Louisiana Energy Services, LLC, dba Urenco USA; National Enrichment Facility; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact, 99314-99316 [2024-28929]

Agencies

• NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 99314-99316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-28929]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-3103; NRC-2024-0176]


Louisiana Energy Services, LLC, dba Urenco USA; National 
Enrichment Facility; Environmental Assessment and Finding of No 
Significant Impact

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering an 
amendment of Special Nuclear Materials (SNM) License No. SNM-2010, 
issued to Louisiana Energy Services, LLC, dba Urenco USA (UUSA) for the 
operation of the Urenco USA uranium enrichment facility in Eunice, New 
Mexico. The amended license would increase the allowed enrichment of 
uranium-235 (U-235) from the current limit of 5.5 weight percent U-235 
(referred to as low-enriched uranium or LEU) to less than 10 weight 
percent U-235 (referred to as LEU+). For this proposed action, the NRC 
staff is issuing an environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no 
significant impact (FONSI).

DATES: The EA and FONSI referenced in this document are available on 
December 10, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2024-0176 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
     Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2024-0176. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in Regulations.gov to Stacy Schumann; 
telephone: 301-415-0624; email: [email protected]. For technical 
questions, contact the individual listed in the For Further Information 
Contact section of this document.
     NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select ``Begin Web-based ADAMS 
Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public 
Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, 
or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader, 
instructions about obtaining materials referenced in this document are 
provided in the ``Availability of Documents'' section.
     NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an 
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
[email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Pineda, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 301-415-6789; email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Introduction

    The NRC is considering an amendment of Urenco USA's license SNM-
2010 for the operation of the Urenco USA uranium enrichment facility in 
Eunice, New Mexico. If approved, the amendment would increase the 
allowed enrichment of

[[Page 99315]]

uranium-235 (U-235) from the current limit of 5.5 weight percent U-235 
(referred to as low-enriched uranium or LEU) to less than 10 weight 
percent U-235 (referred to as LEU+). As required in section 51.21 of 
title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Criteria for 
and identification of licensing and regulatory actions requiring 
environmental assessments,'' the NRC developed an EA for the proposed 
license amendment. Based on the results of the EA summarized in this 
notice, the NRC has determined not to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the amendment and is issuing a FONSI.
    Urenco USA also submitted a separate request for an amendment to 
approve the use of the enrichment facility's recycling systems to 
process (or clean) components exposed to LEU+ to enable their reuse. 
The NRC accepted that application on November 26, 2024, and is 
conducting a technical review. The NRC will publish a separate 
environmental assessment for that proposed licensing action.

II. Summary of Environmental Assessment

Description of the Proposed Action

    The proposed NRC action is to authorize Urenco USA to produce, 
store, and handle enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6) at an 
enrichment of less than 10 weight percent U-235 at the UUSA enrichment 
facility. This would be an increase from the currently authorized limit 
of 5.5 weight percent U-235. Under the proposed action, UUSA would use 
the existing facilities and equipment. There would be no construction 
of new facilities or modifications to existing buildings. The 
amendment, if granted, would not allow the shipment or transportation 
of LEU+ product offsite.
    The proposed action is limited only to the processes, systems and 
components needed to produce, handle and store LEU+ at the UUSA site. 
The facility's gaseous effluent vent system (GEVS) would be used to 
collect potentially contaminated gaseous effluents in areas where LEU+ 
would be produced, handled and stored. The GEVS treats effluents 
through a filter system before releasing them to the atmosphere through 
a continuously-monitored vent stack. Material and components exposed to 
LEU+ that are removed from production process systems authorized for 
LEU+ would be segregated and stored in analyzed, inside storage 
locations.
    The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated November 30, 2023, as supplemented by letter dated 
August 1, 2024.

Need for the Proposed Action

    The proposed amendment, if approved, would enable Urenco USA to 
produce enriched U-235 to support industry pursuit of the use of LEU+ 
in applications such as accident tolerant fuel and extended fuel cycle 
fuels. Domestic nuclear commercial reactor operators and designers are 
pursuing advancements in fuel and enrichment alongside the development 
of reactor designs that include increasing U-235 enrichment.

Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action

    The NRC staff assessed the potential environmental impacts from the 
proposed enrichment increase on land use; historic and cultural 
resources; visual and scenic resources; climatology, meteorology and 
air quality; geology and soils; water resources; ecological resources; 
socioeconomics; noise; traffic and transportation; public and 
occupational health and safety; and waste management. The NRC staff 
determined that the proposed action would not affect most resource 
areas and would not have significant impacts on air quality, 
transportation, public and occupational health and safety, and waste 
management. Impacts would remain bounded by the impacts assessed in the 
NRC's 2015 EA for the expansion of the facility. Occupational dose 
estimates associated with the proposed action would continue to be as 
low as reasonably achievable and fall within the limits identified in 
10 CFR 20.1201. Approval of the proposed action is not expected to 
result in measurable radiation exposure to a member of the public. The 
annual release of uranium would be less than 260 microcuries per year, 
well below the conservative estimate in the NRC's 2015 EA of 29.7 
million becquerel (800 microcuries) per year that the NRC determined 
would result in a small fraction of the NRC public dose limit of 1 
millisievert per year (100 millirem per year) in 10 CFR 20.1301(a)(1).

Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action

    The alternative considered in this EA is the no-action alternative. 
Under the no-action alternative, the NRC would deny Urenco USA's 
request to allow increased enrichment to less than 10 weight percent U-
235, and the limit would remain at 5.5 weight percent. The potential 
environmental impacts of denying the request would be unchanged from 
the current facility impacts and the impacts as assessed in the NRC's 
2015 EA for the expansion of the facility. Under this alternative, the 
nuclear industry would likely continue to pursue higher enriched 
UF6 for power reactors, and the increased enrichment would 
most likely be produced at another facility, resulting in similar 
environmental impacts.

Agencies and Persons Consulted

    In accordance with NRC policy, on November 5, 2024, the NRC staff 
provided a draft of the EA to the State of New Mexico for review. The 
NRC received no comments from the State.
    Under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the NRC's 
approval of the proposed increase in the U-235 enrichment limit would 
constitute a Federal undertaking. In reviewing UUSA's application, the 
NRC staff concluded the proposed action to increase enrichment of 
enriched UF6 is not a type of activity that has the 
potential to cause effects on any historic properties that may be 
present. Therefore, following 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1), the NRC has no 
further obligations under Section 106 of the NHPA.
    Similarly, under the Endangered Species Act the staff determined 
that even if endangered or candidate species are present in the 
vicinity of the Urenco USA facility, the proposed increase in the 
enrichment limit would not affect such species or their habitats. The 
proposed action would not result in construction or land disturbance 
and operations would continue inside existing buildings. Therefore, the 
NRC has determined that no further consultation is required under 
Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

III. Finding of No Significant Impact

    The NRC staff reviewed the proposed action in accordance with the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 51. The NRC staff concludes that approval 
of Urenco USA's proposed action to produce, store, and handle enriched 
UF6 at enrichment of less than 10 weight percent U-235 at 
the enrichment facility would not significantly affect the quality of 
the human environment. As described in section 3 of the EA, approval of 
the proposed action will not result in changes to land use; no 
construction or soil disturbance will take place; no visible changes to 
the facility or the viewshed will occur; and no staffing changes are 
anticipated that would affect socioeconomic indicators. Urenco USA 
would store LEU+-exposed, reusable materials and cascade components 
inside a designated, approved storage area until further

[[Page 99316]]

disposition. The NRC does not expect significant radiological or non-
radiological impacts from approval of the proposed action, and impacts 
would remain bounded by the impacts assessed in the NRC's 2015 EA for 
the expansion of the facility. Occupational dose estimates associated 
with the proposed action would continue to be as low as reasonably 
achievable and fall within the limits identified in 10 CFR 20.1201. 
Approval of the proposed action is not expected to result in measurable 
radiation exposure to a member of the public. Therefore, the NRC staff 
has determined that, pursuant to 10 CFR 51.31, preparation of an 
environmental impact statement is not required for this proposed 
action, and pursuant to 10 CFR 51.32, a finding of no significant 
impact is appropriate. In accordance with 10 CFR 51.32(a)(4), this 
FONSI incorporates the EA summarized in this notice by reference.

IV. Availability of Documents

    The documents identified in the following table are available to 
interested persons through ADAMS, as indicated.

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             Document description                 ADAMS accession No.
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Environmental Assessment for Proposed License  ML24331A260
 Amendment to Allow Urenco USA to Enrich
 Uranium to Less than 10 Weight Percent U-
 235, dated December 2024.
UUSA License Amendment Request for Changes to  ML23334A122
 License Conditions and Raise Enrichment
 Limit to Less Than 10 Weight Percent for
 LEU+ Production Systems (LAR-23-02), dated
 November 30, 2023.
LAR-23-02 Enclosure 3--Safety Analysis Report  ML23334A125
 Markups.
LAR-23-02 Enclosure 8--Environmental           ML23334A130
 Information.
UUSA Responses to NRC Request for Additional   ML24214A302
 Information, Enclosure 2: UUSA Responses to
 Human Factors Engineering and Environmental
 RAIs, dated August 1, 2024.
NRC Environmental Assessment for the Proposed  ML15072A016
 Louisiana Energy Services, Urenco USA
 Uranium Enrichment Facility Capacity
 Expansion in Lea County, New Mexico, dated
 March 2015.
NRC Email to New Mexico Environment            ML24331A236
 Department re: Request for State Review of
 Draft EA, dated November 5, 2024.
UUSA License Amendment Request to Raise        ML24242A197
 Enrichment Limit to the Licensed Limit for
 LEU+ Recycling and Support Systems (LAR-24-
 01), dated August 29, 2024.
LAR-24-01 Enclosure 3--Safety Analysis Report  ML24242A200
 Markups.
LAR-24-01 Enclosure 6--Environmental           ML24242A203
 Information.
NRC Letter to UUSA re: Acceptance of LAR-24-   ML24327A210
 01 for Technical Review, dated November 26,
 2024.
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    Dated: December 4, 2024.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Robert Sun,
Chief, Environmental Project Management, Branch 2, Division of 
Rulemaking, Environmental, and Financial Support, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2024-28929 Filed 12-9-24; 8:45 am]
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