[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 34 (Monday, February 22, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8553-8558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4289]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
Electrometallurgical Treatment of Sodium-Bonded Spent Nuclear Fuel in 
the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-West, 
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy announces its intent to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the proposed electrometallurgical 
treatment of Department of Energy-owned sodium-bonded spent nuclear 
fuel in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-
West (ANL-W). ANL-W, a center of nuclear technology development and 
testing, is located on the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
Laboratory (INEEL) site in southeastern Idaho. The Department proposes 
to treat its inventory of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel to remove 
and stabilize the reactive metallic sodium constituent and to produce 
metal and ceramic waste forms, considered to be high-level waste, that 
would facilitate interim storage and ultimate disposal of this 
material. The EIS will evaluate reasonable action alternatives to 
electrometallurgical treatment in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at 
ANL-W and a no-action alternative. The Department invites the general 
public, other Federal agencies, American Indian tribes, state and local 
governments, and all other interested

[[Page 8554]]

parties to comment on the scope of this EIS.

DATES: To ensure consideration in the preparation of the draft EIS, 
comments should be transmitted or postmarked by April 8, 1999. Comments 
submitted after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    The Department will conduct public scoping meetings in Idaho Falls 
and Boise in Idaho, near the Department's Savannah River Site (SRS) in 
South Carolina, and in the Washington, DC area, to provide the public 
with information about the proposed project and to receive oral and 
written comments on the scope of the EIS, including reasonable 
alternatives and environmental issues that the Department should 
consider. The dates, times, and locations for these public meetings are 
as follows:

March 9, 1999 (6:00 pm-9:00 pm)
    Shilo Inn, 780 Lindsay Blvd., Idaho Falls, ID 83402, (208) 523-0088
March 11, 1999 (6:00 pm-9:00 pm)
    Boise Centre on the Grove, 850 West Front Street, Boise, ID 83702, 
(208) 336-8900
March 15, 1999 (6:00 pm-9:00 pm)
    North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Avenue, North 
Augusta, SC 29842, (803) 441-4290
March 18, 1999 (2:00 pm-5:00 pm)
    Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, VA 22202, (703) 418-1234

