[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 2, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54550-54553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-19348]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Amended Record of Decision for the Complex Transformation 
Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Amended record of decision.

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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-
autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is 
announcing this amendment to the December 19, 2008, Record of Decision 
(ROD) for the Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement--Operations Involving Plutonium, 
Uranium, and the Assembly and Disassembly of Nuclear Weapons (Complex 
Transformation SPEIS--2008 Programmatic ROD). In this Amended ROD, NNSA 
announces its programmatic decision to implement elements of a Modified 
Distributed Centers of Excellence (DCE) Alternative whereby Los Alamos 
National Laboratory (LANL) will produce a minimum of 30 war reserve 
pits per year for the national pit production mission during 2026 and 
implement surge efforts to exceed 30 pits per year as needed. NNSA will 
implement this decision without construction of the Chemistry and 
Metallurgy Research and Replacement Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF). NNSA 
has previously evaluated this action at the programmatic level in the 
Complex Transformation SPEIS and at the site-specific level in the LANL 
Sitewide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS), and recently completed 
a review of those prior analyses in a separate Supplement Analysis (SA) 
for each document. Pit production alternatives were previously analyzed 
in the Complex Transformation SPEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on this 
Amended ROD or the 2019 SPEIS SA, contact: Mr. James R. Sanderson, 
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585-0119; phone: (202) 586-
1402; or email to: [email protected]. This Amended ROD, the 2019 
SPEIS SA, and related NEPA documents are available on the internet at 
https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    As national policy and national defense needs have evolved, NNSA 
prepared an SA to the Complex Transformation SPEIS (2019 SPEIS SA) 
(DOE/EIS-0236-SA-02). The 2019 SPEIS SA evaluates whether since issuing 
the Complex Transformation SPEIS there have been substantial changes to 
NNSA's proposed implementation of expanded pit production in the U.S. 
or significant new circumstances or information relevant to 
environmental concerns, within the meaning of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). NNSA has re-evaluated the single-site 
pit production strategy announced in the 2008 Programmatic ROD but will 
not announce any further decisions on pit production until completion 
of a site-specific Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for pit 
production at the Savannah River Site (SRS).
    NNSA has a statutory mission to maintain and enhance the safety, 
reliability, and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, 
including the ability to design, produce, and test, in order to meet 
national security requirements. In the Complex Transformation SPEIS, 
NNSA considered how to configure facilities that hold Category I and 
Category II quantities of Special Nuclear Material (SNM) across the 
nuclear weapons complex (Complex), including the three functional areas 
of plutonium, uranium operations, and assembly/disassembly/high 
explosives in various ways. These alternatives were broadly categorized 
into a Distributed Centers of Excellence (DCE) Alternative, a 
Consolidated Centers of Excellence (CCE) Alternative, and Capability-
Based Alternative. The Complex Transformation SPEIS also analyzed a No 
Action Alternative. Pit production levels of up to 200 pits per year at 
a single site were analyzed in the DCE and CCE Alternatives, and 
nominal pit production levels of up to 50 pits per year were analyzed 
under the Capability-Based Alternative. With respect to plutonium 
operations and pit production, the 2008 Programmatic ROD continued 
NNSA's prior decision to produce 20 pits per year at LANL until 
completion of a future Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).
    Both federal law and national security policy now require pit 
production rates of a minimum of 30 pits per year at LANL during 2026 
and not less than 80 pits per year nationally during 2030. (50 U.S.C. 
2538a; Pub. L. 115-232). Because operations involving SNM are complex, 
implementing changes in operations such as pit production takes several 
years. NNSA is issuing this Amended ROD on those aspects of the 
national pit production mission at LANL that have been analyzed at both 
the programmatic and site-specific level by final environmental impact 
statements. NNSA may issue additional Amended RODs, as appropriate, on 
other aspects of the national pit production mission upon completion of 
further site-specific analysis at SRS. Prior to issuing this Amended 
ROD, NNSA prepared the 2019 SPEIS SA to determine if the existing 
Complex Transformation SPEIS should be supplemented, a new EIS should 
be prepared, or that no further NEPA analysis would be required. Based 
on the analysis presented in the 2019 SPEIS SA, NNSA determined that no 
further NEPA analysis was needed prior to issuing this Amended ROD. The 
scope of this Amended ROD is limited to plutonium operations related to 
pit production to sustain NNSA's pit production capability and fulfill 
NNSA's requirements under federal law and national policy. All other 
activities conducted pursuant to decisions announced in the 2008 
Programmatic ROD are outside the scope of this decision.

