National Nuclear Security Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE), announces its intent to initiate a National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) process to ensure NEPA compliance for the production of plutonium pits in support of NNSA's Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program. The PEIS will evaluate the programmatic environmental impacts of producing pits at the Congressionally mandated rate (and potentially other reasonable rates) using various single site and multi-site alternatives; associated activities at other NNSA sites; and associated waste management and transportation activities. The purpose of this Notice is to invite public participation in the PEIS process and to solicit public comment on the scope, environmental issues, and alternatives for consideration by NNSA in the draft PEIS.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE), announces its intent to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Enhanced Plutonium Facility Utilization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL or Laboratory) in Livermore, California (DOE/EIS-0547-S1), tiered from the 2023 LLNL Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) (2023 LLNL SWEIS)(DOE/ EIS-0547). The Record of Decision (ROD) for the 2023 LLNL SWEIS was published on February 20, 2024. The ROD implemented the Proposed Action Alternative in the SWEIS and is the baseline for this SEIS. NNSA will prepare the SEIS and will analyze the potential environmental impacts of enhanced plutonium facility utilization, other reasonable alternatives that may be identified, and the baseline operations as discussed in the 2023 LLNL SWEIS. The purpose of this Notice is to invite public participation in the SEIS process and to encourage public involvement on the scope, any environmental issues, and alternatives that NNSA should consider in the draft SEIS.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security (ACNS). The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that public notice of meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, the meeting will be closed to the public and matters to be discussed are exempt from public disclosure under the Executive order, "Classified National Security Information," and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the United States Department of Energy (DOE), is issuing this amendment to the December 30, 2014, Record of Decision (ROD) for the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operation of the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada National Security Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada (DOE/EIS-0426) (SWEIS). In this Amended ROD (AROD), NNSA announces its decision to implement the actions and operations described in a 2024 Supplement Analysis (SA) to the earlier SWEIS. The SA assessed the potential environmental impacts of projects/changes that have occurred at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and off- site locations in the State of Nevada, since publication of the SWEIS and ROD, or are expected to occur within approximately the next five years. Based on the analysis, NNSA determined that the potential impacts associated with the actions and operations evaluated in the SA: would not be significantly different than impacts presented in the SWEIS; would not constitute a substantial change to the actions evaluated in the SWEIS relevant to environmental concerns; there are no significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns; and no additional National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation is required at this time.

The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration is providing notice of an update to the advance consent list of countries or destinations eligible to receive retransfers from the Republic of Korea (ROK) of unirradiated low enriched uranium, unirradiated source material, equipment, and components subject to paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, done at Washington June 15, 2015, entered into force November 25, 2015 ("U.S.- ROK 123 Agreement").

The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration is providing notice of an update to the advance consent list of countries or destinations eligible to receive retransfers from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of byproduct material, non-nuclear material, unirradiated low enriched uranium, unirradiated source material, and equipment subject to Article 6 of the Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for Cooperation in Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, done at Washington May 4, 2018, entered into force December 31, 2020 ("U.S.-UK 123 Agreement").

The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) intends to issue a modification to its cooperative agreement with SHINE Technologies, DE-NA0004010, to revise the scope of the agreement to include cost-shared funding for facility construction. Issuance of the modification is subject to satisfactory completion of pricing and other technical reviews. The environmental impacts of this proposed action have been addressed in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) NUREG-2183 and NUREG-2183, Supplement 1.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is issuing this Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for Continued Operation of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California (Final LLNL SWEIS) (DOE/EIS-0547). NNSA prepared the Final LLNL SWEIS to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with reasonable alternatives for continuing LLNL operations and foreseeable new and/or modified operations and facilities for approximately the next 15 years. The SWEIS analyzes two alternatives: No-Action Alternative and Proposed Action. In this ROD, NNSA announces its decision to implement the Proposed Action.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program (SPDP EIS) (DOE/EIS-0549) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). NNSA prepared the Final SPDP EIS to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of dispositioning 34 metric tons (MT) of surplus plutonium.

On November 22, 2023, the Secretary of Energy issued a Secretarial Determination (hereafter ``determination'') covering the sale, lease, or transfer of up to 750 kilograms uranium (kgU) of high- assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) (above 5, but less than 20 weight percent (wt.-%) uranium-235) per year during the two-year period following signature of the determination to support molybdenum-99 (Mo- 99) production. For the reasons set forth in the Department's ``Analysis of Potential Impacts of Certain Uranium Transactions on the Domestic Uranium Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment Industries,'' which is incorporated into the determination, the Secretary determined that these transactions will not have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or enrichment industries.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), is announcing this amendment to the June 22, 2016, Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR SEIS) (DOE/EIS-0288- S1). NNSA is amending the 2016 decision in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TVA is considering increasing the number of TPBARs irradiated in their reactors at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) using tritium-producing burnable absorber rods (TPBARs). NNSA initially decided to implement the CLWR SEIS Preferred Alternative, Alternative 6, which allows for the irradiation of up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months using TVA reactors at both the Watts Bar and Sequoyah sites. Subsequent to the CLWR SEIS, WBN Unit 1 increased tritium production under Unit 1 License Amendment #107 (July 2016) and Unit 2 tritium production was authorized under Unit 2 License Amendment #27 (May 2019). Hence, TVA and NNSA are now opting to choose the previously analyzed CLWR SEIS Alternative 4, which allows for the irradiation of up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months at the Watts Bar site using Watts Bar Units 1 and 2.

