[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 47 (Friday, March 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9443-9445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-5562]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials Draft 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials Draft 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Storage and Disposition 
Draft PEIS) for public review and comment. The Department has prepared 
this Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), the Council on Environmental 
Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and the Department's NEPA 
Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021). The PEIS analyzes 
alternatives for two proposed actions: (1) to provide a long-term 
storage system for weapons-usable fissile materials that meets all 
applicable environmental, safety, and health standards while reducing 
storage and infrastructure cost; and (2) to provide for disposition of 
surplus plutonium (Pu) and Pu that may be declared surplus in the 
future, in order to achieve proliferation resistance by making the Pu 
as inaccessible and difficult to retrieve after disposition as the Pu 
in spent fuel from commercial reactors (referred to as the Spent Fuel 
Standard). Throughout this Notice, reference to Pu or to plutonium 
refers only to weapons-usable plutonium.

DATES: The public is invited to comment on the Storage and Disposition 
Draft PEIS during the public comment period that begins on March 8, 
1996 and continues until May 7, 1996. Comments postmarked after that 
date will be considered to the extent practicable. The Department will 
hold eight public meetings to discuss and receive comments on the 
Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS. The times and locations of these 
meetings are provided in the Supplementary Information to this Notice 
of Availability.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Storage and Disposition Draft 
PEIS and related information should be directed to: Office of Fissile 
Materials Disposition (MD-4), Attention: Storage and Disposition PEIS, 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 
20585, or by calling 1-800-820-5134.
    Written comments on the Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS should 
be mailed to the following address: DOE-Office of Fissile Materials 
Disposition, P.O. Box 23786, Washington, DC 20026-3786. Comments may 
also be submitted orally (to a recording machine) or by fax by calling 
1-800-820-5156.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information regarding the DOE National 
Environmental Policy Act process should be directed to: Carol M. 
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585, 
(202) 586-4600 or by calling 1-800-472-2756.
    Availability of the Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS: Copies of 
the Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS are being distributed to 
Federal, State, Indian tribal, and local officials, as well as 
agencies, organizations and individuals who may be interested or 
affected. Copies of the draft PEIS are also available for public review 
along with supporting technical reports at the locations listed at the 
end of this Notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On June 21, 1994, the Department published a Notice of Intent (NOI) 
in the Federal Register (59 FR 31985) to prepare a programmatic EIS 
(PEIS) for weapons-usable fissile materials. The purpose of the NOI was 
to inform the public of the proposed scope of the Storage and 
Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials PEIS, to solicit public 
input, and to announce that public scoping meetings would be conducted 
from August through October 1994. Twelve public meetings were held 
throughout the United States to obtain input regarding the scope, 
alternatives, and issues associated with weapons-usable fissile 
materials that should be addressed in the Storage and Disposition PEIS. 
On March 30, 1995, the Implementation Plan for the PEIS was issued, 
which provided guidance and the schedule for the preparation of the 
PEIS.

Alternatives Considered

    The Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS assesses environmental 
impacts of the proposed actions, which include activities that would 
result in:

--The long-term storage of inventories of non-surplus weapons-usable Pu 
and highly enriched uranium (HEU);
--The storage of inventories of weapons-usable Pu and HEU that have 
been or may be declared surplus, pending disposition; and,
--The disposition of weapons-usable Pu that has or may be declared 
surplus (disposition of surplus HEU is being addressed in a separate 
Disposition of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium Environmental Impact 
Statement).