Synopsis of the Programmatic EIS and the Supplemental Programmatic EIS 
Related to Plutonium Operations and the Associated Records of Decision

    During the Cold War, the U.S. maintained a pit production capacity 
of approximately 2,000 pits per year (actual production numbers are 
classified) but lost this large-scale production capability in the late 
1980s. In 1996, the environmental effects of a production rate of up to 
80 pits per year at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina and 
at LANL were analyzed in the Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for Stockpile Stewardship and Management (DOE/EIS-0236) (SSM 
PEIS). In December 1996, NNSA issued a ROD announcing a decision 
setting pit production at LANL at 20 pits per year (61 FR 68014; 
December 26, 1996). Tiering from the SSM PEIS, the 1999 LANL SWEIS 
(DOE/EIS-0283) provided site-specific analysis for pit production 
levels at LANL of up to 80 pits per year. In the 1999 LANL ROD, NNSA 
confirmed its decision for pit production at LANL at 20 pits per year. 
Various supplements to and re-evaluations of the SSM PEIS were 
completed over the next several years.
    In 2008, NNSA prepared the Complex Transformation SPEIS, which 
analyzes the potential environmental impacts of alternatives for 
transforming the Complex in a manner consistent with

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national policy. Acknowledging the shifting needs of national security 
policy, the Complex Transformation SPEIS was prepared to provide NNSA 
with a flexible programmatic EIS that could be tiered from when the 
United States faced the need to implement changes to operations such as 
pit production. As it relates to plutonium operations, the Complex 
Transformation SPEIS evaluates the potential impacts of alternatives 
for structuring the Complex including the DCE Alternative, CCE 
Alternative, and Capability-Based Alternative, and each of these 
alternatives have several sub-alternatives. The 2008 LANL SWEIS again 
provided site-specific analysis for pit production levels at LANL of up 
to 80 pits per year. In the 2008 LANL SWEIS ROD and subsequent RODs, 
NNSA selected a No Action Alternative (continuation of existing 
operations) with some elements of an Expanded Operations Alternative, 
which maintained NNSA's decision for pit production levels of 20 pits 
per year at LANL. In 2019, NNSA published its first site-specific 
analysis for pit production at SRS, the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for Plutonium Pit Production at the Savannah River Site 
(SRS) in South Carolina (DOE/EIS-0541), but at this time that site-
specific analysis for SRS has not been finalized.
    The Complex Transformation SPEIS considered a wide range of 
alternatives to provide NNSA with sufficient flexibility in the 
continued transformation of the Complex. Some of the specific elements 
of different alternatives and sub-alternatives in the Complex 
Transformation SPEIS include an analysis of the impacts associated with 
construction of a new pit production facility to produce 125 pits per 
year, with surge capacity to produce 200 pits per year. Sites that the 
Complex Transformation SPEIS evaluates for this level of pit production 
include LANL, SRS, the Pantex Plant (Pantex) in Texas, the Y-12 
National Security Complex (Y-12) in Tennessee, and the Nevada National 
Security Site in Nevada. At LANL, the Complex Transformation SPEIS also 
includes an analysis of two distinct upgrades to existing facilities, 
rather than construction of a new facilities, including one to support 
production of 125 pits per year (with surge capacity to produce 200 
pits per year) and one to support production of 50-80 pits per year. At 
SRS, the Complex Transformation SPEIS evaluated a pit production 
facility that would use the planned Mixed-Oxide Fuel Fabrication 
Facility (MFFF) and Pit Disassembly and Conversion Facility 
infrastructure. The alternative selected in the 2008 Programmatic ROD 
was a combination of the DCE Alternative and a Capability-Based 
Alternative in which, with respect to plutonium operations, NNSA did 
not make any new decisions related to pit production capacity beyond 20 
pits per year at LANL. In the 2008 Programmatic ROD, NNSA envisioned 
constructing a new facility--the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research and 
Replacement Nuclear Facility (CMRR-NF)--as a replacement for portions 
of an older facility at LANL called the Chemistry and Metallurgy 
Research (CMR) Facility.

