Notice2025-08140
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Plutonium Pit Production
Primary source
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Published
May 9, 2025
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentNational Nuclear Security Administration
Abstract
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi- autonomous agency within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE), announces its intent to initiate a National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) process to ensure NEPA compliance for the production of plutonium pits in support of NNSA's Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program. The PEIS will evaluate the programmatic environmental impacts of producing pits at the Congressionally mandated rate (and potentially other reasonable rates) using various single site and multi-site alternatives; associated activities at other NNSA sites; and associated waste management and transportation activities. The purpose of this Notice is to invite public participation in the PEIS process and to solicit public comment on the scope, environmental issues, and alternatives for consideration by NNSA in the draft PEIS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 89 (Friday, May 9, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 89 (Friday, May 9, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19706-19708]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-08140]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Plutonium Pit Production
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-
autonomous agency within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy
(DOE), announces its intent to initiate a National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969 (NEPA) programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS)
process to ensure NEPA compliance for the production of plutonium pits
in support of NNSA's Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program. The
PEIS will evaluate the programmatic environmental impacts of producing
pits at the Congressionally mandated rate (and potentially other
reasonable rates) using various single site and multi-site
alternatives; associated activities at other NNSA sites; and associated
waste management and transportation activities. The purpose of this
Notice is to invite public participation in the PEIS process and to
solicit public comment on the scope, environmental issues, and
alternatives for consideration by NNSA in the draft PEIS.
DATES: NNSA will hold initial virtual public scoping meetings and
subsequent public hearings on the draft PEIS. During scoping, NNSA
invites other Federal agencies, Native American Tribes, State and local
governments, industry, other organizations, and members of the public
to review and submit comments on the scope and alternatives of the
PEIS. The deadline to submit these comments will be 45 days after the
final public scoping meeting. As noted, the final public scoping
meeting is currently scheduled for May 28, 2025, and therefore, the
current deadline for comments is July 14, 2025. Comments received after
this date will be considered to the extent practicable. NNSA will hold
two virtual public scoping meetings. The information about the scoping
meetings (i.e., date, time, phone number, and accessible hyperlink) is
provided in the table below. If there are future changes to this
information, it would be provided in a future notice posted on the
following website: <a href="https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room">https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room</a>,
no fewer than 15 days from the planned meeting date.
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Virtual scoping meeting dates and times Hyperlink
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Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 5-7:30 p.m. ET..... <a href="https://bit.ly/PuPEISMtg1">https://bit.ly/PuPEISMtg1</a>.
Dial in by Phone: (571) 429-
4592.
Phone conference ID: 808 821
801#.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025, 7-9:30 p.m. ET... <a href="https://bit.ly/PuPEISMtg2">https://bit.ly/PuPEISMtg2</a>.
Dial in by Phone: (571) 429-
4592.
Phone conference ID: 989 289
432#.
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ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the PEIS, requests to be
placed on the PEIS distribution list, and comments or questions on the
scoping process should be sent to: Ms. Jade Fortiner, NEPA Document
Manager, National Nuclear Security Administration, Office of Pit
Production Modernization, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20585 or email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3969504d697c706a7957574a58175d565c175e564f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="88d8e1fcd8cdc1dbc8e6e6fbe9a6ece7eda6efe7fe">[email protected]</span></a>. Before
including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, please be advised that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available. If you wish for NNSA to withhold your name
and/or other personally identifiable information, please state this
prominently at the beginning of your comment. You may also submit
comments anonymously. NNSA requests all Federal, State, Native American
Tribes, and local agencies that desire to be designated as cooperating
agencies on the PEIS to contact the NEPA Document Manager at the
address listed in this section by the end of the scoping period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about this
Notice, please contact Ms. Kristen M. Dors, NEPA Compliance Officer,
NNSA Office of Environment, Safety and Health, Los Alamos Field Office,
3747 West Road, Los Alamos, NM 87544; telephone: 505-606-8953; or email
to: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#33635a4763767a60735d5d40521d575c561d545c45"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cb9ba2bf9b8e82988ba5a5b8aae5afa4aee5aca4bd">[email protected]</span></a>.