    These public scoping meetings will also be announced in local media 
at least 15 days prior to the meeting dates. During the first hour of 
each meeting attendees may register, view displays and discuss issues 
and concerns informally with Department representatives, after which 
there will be a formal presentation, a follow-on question, answer, and 
comment period, and the opportunity for additional informal 
discussions.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS, requests to speak 
at the public scoping meetings, requests for special arrangements to 
enable participation at scoping meetings (e.g., an interpreter for the 
hearing impaired), requests to be placed on the EIS document 
distribution list, and questions concerning the project should be sent 
to: Susan Lesica, Document Manager, Office of Nuclear Facilities 
Management, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology, U.S. 
Department of Energy, NE-40, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, 
Maryland 20874-1290
    Interested parties may also submit comments and requests by 
facsimile to (877) 621-8288, or they may call (877) 450-6904 to leave a 
detailed message with their comments and requests. These are both toll-
free telephone numbers. Comments and requests may also be submitted by 
electronic mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the 
Department of Energy NEPA process, please contact: Carol Borgstrom, 
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, Office of Environment, 
Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Energy, EH-42, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0119, 202-586-4600 or leave a message 
at 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Department of Energy is responsible for the safe and efficient 
management of 250 different types of spent nuclear fuel, including its 
ultimate disposition (which is expected to be disposal in a geologic 
repository). Some Department spent fuels may be suitable for disposal 
with little or no stabilizing treatment. Other spent fuel types may not 
be suitable for disposal without significant treatment or 
stabilization.
    One type of spent nuclear fuel that may not be suitable for 
disposal without treatment is sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel. Sodium-
bonded spent nuclear fuel contains metallic sodium, a highly reactive 
material. Metallic sodium reacts vigorously with water or moist air 
producing heat, potentially explosive hydrogen gas, and sodium 
hydroxide, a corrosive substance. Sodium metal was used as a heat 
transfer medium within the stainless steel cladding of sodium-bonded 
fuel and as coolant in the nuclear reactors in which these fuels were 
used. To the extent possible, the highly reactive sodium has been 
removed from external surfaces of these fuels after their use, but a 
portion remains bonded to the uranium metal alloy fuel within the 
cladding and cannot be removed without further treatment. The presence 
of reactive or pyrophoric material, such as metallic sodium, could 
complicate the process of qualifying and licensing such spent fuel for 
disposal, which would require data and predictive analyses sufficient 
to demonstrate that emplacement of the spent fuel would not adversely 
affect a repository's ability to protect the environment and public 
health.
    The Department believes that treatment to remove metallic sodium 
and convert this spent nuclear fuel into a compact waste form would 
reduce complications of disposal qualification and licensing. 
Technologies for spent nuclear fuel treatment that might facilitate 
such qualification and licensing should therefore be considered in 
reaching a disposition decision for Department-owned sodium-bonded 
fuels. One such technology for sodium-bonded spent fuel disposition is 
the electrometallurgical treatment technique that the Department is 
developing and demonstrating at the Argonne National Laboratory. This 
technology is currently the most developed for treatment of sodium-
bonded spent fuel. In addition to electrometallurgical treatment, the 
Department will examine all reasonable alternative technologies and 
assess the technical risks associated with these various potential 
solutions.
    In a 1995 report, the National Research Council Committee on 
Electrometallurgical Techniques for DOE Spent Fuel Treatment 
recommended that the Department confirm the technical feasibility and 
cost effectiveness of electrometallurgical treatment of its sodium-
bonded spent nuclear fuel through a technology demonstration using 
sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel that had been removed from the 
Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) at ANL-W. Prior to acting on 
the recommendation, the Department prepared the Environmental 
Assessment for the Electrometallurgical Treatment Research and 
Demonstration Project in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at Argonne 
National Laboratory-West (DOE/EA-1148) and issued a Finding of No 
Significant Impact on May 15, 1996. The demonstration project addresses 
both kinds of spent fuel assemblies in the EBR-II spent nuclear fuel 
inventory. These are driver fuel assemblies and blanket fuel 
assemblies, and they total about 26 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM).
    One MTHM is equal to 2,200 pounds of uranium, thorium, or 
plutonium. The driver fuel contains highly enriched uranium and was 
used in the active region of the nuclear reactor core. Blanket fuel 
contains depleted uranium and was used in areas around and near the 
driver fuel in the reactor core. The demonstration project now nearing 
completion involves treatment of 100 EBR-II driver assemblies and 25 
EBR-II blanket assemblies (approximately 1.6 MTHM, or only 6.25% of the 
EBR-II inventory) in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at ANL-W. The 
research and demonstration project was initiated in June 1996 and is 
scheduled to be completed in August 1999.
    The National Research Council is continuing to evaluate the 
electrometallurgical treatment research

[[Page 8555]]

and demonstration project. In its most recent report titled, 
Electrometallurgical Techniques for U.S. Department of Energy Spent 
Fuel Treatment--Spring 1998 Status Report on Argonne National 
Laboratory's R&D Activity (National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 
1998), the Council acknowledged progress in the demonstration and 
recommended that the demonstration be carried to completion. The 
Department believes that this progress and the absence of significant 
roadblocks to successful completion of the demonstration warrant 
proposing electrometallurgical treatment of the remainder of the EBR-II 
and other sodium-bonded spent fuels (i.e., a total of 62 MTHM) and is 
initiating the environmental review process under NEPA. Accordingly, 
the Department is announcing its intent to prepare an EIS for the 
proposed treatment of the remainder of Department sodium-bonded spent 
nuclear fuel.
    Data from the ongoing demonstration project will be used in 
preparing the EIS. The National Research Council will issue a final 
report on the technology demonstration upon completion of the 
demonstration project. DOE will consider the Council's report in 
reaching a decision regarding the disposition of sodium-bonded spent 
nuclear fuel.

