[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 3, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15869-15871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6039]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of a Draft Supplement Analysis for 
Disposal of Depleted Uranium Oxide Conversion Product Generated From 
Doe's Inventory of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft supplement analysis.

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SUMMARY: DOE has prepared a Draft Supplement Analysis (SA) pursuant to 
DOE regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), 10 CFR 1021.314. The draft SA addresses DOE's proposal to 
dispose of the depleted uranium oxide conversion product at either the 
DOE-owned low-level radioactive waste disposal facility at the Nevada 
Test Site (NTS) or at EnergySolutions LLC, a commercial low-level waste 
disposal facility in Clive, Utah (EnergySolutions; formerly known as 
Envirocare of Utah, Inc.).
    In April 1999, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for management of 
its Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) inventory. The PEIS 
included a generic assessment of the disposal of depleted uranium oxide 
conversion product (as U3O8 or UO2) 
and concluded that disposal of either product in shallow earthen 
structures, vaults, or mines would adequately protect human health and 
the environment over the time period considered, as long as the 
disposal facility is located in a dry environment and appropriately 
engineered (e.g., the cover material is maintained). Subsequently, DOE 
prepared site-specific final Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for 
construction and operation of DUF6 conversion facilities at 
the DOE's Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, sites in the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for Construction and Operation of a 
Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Paducah, 
Kentucky Site, DOE/EIS-0359, and the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for Construction and Operation of a Depleted Uranium 
Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth, Ohio Site, DOE/EIS-
0360. DOE published its Record of Decision for Construction and 
Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the 
Paducah, Kentucky Site, and Record of Decision for Construction and 
Operation of a Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facility at the 
Portsmouth,

[[Page 15870]]

Ohio Site (RODs) on July 27, 2004 (69 FR 44649 and 69 FR 44654).
    In each site-specific ROD, DOE announced its decision to implement 
the actions described as the preferred alternative in the corresponding 
conversion facility EIS, which included the following actions:
     DOE will construct and operate a conversion facility at 
Location A within each of the Paducah and Portsmouth sites.
     All shipments to and from the conversion facility sites, 
including any potential shipments of non-DUF6 cylinders 
currently stored at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), will be 
conducted by either truck or rail, as appropriate. Cylinders will be 
shipped in a manner that is consistent with U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT) regulations for the shipment of UF6 
cylinders.
     Current cylinder management activities (handling, 
inspection, monitoring, and maintenance) will continue, consistent with 
Cylinder Project Management Plan for Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride, 
effective October 2003, which covers actions needed to meet safety and 
environmental requirements, until conversion can be accomplished.
     The aqueous hydrofluoric acid (HF) produced during 
conversion will be sold for use. If necessary, calcium fluoride 
(CaF2) will be produced and reused, or disposed of as 
appropriate.
     The depleted uranium oxide conversion product will be 
reused to the extent possible or packaged in emptied cylinders for 
disposal at an appropriate disposal facility. DOE plans to decide the 
specific disposal location(s) for the depleted uranium oxide conversion 
product after additional appropriate NEPA review. Accordingly, DOE will 
continue to evaluate its disposal options and will consider any further 
information or comments relevant to that decision. DOE will give a 
minimum 45-day notice before making the specific disposal decision and 
will provide any supplemental NEPA analysis for public review and 
comment.
    The conversion facility RODs did not declare a decision regarding 
the location for disposal of depleted uranium oxide conversion product. 
The reason DOE did not make its disposal decision at the time it issued 
the RODs for construction and operation of the two DUF6 conversion 
facilities is that it discovered that it had, through an oversight, not 
served copies of the draft and final site-specific EISs (DOE 2004a, b) 
to the States of Utah, home of EnergySolutions, and Nevada, home of 
NTS, as required in 40 CFR 1502.19. As a result, each ROD states DOE's 
intention to decide the specific disposal location(s) for the depleted 
uranium oxide conversion product after additional appropriate NEPA 
review.
    This draft SA addresses the additional appropriate NEPA review 
committed to in the earlier RODs. The draft SA identifies no 
significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental 
concerns that bear on DOE's decisions on disposal locations or the 
impacts of those decisions. Based on the draft SA that is the subject 
of this Notice, DOE believes that a supplemental EIS is not needed to 
support amending the conversion facility RODs to decide the disposal 
location for the depleted uranium oxide conversion product. The 
depleted uranium oxide conversion product may be disposed either at the 
EnergySolutions low-level waste disposal facility or at the NTS low-
level waste disposal facility. DOE plans to issue amended RODs under 
the conversion facility EISs no sooner than 45 days from the 
publication of this Notice.