    The Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS analyzes the following 
reasonable long-term storage alternatives: (1) upgrade or replacement 
of current Pu and HEU storage facilities at multiple DOE sites, (2) 
consolidation of Pu at a single DOE site, and (3) collocation of Pu and 
HEU at a single DOE site. The six candidate storage sites are: Hanford 
Site, Washington; Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), Idaho; 
Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada; Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR), Tennessee; 
Pantex Plant, Texas; and Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina. For 
disposition, the Draft PEIS analyzes broader, programmatic strategies 
and technologies; DOE will prepare subsequent, tiered site specific 
NEPA documentation as necessary for disposition. The reasonable 
disposition alternatives fall into three categories: (1) the Deep 
Borehole Category consisting of two alternatives--Direct Disposition, 
and Immobilized Disposition; (2) the Immobilization Category consisting 
of three alternatives--Vitrification, Ceramic Immobilization, and 
Electrometallurgical Treatment; and (3) the Reactor Category consisting 
of four alternatives--Existing Light Water Reactors (LWRs), 
Evolutionary LWRs, Partially Completed LWRs, and the Canadian Deuterium 
Uranium (CANDU) Reactor. In addition, No Action Alternatives are 
analyzed, in which no change in storage and/or no disposition would 
occur.
    Under the upgrade at multiple sites long-term storage alternative, 
DOE would either modify certain existing facilities or build new 
facilities 

[[Page 9444]]
depending on the site's requirements to meet standards for nuclear 
material storage facilities, and would utilize existing site 
infrastructure to the extent possible. These modified or new facilities 
would be designed to operate for up to 50 years. Pu materials currently 
stored at Hanford, INEL, Pantex, and SRS would remain at those four 
sites, and HEU would remain at ORR. Pu materials at Rocky Flats would 
be moved to one or more of these four sites. Currently, NTS does not 
generally store weapons-usable fissile materials within the scope of 
this PEIS and, therefore, is not a candidate site for this alternative.
    Under the consolidation of Pu long-term storage alternative, Pu 
materials at the above four existing sites, plus those at Rocky Flats, 
would be removed, and the entire DOE inventory of Pu would be 
consolidated at one site, while the HEU inventory would remain at ORR. 
Again, the four sites with existing Pu storage are candidate sites for 
Pu consolidation. In addition, NTS and ORR are also candidate sites for 
this alternative.
    Under the collocation of Pu and HEU long-term storage alternative, 
the entire DOE inventory of Pu described above would be consolidated 
and collocated at the same site as the HEU inventory. The six candidate 
sites are the same as those for the consolidation of Pu alternative.
    With respect to the disposition alternatives, the first step in Pu 
disposition would be to remove the surplus Pu from storage, then 
process this material in a pit disassembly and conversion facility or a 
Pu conversion facility (for non-pit metal and oxides) at a DOE site, so 
that the Pu material would be in a suitable form for disposition.
    For the deep borehole category of disposition alternatives, surplus 
weapons-usable Pu would be disposed of in deep boreholes that would be 
drilled at least 4 km (2.5 mi) into ancient, geologically stable rock 
formations beneath the water table. The deep borehole would provide a 
geologic barrier against potential proliferation. A generic site for 
the borehole is analyzed in the draft PEIS. The borehole complex would 
consist of five major facilities: processing, drilling, emplacing/
sealing, waste management, and support (security, maintenance, 
utilities). Under the deep borehole direct disposition alternative, the 
surplus Pu would be converted to a form suitable for emplacement, 
packaged, shipped, and placed in a deep borehole. The deep borehole 
would be sealed to isolate the Pu from the ambient environment. Under 
the deep borehole immobilized disposition alternative, the surplus Pu 
would first be immobilized in cylindrical ceramic pellets at a ceramic 
immobilization facility, and the ceramic pellets would then be emplaced 
in the borehole.
    For the immobilization category of disposition alternatives, 
surplus Pu would be immobilized to create a chemically stable form for 
the domestic high-level waste (HLW) program, and possible future 
disposal in a HLW repository. For all alternatives in this category, 
the Pu material would be mixed with HLW or other radioactive isotopes 
and immobilized to create a radiation field that would serve as a 
proliferation deterrent, thereby achieving the Spent Fuel Standard. 
Under the vitrification immobilization alternative, surplus Pu would be 
mixed with glass frit and the highly radioactive isotope cesium-137 
(Cs-137) to produce borosilicate glass logs. Under the ceramic 
immobilization alternative, surplus Pu would be mixed with 
nonradioactive ceramic materials and Cs-137 to produce ceramic disks. 
Under the electrometallurgical treatment immobilization alternative, 
surplus Pu would be mixed with zeolites (aluminum silicate materials), 
glass frit, and Cs-137. This mixture would be immobilized through an 
electrorefining processing to produce glass-bonded zeolite forms, 
shaped like large hockey pucks.
    The reactor category of disposition alternatives considered in the 
Storage and Disposition PEIS would utilize surplus Pu in mixed oxide 
(MOX) fuel, for use in commercial nuclear reactors that generate 
electricity. Under the existing LWRs alternative, the MOX fuel 
containing surplus Pu would be fabricated and transported to two or 
more existing commercial LWRs in the U.S., either pressurized water 
reactors (PWRs) or boiling water reactors (BWRs), for use in place of 
conventional uranium dioxide (UO2) fuel. Under the partially 
completed LWRs alternative, commercial LWRs on which construction has 
been halted would be completed. The completed reactors would use MOX 
fuel containing surplus Pu. The characteristics of these LWRs would be 
essentially the same as those of the existing LWRs discussed in the 
existing LWR alternative. Under the evolutionary LWRs alternative, 
improved versions of existing commercial LWRs would be used. Two design 
approaches for evolutionary LWRs are considered in the Storage and 
Disposition PEIS. The first is a large PWR or BWR similar to the size 
of the existing PWRs and BWRs. The second is a small PWR approximately 
one-half the size of a large PWR. Under the CANDU reactor alternative, 
the MOX fuel containing surplus Pu would be fabricated in a domestic or 
foreign facility, and then transported for use in a commercial heavy 
water reactor in Canada.