Purpose and Need for Agency Action

    In a 1995 agreement with the State of Idaho [Settlement Agreement 
and Consent Order issued by the Court on October 17, 1995, in the 
actions Public Service Co. of Colorado v. Batt, No. CV 91-0035-S-EJL 
(D. Id.), and United States v. Batt, No. CV 91-0054-EJL (D. Id.), the 
Department committed to remove all spent nuclear fuel from Idaho by 
2035. More than 98 percent of the Department's sodium-bonded spent 
nuclear fuel is located at INEEL near Idaho Falls, Idaho, and is 
subject to the requirements of the Settlement Agreement and Consent 
Order. The remaining Department sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel 
included in the proposed action is at the Hanford Reservation in 
Richland, Washington, the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, 
New Mexico, and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee. In order to remove sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel from the 
State of Idaho to meet the terms of the Settlement Agreement and 
Consent Order referenced above, the Department believes the best 
approach would be to stabilize or remove the reactive metallic sodium 
constituent and prepare a waste form that may be more assuredly 
demonstrated to be acceptable for disposal.
    It is also prudent to evaluate the electrometallurgical treatment 
proposal and alternative technologies now, while the Department is 
performing site characterization activities for a potential geologic 
repository. Contemplated waste forms resulting from treatment or 
packaging of sodium-bonded spent fuel should be developed as much as 
possible in parallel with any repository development to promote 
consistency between the two efforts and to minimize technical risks 
associated with waste form qualification and acceptance for geologic 
disposal. While the alternative technologies for treatment of sodium-
bonded spent fuel may not be as mature as the electrometallurgical 
treatment technology, their potential utility can be assessed in this 
EIS. Should the Department decide, after completing this EIS, to pursue 
a disposition path other than electrometallurgical treatment, there 
will still be sufficient time to develop an alternative technology. If 
a treatment technology decision is significantly delayed, however, the 
Department could functionally lose its expertise and corporate 
experience in the specialized electrometallurgical treatment technology 
at ANL-West, which would hamper future consideration and increase the 
cost of electrometallurgical treatment for sodium-bonded spent fuel 
disposal. Therefore, the Department believes it is prudent to proceed 
now with this EIS for electrometallurgical treatment of sodium-bonded 
spent fuel.

Proposed Action

    The Department proposes to treat its sodium-bonded spent nuclear 
fuel \1\ using the electrometallurgical treatment process in the Fuel 
Conditioning Facility at ANL-W. Electrometallurgical processing 
involves the dissolution of spent nuclear fuel by use of an electric 
current in a molten salt mixture. The uranium in the fuel would be 
collected from a molten salt mixture at the cathode and subsequently 
melted and cast into metal ingots. The metal cladding from the fuel 
elements and noble metal fission products would be retrieved 
undissolved from the anode, melted, and cast into metal ingots. 
Remaining fission products and all transuranic elements would be 
removed from the molten salt mixture by ion exchange and subsequently 
isolated in a ceramic waste form. In this process, the metallic sodium 
in the spent nuclear fuel would be converted to non-reactive sodium 
chloride (same composition as table salt) and incorporated in the 
ceramic waste form.
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    \1\ The Department has no plan or intention to apply this 
technology to any other types of spent nuclear fuel. Nevertheless, 
the Department can foresee a potential need to treat small 
quantities of certain spent fuels if a non-treatment (e.g., high 
integrity can) approach to disposing of such spent fuels were to be 
determined not to meet disposal requirements. In that case, 
electrometallurgical treatment might be among the reasonable 
alternative treatment technologies that would be considered.
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    Based on available information, the Department believes the 
electro- 
metallurgical treatment process would produce metal and ceramic high-
level radioactive waste forms that could be qualified and licensed for 
disposal. In addition, uranium would be separated from both the driver 
fuel and the blanket fuel and not disposed of. The highly enriched 
uranium separated from the driver fuel assemblies would be immediately 
blended down in the Fuel Conditioning Facility to form low-enriched 
uranium. This low-enriched uranium and the depleted uranium that would 
be separated from blanket fuel assemblies would be cast as metal ingots 
and stored with other uranium metal inventories at INEEL. The 
disposition of these materials would be included in future Departmental 
decisions regarding other similar materials.
    The sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel inventory being proposed for 
electrometallurgical treatment totals approximately 62 MTHM. This 
inventory of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel is currently stored as 
follows:
     Approximately 24 MTHM of EBR-II sodium-bonded driver and 
blanket assemblies currently stored at ANL-W and approximately 2 MTHM 
at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), both 
located at INEEL.
     Approximately 35 MTHM of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel 
from the Fermi-1 reactor, currently stored at INTEC.
     Less than one MTHM consisting of six irradiated sodium-
bonded fuel assemblies and a number of sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel 
pins currently stored at the Hanford Reservation near Richland, 
Washington.
     Less than 0.1 MTHM consisting of experimental capsules 
currently stored at INTEC and Clinch River Breeder Reactor Program 
experimental capsules currently stored at Sandia National Laboratories, 
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
     Less than 0.01 MTHM consisting of miscellaneous fast 
reactor development fuel currently stored at Oak Ridge National 
Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