DATES: DOE will consider all public comments on this matter submitted 
by May 18, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted electronically via the Web at 
http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium/ or by regular mail. Written comments 
can be mailed to: DU Disposal Supplement Analysis Comment, Argonne 
National Laboratory, Building 900, Mail Stop 3, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, 
Argonne, IL 60439.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Copies of the Supplement Analysis for 
Disposal of Depleted Uranium Oxide Conversion Product Generated From 
DOE's Inventory of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DOE/EIS-0359/0360-SA-
001) is available on the Depleted UF6 Management Information 
Network at: http://web.ead.anl.gov/uranium/, and on DOE's NEPA Web site 
at http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/whatsnew.html. To request printed copies 
of this document, please write: DU Disposal Supplement Analysis 
Comment, Argonne National Laboratory, Building 900, Mail Stop 3, 9700 
S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439.
    For further information on DOE's NEPA process, contact: Ms. Carol 
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-20, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585, Telephone: 202-586-4600, or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Uranium Disposition Services, LLC (UDS) 
began construction of the DUF6 conversion facilities at 
Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio in July 2004. The main products 
from the conversion of DOE's inventory of DUF6 will be 
depleted uranium oxide conversion product and aqueous hydrogen fluoride 
(HF). The quantities of depleted uranium oxide conversion product 
produced annually will be approximately 10,800 metric tons (t) (11,800 
tons) at Portsmouth and 14,300 t (15,800 tons) at Paducah. UDS is 
planning to sell the HF product to a commercial user.
    In addition to depleted uranium oxide conversion product, two other 
products from the conversion process require disposal: (1) Emptied 
DUF6 cylinders and (2) a relatively small quantity of 
CaF2 (approximately 18 t [20 tons] at Portsmouth and 24 t 
[26 tons] at Paducah annually). UDS is planning to use the emptied 
cylinders as disposal containers for the depleted uranium oxide 
conversion product. Therefore, the emptied cylinders would become part 
of the depleted uranium oxide waste stream. Any cylinders not used as 
disposal containers would be disposed of as low-level waste at an 
appropriate facility in compliance with applicable regulations. The 
small quantity of CaF2 would be disposed with the unused 
depleted uranium oxide. Therefore, the unused depleted uranium oxide, 
most of the emptied cylinders, and the small quantity of 
CaF2 would be sent to the same disposal facility.
    The PEIS considered the environmental impacts of six alternative 
strategies for long-term management of DOE's DUF6 inventory. 
The alternative strategies included: (1) Options for continued storage 
of DUF6 in cylinders at the three sites where it was stored 
(Paducah, KY, Portsmouth, OH, and ETTP in Oak Ridge, TN); (2) long-term 
storage as DUF6 at a consolidated site; (3) conversion of 
the DUF6 to an oxide followed by long-term storage; (4) 
conversion to an oxide or depleted uranium metal followed by use; (5) 
conversion to an oxide followed by disposal; and (6) no action. The 
analyses of the long-term storage and disposal alternatives included 
the transportation of the depleted uranium oxide to generic storage or 
disposal sites located 155 mi (250 km), 620 mi (1,000 km), or 3,100 mi 
(5,000 km) from the conversion facilities. DOE analyzed the impacts of 
depleted uranium conversion product disposal using generic assumptions 
about disposal site characteristics, rather than actual characteristics 
for any particular disposal site. A technical

