National Nuclear Security Administration – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On February 19, 2020, the Department of Energy published a notice of closed meeting announcing a meeting on April 23, 2020 of the Defense Programs Advisory Committee. This notice announces the cancellation of this meeting.

The Department of Energy (DOE)/National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is announcing this amendment to the July 2004 Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, Site (FEIS) (DOE/EIS- 0360). In this amended ROD, DOE/NNSA is announcing its decision to implement its preferred alternative for the construction and operation of a depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio, a DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) site. This amended ROD addresses DOE/NNSA's intent to construct and operate a fourth process line within the conversion facility, as previously analyzed in the aforementioned FEIS.

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 between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.

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.

The Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) hereby announces its intent, consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for plutonium pit production at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina (the SRS EIS). 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 plutonium pits per year by 2030. To achieve the Department of Defense (DoD) requirement, NNSA is proposing to repurpose the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) at SRS to produce plutonium pits while also maximizing pit production activities at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico. NNSA also hereby provides information regarding its overall NEPA strategy related to fulfilling national requirements for pit production. NNSA will first conduct a programmatic review to assist in decisions and second conduct site-specific reviews. NNSA anticipates that it will prepare at least three documents including: A supplement analysis (SA) to the Final Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic EIS (Complex Transformation SPEIS); a site-specific EIS for the proposal to produce pits at SRS; and site-specific documentation for the proposal to authorize expanding pit production at LANL.

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 Co- operation between the Government of the United States of America and the Swiss Federal Council Concerning the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy.

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 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.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) 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.

On November 29, 2005, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announced its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to evaluate the operation of a Biosafety Level (BSL)-3 Facility at LANL. NNSA has determined that, at this point in time, it does not have a need to operate a BSL-3 Facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Therefore, NNSA is withdrawing the Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and is terminating the NEPA EIS process.

Pursuant to Section 229 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as amended), notice is hereby given that the United States Department of Energy is adding to its DOE- and contractor-occupied property at the Pantex Plant in Carson County, Texas, covered by DOE's regulations, Trespassing on Department of Energy Property, in the Code of Federal Regulations. In addition to the previously identified areas of the Pantex Plant, these regulations hereby prohibit the unauthorized entry onto and the unauthorized carrying, transporting, or otherwise introducing or causing to be introduced any dangerous weapon, explosive, or other dangerous instrument or material, into or upon the following described property of the Pantex Plant of the United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has submitted an information collection request to the OMB for an extension under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The information collection request seeks a three-year extension of The American Assured Fuel Supply Program, OMB Control Number 1910-5173. The proposed collection will help determine if applicants have provided sufficient information for the Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control to evaluate requests of applicants for use of the American Assured Fuel Supply.

Section 3136 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (NDAA) mandates that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) also be consulted with respect to each authorization under section 57b.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEA), to a covered foreign country as defined in section 3136(i)(2) of the NDAA. This amendment to the Procedures Established Pursuant to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 implements this consultation requirement.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is amending its July 20, 2011, Record of Decision for the Continued Operation of the Y-12 National Security Complex (2011 ROD) (76 FR 43319) to reflect its decision to implement a revised approach for meeting enriched uranium (EU) requirements, by upgrading existing EU processing buildings and constructing a new Uranium Processing Facility (UPF). Additionally, NNSA has decided to separate 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. This revised approach is a hybrid of 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). The scope of this Amended ROD is limited to actions which have been found necessary to sustain Y-12's capability to conduct EU processing operations in a safe and secure environment. Those actions are also addressed in a Supplement Analysis (SA) (DOE/ EIS-0387-SA-01), issued by NNSA in April 2016. All other defense mission activities and non-defense mission activities conducted at Y-12 under the alternative selected for implementation in the 2011 ROD are outside the scope of this decision. As a result of preparing the SA, NNSA has determined that no further National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis is needed to support this Amended ROD.