[[Page 8556]]

    The sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuels located at the Hanford 
Reservation, Oak Ridge, and Sandia can be transported to INEEL pursuant 
to the Record of Decision (60 FR 28680, June 1, 1995) for the 
Department of Energy's Programmatic Spent Nuclear Fuel Management and 
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Environmental Restoration and 
Waste Management Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0203-F), 
under the Settlement Agreement and Consent Order described above. These 
spent fuels pose the same waste form acceptability issues and are 
amenable to the same treatments as the EBR-II and Fermi-1 fuels stored 
at INEEL.

Alternatives To Be Evaluated

    The Department has identified the following alternatives to the 
proposed electrometallurgical treatment of sodium-bonded spent nuclear 
fuel in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at ANL-W.
    A. No Action Alternative: Under this alternative, the Department 
would not treat its sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel to facilitate 
disposal. Analyses will address the viability of disposal without 
treatment, and the impacts of continued storage at current locations. 
Both temporary storage (to await alternative technology development) 
and indefinite storage (in lieu of disposal) will be considered in 
these analyses. Indefinite storage of spent nuclear fuel in Idaho would 
not be consistent with the Settlement Agreement and Consent Order in 
which the Department committed to remove all spent nuclear fuel from 
Idaho by 2035.
    B. Technology Alternatives: The National Research Council 
independently assessed other treatment technologies as possible 
alternatives to electrometallurgical treatment for EBR-II sodium-bonded 
spent nuclear fuel. It concluded that all of the alternative treatment 
processes evaluated, except the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction (PUREX) 
process, are at an early stage of development. Significant research, 
development, and demonstrations would be required to develop these 
alternative treatment processes to the level of technical maturity of 
the electrometallurgical treatment process for sodium-bonded spent 
fuel. However, the Department will examine and analyze these 
alternative technologies:
    1. PUREX Process. This solvent extraction method for separating and 
purifying uranium, plutonium, and other radionuclides from spent 
nuclear fuel and irradiated targets is presently practiced at the SRS 
for stabilization of materials that are not suitable for prolonged 
storage in their present forms, and as such pose potential health and 
safety risks. In the Savannah River Site Spent Nuclear Fuel Management 
EIS, the Department is currently evaluating use of the PUREX process 
for stabilizing approximately 17 MTHM of previously declad EBR-II spent 
nuclear fuel stored at the SRS site. Use of the PUREX facility to treat 
sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel being considered under this 
alternative would require development of specific processes for 
removing the stainless-steel cladding and sodium from the spent fuel.
    The Department intends to evaluate the PUREX process at SRS as an 
alternative to electrometallurgical treatment of the sodium-bonded 
spent fuel inventory. Material streams from the PUREX process would be 
uranium trioxide, plutonium metal, high-level waste in the form of 
borosilicate glass canisters, and grouted low-level waste.
    2. High-Integrity Cans. Under this alternative, the spent fuel 
would be placed in high-integrity cans, after as little treatment as 
necessary, to prepare it for disposal. This alternative would include 
removal of as much of the metallic sodium as possible from the spent 
fuel prior to loading it in the cans.
    3. Glass Material Oxidation and Dissolution System (GMODS). The 
basic concept is to combine unprocessed sodium-bonded spent nuclear 
fuel and a sacrificial oxide, lead-borate glass, in a glass melter at a 
temperature of 800-1000  deg.C. The uranium and the plutonium in the 
spent fuel would be converted into oxides and dissolved in the glass. 
Options to be analyzed are direct production of a borosilicate glass 
waste form from the melt, using the melt as a feed to the PUREX 
process, and coupling GMODS to the SRS Defense Waste Processing 
Facility, where the melt would be fed directly to the existing glass 
melter. Due to the powerful dissolution and oxidation properties of the 
lead-borate glass melt, containment is a concern, and a water-cooled, 
cold-wall, induction-heated melter must be used.
    4. Melt and Dilute Process. The process would be similar to that 
proposed for the treatment of aluminum-based spent nuclear fuels at the 
SRS. The sodium-bonded spent fuel would be chopped and melted at 
approximately 650 to 850  deg.C and then diluted by the addition of 
depleted uranium and iron.
    5. Chloride Volatility Process. This process would use the 
differences in volatilities of chloride compounds to separate the 
constituents of spent nuclear fuel. The major steps are: (1) high-
temperature chlorination at about 1500  deg.C and conversion of 
metallic fuel and cladding to gaseous chloride compounds; (2) removal 
of the transuranic chlorides and most of the fission products in a 
molten zinc chloride bed at approximately 400  deg.C; (3) condensation 
of the other chlorides (e.g., uranium hexachloride) in a series of 
fluidized beds and condensers at successively lower temperatures; and 
(4) zinc chloride regeneration/recycling. The transuranics and fission 
product chlorides would then be converted into either fluorides or 
oxides for disposal.
    6. Direct Plasma Arc-Vitreous Ceramic Process. In this process, the 
spent nuclear fuel would be melted and oxidized with the help of an 
oxygen lance in a rotating furnace containing molten ceramic materials 
at a temperature of 1600  deg.C or higher. A direct current plasma 
torch would supply the energy required in the process. Rotation would 
be used to keep the molten pool in the furnace. When the spent fuel is 
homogeneously melted and oxidized throughout the ceramic, rotation 
would be slowed to allow the molten vitreous ceramic to pour out by 
gravity flow into a canister.
    C. Location Alternatives: An alternative location for 
electrometallurgical treatment on the INEEL site is the Test Area North 
Hot Cell Facility. This alternative to the Fuel Conditioning Facility 
at ANL-W will be evaluated in the EIS.

