[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 98 (Friday, May 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30931-30933]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-10692]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of Final Versatile Test Reactor 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Office of Nuclear Energy, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) 
announces the availability of the Final Versatile Test Reactor 
Environmental Impact Statement (VTR EIS) (DOE/EIS-0542). DOE prepared 
the VTR EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of alternatives 
for constructing and operating VTR and associated facilities for post-
irradiation examination of irradiated test specimens and the management 
of VTR spent nuclear fuel. The Final VTR EIS also evaluates the 
potential environmental impacts of options for production of VTR driver 
fuel (the fuel that powers the reactor).

DATES: DOE will issue a Record of Decision based on the VTR EIS no 
sooner than 30 days after the May 20, 2022, publication of the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency notice of availability of the Final VTR 
EIS in the Federal Register. For alternatives (or options) for which 
DOE did not identify a preferred alternative (or option) in the Final 
VTR EIS, DOE will not issue a Record of Decision until 30 days after it 
announces its preferred alternative (or option) in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: Communications regarding the Final VTR EIS should be sent to 
Mr. James Lovejoy, Document Manager, by mail to: U.S. Department of 
Energy, Idaho Operations Office, 1955 Fremont Avenue, MS 1235, Idaho 
Falls, Idaho 83415; or by email to [email protected]. The 
Final VTR EIS is available for viewing or download at https://www.energy.gov/nepa or https://www.energy.gov/ne/versatile-test-reactor.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the VTR 
Project or the Final VTR EIS, visit https://www.energy.gov/ne/versatile-test-reactor. For questions about the Final VTR EIS or the 
analyses therein, contact Mr. James Lovejoy at the mailing address 
listed in ADDRESSES; via email at [email protected]; or call 
(208) 526-6805. For general information on DOE's NEPA process, contact 
Mr. Jason Anderson at the mailing address listed in ADDRESSES; via 
email at [email protected]; or call (208) 526-6805.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Part of the DOE mission is to ensure America's security and 
prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental, and nuclear 
challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. 
Many commercial organizations and universities are pursuing advanced 
nuclear energy fuels, materials, and reactor designs that complement 
the efforts of DOE and its laboratories in advancing nuclear energy. 
These designs include thermal and fast-spectrum \1\ reactors targeting 
improved fuel resource utilization and waste management and utilizing 
materials other than water for cooling. Development of these designs 
requires adequate infrastructure for experimentation, testing, design 
evolution, and component qualification. Existing irradiation test 
capabilities are aging and some are over 50 years old. The existing 
capabilities are focused on testing of materials, fuels, and components 
in the thermal neutron spectrum and do not have the ability to support 
the needs of fast reactor researchers. Only limited fast-neutron-
spectrum-testing capabilities, with restricted availability, exist 
outside the United States. To meet its obligation to support advanced 
reactor technology development, DOE needs to develop the capability for 
large-scale testing, accelerated testing, and qualification of advanced 
nuclear fuels, materials, instrumentation, and sensors. This testing 
capability is essential for the United States to modernize its nuclear

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energy infrastructure and for developing transformational nuclear 
energy technologies that will play a crucial role in helping the United 
States reach net-zero emissions by 2050 while re-establishing the 
United States as a world leader in nuclear technology 
commercialization.
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    \1\ Fast neutrons are highly energetic neutrons (ranging from 
0.1 to 10 million electron volts [MeV] and travelling at speeds of 
thousands to tens of thousands kilometers per second) emitted during 
fission. The fast-neutron spectrum refers to the range of energies 
associated with fast neutrons. By contrast, thermal neutrons, such 
as those typically associated in a commercial light-water reactor, 
are neutrons that are less energetic than fast neutrons (more than a 
million times less energetic [about 0.25eV] and travelling at speeds 
of less than 5 kilometers per second), having been slowed by 
collisions with other materials such as water. The thermal neutron 
spectrum refers to the range of energies associated with thermal 
neutrons.
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    Recognizing that the United States does not have a dedicated fast-
neutron-spectrum testing capability, DOE performed a mission needs 
assessment to evaluate current testing capabilities (domestic and 
foreign) against the required testing capabilities to support the 
development of advanced nuclear technologies. This needs assessment was 
consistent with the Nuclear Energy Innovation Capabilities Act (NEICA) 
(Pub. L. 115-248) passed in 2018, which directed DOE to assess the 
mission need for, and cost of, a versatile reactor-based fast- neutron 
source with a high neutron flux, irradiation flexibility, multiple 
experimental environment (e.g., coolant) capabilities, and volume for 
many concurrent users. The needs assessment identified a gap between 
required testing needs and existing capabilities. That is, there 
currently is an inability to effectively test advanced nuclear fuels 
and materials in a fast-neutron spectrum irradiation environment at 
high neutron fluxes. Specifically, the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy 
(NE), Nuclear Energy Advisory Committee (NEAC) report, Assessment of 
Missions and Requirements for a New U.S. Test Reactor, confirmed that 
there was a need in the United States for fast-neutron testing 
capabilities, but that there is no facility that is readily available 
domestically or internationally. The NEAC study confirmed the 
conclusions of an earlier study, the Advanced Demonstration and Test 
Reactor Options Study. That study established the strategic objective 
that DOE ``provide an irradiation test reactor to support development 
and qualification of fuels, materials, and other important components/
items (e.g., control rods, instrumentation) of both thermal and fast 
neutron-based advanced reactor systems.''
    Following establishment of the mission need described previously, 
the VTR Project was formally launched in February 2019 as a part of the 
effort to modernize the nuclear research and development user facility 
infrastructure in the United States. In later 2020, Congress enacted 
the Energy Act of 2020. This legislation, contained within the 
Consolidated Appropriations Act, directs the Secretary to provide a 
fast-neutron testing capability and revised the completion date from 
2025 to 2026.
    The Department is committed to reviving and expanding the nuclear 
energy infrastructure in the United States. An important step to 
achieving this goal is building the VTR in a manner that is protective 
of the public and the environment. DOE is announcing the Final VTR EIS 
to meet the intent of NEICA and to comply with the Council on 
Environmental Quality's Regulations for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, which require 
agencies to ``integrate the NEPA process with other planning at the 
earliest possible time to insure that planning and decisions reflect 
environmental values, to avoid delays later in the process, and to head 
off potential conflicts'' (40 CFR 1501.2).