On December 18, 2015, the Secretary of Energy issued a determination (``Secretarial Determination'') covering the lease of high-assay low enriched uranium for medical isotope production projects through the Department's Uranium Lease and Take-Back Program (ULTB). The Secretarial Determination covers transfers of up to 500 kilograms uranium (kgU) per year of low enriched uranium (LEU) at up to 19.75 percent uranium-235 in the two years following approval of the determination to support molybdenum-99 production. For the reasons set forth in the Department's ``Analysis of Potential Impacts of Uranium Transfers on the Domestic Uranium Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment Industries,'' which is incorporated into the Determination, the Secretary determined that these transfers will not have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or enrichment industry.

On August 2, 2015, the Secretary of Energy issued a determination (``Secretarial Determination'') covering the sale or transfer of high-assay low enriched uranium for medical isotope development projects. The Secretarial Determination covers transfers of up to 25 kilograms uranium (kgU) per year of low enriched uranium (LEU) at up to 19.75 percent uranium-235 for transfers in the two years following approval of the determination to support molybdenum-99 producers in commercial research and isotope production applications. For the reasons set forth in the Department's ``Analysis of Potential Impacts of Uranium Transfers on the Domestic Uranium Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment Industries,'' which is incorporated into the determination, the Secretary determined that these transfers will not have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or enrichment industry.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, under section 10(d) of the Act and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), the meeting will be closed to the public and matters to be discussed are exempt from public disclosure under Executive Order 1 and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. 2161 and 2162, as amended.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of these meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, under section 10(d) of the Act and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), 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, 42 U.S.C. 2161 and 2162, as amended.

This notice announces a closed meeting of the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC). The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, 86 Stat. 770) (the Act) requires that public notice of these meetings be announced in the Federal Register. Due to national security considerations, under section 10(d) of the Act and 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), 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, 42 U.S.C. 2161 and 2162, as amended.

The Department of Energy (DOE) invites public comment on a proposed collection of information that DOE is developing for submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This proposed collection would be for use of the American Assured Fuel Supply (AFS). DOE created the AFS, a reserve of low enriched uranium (LEU) to serve as a backup fuel supply for foreign recipients (to be supplied through U.S. persons) or for domestic recipients in the event of a fuel supply disruption. DOE published a Notice of Availability for the AFS on August 18, 2011. DOE now needs to publish an application form to clarify the information that must be provided in a request to access the material in the AFS, as set forth in the Notice of Availability. 76 FR 51357, 51358. This application form is necessary in order for DOE to identify if applicants meet basic requirements for use of the AFS and implement this important nonproliferation initiative.

Pursuant to Section 14(a)(2)(A) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), and in accordance with Title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, Sec. 102-3.65, and following consultation with the Committee Management Secretariat, General Services Administration, notice is hereby given that the Defense Programs Advisory Committee (DPAC) will be established. 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 establishment 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 operate in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the rules and regulations in implementation of that Act.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Energy, pursuant to Section 229 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, prohibits the unauthorized entry and the unauthorized introduction of weapons or dangerous materials into or upon the facilities of the Kansas City Plant of the United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, National Security Campus. The facilities are described in this notice.

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Draft Surplus Plutonium Disposition Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SPD Supplemental EIS; DOE/EIS-0283-S2) for public comment. DOE also is announcing the dates, times and locations for public hearings to receive comments on the Draft SPD Supplemental EIS. The Draft SPD Supplemental EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of alternatives for disposition of 13.1 metric tons (14.4 tons) of surplus plutonium for which DOE has not made a disposition decision, including 7.1 metric tons (7.8 tons) of plutonium from pits that were declared excess to national defense needs. It also updates previous DOE NEPA analyses on plutonium disposition to consider additional options for pit disassembly and conversion, which entails processing plutonium metal components to produce an oxide form of plutonium suitable for disposition, and the use of mixed oxide (MOX) fuel fabricated from surplus plutonium in domestic commercial nuclear power reactors to generate electricity, including five reactors at two specific Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reactor plants. DOE is not revisiting the decision to fabricate 34 metric tons (MT) (37.5 tons) of surplus plutonium into MOX fuel in the MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF) (65 FR 1608, January 11, 2000 and 68 FR 20134, April 24, 2003), now under construction at DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, and to irradiate the MOX fuel in commercial nuclear reactors used to generate electricity. TVA is a cooperating agency on this SPD Supplemental EIS. TVA is considering the use of MOX fuel, produced as part of DOE's Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program, in its nuclear power reactors.