Changes Since Issuance of the Complex Transformation 2008 Programmatic 
ROD

    NNSA has implemented many, but not all, aspects of the 2008 
Programmatic ROD with respect to plutonium operations. The primary 
change is that the CMRR-NF was not constructed. CMRR-NF was always 
planned as a support facility for pit production and was not itself to 
be a pit production facility. Many support operations for pit 
production have been historically located in CMR. While NNSA remains 
committed to the closure of the CMR Facility, NNSA has made upgrades to 
existing plutonium facilities, constructed new support facilities, and 
made administrative changes that have enabled more efficient use of 
newer existing LANL facilities. Capabilities once housed in CMR can be 
relocated to other facilities at LANL, and a new CMRR-NF is no longer 
required to meet mission needs.
    Another change since issuance of the Complex Transformation SPEIS 
is that NNSA has made substantial facility upgrades to address previous 
technical and seismic concerns related to LANL's pit production 
facility, the Plutonium Facility. In the 2009 Amended ROD to the 2008 
LANL SWEIS, NNSA issued a decision on certain elements of an Expanded 
Operations Alternative at LANL that authorized upgrades to the 
Plutonium Facility. Over the past ten years, NNSA has been implementing 
these upgrade projects. Separately, there was a three-year operational 
pause in LANL's Plutonium Facility but operations have resumed. The 
Plutonium Facility is again operational and pit production activities 
have resumed.
    The United States has emphasized the need to eventually produce 80 
pits per year and while the drivers and the requirement for pit 
production have remained relatively unchanged there have been specific 
changes in the law and national policy regarding pit production since 
issuance of the Complex Transformation SPEIS. Since 2014, federal law 
has required the nuclear security enterprise to produce not less than 
30 war reserve plutonium pits during 2026. Federal law now requires 
that the nuclear security enterprise produces not less than 80 war 
reserve plutonium pits during 2030 (50 U.S.C. 2538a).
    In addition, on January 27, 2017, the President directed the 
Department of Defense (DoD) to conduct an NPR which was issued in 2018. 
The 2018 NPR echoed the need for pit production and articulated a 
national policy that is consistent with Congressional and Presidential 
direction, stating that the United States will pursue initiatives to 
ensure the necessary capability, capacity, and responsiveness of the 
nuclear weapons infrastructure and the needed skill of the workforce, 
including providing the enduring capability and capacity to produce 
plutonium pits at a rate of no fewer than 80 pits per year during 2030. 
The 2018 NPR also details the evolving and uncertain nuclear threat 
environment facing the United States. Concurrent with the 2018 NPR, DOE 
conducted an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to identify and assess 
alternatives across DOE sites that could deliver the infrastructure to 
meet the sustained plutonium pit requirements of 80 pits per year. To 
achieve the required annual pit production rate, the AoA report 
considered the construction of new facilities and the refurbishment of 
existing facilities and identifies SRS and LANL as the two preferred 
alternatives to meet pit production requirements.
    In 2018, Congress and the President also directed that LANL will 
produce a minimum of 30 pits per year for the national pit production 
mission and directed it be capable of surge efforts to exceed 30 pits 
per year to meet NPR and national policy (Public Law 115-232, Section 
3120). To these ends, the DoD Under Secretary of Defense for 
Acquisition and Sustainment and the NNSA Administrator issued a Joint 
Statement on May 10, 2018, describing NNSA's recommended alternative to 
pursue a two-prong approach--50 pits per year produced at SRS and a 
minimum of 30 pits per year produced at LANL. In addition to improving 
the resiliency, flexibility, and redundancy of our Nuclear Security 
Enterprise by reducing reliance on a single production site, this 
approach enables the capability to allow for enhanced warhead safety 
and security to meet DoD and NNSA requirements; deliberate, methodical 
replacement of older existing plutonium pits with

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newly manufactured pits as risk mitigation against plutonium aging; and 
response to changes in deterrent requirements driven by renewed great 
power competition. Finally, since issuance of the 2008 Programmatic 
ROD, a significant portion of the MFFF at SRS has been constructed. At 
the time that the Complex Transformation SPEIS was being completed, 
construction of the MFFF had just begun. The MFFF was built to produce 
mixed oxide fuel from surplus plutonium for use in commercial nuclear 
reactors. For a variety of reasons NNSA issued a Notice of Termination 
to the MFFF construction contractor on October 10, 2018, cancelling the 
contract for the facility. The constructed portion of MFFF was built to 
current safety and security standards and contains three floors and 
more than 400,000 square feet of available space. The potential 
availability of this facility is, in part, why NNSA has reevaluated a 
single pit production site at the programmatic level and is currently 
conducting a site-specific NEPA analysis for pit production at SRS.

