Request for Information Regarding Establishment of the Department of Energy Uranium Reserve Program, 50878-50879 [2021-19701]

Download as PDF 50878 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 174 / Monday, September 13, 2021 / Notices Signed in Washington, DC, on September 3, 2021. LaTanya Butler, Deputy Committee Management Officer. Note: The Government has posted a parallel RFI to SAM.gov in order invite industry comment on topics related to establishment of the DOE’s Uranium Reserve program. To avoid duplicate submissions, interested parties are encouraged to only respond to one of the notices. [FR Doc. 2021–19705 Filed 9–10–21; 8:45 am] FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: BILLING CODE 6450–01–P Requests for further information should be sent to: rfi-uranium@hq.doe.gov or Mr. Kyle Fowler, (202) 586–1963. If responding by email, please include ‘‘Question on Uranium Reserve RFI’’ in the subject line. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) issued this RFI to invite public comment on topics related to establishment of the DOE’s Uranium Reserve program. DOE is re-opening the comment period on this RFI to provide ample time for interested parties to respond. website: https://www.energy.gov/pppo/ ports-ssab/listings/meeting-materials. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY National Nuclear Security Administration Request for Information Regarding Establishment of the Department of Energy Uranium Reserve Program National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy. ACTION: Reopening of the public comment period. AGENCY: The Department of Energy (DOE) published the Request for information (RFI) to invite public comment on topics related to the Establishment of the DOE’s Uranium Reserve program on August 11, 2021. Through this notice, DOE announces the reopening of the Uranium Reserve RFI comment period for an additional 30 days. The August 11, 2021 Federal Register notice mistakenly listed an option for online submissions via www.regulations.gov, but that option is not available at this time. Comments can be submitted via email or postal mail through the instructions in the ADDRESSES section. DATES: The comment period for the RFI published on August 11, 2021 (86 FR 44007), which closed on September 10, 2021, is hereby reopened. DOE will accept written comments, data, information in response no later than October 13, 2021. ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit comments by any of the following methods: Email: rfi-uranium@hq.doe.gov. Submit electronic comments in Microsoft Word or PDF file format and avoid the use of special characters or any form of encryption. Please include ‘‘Response to Uranium Reserve RFI’’ in the subject line. Postal Mail: Response to Uranium Reserve RFI, c/o Mr. Kyle Fowler, U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Mailstop NA– 10, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585–0121. Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name for this request for information. No facsimiles (faxes) will be accepted. lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:39 Sep 10, 2021 Jkt 253001 Background In the United States (U.S.), nuclear energy provides more than 55 percent of our clean energy and supports about half a million American jobs. However, the U.S. nuclear industry and the nuclear fuel supply chain face significant challenges that have left domestic nuclear fuel suppliers in a weakened position on the domestic and global stage. Revitalizing the U.S. nuclear fuel supply infrastructure would support the Administration’s goals described in the American Jobs Plan,1 including addressing the climate crisis, creating American jobs, positioning the U.S. to compete with economic rivals, and supporting national security. It would support environmental justice initiatives, prioritize addressing long-standing and persistent racial injustice by targeting 40 percent of the benefits of climate and clean infrastructure investments to disadvantaged communities, consider rural communities and communities impacted by the market-based transition to clean energy, and include meaningful stakeholder engagement. In December 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116–260) that makes $75,000,000 available to the Department for the Uranium Reserve Program. The Department is considering options to acquire natural uranium and convert this uranium into uranium hexafluoride that would be stored at commercial facilities in the United States. In considering options, the Department will focus on reinvigorating 1 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/ statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-theamerican-jobs-plan/. PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 domestic nuclear fuel supply chain capabilities, utilizing existing facilities, and minimizing negative disruption of market mechanisms. The Department expects the acquisition of natural uranium to result in new uranium production at existing domestic sites. The Department does not intend such new production to initiate or expand mining on Tribal lands, expand the Office of Legacy Management’s (LM) Uranium Leasing Program, or expand access to additional uranium deposits located on other Federal lands. Additionally, the Department does not intend to acquire uranium or uranium hexafluoride produced from enricher underfeeding, the re-enrichment of tails, or other sources that do not support the reinvigoration of uranium production and conversion capabilities. Likewise, the Department expects to use existing domestic commercial conversion capabilities and store the uranium hexafluoride at a domestic facility. The Department will comply with all applicable laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, in the proposed establishment of a uranium reserve. In addition, the Department will give careful attention to energy justice, distributive impacts, and other relevant issues in its decisionmaking process. This program would include meaningful engagement with stakeholders, including State, local, Tribal governments, and disadvantaged communities. The Department is publishing this RFI to gain a better understanding of Tribal and other disadvantaged communities and stakeholder views on topics related to the establishment of a uranium reserve. Responses to the