This notice announces an NNSA Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) Stakeholders Meeting. This meeting will be held in a hybrid format.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security (ACNS). The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that public notice of meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, the meeting will be closed to the public and matters to be discussed are exempt from public disclosure under Executive Order 13526, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security (ACNS). The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that public notice of meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, the meeting will be closed to the public and matters to be discussed are exempt from public disclosure under Executive Order 13526, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

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 Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operation of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Draft LLNL SWEIS) (DOE/EIS-0547) in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). NNSA is also announcing a 60-day public comment period and three public hearings to receive comments on the Draft LLNL SWEIS. NNSA prepared the Draft LLNL SWEIS to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with continuing LLNL operations and foreseeable new and/or modified operations and facilities for approximately the next 15 years.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that public notice of meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, the meeting will be closed to the public and matters to be discussed are exempt from public disclosure under Executive Order 13526, and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.

DOE and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in accordance with the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012 (AMIPA), have issued a joint Secretarial certification that there is a sufficient global supply of Mo-99 produced without the use of HEU available to meet the needs of patients in the United States and that it is not necessary to export United States-origin HEU for the purposes of medical isotope production in order to meet United States patient needs. This certification is effective as of January 2, 2022.

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.

Pursuant to Federal Advisory Committee Act, and following consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC) will be renewed for a two-year period, beginning on February 8, 2021. The DPAC will provide advice and recommendations to the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs on the stewardship and maintenance of the Nation's nuclear deterrent. Additionally, the renewal of the Committee has been determined to be essential to the conduct of the Department's business and to be in the public interest in connection with the performance of duties imposed upon the Department of Energy by law and agreement. The Committee will continue to operate in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the rules and regulations in implementation of that Act.

This document is being issued under the authority of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. The Department is providing notice of a proposed subsequent arrangement under the Agreement for Cooperation Concerning Civil Uses of Atomic Energy Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Canada, as amended (the Agreement).

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is announcing this Record of Decision (ROD) for 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). In this ROD, NNSA announces its decision to implement the Proposed Action to repurpose the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) to produce a minimum of 50 war reserve pits per year at SRS and to develop 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 up to the analyzed limit as necessary beginning during 2030 for the nuclear weapons stockpile. NNSA has previously evaluated this action at the programmatic level in the 2008 Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic EIS (Complex Transformation SPEIS), and recently in a separate Complex Transformation SPEIS Supplement Analysis (2019 SPEIS SA).

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.

Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Department of Energy (DOE) intends to extend for three years, an information collection request with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) is announcing this amendment to the April 2003 Amended Record of Decision (AROD) for the Final Surplus Plutonium Disposition Environmental Impact Statement (Final SPD EIS) (DOE/EIS- 0283). In this AROD, DOE/NNSA is announcing its decision to use the dilute and dispose method to disposition up to 7.1 MT of non-pit plutonium as contact handled transuranic (CH-TRU) waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). This AROD changes the disposition pathway for a portion of the 34 MT of surplus plutonium DOE/NNSA previously announced and decided in 2003 to fabricate into mixed oxide (MOX) fuel. DOE/NNSA prepared a Supplement Analysis (SA) for Disposition of Additional Non-Pit Surplus Plutonium (DOE/EIS-0283-SA-4, August 2020) to inform this decision.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE), announces its intent to prepare a Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL or Laboratory) in Livermore, California (LLNL SWEIS). The LLNL SWEIS will be prepared by NNSA's Livermore Field Office (LFO) and analyze the potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Action, other reasonable alternatives that may be identified, and the No Action Alternative for continuing operations of LLNL for approximately the next 15 years. The continued operation of LLNL is critical to NNSA's Stockpile Stewardship Program, to preventing the spread and use of nuclear weapons worldwide, and to many other areas that may impact national security and global stability. The Proposed Action Alternative will include continued operations and foreseeable new and/or modified operations/facilities to address aging infrastructure concerns at LLNL. The purpose of this Notice is to invite public participation in the process and to encourage public involvement on the scope and alternatives that should be considered.