U.S. Nonproliferation Policy Implications

    The United States does not encourage the civil use of plutonium, 
and accordingly, does not itself engage in plutonium reprocessing for 
either nuclear power or nuclear explosive purposes. Consistent with 
this policy, the proposed action would not separate plutonium from the 
processed sodium-bonded spent fuels. Further, by removing and diluting 
the highly enriched uranium in the sodium-bonded driver fuel to low-
enriched uranium, the proposed project would support the U.S. goal of 
minimizing civilian use of highly enriched uranium. However, to address 
the concerns that the treatment of this fuel could encourage 
reprocessing in other countries, the Department (Office of 
Nonproliferation and National Security) will assess the 
nonproliferation impacts of all the treatment technologies in the draft 
EIS. This assessment will be made publicly available during the EIS 
process. The combination of the information contained in the draft EIS, 
the public comment in response to the draft EIS, and the 
nonproliferation impacts assessment report will enable

[[Page 8557]]

the Department to make a sound decision regarding how to manage the 
sodium-bonded spent nuclear fuel.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    The issues listed below have been tentatively identified for 
analysis in the EIS. This list is presented to facilitate public 
comment on the scope of the EIS. It is not intended to be all-inclusive 
or to predetermine the potential impacts of any of the alternatives. 
The Department seeks public comment on the adequacy and inclusiveness 
of the following issues.
     Potential impact on ecosystems, including air quality, 
surface, and groundwater quality, and plants and animals.
     Potential health and safety impact to on-site workers and 
to the public resulting from operations, including reasonably 
foreseeable accidents.
     Potential health and safety, environmental, and other 
impact related to the transport of spent nuclear fuel for treatment.
     Considerations related to the generation, treatment, 
storage, and disposal of wastes, including the potential acceptability 
of waste forms at a geologic repository.
     Potential cumulative impacts of electrometallurgical and 
alternative treatment process operations, including relevant impact 
from other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable activities at the 
operation site.
     Potential impact on cultural resources.
     Potential socioeconomic impact, including any 
disproportionate impacts on minority and low income populations.
     Pollution prevention and waste minimization opportunities.