[[Page 15871]]

support document for the PEIS investigated the feasibility of depleted 
uranium disposal at six low-level waste disposal facilities based on 
waste acceptance criteria, available capacity, and disposal cost 
(Depleted Uranium Storage and Disposal Trade Study: Summary Report, 
ORNL/TM-2000/10). This document and subsequent follow-up studies have 
verified that the only currently operating dry-environment, low-level 
waste disposal facilities that are feasible for disposal of the 
depleted uranium oxide conversion product are the NTS and 
EnergySolutions facilities.
    Like the PEIS, site-specific EISs for each conversion facility 
assumed that depleted uranium oxide would be classified as low-level 
waste. This assumption is consistent with a recent ruling by the U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the licensing proceeding for a 
commercial uranium enrichment facility (NRC 2005a,b,c,d and 2006a,b). 
The site-specific EISs stated that the disposal facility (or 
facilities) would be (1) selected in a manner consistent with DOE 
policies and orders, and (2) authorized or licensed to receive the 
conversion products by DOE (in conformance with DOE orders), the NRC 
(in conformance with NRC regulations), or an NRC agreement state agency 
(in conformance with state laws and regulations determined to be 
equivalent to NRC regulations).
    DOE is now proposing to amend the site-specific RODs to decide that 
the depleted uranium oxide conversion product may be disposed of at 
either the NTS or the EnergySolutions low-level waste disposal 
facilities. Accordingly, DOE has prepared the draft SA that is the 
subject of this Notice. All other aspects of the depleted 
DUF6 conversion program remain as previously described in 
the site-specific EISs and RODs.
    The draft SA identifies no significant new circumstances or 
information relevant to environmental concerns that bear on DOE's 
decisions on disposal locations or the impacts of those decisions. 
Since issuance of the two site-specific DUF6 conversion 
facility final EISs, the following circumstances have changed. In May 
2006, a contract was signed with Solvay Fluorides, a commercial vendor, 
for purchase of the HF co-product. On June 2, 2006, the NRC issued an 
order that determined that the Envirocare (now EnergySolutions) site 
near Clive, Utah, appears to be suitable for near-term disposal of 
depleted uranium. The transportation campaign has been slightly 
modified to include more cylinders per railcar with fewer shipments per 
year. Impacts from the modified campaign for both operations and 
accident scenarios are projected to be about the same as those 
presented in the site-specific EISs.
    DOE believes, based on the analysis in the draft SA, that disposal 
at either NTS or EnergySolutions low-level waste disposal facilities 
are reasonable alternatives. Regarding the alternative of disposal at 
the EnergySolutions facility, DOE believes that adequate NEPA 
documentation exists to support disposal of any unused depleted uranium 
oxide conversion product as well as for emptied DUF6 
cylinders that would be used for disposal containers and the small 
quantity of CaF2 that would be generated during the 
conversion process. With respect to NTS low-level waste facility, the 
draft SA analyses show that there is adequate NEPA coverage for all 
actions leading up to delivery at the NTS and that site-specific NEPA 
coverage at the NTS is adequate for disposal of up to 60,000 
m3 of unused depleted uranium oxide conversion product. 
Furthermore, upcoming reviews of the NTS site-wide EIS will evaluate 
disposal of additional uranium oxide conversion product volumes at NTS. 
Accordingly, DOE believes that a supplemental EIS (or an environmental 
assessment) is not needed to support amending the site-specific RODs to 
address disposal of the depleted uranium oxide conversion product.
    DOE plans to issue amended RODs under the conversion facility EISs 
no sooner than 30 days after issuance of the final SA. DOE will 
consider all public comments on the draft SA submitted by May 18, 2007.

    Issued in Washington, DC, March 27, 2007.
Mark W. Frei,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Planning and Budget.
 [FR Doc. E7-6039 Filed 4-2-07; 8:45 am]
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