Global Laser Enrichment, LLC; Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility; Final Environmental Impact Statement

Issuing agencies

Abstract

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding a license application from Global Laser Enrichment, LLC (GLE) to construct and operate the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility. The EIS evaluates the environmental impacts of the proposed action of issuing a license that would authorize GLE to construct and operate a uranium enrichment facility on a 322-acre site located in McCracken County, Kentucky, approximately 5 miles west of Paducah.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67876-67877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21996]


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NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. 70-7033; CEQ ID EISX-429-00-000-1754990851; NRC-2025-1007]


Global Laser Enrichment, LLC; Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility; 
Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION: Notice; issuance.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a 
final environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding a license 
application from Global Laser Enrichment, LLC (GLE) to construct and 
operate the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility. The EIS evaluates the 
environmental impacts of the proposed action of issuing a license that 
would authorize GLE to construct and operate a uranium enrichment 
facility on a 322-acre site located in McCracken County, Kentucky, 
approximately 5 miles west of Paducah.

DATES: The final EIS was made publicly available on October 23, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-1007 when contacting the 
NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You 
may obtain publicly available information related to this document 
using any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and search for Docket ID NRC-2025-1007. Address 
questions about Docket IDs in <a href="http://Regulations.gov">Regulations.gov</a> to Bridget Curran; 
telephone: 301-415-1003; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e5a7978c81828091cba6909797848ba58b9786cb828a93"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2567574c414240510b66505757444b654b57460b424a53">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. For technical 
questions, contact the individual(s) listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.
    <bullet> NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System 
(ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the 
ADAMS Public Documents collection at

[[Page 67877]]

<a href="https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html">https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html</a>. To begin the search, select 
``Begin ADAMS Public Search.'' For problems with ADAMS, please contact 
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, 
at 301-415-4737, or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b7e7f3e599e5d2c4d8c2c5d4d2f7d9c5d499d0d8c1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e0b0a4b2ceb285938f95928385a08e9283ce878f96">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. The final EIS is 
available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML26286A042.
    <bullet> NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies 
of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an 
appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3f6f7b6d116d5a4c504a4d5c5a7f514d5c11585049"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="29796d7b077b4c5a465c5b4a4c69475b4a074e465f">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 
a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except 
Federal holidays.
    <bullet> Public Library: A copy of the final EIS for GLE's license 
application for the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility will be available 
for public review at the McCracken County Public Library, 555 
Washington St., Paducah, KY 42003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Hester Minor, Office of Nuclear 
Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 817-200-1454; email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3c7d51451274594f48594e515552534e7c524e5f125b534a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6524081c4b2d0016110017080c0b0a17250b17064b020a13">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    In accordance with section 51.118 of title 10 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (10 CFR), ``Final environmental impact statement--
notice of availability,'' the NRC is providing notice that the final 
EIS regarding GLE's license application for the Paducah Laser 
Enrichment Facility is available for public inspection. The NRC issued 
a draft EIS regarding this license application on March 23, 2026 (ADAMS 
Accession No. ML26061A085) and published a Federal Register (FR) notice 
on March 27, 2026 (91 FR 14882) to request comments on the draft EIS. 
The public comment period for the draft EIS ended on May 11, 2026. The 
final EIS includes responses to comments on the draft EIS and 
conforming changes where appropriate.

II. Discussion

    The NRC has prepared a final EIS regarding GLE's application for a 
license to construct and operate a uranium enrichment facility on a 
322-acre greenfield site in McCracken County, Kentucky. The proposed 
Federal action is the issuance of a license that would authorize GLE to 
receive title to, own, acquire, receive, possess, use, transfer, and/or 
deliver source material, special nuclear material, and byproduct 
material as specified in the license for the purposes of constructing, 
and then operating for up to 40 years, a facility that uses laser-based 
isotope separation technology to enrich uranium. The facility would be 
authorized to re-enrich depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF<INF>6</INF>) 
tails to natural levels and enrich natural-grade UF<INF>6</INF> up to 8 
percent uranium-235 (U-235) by weight.
    The final EIS contains the NRC staff's analysis that evaluates the 
environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action 
alternative to the proposed action. The final EIS also contains the NRC 
staff's final recommendation on the action to be taken, which is based 
on the following factors:
    <bullet> The NRC staff's review of GLE's environmental report, 
other information in GLE's license application, and associated 
responses from GLE to requests from the NRC staff for clarifying 
information;
    <bullet> The NRC staff's consideration of comments received as part 
of the scoping process;
    <bullet> The NRC staff's communications with Federal, State, and 
local agencies, as well as Tribal officials;
    <bullet> The NRC staff's consideration of comments on the draft 
EIS; and
    <bullet> The NRC staff's independent environmental review.
    The NRC staff's final recommendation, unless safety issues mandate 
otherwise, is that the NRC issue the license to construct and operate 
the proposed enrichment facility to GLE.
    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.

    Dated: October 26, 2026.

    For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Kimyata Savoy,
Director, Division of Storage of Fuel, Transportation, and 
Environmental, Office of Nuclear Material Safety, and Safeguards.
[FR Doc. 2026-21996 Filed 10-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7590-01-P


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