Notice2024-16689
Amended Record of Decision for the Continued Operation of the Nevada National Security Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada
Primary source
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Published
July 30, 2024
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentNational Nuclear Security Administration
Abstract
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.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 146 (Tuesday, July 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61104-61106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-16689]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Amended Record of Decision for the Continued Operation of the
Nevada National Security Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of
Nevada
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 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on this AROD
or the SA, contact: Ms. Patricia Gallo, NEPA Compliance Officer, NNSA
Nevada
[[Page 61105]]
Field Office, 232 Energy Way, North Las Vegas, Nevada, 89030; by phone
at (702) 295-3211; or via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#24544550564d474d450a434548484b644a4a57450a404b410a434b52"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ff8f9e8b8d969c969ed1989e939390bf91918c9ed19b909ad1989089">[email protected]</span></a>. This
AROD as well as the SA, SWEIS, and related NEPA documents are available
at <a href="https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room">https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
NNSA is responsible for meeting the national security requirements
established by the President and the Congress to maintain and enhance
the safety, reliability, and performance of the United States nuclear
weapons stockpile. NNSS supports the NNSA nuclear Stockpile Stewardship
and Management Plan (SSMP) mission as well as other DOE and NNSA
programs, national security programs, and other Federal agency work.
NNSA published a SWEIS in 2013 that analyzed the potential
environmental impacts of continued management and operation of the
NNSS. A ROD for the SWEIS was announced in the Federal Register (FR) on
December 30, 2014 (79 FR 78421). Since publication of the 2014 ROD,
NNSA has been conducting operations in accordance with the ROD, with no
notable changes.
The 2024 Final Supplement Analysis of the Site-Wide Environmental
Impact Statement for the 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-SA-01) SA evaluation included the same four locations evaluated in
the SWEIS: the NNSS, located approximately 65 miles northwest of Las
Vegas, and three off-site locations in Nevada; the Tonopah Test Range
(TTR), located north of the NNSS within the Nevada Test and Training
Range; the North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF), located in North Las Vegas;
and the Remote Sensing Laboratory-Nellis (RSL-Nellis), located at the
Nellis Air Force Base north of Las Vegas.
The actions analyzed in the SA are consistent with the 2014 ROD.
The actions and operations evaluated at the NNSS include modernization
of site facilities and infrastructure, expansion of existing facility
operations and experimentation at the Device Assembly Facility and the
U1a Complex, expanded uncrewed aerial system operations, and
construction and operation of a new waste disposal cell at the
Radioactive Waste Management Complex. NNSA also proposed and evaluated
actions to increase energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
at the NNSS by constructing solar projects, installing electric vehicle
charging stations across the site, and transitioning to 100 percent
zero-emission vehicle acquisitions by approximately 2035.
For the TTR, the SA evaluated operational changes and increased
maintenance activities, but operations remain consistent with past
operations. For the NLVF, the SA evaluated the potential construction
and relocation of personnel and light laboratory spaces to a new campus
in a planned industrial park that has not yet been built, referred to
as the Northwest Las Vegas (NWLV) Campus. The NWLV Campus would replace
some facilities at the NLVF, which are inefficiently designed,
oversized, and outdated. The NWLV Campus would be located at a site
that is approximately 12 to 15 miles northwest of the existing NLVF.
NNSA did not identify any actions or notable changes in operations at
RSL-Nellis; therefore, the SA did not analyze any changes at RSL-
Nellis. A complete listing of the actions and operations evaluated for
the NNSS and the off-site locations in the State of Nevada is found in
Table 2-2 of the SA.
NEPA Process for This AROD
NNSA prepared the SA in accordance with the DOE NEPA implementing
procedures at 10 CFR part 1021, to assess the potential environmental
impacts of continued operations at the NNSS and off-site locations in
the State of Nevada. The purpose of the SA is to determine if the
actions evaluated in the SA constitute a substantial change to the
actions evaluated in the 2013 SWEIS, if there are significant new
circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns, and
whether a new or supplemental SWEIS or whether no further NEPA
documentation is required. The SA focuses on the projects/changes that
have occurred at the NNSS and the off-site locations in the State of
Nevada since publication of the 2013 SWEIS and 2014 ROD or are expected
to occur within approximately the next five years. The SA evaluates the
impacts of these projects/changes against the impacts presented in the
2013 SWEIS.
Although publication of a Draft SA is not required, NNSA provided
the Draft SA to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP),
Nye and Clark County representatives, the American Indian Writers
Subgroup, and the 16 tribes culturally affiliated with the NNSS. NNSA
provided a 30-day review period for the Draft SA. During that review
period, NNSA received one comment document from NDEP. The NDEP comments
and NNSA's corresponding responses are provided in Appendix B of the
Final SA.