NEPA Process for Amending the ROD

    NNSA prepared this Amended ROD pursuant to the regulations of the 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for implementing NEPA (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508) and DOE's NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR part 
1021). This Amended ROD is based on information and analysis in the 
Complex Transformation SPEIS (DOE/EIS-0236-S4) issued on October 24, 
2008 (73 FR 63460) and public comments received; the 2019 SPEIS SA 
(DOE/EIS-0236-SA-02) and public comments received; other NEPA analysis 
and public comments as noted in the 2019 SPEIS SA; and other factors 
including federal law and NNSA's mission.
    The Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS included a robust public 
participation process. NNSA received comments from Federal agencies; 
state, local, and tribal governments; public and private organizations; 
and individuals. In addition, during the 20 public meetings that NNSA 
held on the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS, more than 600 speakers 
made oral comments. NNSA reviewed and considered all comments received 
on the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS before issuing the 2008 
Programmatic ROD.
    NNSA prepared the 2019 SPEIS SA to determine whether, prior to 
proceeding with the effort to produce plutonium pits at a rate of not 
less than 80 pits per year during 2030, the existing Complex 
Transformation SPEIS should be supplemented, a new environmental impact 
statement be prepared, or that no further NEPA analysis is required. 
Although pertinent regulations do not require public comment on an SA, 
NNSA decided, in its discretion, that public comment in this instance 
would be helpful. NNSA issued the Draft 2019 SPEIS SA for public review 
on June 28, 2019 (84 FR 31055). NNSA considered all comments received 
during the public comment period. NNSA also reviewed all comment 
documents received during the public scoping process for the site-
specific SRS Pit Production EIS for relevance to the 2019 SPEIS SA. 
NNSA included a comment response document as Appendix A to the Final 
2019 SPEIS SA. After preparing and considering the 2019 SPEIS SA, NNSA 
has determined that no further NEPA analysis is needed prior to issuing 
this Amended ROD.

Summary of Impacts

    In Section 2.3 of the 2019 SPEIS SA, NNSA discusses environmental 
changes at LANL that have occurred since publication of the Complex 
Transformation SPEIS and that are relevant to the analysis in the 2019 
SPEIS SA. The 2019 SPEIS SA analyzes the potential impacts of the 
Proposed Action on land resources, visual resources, noise, air 
quality, water resources, geology and soils, ecological resources, 
cultural resources, socioeconomics, environmental justice, 
infrastructure, health and safety for normal operations, accidents and 
intentional destructive acts, waste management, and transportation and 
traffic. Section 3.2 of the 2019 SPEIS SA provides (1) a summary of the 
potential environmental impacts from the Complex Transformation SPEIS, 
(2) the estimate of potential impacts specific to the Proposed Action, 
and (3) a more detailed analysis of potential impacts for those NEPA 
resource areas where NNSA determined that there might be potentially 
significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental 
concerns. Tables 3-1 and 3-2 of the 2019 SPEIS SA present information 
in a comparative fashion for each resource area. Table 3-3 addresses 
the combined impacts, to the extent that they are known at this time, 
from pit production at both SRS and LANL. Table 3-4 addresses Complex-
wide transportation impacts. Section 4.0 of the 2019 SPEIS SA analyzes 
cumulative impacts at both a programmatic level and site-specific 
level.
    NNSA's conclusion based on the Final 2019 SPEIS SA is that complex-
wide impacts of adopting a Modified DCE Alternative for plutonium 
operations for all resource areas would not be different, or would not 
be significantly different, than impacts in existing NEPA analyses. 
NNSA has determined that that the proposed action does not constitute a 
substantial change from actions analyzed previously and there are no 
significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental 
concerns. While no further NEPA documentation is required at a 
programmatic level and NNSA may amend the existing Complex 
Transformation SPEIS ROD, to implement the proposed action NNSA is 
preparing a site-specific EIS for actions at SRS and has prepared a 
site-specific SA for actions at LANL. The site-specific SA that 
formally re-evaluates the SWEIS at LANL is now final. Thus, consistent 
with 10 CFR 1021.315(e), the existing 2008 Programmatic ROD for the 
Complex Transformation SPEIS can be amended at this time to document 
NNSA's decision on pit production at LANL and cancel NNSA's prior 
commitment to construct the CMRR-NF support facility. NNSA may issue an 
additional Amended ROD after the site-specific EIS for actins at SRS is 
completed.