RFI will inform the Department’s establishment of a uranium reserve, as well as the development of a procurement strategy for acquisition of uranium, conversion services, and storage. Signing Authority This document of the Department of Energy was signed on September 7, 2021, by Dr. Charles Verdon, Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs for the National Nuclear Security Administration, 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 E:\FR\FM\13SEN1.SGM 13SEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 174 / Monday, September 13, 2021 / Notices Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Signed in Washington, DC, on September 8, 2021. Treena V. Garrett, Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy. [Project No. 5261–023] [FR Doc. 2021–19701 Filed 9–10–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 1061–103] Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Waiver Period for Water Quality Certification Application On August 26, 2021, Pacific Gas and Electric Company submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) a copy of their application for a Clean Water Act section 401(a)(1) water quality certification filed with the California State Water Resources Control Board (California Water Board), in conjunction with the above captioned project. Pursuant to 40 CFR 121.6, we hereby notify the California Water Board of the following: Date of Receipt of the Certification Request: August 26, 2021. Reasonable Period of Time to Act on the Certification Request: One year. Date Waiver Occurs for Failure to Act: August 26, 2022. If the California Water Board fails or refuses to act on the water quality certification request by the above waiver date, then the agency’s certifying authority is deemed waived pursuant to section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1). Dated: September 7, 2021. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2021–19677 Filed 9–10–21; 8:45 am] lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 BILLING CODE 6717–01–P VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:39 Sep 10, 2021 Jkt 253001 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Green Mountain Power Corporation; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With The Commission and Soliciting Additional Study Requests and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and A Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection. a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License. b. Project No.: 5261–023. c. Date filed: August 27, 2021. d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation. e. Name of Project: Newbury Hydroelectric Project (project). f. Location: On the Wells River, in the town of Newbury, Orange County, Vermont. The project does not occupy any federal land. g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). h. Applicant Contact: John Greenan, Green Mountain Power Corporation, 2152 Post Road, Rutland, VT 05701; Phone at (802) 770–2195, or email at John.Greenan@ greenmountainpower.com. i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer at (202) 502–8449, or adam.peer@ferc.gov. j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such requests described in item l below. Cooperating agencies should note the Commission’s policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation of the environmental document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ¶ 61,076 (2001). k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission’s regulations, if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes that an additional scientific study should be conducted in order to form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the application on its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person must file a request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 days from the date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of the request on the applicant. PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 50879 l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status: October 26, 2021. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status using the Commission’s eFiling system at https:// ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208–3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. All filings must clearly identify the project name and docket number on the first page: Newbury Hydroelectric Project (P– 5261–023). m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time. n. Project Description: The existing Newbury Project consists of: (1) An 11.4-acre impoundment at a normal water surface elevation of 463.9 feet mean sea level; (2) a 26-foot-high by 90foot-long concrete gravity dam that includes a 73.3-foot-long spillway topped with 5-foot-high pneumatic crest gates; (3) a seasonally installed, 8-footlong by 4-foot-wide steel sluice box on the south side of the spillway to provide downstream fish passage; (4) an 11.2foot-wide, 9-foot-long intake structure with trash racks, connected to a 5-footdiameter, 435-foot-long underground steel penstock; (5) a 1,892-square-foot powerhouse containing a single 315kilowatt turbine-generator unit; (6) a second 50-kilowatt turbine-generator unit located outside of the powerhouse approximately 75-feet downstream of the dam along the bypassed reach; (7) a 125-foot-long tailrace; (8) three 150-footlong generator leads that create a 480 Volt, 3 phase 150-foot-long underground transmission line connected to three pole mounted 167 kilovolt-ampere stepup transformers; and (9) appurtenant facilities. The project creates a 590-footlong bypassed reach of the Wells River. o. The current license requires Green Mountain Power Corporation to: (1) Operate the project in run-of-river mode; (2) release a continuous bypassed reach minimum flow of 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) from April 15 to June 10 and 25 cfs during the remainder of the year; and (3) release a year-round, E:\FR\FM\13SEN1.SGM 13SEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 174 (Monday, September 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50878-50879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19701]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Request for Information Regarding Establishment of the Department 
of Energy Uranium Reserve Program

