[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 15 (Monday, January 25, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4023-4025]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01371]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Environmental Assessment for the Acceptance and Disposition of 
Spent Nuclear Fuel Containing U.S.-Origin Highly Enriched Uranium From 
the Federal Republic of Germany

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability; public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of its draft environmental assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1977) evaluating the 
potential environmental impacts from a proposed action to receive, 
store, process and disposition spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the 
Federal Republic of Germany at DOE's Savannah River Site (SRS) (Draft 
German Spent Nuclear Fuel EA).\1\ This SNF is composed of kernels 
containing thorium and U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) 
embedded in small graphite spheres that were irradiated in research 
reactors used for experimental and/or demonstration purposes. DOE 
invites public comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA 
and is announcing a public meeting.
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    \1\ This environmental assessment was announced as the 
Environmental Assessment for the Acceptance and Disposition of Used 
Nuclear Fuel Containing U.S.-Origin Highly Enriched Uranium from the 
Federal Republic of Germany in DOE's Notice of Intent (NOI) on June 
4, 2014 (79 FR 32256). The title has been changed.

DATES: The 45-day public comment period extends from the date of 
publication of this notice in the Federal Register through March 11, 
2016. DOE will consider all comments received via email by 11:59 p.m. 
Eastern Standard Time or postmarked by that date. Comments submitted 
after that date and time will be considered to the extent practicable.
    DOE will hold a public meeting to receive comments on the Draft 
Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA. The meeting will be held on:
     February 4, 2016, (7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) at the North 
Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Drive, North Augusta, South 
Carolina 29841.

ADDRESSES: This Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA is available 
at the following sites:

http://energy.gov/nepa/office-nepa-policy-and-compliance
http://www.srs.gov/sro/germanheuproj.html
http://www.srs.gov/general/pubs/envbul/nepa1.htm

    To request a print copy of the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from 
Germany EA please submit your request to Tracy Williams, NEPA 
Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box B, Aiken, South 
Carolina 29802; or by telephone at (803) 952-8278.
    DOE invites Federal agencies, state and local governments, Native 
American tribes, industry, other organizations, and members of the 
general public to submit comments on DOE's Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel 
from Germany EA. Please direct written comments on the Draft Spent 
Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA to Tracy Williams, NEPA Compliance 
Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box B, Aiken, South Carolina 
29802.
    Comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA may also 
be submitted by email to [email protected]. DOE will 
give equal weight to written comments and oral comments received at the 
public meeting. Requests to be placed on the German Spent Nuclear Fuel 
EA mailing list should be directed to Tracy Williams at the postal or 
email addresses above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request further information on SRS 
spent nuclear fuel disposition activities or background information on 
the proposed project, please contact Tracy Williams at the address as 
listed above.
    For general information concerning DOE's NEPA process, contact: Ms. 
Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GG-
54), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message toll-free, at 
(800) 472-2756; fax (202) 586-7031; or send an email to 
[email protected].
    This Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA is available on the 
DOE NEPA Web site at http://nepa.energy.gov, and also at the SRS Web 
site at http://www.srs.gov/general/pubs/envbul/nepa1.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    DOE has prepared the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA in 
accordance with Council on Environmental Quality and DOE National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing regulations at 40 CFR 
parts 1500 through 1508 and 10

[[Page 4024]]

CFR part 1021, respectively. The Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany 
EA analyzes the potential environmental impacts of receipt, storage, 
processing, and disposition of SNF from Germany containing, prior to 
irradiation, approximately 900 kilograms (kg) of U.S.-origin HEU. The 
SNF is composed of kernels containing thorium and U.S.-origin HEU 
embedded in small graphite spheres.
    The United States provided the HEU to Germany between 1965 and 
1988. The spent fuel was irradiated at the Arbeitsgemeinschaft 
Versuchsreaktor (AVR) reactor, which operated from 1967 to 1988, and 
the Thorium High Temperature Reactor (THTR)-300, which operated from 
1983 to 1989. These reactors operated as part of Germany's research and 
development program for pebble bed, high-temperature, gas-cooled 
reactor technology.
    In a February 2012 letter, the State Secretary of the Federal 
Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany 
requested DOE's Under Secretary for Nuclear Security to consider 
accepting the SNF, and collaboration on the request was initiated in 
May 2012. In April 2014, DOE, the Federal Ministry of Education and 
Research of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Ministry for 
Innovation, Science and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia 
on behalf of the North Rhine-Westphalian State Government, Germany, 
signed a Statement of Intent \2\ to cooperate in conducting the 
preparatory work necessary to support DOE's consideration of the 
request that it accept the spent fuel from Germany and to use SRS 
facilities for processing and disposition of the spent fuel. The 
preparatory work includes conducting studies, technical and engineering 
work, as well as preparation of this Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from 
Germany EA. The Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA and the 
engineering work will allow DOE to reach an informed decision on the 
proposed receipt, acceptance, processing and disposition of the spent 
nuclear fuel from Germany. The Statement of Intent specifies that 
Forschungszentrum Julich, an interdisciplinary research center funded 
primarily by the German government, is bearing the cost of the 
preparatory phase--feasibility studies and NEPA analysis--and if there 
is a decision to proceed with the project, would also bear the costs 
associated with acceptance, processing, and disposition of the spent 
nuclear fuel.
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    \2\ The referenced Statement of Intent is provided in the Draft 
EA as Appendix A.
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Purpose and Need for Action