Environmentally Preferable Alternative

    The analyses in the Complex Transformation SPEIS of the 
environmental impacts associated with the programmatic alternatives 
indicated that the No Net Production/Capability Based Alternative is 
environmentally preferable. Under this alternative NNSA would maintain 
capabilities to continue surveillance of the weapons stockpile, produce 
limited life components, and dismantle weapons, but would not add new 
types or increased numbers of weapons to the stockpile. This 
alternative would result in the minimum infrastructure demands, produce 
the least amount of wastes, reduce worker radiation doses, and require 
the fewest employees. Almost all of these reductions in potential 
impacts result from the reduced production levels assumed for this 
alternative. The environmentally preferable alternative for 
programmatic alternatives accounts for actions across the complex at 
multiple sites. This determination may not apply to site-specific 
determinations where other factors are considered in the analysis.

Amended Decision

    NNSA has decided at a programmatic level to implement aspects of a 
Modified DCE Alternative. LANL will implement actions to produce a 
minimum of 30 war reserve pits per year during 2026 for the national 
pit

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production mission and implement surge efforts to exceed 30 pits per 
year up to the analyzed limit as necessary. Pit production at these 
levels will take place without construction of CMRR-NF. Prior to 
implementing this decision, NNSA will issue a site-specific Amended ROD 
for the LANL SWEIS, as appropriate. NNSA will continue to re-evaluate 
the single-site pit production strategy announced in the 2008 
Programmatic ROD and complete the site-specific SRS EIS prior to 
announcing further decisions on pit production.
    These decisions continue the transformation of the Complex 
following the end of the Cold War and the cessation of nuclear weapons 
testing, particularly decisions announced in the 1996 ROD for the SSM 
PEIS (DOE/EIS-0236) (61 FR 68014; Dec. 26, 1996) and the 2008 
Programmatic Alternatives ROD for the Complex Transformation SPEIS. 
This Amended ROD modifies only the plutonium operations aspects of the 
2008 Programmatic ROD related to pit production at LANL. NNSA has made 
no proposals to, and there are no changes to, NNSA's decisions on other 
aspects of the 2008 Programmatic ROD.

Basis for Decision

    In making these decisions, NNSA considered the 2019 SPEIS SA, the 
Complex Transformation SPEIS, other referenced NEPA analyses, and its 
statutory responsibilities to support the nuclear weapons stockpile. 
Federal law and national security policies continue to require NNSA to 
maintain a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile and 
create a responsive nuclear weapons infrastructure that are cost-
effective and have adequate capacity to meet reasonably foreseeable 
national security requirements. This Amended ROD will enable NNSA to 
continue meeting federal law and national security requirements.

Mitigation Measures

    As described in the Complex Transformation SPEIS and the 2008 
Programmatic ROD, NNSA operates in compliance with environmental laws, 
regulations, and policies within a framework of contractual 
requirements; many of these requirements mandate actions to control and 
mitigate potential adverse environmental effects.
    Examples of mitigation measures include site security and threat 
protection plans, emergency plans, Integrated Safety Management 
Systems, pollution prevention and waste minimization programs, cultural 
resource and protected species programs, and energy and water 
conservation programs. Any additional site-specific mitigation actions 
would be identified in site-specific NEPA documents.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on August 24, 
2020, by Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, Under Secretary for Nuclear Security 
and Administrator, NNSA, pursuant to delegated authority from the 
Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date 
is maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in 
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC on August 28, 2020.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2020-19348 Filed 9-1-20; 8:45 am]
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