Notice2023-19909
Amended Record of Decision for the Production of Tritium in Commercial Light Water Reactors
Primary source
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Published
September 14, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentNational Nuclear Security Administration
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 177 (Thursday, September 14, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63099-63100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19909]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Amended Record of Decision for the Production of Tritium in
Commercial Light Water Reactors
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Amended record of decision.
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SUMMARY: 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on NNSA's NEPA
process, please contact Mr. James Sanderson, NEPA Compliance Officer,
National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of General Counsel,
Telephone (202) 586-1402; or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bbd1d2d695c8dad5dfdec9c8d4d5fbd5d5c8da95dfd4de95dcd4cd"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0b61626625786a656f6e797864654b6565786a256f646e256c647d">[email protected]</span></a>.
This Amended Record of Decision is available on the internet at <a href="https://energy.gov/nepa">https://energy.gov/nepa</a>. The 2016 ROD, the CLWR SEIS, and related NEPA
documents are available on the DOE NEPA website at <a href="https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doe-environmental-impact-statements">https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doe-environmental-impact-statements</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NNSA is the lead Federal agency responsible
for maintaining and enhancing the safety, security, reliability, and
performance of the United States (U.S.) nuclear weapons stockpile.
Tritium, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is an essential component
of every weapon in the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and must be
replenished periodically due to its short half-life. In March 1999, DOE
published the 1999 EIS, which addressed the production of tritium in
the TVA's Watts Bar and Sequoyah nuclear reactors using TPBARs. The
1999 EIS assessed the potential environmental impacts of irradiating up
to 3,400 TPBARs per reactor per fuel cycle (a fuel cycle lasts about 18
months). On May 14, 1999, DOE published the ROD for the 1999 EIS (64 FR
26369) in which it announced its decision to enter into an agreement
with TVA to irradiate TPBARs in the Watts Bar Unit 1 reactor (Watts Bar
1) in Rhea County, Tennessee, near Spring City; and Sequoyah Units 1
and 2 reactors (Sequoyah 1 and 2) in Hamilton County, Tennessee, near
Soddy-Daisy. In 2002, TVA received license amendments from the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to irradiate TPBARs in those
reactors. (However, TVA's license for the Sequoyah reactors no longer
allows for the irradiation of TPBARs.) Since 2003, TVA has been
irradiating TPBARs for NNSA by irradiating TPBARs only in Watts Bar 1.
(In 2020, TVA began irradiating TPBARs in Watts Bar 2.) After
irradiation, NNSA transports the TPBARs to the Tritium Extraction
Facility at the DOE Savannah River Site in South Carolina. NNSA's
Interagency Agreement with TVA to irradiate TPBARs is in effect until
the earlier of either (a) November 30, 2035, or (b) the date TVA no
longer has a pressurized water reactor in operation.
NNSA prepared the 2016 CLWR SEIS to update the environmental
analyses in the 1999 Final Environmental Impact Statement for the
Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water Reactor (DOE/EIS-
0288; the 1999 EIS). The 2016 CLWR SEIS provides analysis of the
potential environmental impacts from TPBAR irradiation based on a
conservative estimate of the tritium permeation rate through the TPBAR
cladding, NNSA's revised estimate of the maximum number of TPBARs
necessary to support the current and projected future tritium supply
requirements, and a maximum production scenario of irradiating no more
than a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months. NNSA initially decided to
implement the 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. Although near-
term tritium requirements could likely be met with the irradiation of
2,500 TPBARs every 18 months, at the time, this decision provided the
greatest flexibility to meet potential future needs that could arise
from various plausible but unexpected events. Subsequent to the 2016
SEIS, WBN Unit 1 increased the irradiation of TPBARs under Unit 1
License Amendment #107 (July 2016) and Unit 2 TPBAR irradiation 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 1
and 2. TVA noted new information or circumstances relevant to
environmental concerns that could potentially have a bearing on the
current proposal or its impacts. This new information was analyzed in a
February 6, 2023 TVA memorandum, ``Determination of NEPA Adequacy,
Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water Nuclear Reactor
(Watts Bar Nuclear Plant), Tennessee Valley Authority.'' In this memo,
TVA addressed their recent review of the
[[Page 63100]]
2016 CLWR SEIS to determine if additional environmental review under
NEPA was needed, consistent with CEQ regulations at 40 CFR 1502.9(d).