This Notice will be available on the internet at: <a href="https://www.energy.gov/nepa/listings/notices-intent-noi">https://www.energy.gov/nepa/listings/notices-intent-noi</a> and <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 Congress to maintain and enhance the
safety, reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons
stockpile. Plutonium pits are critical components of every nuclear
weapon; nearly all current stockpile pits were produced from 1978 to
1989. The United States' capability to produce plutonium pits is
limited and does not meet Federal requirements.
Per title 50 United States Code (U.S.C.) 2538a, NNSA is mandated to
manufacture no fewer than 80 war reserve pits per year by 2030. This
number is driven by the stockpile's size, the need to replace existing
pits as they age, and the requirement for the United States to have a
flexible and resilient manufacturing capability with the capacity to
produce a variety of pits to meet current and planned military
stockpile requirements and ensure the safety, security, and
effectiveness of the nation's nuclear stockpile.
Previously, NNSA prepared the 2008 Complex Transformation
Supplemental PEIS (DOE/EIS-0236-S4) to analyze the potential
environmental impacts associated with pit production at different site
alternatives: Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New
Mexico; Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina; Pantex
Plant near Amarillo, Texas; Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak
Ridge, Tennessee; and the Nevada Test Site (now named the Nevada
National Security Site) north of Las Vegas, Nevada. At SRS, the Complex
Transformation Supplemental PEIS also evaluated a pit production
facility that would use the Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility and
Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility infrastructure. Additionally,
pit production at LANL has been analyzed in several NEPA documents over
the past two decades, including the 2008 Site-Wide Environmental Impact
Statement for Continued Operation of the Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DOE/EIS-0380) and the 2020 Final
Supplement Analysis of the 2008
[[Page 19707]]
Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Continued Operation of
Los Alamos National Laboratory for Plutonium Operations (DOE/EIS-380-
SA-06). On September 2, 2020, NNSA published a record of decision (ROD)
stating LANL will implement actions to produce a minimum of 30 war
reserve pits per year during 2026 for the national pit production
mission and implement surge efforts to exceed 30 pits per year up to
the analyzed limit (80 war reserve pits per year) as necessary (85 FR
54550).
Purpose and Need for Agency Action
The national security policies of the United States require a safe,
secure, and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile and the maintenance of
core competencies to design, manufacture, and maintain nuclear weapons.
The 2022 Nuclear Posture Review identified plutonium pit production as
one of the highest priorities in the modernization of the nuclear
security enterprise over the next ten years. To meet the need outlined
in Federal legislation and requirements delineated by the U.S.
Department of Defense, NNSA must establish a workforce and
infrastructure capable of producing no fewer than 80 pits per year as
soon as possible, while eliminating single point failures and providing
flexible capacity options. The PEIS process is to ensure NEPA
compliance for production of plutonium pits in support of these
requirements and NNSA's Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program.
The PEIS will evaluate the programmatic environmental impacts of
producing pits at the Congressionally mandated rate needed to meet
Federal requirements (and potentially other reasonable rates) using
various single site and multi-site alternatives; associated activities
at other NNSA sites; and associated waste management and transportation
activities.
Requirements To Fulfill DOE NEPA Compliance
NNSA is responsible for management and implementation of the
requirements of NEPA, and the regulations and policies promulgated
thereunder, including, but not limited to the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, DOE NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR part
1021), the Amendments to NEPA from the Fiscal Responsibility Act of
2023 (H.R. 3746), DOE Order 451.1B NEPA Compliance Program, and NNSA
Policy (NAP) 451.1 NEPA Compliance Program. The PEIS will be prepared
pursuant to NEPA and applicable regulations and policies promulgated
thereunder. The PEIS will be prepared in the same manner as a draft or
final EIS and will provide the public with an analysis of the potential
environmental impacts, at a programmatic level, associated with the
reasonable alternatives.
Preliminary Alternatives
The PEIS will evaluate NNSA's proposal to produce plutonium pits at
required quantities to meet national security requirements and the
potential environmental impacts associated with a range of reasonable
alternatives for achieving the necessary pit production capabilities
and operations at a programmatic level. For analytical purposes, this
PEIS will evaluate potential impacts over a 50-year period, through
approximately 2075.
