[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 20 (Monday, January 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2202]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: January 31, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Proposed Urgent-Relief Acceptance of a Limited Amount of Spent
Fuel From Foreign Research Reactors; Meetings
AGENCY: Department of Energy and Department of State.
ACTION: Notice of meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy and the Department of State plan to
co-host a two-part forum to involve stakeholders in a meaningful and
constructive dialogue on the proposed urgent-relief acceptance of a
limited amount of spent fuel from foreign research reactors. This
proposed action was originally described in a draft environmental
assessment, prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act,
distributed for comment by interested states and organizations in
October 1993; the Department is revising the environmental assessment
in response to comments and intends to reissue the draft for comment in
early February. The Department proposes to transport this spent fuel to
the United States as part of an effort to minimize the use of highly
enriched uranium in civil programs worldwide. Under this program, the
Department is proposing that highly enriched uranium spent fuel be
shipped by sea to a southeastern port (several alternative ports are
proposed) and then by truck to the Department's Savannah River site
near Aiken, South Carolina, for interim storage.
The first part of the forum will be a preparatory meeting on
February 10, 1994, involving invited stakeholders from State and local
governments, Congress, environmental and non-proliferation public
interest groups, other private sector interests, foreign research
reactor operators, and key affected communities. Key issues related to
the proposed acceptance of the spent fuel will be explored with the aid
of a professional facilitation team. Federal officials will briefly
present a summary of the relevant policy history, foreign research
reactor status and benefits, proliferation concerns, and other
associated background topics. Other participants will be invited to
present their views and concerns. It is expected that the issues will
be framed by international and domestic perspectives and will be
focused on feasible options to resolve the issues. These discussions
will set the stage for the second part of the forum, which will consist
of a round-table dialogue on February 25, 1994, of senior-level policy
makers, including Governors, Members of Congress, and senior government
officials in the Department of Energy, the Department of State, and the
National Security Council. This meeting will include a summary of the
discussions that took place at the February 10 meeting. Both meetings
are open to the public.
DATES: The first part of the forum will take place on February 10,
1994, and will be held at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, 400 New
Jersey Avenue, NW., Washington, DC; telephone (202) 737-1234. The
second part of the forum, involving invited senior policy makers
(Governors, Members of Congress, and senior representatives of Federal
agencies and interested organizations) will be held February 25, 1994,
at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark W. Frei, Office of Waste
Management, Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management,
U.S. Department of Energy (Mail Stop EM-30), 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20585; telephone (202) 586-0370; or Timothy Mealey,
Keystone Center, P.O. Box 8606, Keystone, Colorado 80435; (303) 468-
5822.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In October 1993, the Department of Energy
distributed for comment a draft environmental assessment, prepared
under the National Environmental Policy Act, which evaluated the
proposed urgent-relief acceptance of up to 700 elements of foreign
research reactor spent fuel containing highly enriched uranium that
originated in the United States. The Department proposed to transport
this spent fuel to the United States as part of an effort to minimize
the use of highly enriched uranium in civil programs worldwide. The
urgency of that proposed action arose from the need to ensure that
countries currently possessing this spent fuel continue to support the
nonproliferation initiatives of the United States embodied in the
Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor program.
It is apparent from the comments the Department received in
response to the draft environmental assessment distributed in October
1993 that many people did not agree there is a need for the United
States to accept this spent fuel, or have concerns regarding the plans
for implementing the proposed action. The Department plans to prepare
another draft of the environmental assessment, to include revisions
made in response to the first round of comments, and circulate it for
public review in early February. The Department is now proposing in the
draft environmental assessment that highly enriched uranium spent fuel
be shipped by sea to a port (Newport News, Norfolk, and Portsmouth,
Virginia; Charleston, South Carolina; Wilmington, North Carolina;
Savannah, Georgia; and Jacksonville, Florida are under consideration)
and then by truck to the Department's Savannah River site near Aiken,
South Carolina, for interim storage.
The proposed urgent-relief acceptance of a limited amount of spent
fuel is intended only as an interim measure to maintain the status quo
while the Department completes an environmental impact statement on its
proposal to adopt and implement a new fifteen year policy on the
acceptance of up to 15,000 elements of foreign research reactor spent
fuel containing uranium enriched in the United States.
Recently completed visits by teams of experts from the United
States to foreign research reactors in Europe and Australia, while
altering some details of the Department's proposal for urgent-relief
acceptance, have confirmed the near-term need for the acceptance of
certain foreign research reactor spent fuel in order to maintain the
status quo while the environmental impact statement is being prepared.
Failure to accept any spent fuel under the environmental assessment
would have serious negative impacts on the United States policy to
minimize the civil use of highly enriched uranium and specifically on
the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors program. Although
the countries from which the Department is considering accepting spent
fuel are not themselves countries of nuclear proliferation concern,
these countries export research reactors and fuel to developing
countries and have participated in the Reduced Enrichment for Research
and Test Reactors program. This program has been responsible for
gaining worldwide acceptance of low enriched uranium fuels for research
reactors, thus promoting important nonproliferation interests.
The planned forum will allow senior officials of the Federal
government to explore the proposed acceptance of this spent fuel with
Members of Congress, and representatives of potentially affected States
and communities, interest groups, industry, the international
community, and other key stakeholders. These discussions will be taken
into consideration in preparation of the final environmental
assessment.
Issued at Washington, DC, on January 27, 1994.
Mark W. Frei,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Management, Environmental
Restoration and Waste Management.
[FR Doc. 94-2202 Filed 1-28-94; 8:45 am]
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