Preferred Alternative

    A preferred alternative has not yet been identified. After 
considering comments on the draft PEIS and after completion of 
technical, schedule, cost, and policy assessments, DOE will identify a 
preferred alternative in the Storage and Disposition Final PEIS.

Invitation To Comment

    The public is invited to submit written and oral comments on any or 
all portions of the Storage and Disposition Draft PEIS. DOE's responses 
to comments received during the public comment period will be presented 
in the Storage and Disposition Final PEIS.
    The Department particularly invites public comment on the 
reasonableness of the deep borehole category of alternatives. DOE is 
considering whether to drop the deep borehole category of alternatives 
from the final PEIS. These alternatives were included in the draft PEIS 
in response to a report from the National Academy of Sciences.

Public Meetings

    DOE will hold eight public meetings, each with a combination of 
morning, afternoon or evening sessions in each location (except for the 
Washington, D.C. meeting as noted below), as detailed in the following 
schedule. The meeting format will provide for collection of written and 
oral comments and will enable the public to discuss issues and concerns 
with DOE officials. Participants are asked to register for the meetings 
in advance by calling 1-800-820-5134. Morning sessions will be from 
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Afternoon sessions will be from Noon to 5:00 
p.m. Evening sessions will be from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Meetings on 
the dates identified with an asterisk (*) are being coordinated with 
the public meetings for other EISs such as the Stockpile Stewardship 
and Management PEIS and the Pantex Site-Wide EIS. This will provide the 
public with a better opportunity to participate in the process for each 
of these documents which are occurring in the same time frame, may 
involve some of the same sites, and may have relationships between some 
of the activities.