In the PEIS, NNSA intends to analyze: (1) site alternatives; and
(2) capacity alternatives for the near term (producing pits at the
current Congressionally mandated rate) and the long term (to account
for potential changes in future national security requirements for
pits). With regard to site alternatives, NNSA considers LANL and SRS to
be reasonable alternatives because of the available facilities and
infrastructure at those sites that is being/could be used to produce
pits to meet the mandated schedule and capacity requirements. NNSA will
evaluate other potential site alternatives in the PEIS if they are
determined to be reasonable. Construction of a new facility
(greenfield) is likely to be considered unreasonable because it would
not meet the federally mandated pit production rate in the near term
and is likely cost prohibitive, however, NNSA has not decided to
exclude greenfield alternatives at this time.
The No-Action Alternative will be based on NNSA's prior decision to
produce 30 pits per year at LANL with surge efforts to produce up to 80
pits per year (85 FR 54544, September 2, 2020). NNSA welcomes input on
alternatives to be analyzed in the PEIS.
Preliminary Environmental Analysis
The following issues have been identified for analysis in the PEIS.
The list is tentative and intended to facilitate public comment on the
scope of the PEIS. It is not intended to be all-inclusive, nor does it
imply any predetermination of potential impacts. NNSA specifically
invites suggestions for the addition or deletion of items on this list.
1. Impacts on land use and applicable plans and policies.
2. Impacts on visual aesthetics.
3. Impacts on geology and soil.
4. Impacts on water resources, including floodplains and wetlands.
5. Impacts on air quality and noise.
6. Impacts to plants and animals and their habitat, including
species which are federally- or State-listed as threatened or
endangered, or of special concern.
7. Impacts to cultural resources such as those that are historic
and paleontological.
8. Socioeconomic impacts to affected communities.
9. Impacts from traffic and transportation of radiological and
hazardous materials and waste.
10. Impacts from use of utilities, including water and electricity
consumption, fuel use, sewer discharges, and resource conservation.
11. Impacts on the public and workers from exposures to
radiological and hazardous materials during construction and normal
operations.
12. Impacts on the public and workers from exposures to
radiological and hazardous materials from reasonably foreseeable
accidents, and intentional destructive acts.
13. Impacts on waste management activities and capacities at on-
site and off-site locations.
PEIS Process
The scoping process is intended to involve all interested agencies
(Federal, State, Native American Tribes, county, and local), public
interest groups, businesses, and members of the public. Interested
parties are invited to participate in the PEIS process, both to refine
the preliminary alternatives and environmental issues to be analyzed in
depth and to eliminate from detailed study those alternatives and
environmental issues that are not reasonable or pertinent. Input from
the scoping process will assist NNSA in formulating the proposed
action, refining the alternatives, and defining the scope of PEIS
analyses.
Following the scoping period announced in this Notice, and after
consideration of comments received during scoping, NNSA will prepare a
draft PEIS for pit production. NNSA will announce the availability of
the draft PEIS in the Federal Register and through other means,
including media outlets in the areas around planned hearing locations.
The comment period on the draft PEIS will be at least 90 days. NNSA
will hold public hearings on the draft PEIS in Aiken, South Carolina;
Kansas City, Missouri; Livermore, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico;
Washington DC; and any other location NNSA deems relevant to the PEIS.
Details related to those hearings
[[Page 19708]]
will be provided in NNSA's public notices. Comments received on the
draft PEIS will be considered and addressed in the Final PEIS. NNSA
will issue a ROD no sooner than 30 days after publication by the
Environmental Protection Agency of a Notice of Availability of the
final PEIS.
PEIS Preparation and Schedule
NNSA expects to issue the draft PEIS within approximately one year
of this NOI and complete the final PEIS and ROD within approximately 2
years.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on April 22,
2025, by Teresa M. Robbins, Acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security
and NNSA Administrator, 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 May 6, 2025.
Jennifer Hartzell,
Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2025-08140 Filed 5-8-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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