Notice2025-20208
Notice of Change in the Process for the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operation of Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico and for the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Enhanced Plutonium Facility Utilization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Primary source
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Published
November 18, 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 it will not perform certain National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities previously indicated in the Notice of Intent To Prepare a Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for Continued Operation of Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico (SNL/NM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico (SNL/NM NOI) and the Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for Enhanced Plutonium Facility Utilization at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California (LLNL NOI). Due to intervening regulatory changes, NNSA will not publish a draft SNL/NM SWEIS or a draft LLNL SEIS or hold additional public hearings for the LLNL SEIS. When NNSA publishes the final SNL/NM SWEIS and the final LLNL SEIS, NNSA will publish its Records of Decision (RODs) for both at the same time as the final documents.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 220 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51732-51733]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20208]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Notice of Change in the Process for the Site-Wide Environmental
Impact Statement for Continued Operation of Sandia National
Laboratories, New Mexico and for the Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for Enhanced Plutonium Facility Utilization at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice.
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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 it will not perform certain National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) activities previously indicated in the Notice of
Intent To Prepare a Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS)
for Continued Operation of Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico
(SNL/NM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico (SNL/NM NOI) and the Notice of
Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS)
for Enhanced Plutonium Facility Utilization at Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California (LLNL NOI). Due to
intervening regulatory changes, NNSA will not publish a draft SNL/NM
SWEIS or a draft LLNL SEIS or hold additional public hearings for the
LLNL SEIS. When NNSA publishes the final SNL/NM SWEIS and the final
LLNL SEIS, NNSA will publish its Records of Decision (RODs) for both at
the same time as the final documents.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about this
Notice, please contact Lynn Alexander, NEPA Compliance Officer,
National Nuclear Security Administration; telephone: 202-302-0141; or
email at: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b6f8f3e6f7f6d8d8c5d798d2d9d398d1d9c0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a3ede6f3e2e3cdcdd0c28dc7ccc68dc4ccd5">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Consistent with Executive Order (E.O.)
14154, Unleashing American Energy, and with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) repealed its NEPA regulations and required
agencies to revise their NEPA implementing procedures (90 FR 10610,
February 25, 2025, Removal of National Environmental Policy Act
Implementing Regulations; effective April 22, 2025). Accordingly, DOE
issued new DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures on June 30, 2025, and
removed most of the previous DOE NEPA implementing procedures from 10
CFR part 1021, National Environmental Policy Act Implementing
Procedures, in an Interim Final Rule on July 3, 2025 (90 FR 29676,
Revision of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures).
DOE's amended NEPA regulations rescind process-oriented requirements
(which are now outlined in the DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures
document issued June 30, 2025) and retain DOE's Categorical Exclusions
and emergency procedures. The regulatory update and new DOE NEPA
Implementing Procedures align with E.O. 14154 and significantly
streamline NEPA processes by focusing on statutory requirements while
retaining meaningful review of potential environmental impacts. Neither
NEPA nor the new DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures require NNSA to
publish draft environmental documents for public comment, hold public
hearings on a draft environmental document, or wait for 30 days after
issuance of a final environmental impact statement to publish a ROD.
While NNSA indicated in the SNL/NM NOI that it would
[[Page 51733]]
publish a draft of the SWEIS for Continued Operation of SNL/NM (DOE/
EIS-0556) for public comment, consistent with NEPA and with DOE's new
DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures, with respect to SNL/NM, NNSA will not
issue a draft SNL/NM SWEIS for public comment or wait 30 days between
the final SWEIS and issuance of the ROD. While NNSA indicated in the
LLNL NOI that it would publish a draft of the LLNL SEIS for Enhanced
Plutonium Facility Utilization at LLNL in Livermore, California (DOE/
EIS-0547-S1) for public comment, consistent with NEPA and DOE's new DOE
NEPA Implementing Procedures, NNSA will not issue a draft LLNL SEIS for
public comment, hold a public hearing on a draft, or wait 30 days
between the final LLNL SEIS and issuance of the ROD.
NEPA Activity Already Conducted on the SWEIS for Continued Operation of
SNL/NM
NNSA is preparing the SNL/NM SWEIS pursuant to the requirements of
NEPA. In the SNL/NM NOI (April 21, 2023; 77 FR 24607) NNSA invited all
interested agencies (Federal, state, and local), Native American
Tribes, public interest groups, local businesses, and members of the
general public to provide comments on the scope of the environmental
impact statement, environmental issues, and other potential
alternatives that NNSA should consider in the SNL/NM SWEIS. NNSA held
two public scoping meetings regarding the SNL/NM SWEIS in May 2023 and
collected comments from the interested parties for 45 days. NNSA has
considered and incorporated comments received during the public scoping
period and expects to publish the final SNL/NM SWEIS and simultaneous
publication of its ROD in late 2025.
NEPA Activity Already Conducted on the SEIS for Enhanced Plutonium
Facility Utilization at LLNL
In the LLNL NOI (January 13, 2025; 90 FR 2678), NNSA announced its
intent to prepare the LLNL SEIS and invited all interested agencies
(Federal, state, and local), Native American Tribes, public interest
groups, local businesses, and members of the general public to provide
comments on the scope of the environmental impact statement,
environmental issues, and other potential alternatives that NNSA should
consider in the LLNL SEIS. NNSA held a public scoping meeting regarding
the LLNL SEIS in January 2025 and collected comments from the
interested parties for 45 days. NNSA has considered and incorporated
comments received during the public scoping period and expects to
publish the final LLNL SEIS and simultaneous publication of its ROD in
early 2026.
Signing Authority
This document of the Department of Energy was signed on October 2,
2025, by Brandon M. Williams, 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 November 14, 2025.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2025-20208 Filed 11-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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