazard
analyses. Based on the analysis in the 2020 SA, NNSA determined that no
additional NEPA documentation is required. This new 2020 AROD combines
elements of the two alternatives previously analyzed in the 2011 Final
Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Y-12 National Security
Complex (DOE/EIS-0387) (Y-12 SWEIS), and separates the single-structure
UPF design concept into a new design consisting of multiple buildings,
with each constructed to safety and security requirements appropriate
to the building's function. All other defense mission activities and
non-defense mission activities conducted at Y-12 under the alternative
selected for implementation in the 2011 ROD would continue to be
implemented.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on this 2020
AROD or on the 2020 SA, contact: Ms. Terri Slack, Field Counsel, U.S.
Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, NNSA
Production Office, P.O. Box 2050, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, (865) 576-1722.
This 2020 AROD and related NEPA documents are available at https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Y-12 is NNSA's primary site for uranium operations, including EU
processing and storage, and is one of the primary manufacturing
facilities for maintaining the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. Y-12 is
unique in that it is the only source of secondaries, cases, and other
nuclear weapons components for the NNSA nuclear security mission. In
the Y-12 SWEIS, NNSA analyzed the potential environmental impacts of
ongoing and future operations and activities at Y-12, including
alternatives for changes to site infrastructure and levels of
operation. Five alternatives were analyzed in the Y-12 SWEIS: (1) No
Action Alternative (maintain the status quo), (2) UPF Alternative, (3)
Upgrade in-Place Alternative, (4) Capability-sized UPF Alternative, and
(5) No Net Production/Capability-sized UPF Alternative. In the 2011 ROD
(July 20, 2011, 76 FR 43319), NNSA decided to implement the Capability-
sized UPF Alternative, to continue operation of Y-12, and to construct
and operate a single-structure Capability-sized UPF at Y-12 as a
replacement for certain existing buildings. Subsequent to the
publication of the 2011 ROD, concerns about UPF cost and schedule
growth prompted NNSA to reevaluate its strategy for meeting EU
requirements, including the UPF design approach.
Under the updated strategy, approved in a July 12, 2016, Amended
Record of Decision (2016 AROD), NNSA would meet EU requirements using a
revised approach of upgrading existing EU processing buildings and
constructing a smaller-scale UPF facility,
[[Page 61741]]
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
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 design-basis earthquake accident and a
seismic-induced 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 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