The analysis demonstrated that the current proposal does not represent
a substantive change to operations, activities, and associated impacts
assessed in existing NEPA documentation. Both the TVA analysis and the
CLWR SEIS analysis indicate that there would not be any significant
increase in radiation exposure associated with TPBAR irradiation for
facility workers or the public. For all analyzed alternatives
(including both Alternatives 4 and 6), estimated radiation exposures
would remain well below regulatory limits. The calculated estimated
exposures for normal reactor operations with even the maximum number of
TPBARs are comparable to those for normal reactor operation without
TPBARs.
Amended Decision
NNSA is amending its previous decision (81 FR 40685), which was to
choose the 2016 CLWR SEIS's Alternative 6 that assumes TVA would
irradiate up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months using both the
Watts Bar and Sequoyah sites. Because TVA would irradiate a maximum of
2,500 TPBARs in any one reactor, this could involve the use of one or
both reactors at each of the sites. Instead, NNSA's new decision is to
choose the 2016 CLWR SEIS's Alternative 4 that assumes TVA would
irradiate up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 months at the Watts
Bar site using Watts Bar 1 and 2 reactors. Since TVA would irradiate a
maximum of 2,500 TPBARs in any one reactor, this would involve use of
both Watts Bar reactors. Under this decision, TVA will not irradiate
TPBARs for tritium production at the Sequoyah site.
Basis for Decision
The environmental impacts of this proposed action have been
addressed in previous environmental impact statements, i.e., the 1999
Final EIS for the Production of Tritium in a Commercial Light Water
Reactor (DOE/EIS-0288) and the 2016 CLWR SEIS. However, TVA staff
reviewed new information or circumstances relevant to environmental
concerns that could potentially have a bearing on the current proposal
or its impacts. This new information was analyzed in a February 6, 2023
TVA memorandum, i.e., ``Determination of NEPA Adequacy, Production of
Tritium in a Commercial Light Water Nuclear Reactor (Watts Bar Nuclear
Plant), Tennessee Valley Authority.'' In this memo, TVA addresses their
recent review of the 2016 CLWR SEIS to determine if additional
environmental review under NEPA was needed, consistent with CEQ
regulations at 40 CFR 1502.9(d). During an interagency teleconference
held in May 2021, NNSA requested information from TVA to help NNSA in
its determination of the adequacy of the 2016 SEIS as far as TVA's
updated proposal. Additional information given to NNSA addresses
anticipated effects on the amount of spent fuel to be generated at
Watts Bar, the fuel cycle there, and the amount of tritiated wastewater
estimated to be generated from TPBAR irradiation. In terms of the
amount of spent fuel to be generated at Watts Bar, TVA's current
proposal would result in 36 additional fuel assemblies every 18 months.
The SEIS assumed up to 41 additional fuel assemblies, so it provides a
conservative bounding analysis of the approximately 2500 TPBAR
equilibrium core designs. There would be additional spent fuel
generated with the new proposal. However, TVA has assured NNSA that it
has infrastructure in place to manage the increased volume of spent
nuclear fuel assemblies. Regarding the new proposal's effects on the
fuel cycle, the cycle length is only mentioned in the SEIS twice, and
only in the context of being a ``potential uncertainty'' in determining
if it was necessary to assume in the SEIS a higher, more conservative
tritium permeation rate. TVA does not consider the operating cycle
length to be uncertain, and it also does not anticipate that
irradiation of up to 2500 TPBARs at each reactor would affect the
typical fuel cycle. Therefore, the issue has no bearing on the review
for adequacy of the SEIS for any future TVA action to irradiate up to
5000 TPBARs at Watts Bar. Lastly, the estimated amount of tritiated
wastewater (due to permeation from the TPBARs into the cooling water)
was not identified in the SEIS, as it is difficult to separate this out
from other releases from such things as turbine building sumps, floor
drain collector sumps, groundwater sumps, etc. However, to keep maximum
tritium concentrations low, TVA will use a ``feed and bleed''
technique, which will require additional cooling water per fuel cycle
in order to ensure that TVA discharges are within regulatory limits.
TVA estimates that using this technique will increase water usage by
approximately 25% but is not expected to affect environmental impacts.
The current proposal does not represent a substantive change to
operations, activities, and associated impacts assessed in existing
NEPA documentation. Therefore, the decision to choose the previously
analyzed 2016 CLWR SEIS Alternative 4, along with the updated analysis
provided by TVA (summarized previously) and confirmed by NNSA, is
reasonable, and accordingly, no further NEPA analysis of this TVA
proposal is required.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on June 29,
2023, by Jill Hruby, Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and
Administrator, NNSA, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary
of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is
maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance
with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on September 11, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-19909 Filed 9-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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