National Nuclear Security Administration 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and the Council on Environmental Quality 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 Assessment (EA) for the transfer of the Kansas City Plant (KCP) (DOE/EA-1947), which is an NNSA-owned property at the Bannister Federal Complex (BFC). Concurrently, NNSA is canceling the Notice of Intent issued on January 23, 2012 (77 FR 3259) for the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Disposition of the Bannister Federal Complex, Kansas City, Missouri, and Notice of Wetlands Involvement (DOE/EIS-0475).

On July 27, 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a notice of availability for the Draft Surplus Plutonium Disposition Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SPD Supplemental EIS; DOE/EIS-0283-S2) for public review and comment. That notice stated that the public review and comment period would continue until September 25, 2012. DOE has decided to extend the public comment period by 15 days, and to hold an additional public hearing.

This notice announces a change in the fee policy by the Department of Energy (DOE) for receipt and management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from foreign research reactors (FRR) containing uranium enriched in the U.S. in countries with high-income economies, as identified in the World Bank Development Report. The fee will increase in three phases (See Table 1) for all future SNF shipments (including Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics (TRIGA) from high-income economy countries. The first phase will take effect immediately and the fee will increase from no higher than $3,750 per kg total mass (not heavy metal mass) to $5,625 per kg total mass for SNF containing low enriched uranium (LEU). The second phase will be implemented automatically on January 1, 2014, and the fees will increase from $5,625 per kg total mass to $7,500 per kg total mass for shipments of SNF containing LEU and from no higher than $4,500 per kg total mass to $6,750 per kg total mass for SNF containing highly enriched uranium (HEU). The third phase will be implemented automatically on January 1, 2016, and the fee will increase from $6,750 per kg total mass to $9,000 per kg total mass for shipments of SNF containing HEU. DOE is also implementing a new minimum fee of $200,000 per shipment of any type and amount of eligible SNF to reflect a minimum cost of providing acceptance services. This minimum fee will take effect immediately. In the case where a reactor operator already has a signed and executed contract with DOE, DOE intends to negotiate an equitable adjustment to the fee in accordance with this revised fee policy. Under this revised fee policy, the fee for return of TRIGA fuel will be the same as that of aluminum based fuel. All other aspects of the fee policy are unaffected by this Notice. This is the first fee increase since the fee policy was established in 1996, and will help DOE offset a portion of the increase in operation costs of managing SNF. DOE will continue to pay the costs for shipping, receipt and management of SNF from other than high-income economy countries. All other conditions and policies as previously established for acceptance of FRR SNF will continue to apply. DOE reserves the right to revise the fee policy at any time to respond to changed circumstances. DOE also reserves the right to adjust the fee set in an acceptance contract if there are unique and compelling circumstances that make it in DOE's best interest to do so.