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Reopening of the public comment period.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) published the Request for 
information (RFI) to invite public comment on topics related to the 
Establishment of the DOE's Uranium Reserve program on August 11, 2021. 
Through this notice, DOE announces the reopening of the Uranium Reserve 
RFI comment period for an additional 30 days. The August 11, 2021 
Federal Register notice mistakenly listed an option for online 
submissions via www.regulations.gov, but that option is not available 
at this time. Comments can be submitted via email or postal mail 
through the instructions in the ADDRESSES section.

DATES: The comment period for the RFI published on August 11, 2021 (86 
FR 44007), which closed on September 10, 2021, is hereby reopened. DOE 
will accept written comments, data, information in response no later 
than October 13, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons may submit comments by any of the 
following methods:
    Email: [email protected]. Submit electronic comments in 
Microsoft Word or PDF file format and avoid the use of special 
characters or any form of encryption. Please include ``Response to 
Uranium Reserve RFI'' in the subject line.
    Postal Mail: Response to Uranium Reserve RFI, c/o Mr. Kyle Fowler, 
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, 
Mailstop NA-10, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0121.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name 
for this request for information. No facsimiles (faxes) will be 
accepted.

    Note: The Government has posted a parallel RFI to SAM.gov in 
order invite industry comment on topics related to establishment of 
the DOE's Uranium Reserve program. To avoid duplicate submissions, 
interested parties are encouraged to only respond to one of the 
notices.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for further information 
should be sent to: [email protected] or Mr. Kyle Fowler, (202) 
586-1963. If responding by email, please include ``Question on Uranium 
Reserve RFI'' in the subject line.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the 
Department) issued this RFI to invite public comment on topics related 
to establishment of the DOE's Uranium Reserve program. DOE is re-
opening the comment period on this RFI to provide ample time for 
interested parties to respond.

Background

    In the United States (U.S.), nuclear energy provides more than 55 
percent of our clean energy and supports about half a million American 
jobs. However, the U.S. nuclear industry and the nuclear fuel supply 
chain face significant challenges that have left domestic nuclear fuel 
suppliers in a weakened position on the domestic and global stage. 
Revitalizing the U.S. nuclear fuel supply infrastructure would support 
the Administration's goals described in the American Jobs Plan,\1\ 
including addressing the climate crisis, creating American jobs, 
positioning the U.S. to compete with economic rivals, and supporting 
national security. It would support environmental justice initiatives, 
prioritize addressing long-standing and persistent racial injustice by 
targeting 40 percent of the benefits of climate and clean 
infrastructure investments to disadvantaged communities, consider rural 
communities and communities impacted by the market-based transition to 
clean energy, and include meaningful stakeholder engagement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/31/fact-sheet-the-american-jobs-plan/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In December 2020, Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2021 (Pub. L. 116-260) that makes $75,000,000 available to the 
Department for the Uranium Reserve Program. The Department is 
considering options to acquire natural uranium and convert this uranium 
into uranium hexafluoride that would be stored at commercial facilities 
in the United States.
    In considering options, the Department will focus on reinvigorating 
domestic nuclear fuel supply chain capabilities, utilizing existing 
facilities, and minimizing negative disruption of market mechanisms. 
The Department expects the acquisition of natural uranium to result in 
new uranium production at existing domestic sites. The Department does 
not intend such new production to initiate or expand mining on Tribal 
lands, expand the Office of Legacy Management's (LM) Uranium Leasing 
Program, or expand access to additional uranium deposits located on 
other Federal lands. Additionally, the Department does not intend to 
acquire uranium or uranium hexafluoride produced from enricher 
underfeeding, the re-enrichment of tails, or other sources that do not 
support the reinvigoration of uranium production and conversion 
capabilities. Likewise, the Department expects to use existing domestic 
commercial conversion capabilities and store the uranium hexafluoride 
at a domestic facility.
    The Department will comply with all applicable laws, including the 
National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic 
Preservation Act, in the proposed establishment of a uranium reserve. 
In addition, the Department will give careful attention to energy 
justice, distributive impacts, and other relevant issues in its 
decision-making process. This program would include meaningful 
engagement with stakeholders, including State, local, Tribal 
governments, and disadvantaged communities.
    The Department is publishing this RFI to gain a better 
understanding of Tribal and other disadvantaged communities and 
stakeholder views on topics related to the establishment of a uranium 
reserve. Responses to the RFI will inform the Department's 
establishment of a uranium reserve, as well as the development of a 
procurement strategy for acquisition of uranium, conversion services, 
and storage.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on September 
7, 2021, by Dr. Charles Verdon, Deputy Administrator for Defense 
Programs for the National Nuclear Security Administration, 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

[[Page 50879]]

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 8, 2021.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2021-19701 Filed 9-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

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