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulations implementing NEPA, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within DOE, announces its intention to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the disposition of the Bannister Federal Complex (BFC) (BFC Disposition EIS; DOE/EIS-0475). The 300-acre BFC is owned by NNSA and the General Services Administration (GSA). NNSA owns the portion of the BFC known as the Kansas City Plant (KCP), consisting of approximately 122 acres and 38 buildings. GSA owns the remainder of the site, consisting of approximately 175 acres and 13 buildings. Beginning in 2013, NNSA will relocate its operations from the KCP to a newly constructed industrial campus eight miles south of the BFC. Once the move is completed, NNSA's real property at the BFC will be excess to the needs of its mission and will be available for disposition. GSA is currently analyzing its occupancy of the BFC and is performing a separate Environmental Assessment (EA) to evaluate a future relocation option. Because GSA could also decide to relocate its operations away from the BFC, it is a cooperating agency for the preparation of this EIS, which will analyze the potential environmental impacts for the disposition of GSA real property in addition to NNSA real property. The BFC Disposition EIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with reasonably foreseeable potential future uses of the property, which could be different from its current uses. These potential future uses include industrial, warehousing, and commercial/office uses. NNSA also will assess the potential environmental impacts of partial and/or complete demolition of some BFC structures. Because the proposed project could involve actions in wetlands, the EIS will include a wetland assessment.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing this Amended Record of Decision (AROD) for the Nuclear Facility portion of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Building Replacement (CMRR) Project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico. After completing an EIS, NNSA issued a ROD for the CMRR Project on February 3, 2004, deciding to construct a two-building, partially above-ground, CMRR Facility in Technical Area-55 (TA-55) at LANL. This new facility would replace the aging 60-year-old Chemistry and Metallurgy Research (CMR) Building at LANL, and would ensure the ability to continue to perform analytical chemistry and materials characterization operations using plutonium and other actinides in a safe, secure manner in support of NNSA mission activities. As the CMRR Project planning and design process has progressed over the past 8 years, the first building of the two-building CMRR Facility (the Radiological Laboratory/Utility/Office Building, also known as the RLUOB) has been constructed. During this same time period, primarily as a result of efforts to better understand the seismic environment at the selected construction site in TA-55, several design considerations and ancillary support requirements were identified for the CMRR Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF) that had not been anticipated in 2003. These design considerations and additional ancillary support requirements were not analyzed in the 2003 CMRR EIS. To address this new information, NNSA recently completed a supplemental environmental impact statement, Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Nuclear Facility Portion of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Building Replacement Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (the CMRR-NF SEIS). The CMRR-NF SEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of proposed construction changes to the CMRR-NF to address site seismic and safety considerations, as well as newly identified ancillary construction support requirements, such as additional equipment storage areas, soil storage areas, additional transportation needs, and worker parking areas under the Modified CMRR-NF Alternative and compares these impacts to those identified for the construction project selected in the 2004 ROD (No Action Alternative) and for continued operation of the existing CMR facility. NNSA has considered this analysis as well as comments submitted by the public on the Draft and Final CMRR-NF SEIS and has decided to select the Modified CMRR-NF Alternative for constructing and operating the CMRR-NF portion of the CMRR Project. NNSA will select the appropriate Excavation Option (Shallow or Deep) for implementing the construction of this building after initiating final design activities, when additional geotechnical and structural design calculations and more detailed engineering analysis will be performed to support completing the facility design.

On June 24, 2011, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semiautonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), published a Notice of Intent (NOI) for the preparation of a Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for the Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico (DOE/EIS-0466). That notice stated that the public review and comment period would continue until 45 days after publication in the Federal Register, ending on August 8, 2011. In response to a request from the public, NNSA has decided to Re-open the public comment period through September 12, 2011, and to hold two additional public scoping meetings on Thursday September 1, 2011, in Albuquerque, NM.