National Nuclear Security Administration 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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.

The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the availability of a Report on the Secretary of Energy's Final Decision and Supporting Reasoning Regarding Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Recommendation 2019-2, Safety of the Savannah River Site Tritium Facilities. The Board issued Recommendation 2019-2 on June 11, 2019. The Recommendation focused on the Department of Energy (DOE) actions to improve the safety of the Tritium Facilities, upgrades to safety management programs, and the implementation of robust controls to prevent very high radiation doses, creating the potential for acute radiation sickness or fatality in a significant number of individuals. The Recommendation identified three specific sub-recommendations.

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.