[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 81 (Monday, April 28, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22368-22369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-10373]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Change in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
Compliance Approach for the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) 
Conversion Facilities Project

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of revised approach.

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SUMMARY: On September 18, 2001, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) 
published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register, announcing 
its intention to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a 
proposed action to construct, operate, maintain, and decontaminate and 
decommission two depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion 
facilities at Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky. DOE held three 
scoping meetings to provide the public with an opportunity to present 
comments on the scope of the EIS, and to ask questions and discuss 
concerns with DOE officials regarding the EIS. The scoping meetings 
were held in Piketon, Ohio on November 28, 2001; in Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee on December 4, 2001, and in Paducah, Kentucky, on December 6, 
2001. The purpose of this Notice is to inform the public of the change 
in the approach for the NEPA review for the DUF6 conversion projects 
for Paducah and Portsmouth, and to invite public comments on the 
revised approach.

DATES: Comments received by May 30, 2003, will be considered in the 
preparation of the draft EISs. Comments received after that date will 
be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments and suggestions can be forwarded to Gary Hartman, 
U.S. Department of Energy--Oak Ridge Operations Office, Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee 37831, telephone (865) 576-0273, fax: (865) 576-0746, e-mail: 
[email protected]. Also contact Mr. Hartman with any questions 
regarding the DOE DUF6 conversion project.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On September 18, 2001, the U.S. Department 
of Energy (DOE) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal 
Register (66 FR 48123), announcing its intention to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed action to 
construct, operate, maintain, and decontaminate and decommission two 
depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facilities at 
Portsmouth, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky. DOE held three scoping 
meetings to provide the public with an opportunity to present comments 
on the scope of the EIS, and to ask questions and discuss concerns with 
DOE officials regarding the EIS. The scoping meetings were held in 
Piketon, Ohio on November 28, 2001; in Oak Ridge, Tennessee on December 
4, 2001, and in Paducah, Kentucky, on December 6, 2001. The 
alternatives identified in the NOI included a two-plant alternative 
(two conversion plants would be built, one at the Paducah Gaseous 
Diffusion Plant site and another at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion 
Plant site), a one-plant alternative (only one plant would be built 
either at the Paducah or the Portsmouth site), a use of existing UF6 
conversion capacity alternative (DOE would consider using already-
existing UF6 conversion capacity at commercial nuclear fuel fabrication 
facilities in lieu of constructing one or two new plants), and the no 
action alternative. For alternatives that involved constructing one or 
two new plants, DOE planned to consider alternative conversion 
technologies, local siting alternatives within the Paducah and 
Portsmouth plant boundaries, and the shipment of DUF6 cylinders stored 
at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 
to either the Portsmouth or Paducah sites. The technologies to be 
considered in the EIS were those submitted in response to a Request for 
Proposals (RFP) for conversion services that DOE had issued in October 
2000, plus any other technologies that DOE believed must be considered.
    Then, on August 2, 2002, the U.S. Congress passed the 2002 
Supplemental Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From and Response 
to Terrorist Attacks on the United States (Public Law 107-206). In 
pertinent part, this law required that, within 30 days of enactment, 
DOE award a contract for the scope of work described in the October 
2000 RFP, including design, construction, and operation of a DUF6 
conversion plant at each of the Department's Paducah, Kentucky and 
Portsmouth, Ohio sites. Accordingly, the DOE awarded a contract to 
Uranium Disposition Services, LLC, on August 29, 2002.
    In light of Public Law 107-206, and DOE's award of the contract to 
Uranium Disposition Services, DOE reevaluated the appropriate scope of 
its NEPA review and decided to prepare two separate EIS's, one for the 
plant proposed for the Paducah site and a second for the Portsmouth 
site. The proposed alternatives to be considered in each EIS would 
focus primarily on where the conversion facilities will be sited at the 
respective sites, and a no action alternative. DOE will also consider 
impacts arising from shipment of ETTP cylinders for conversion to each 
site.

Schedule

    Both draft EISs are scheduled to be published in July 2003. A 45-
day comment period on the draft EISs is planned, which will include 
public hearings to receive comments. Availability of the draft EISs, 
the dates of the public comment period, and information about the 
public hearings will be announced in the Federal Register and in the 
local news media.
    The final EISs are scheduled for publication in January 2004. The 
Records of Decision would be issued no sooner than 30 days after the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notices of availability of the 
final EISs are published in the Federal Register. As directed by Pub. 
L. 107-206, construction of the DUF6 conversion facilities is scheduled 
to begin not later than July 31, 2004.
    The purpose of this Notice is to inform the public of the change in 
the approach for the NEPA review for the DUF6 conversion projects for 
Paducah

[[Page 22369]]

and Portsmouth, and to invite public comments on the revised approach.

David R. Allen,
NEPA Compliance Officer, Oak Ridge Operations Office.
[FR Doc. 03-10373 Filed 4-25-03; 8:45 am]
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