Summary of Impacts
The SA analyzed the potential impacts of the actions and operations
described in Table 2-2 of the SA on the following areas: land use;
infrastructure and energy; transportation and traffic; socioeconomics;
geology and soils; hydrology; biological resources; air quality,
climate, and noise; visual resources; cultural resources; waste
management; human health and safety; environmental justice; and
accidents and intentional destructive acts. Impacts are presented for
the NNSS (see Section 3.1 of the SA), TTR (see Section 3.2 of the SA),
and the NLVF/NWLV Campus (see Section 3.3 of the SA). Section 4 of the
SA presents the cumulative impacts.
Based on the analyses in the SA, NNSA determined that the potential
impacts associated with the actions evaluated in the SA are not
significantly different than impacts presented in the SWEIS.
Consequently, NNSA determined that: (1) the actions evaluated in the SA
do not constitute a substantial change to the actions evaluated in the
2013 SWEIS; (2) there are no significant new circumstances or
information relevant to environmental concerns; and therefore (3) no
further NEPA analysis or documentation is required at this time.
Environmentally Preferable Alternative
In the 2014 ROD, NNSA identified the Reduced Operations Alternative
as the environmentally preferable alternative because fewer adverse
impacts would result compared to the other alternatives. NNSA still
believes the Reduced Operations Alternative is the environmentally
preferable alternative.
Decision
The continued operation of NNSS is critical to NNSA's SSMP, to
prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons worldwide, and to other
areas that impact national security and global stability. The primary
mission supported by NNSS is ensuring the United States stockpile of
nuclear weapons remains safe and reliable. Other activities conducted
on the NNSS include experiments aimed at improving national
nonproliferation objectives, arms control and treaty verification;
weapons of mass destruction first responder training; experiments
involving the controlled release and monitoring of hazardous material;
remediation of legacy contamination sites; preparing waste for
compliant disposition at the Waste
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Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, including waste
that will be processed at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls,
Idaho, to meet the WIPP waste acceptance criteria; and disposal of low-
level radioactive waste (LLW) and mixed LLW. NNSA will implement the
actions and operations described in Table 2-2 of the SA. Implementing
these actions and operations will enable NNSA to fulfill its
responsibilities by properly considering economic, environmental,
technical, and other factors.
Basis for Decision
In making this decision, NNSA considered the SA, the 2013 SWEIS,
the 2014 ROD, and its statutory responsibilities to safeguard the
nuclear weapons stockpile. Federal law and national security policies
require NNSA to maintain and enhance the safety, reliability, and
performance of the United States nuclear weapons stockpile and maintain
a responsive nuclear weapons infrastructure that is cost-effective and
has adequate capacity to meet foreseeable national security
requirements. The NNSS and off-site locations in the State of Nevada
support the NNSA nuclear stockpile stewardship and management mission
as well as other DOE and NNSA programs, national security programs, and
other Federal agency work. The SA provided the NNSA decision-maker with
valuable information regarding the potential environmental impacts of
the actions required to accomplish the national security mission and
related programs. In addition to environmental information, NNSA also
considered statutory responsibilities, strategic objectives, technical
needs, safeguards and security, costs, and schedule in its decision-
making.
This AROD documents NNSA's decision to continue operations at the
NNSS and off-site locations in the State of Nevada and provides public
notification of this decision. This decision enables NNSA to continue
to meet its statutory obligations to safeguard the nuclear weapons
stockpile and support the national security mission.
Mitigation Measures
No potential adverse impacts were identified that will require
additional mitigation measures beyond those contained in the SWEIS,
required by environmental laws, regulations, permits, and agreements,
or achieved through design features or best management practices.
Because no new potential adverse impacts were identified that will
require additional mitigation measures, NNSA does not expect to prepare
a Mitigation Action Plan.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on July 12,
2024, by Jill Hruby, Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and
Administrator, NNSA, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary
of Energy. The 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 DOE. This administrative process in no way
alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the
Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on July 25, 2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024-16689 Filed 7-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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