Related NEPA Documentation

    NEPA documents that have been or are being prepared for activities 
related to the proposed action include, but are not limited to, the 
following:
     U.S. Department of Energy, ``Electrometallurgical 
Treatment Research and Demonstration Project in the Fuel Conditioning 
Facility at Argonne National Laboratory-West; Environmental 
Assessment,'' DOE/EA-1148, May 1996
     U.S. Department of Energy, ``Programmatic Spent Nuclear 
Fuel Management and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Environmental 
Restoration and Waste Management; Final Environmental Impact 
Statement,'' DOE/EIS-0203-F, April 1995, and Record of Decision, May 
30, 1995
     U.S. Department of Energy, ``Savannah River Site, Spent 
Nuclear Fuel Management, Draft Environmental Impact Statement,'' DOE/
EIS-0279D, December 1998
     U.S. Department of Energy, ``Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear 
Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, 
Nevada,'' DOE/EIS-0250--in preparation

Public Involvement Opportunities

    The Department encourages public involvement in the preparation of 
the EIS and solicits public comments on its scope and content, as well 
as public participation at the public scoping meetings in Idaho, South 
Carolina, and the Washington, DC area. Department of Energy personnel 
will be available at the scoping meetings to explain the proposed 
project and answer questions. The Department will designate a 
facilitator for the scoping meetings. At the opening of each meeting, 
the facilitator will establish the order of speakers and will announce 
any additional procedures necessary for conducting the meeting. 
Additionally, during the first hour of each meeting attendees may 
register, view displays and discuss issues and concerns informally with 
Department representatives, after which there will be a formal 
presentation, a question and answer, and comment period, and the 
opportunity for additional informal discussions. To ensure that all 
persons wishing to make a presentation during the period for questions 
and answers or comments are given the opportunity to speak, a five-
minute limit may be applied for each speaker, except that public 
officials and representatives of groups would be allotted ten minutes 
each. The Department encourages those providing oral comments to also 
submit them in writing. Comment cards will be available at the meetings 
for those who prefer to submit their comments in writing. Speakers may 
be asked clarifying questions to ensure that the Department 
representatives fully understand the comments and suggestions made by 
meeting participants, but the scoping meetings will not be conducted as 
evidentiary hearings.
    The Department will make transcripts of public scoping meetings, 
copies of background documents, and other materials related to the 
proposed project and the development of the EIS available for public 
review in the following reading rooms:

Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information 
Reading Room, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0117, 202-586-3142
Idaho Falls, Idaho: Idaho National Engineering and Environmental 
Laboratory, DOE--Idaho Operations Office Public Reading Room, 1776 
Science Center Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83415, 208-526-0271
Richland, Washington: [for vicinity of the Hanford Reservation], DOE 
Public Reading Room, 2770 University Drive, CIC, Room 101L, Richland, 
WA 99352, 509-372-7443, (Fax) 509-372-7444
Albuquerque, New Mexico: [for vicinity of Sandia National 
Laboratories], University of New Mexico, Government Information 
Department, Zimmerman Library, Albuquerque, NM 87131-1466, 505-277-0582
Aiken, South Carolina: [for vicinity of the Savannah River Site], 
University of South Carolina--Aiken, Gregg-Graniteville Library, 171 
University Parkway, Aiken, SC 29803, 803-648-6851
Oak Ridge, Tennessee: [for vicinity of the Oak Ridge National 
Laboratory], DOE Public Reading Room, 230 Warehouse Road, Bldg 1916-T-
2, Suite 300, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, 423-241-4780 and DOE Information 
Resource Center, 105 Broadway Avenue, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, 423-241-4582

NEPA Process

    The EIS for Electrometallurgical Treatment of Sodium-Bonded Spent 
Nuclear Fuel in the Fuel Conditioning Facility at ANL-W will be 
prepared in accordance with the NEPA of 1969, the Council on 
Environmental Quality's Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and the U.S. Department of 
Energy NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021).
    A 45-day comment period on the draft EIS is planned, during which 
public hearings to receive comments will be held. The draft EIS is 
scheduled to be issued in July 1999. Availability of the draft EIS, the 
dates of the public comment period, and information about the public 
hearings will be announced in the Federal Register and in local news 
media when the draft EIS is distributed. The final EIS, which will 
consider and respond to the public comments received on the draft EIS, 
is scheduled to be issued in December 1999. No sooner than 30 days 
after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's notice of availability 
of the final EIS is published in the Federal Register, the Department 
will issue its Record of

[[Page 8558]]

Decision and publish it in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 16th day of February 1999.
Peter N. Brush,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 99-4289 Filed 2-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P