March 26, 1996
Afternoon & Evening
    Denver, CO,
    Arvada Center,
    
[[Page 9445]]

    6901 Wadsworth Boulevard,
    Arvada, CO 80003,
    (303) 431-3082

March 28 & 29, 1996*
3/28 Evening, 3/29 Morning
    Las Vegas, NV,
    Sands Convention Center,
    201 East Sands Avenue,
    Las Vegas, NV 89109,
    (702) 733-5369

April 2, 1996*
Morning & Evening
    Oak Ridge, TN,
    Garden Plaza,
    215 South Illinois Street,
    Oak Ridge, TN 37830,
    (423) 481-2468

April 11, 1996
Afternoon & Evening,
    Richland, WA,
    Red Lion/Hanford House,
    802 George Washington Way,
    Richland, WA 99352,
    (509) 946-7611

April 15, 1996
Afternoon & Evening
    Idaho Falls, ID,
    Shilo Inn,
    780 Lindsay Boulevard,
    Idaho Falls, ID 83402,
    (208) 523-0088

April 18, 1996*
Morning
    Washington, D.C.,
    U.S. Department of Energy,
    Forrestal Building, Room 1E-245,
    1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
    Washington, D.C. 20585,
    (202) 586-4513

April 22 & 23, 1996*
4/22 Evening, 4/23 Morning & Afternoon
    Amarillo, TX,
    Radisson Inn,
    Amarillo Airport,
    7909 I-40,
    East Amarillo, TX 79104,
    (806) 373-3303

April 30, 1996*
Morning & Evening
    North Augusta, SC,
    North Augusta Community Center,
    495 Brookside Avenue,
    North Augusta, SC,
    (803) 441-4290

DOE Public Reading Rooms

    Copies of the draft Storage and Disposition PEIS, as well as 
technical data reports and other supporting documents, are available 
for public review at the following locations:

Albuquerque Operations Office, National Atomic Museum, 20358 Wyoming 
Boulevard, SE, Kirtland AFB, NM 87117, 505-284-3243

Amarillo Area Office

    1. U.S. Department of Energy, Amarillo College, Lynn Library/
Learning Center, 2201 South Washington, P.O. Box 447, Amarillo, TX 
79178,806-371-5400
    2. U.S. DOE Reading Room, Carson County Library, 401 Main Street, 
P.O. Box 339, Panhandle, TX 79068,806-537-3742
Chicago Operations Office,
Office of Planning, Communications & EEO,
U.S. Department of Energy,
9800 South Cass Avenue,
Argonne, Il 60439,
708-252-2013
Headquarters, Department of Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy,
Room 1E-190, Forrestal Building,
1000 Independence Avenue, SW,
Washington, DC 20585,
202-586-3142
Idaho Operations Office,
Idaho Public Reading Room,
1776 Science Center Drive,
Idaho Falls, ID 83402,
208-526-0271
Los Alamos National Laboratory,
U.S. Department of Energy,
c/o Los Alamos Community Reading Room,
1350 Central, Suite 101,
Los Alamos, NM 87544,
505-665-2127
Nevada Operations Office,
Nevada Operations Office,
U.S. Department of Energy,
Public Reading Room,
2621 Losse Road,
North Las Vegas, NV 89030,
702-295-1128,
Oak Ridge Operations Office,
U.S. Department of Energy,
Public Reading Room,
55 South Jefferson Circle, Room 112,
P.O. Box 2001,
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-8501,
423-241-4780
Richland Operations Office,
Washington State University,
Tri-Cities Branch Campus,
100 Sprout Road, Room 130 West,
Richland, WA 99352,
509-376-8583
Rocky Flats Office,
Front Range Community College Library,
3645 West 112th Avenue,
Westminister, CO 80030,
303-469-4435,
Sandia National Laboratory,
Livermore Public Library,
1000 S. Livermore Avenue,
Livermore, CA 94550,
510-373-5500
Savannah River Operations Office,
Gregg-Graniteville Library,
University of South Carolina-Aiken,
171 University Parkway,
Aiken, SC 29801,
803-641-3320
    Issued in Washington, DC, March 5, 1996.
Gregory P. Rudy,
Acting Director, Office of Fissile Materials Disposition.
[FR Doc. 96-5562 Filed 3-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P