    DOE's purpose and need for the receipt, storage, processing, and 
disposition of the SNF from Germany is to support the U.S. policy 
objective to reduce, and eventually to eliminate, HEU from civil 
commerce. This action would further the U.S. HEU minimization objective 
by returning U.S.-origin HEU from Germany to the United States for safe 
storage and disposition in a form no longer usable for an improvised 
nuclear device, a radiological dispersal device, or other radiological 
exposure device.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    In the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA, DOE considers a No 
Action Alternative as required under NEPA, and two action alternatives 
for acceptance and disposition of the graphite-based SNF currently 
stored in Germany. Under the No Action Alternative, the SNF would not 
be transported to the United States for management and disposition.
    The two action alternatives differ in processing technology and 
location at SRS where the processing would occur. Under both of the 
proposed action alternatives, the SNF would be transported from Germany 
and processed at SRS for final disposition as a proliferation-resistant 
waste form. The proposed action alternatives are identified by the 
respective SRS processing location. The H-Area Alternative (so named 
because most activities would involve H-Area facilities) includes three 
processing options (Vitrification Option, Low-Enriched Uranium Waste 
Option, and Low-Enriched Uranium/Thorium Waste Option) that use H-
Canyon to differing extents; the L-Area Alternative (so named because 
the alternative would involve mostly L-Area facilities) would implement 
melt and dilute processing in L-Area. Existing and planned SRS 
infrastructure and facilities would be used to process the spent 
nuclear fuel from Germany.
    The shipping campaign from Germany would involve about 30 shipments 
over approximately a 3.5-year period to transport 455 CASTOR \3\ casks 
containing the SNF from Germany aboard chartered ships across the 
Atlantic Ocean to Joint Base Charleston-Weapons Station near 
Charleston, South Carolina. From Joint Base Charleston-Weapons Station, 
the CASTOR casks would be transported to SRS on dedicated trains.
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    \3\ CASTOR is the name given to a dry-storage cask for storage 
and transport of radioactive material.
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    Processing steps would involve separating the HEU kernels from 
their graphite matrix, then processing the kernels through either H-
Canyon and the SRS Liquid Nuclear Waste Facilities, or through a new 
melt and dilute process that would be installed in L-Area. The HEU 
kernels are embedded in a graphite (carbon) matrix which must be 
removed for the HEU kernels to be processed. Two methods for removing 
the graphite surrounding the fuel kernels (referred to as carbon 
digestion), a molten salt digestion process and a vapor digestion 
process, are evaluated in this EA.

H-Area Alternative

    Under the H-Area alternative, three options for dissolving the 
kernels after carbon digestion are evaluated:
     The vitrification option provides for dissolution of the 
kernels in H-Canyon with direct transfer of the entire dissolver 
solution to the existing Liquid Nuclear Waste Facilities. Under this 
option, the high-activity fraction of the dissolver solution would be 
dispositioned as vitrified high-level radioactive waste and the low-
activity fraction as low-level radioactive waste saltstone.
     The low-enriched uranium waste option provides for 
dissolution of the kernels in H-Canyon followed by solvent extraction 
in H-Canyon to separate the uranium. The resulting uranium solution 
would be down blended and grouted (i.e., solidified by mixing with 
cement) to meet acceptance criteria for disposal as low-level 
radioactive waste. The remainder of the dissolver solution would be 
processed through the Liquid Nuclear Waste Facilities into high- and 
low-level radioactive waste as indicated for the vitrification option.
     The low-enriched uranium/thorium waste option provides for 
dissolution of the kernels in H-Canyon followed by solvent extraction 
in H-Canyon for separation of the uranium and thorium. The resulting 
uranium/thorium solution would be down blended and grouted to meet 
acceptance criteria for disposal as low-level radioactive waste. The 
remainder of the dissolver solution would be processed through the 
Liquid Nuclear Waste Facilities into high- and low-level radioactive 
waste as indicated for the vitrification option.

L-Area Alternative

    Under the L-Area Alternative, the kernels would be down-blended and 
converted to a uranium-aluminum alloy in a melt and dilute process in 
L-Area.

[[Page 4025]]

The resulting ingots would be stored in concrete overpacks on a pad in 
L-Area. Unlike the H-Area processing methods, the kernels would not be 
dissolved prior to final processing.

NEPA Process

    All comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA 
received during the public comment period will be considered and 
addressed in the Final Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA. DOE will 
address comments submitted after the close of the public comment period 
on the Draft EA to the extent practicable. Following the public comment 
period, and based on the EA and consideration of all comments received, 
DOE will either issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or 
announce its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). 
If DOE determines that a FONSI is appropriate, both the Final EA and 
FONSI will be made available to the public.
    If DOE determines that an EIS is needed, either during preparation 
of the Final Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA or after completing the 
EA, DOE would issue in the Federal Register a Notice to prepare an EIS. 
In that case, the June 2014 public comment process would serve as the 
scoping process that normally would follow a Notice of Intent to 
prepare an EIS.

    Issued in Washington, DC on January 15, 2016.
Edgardo DeLeon,
Director, Office of Nuclear Materials Disposition.
[FR Doc. 2016-01371 Filed 1-22-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P