Alternatives

    In addition to a No Action Alternative, the Final VTR EIS evaluates 
potential environmental impacts of alternatives for constructing and 
operating a VTR. Under the action alternatives, the VTR would be a 
small (approximately 300 megawatt thermal) sodium-cooled, pool-type, 
metal-fueled reactor. DOE has completed a conceptual design of a fast-
neutron- spectrum reactor based on the Power Reactor Innovative Small 
Module (PRISM) design from GE-Hitachi. In addition to constructing and 
operating the VTR, the action alternatives include the activities 
necessary to perform post-irradiation examination of test specimens and 
for the management of spent nuclear fuel from the VTR. After 
irradiation in the VTR, test specimens/experimental cartridges would be 
transferred to post-irradiation examination facilities where they would 
be disassembled so that the specimens can undergo detailed evaluation. 
To the extent practical, DOE would make use of existing facilities to 
perform post-irradiation examination. Spent driver fuel would be 
removed from the VTR each year over its 60-year operating life. The 
fuel would be treated (to remove sodium that is used as a bonding 
material in fabrication of the fuel) and packaged in containers that 
are ready for transport to an offsite storage facility or repository; 
no fissile material would be recovered during this treatment process. 
Pending shipment offsite, the packaged spent nuclear fuel would be 
stored at a facility provided by the VTR project. These activities 
would be part of each action alternative. The alternatives evaluated 
include establishing the VTR and support activities at the Idaho 
National Laboratory (INL) or the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

Idaho National Laboratory Versatile Test Reactor Alternative

    Under the INL VTR Alternative, DOE would site the VTR adjacent to 
the Materials and Fuels Complex (MFC) at INL and use existing hot cell 
and other facilities at the MFC for post-irradiation examination. The 
MFC is the location of the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), the 
Irradiated Materials Characterization Laboratory (IMCL), the 
Experimental Fuels Facility (EFF), and other laboratory facilities. 
Spent driver fuel would be treated at the Fuel Conditioning Facility 
(FCF) and stored at a facility constructed as part of the VTR project. 
The INL VTR Alternative is DOE's preferred alternative.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Versatile Test Reactor Alternative

    Under the ORNL VTR Alternative, the VTR would be sited at ORNL at a 
location about three quarters of a mile northeast of the High Flux 
Isotope Reactor. In addition to constructing the VTR and a facility to 
store spent driver fuel, DOE would also construct a new hot cell 
facility at this location. The hot cell facility would include 
capability and capacity for the initial post- irradiation disassembly 
and examination of test specimens and for the treatment of spent VTR 
driver fuel. Several existing facilities at ORNL would be used to 
provide additional post-irradiation examination capabilities. Hot cells 
in the Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory and the Irradiated 
Materials Examination and Testing Facility would augment the 
capabilities in the new hot cell facility. In addition, the Low 
Activation Materials Design and Analysis Laboratory would be used for 
testing low-dose samples that do not require the use of hot cells.

Reactor Fuel Production

    The driver fuel for the VTR would be a metal alloy composed of 
uranium, plutonium, and zirconium. Activities to produce reactor fuel 
may include feedstock preparation, as well as fuel fabrication. The 
Final VTR EIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of a number 
of feedstock preparation activities that would be used to remove 
contaminants from the plutonium (called polishing) and to convert 
plutonium oxides to metal that can be used in fuel fabrication. The 
fabrication steps include creating the alloy; casting the alloy to 
create fuel slugs; fabricating fuel pins, including establishing a 
sodium bond between the fuel slugs and the encasing tube; and 
assembling the tube bundles that would be placed in

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the reactor. DOE evaluates two options for each phase of reactor fuel 
production. The feedstock preparation could be performed at either INL 
or the Savanah River Site (SRS). Similarly, fuel fabrication activities 
could be performed at INL or SRS.
    Under the options to perform feedstock preparation and fuel 
fabrication at INL, new and existing gloveboxes and equipment would be 
used in the Fuel Manufacturing Facility and the building that 
previously housed the Zero Power Physics Reactor. Under the options to 
perform feedstock preparation and fuel fabrication at SRS, new 
gloveboxes and equipment would be installed in a building that 
previously housed one of the SRS production reactors. DOE has not 
identified a preferred option for reactor fuel production.

Public Involvement

    The Final VTR EIS follows the December 2020 release of the Draft 
VTR EIS (85 FR 83068). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
published its notice of availability on December 31, 2020 (83 FR 
86919). DOE accepted comments through March 2, 2021. During the review 
and comment period, DOE held two web-based public hearings. DOE 
received comments from Federal and state agencies, American Indian 
tribes, and the public. In preparing the Final EIS, DOE considered and 
responded to the comments received on the Draft EIS. Responses to all 
comments are included in Volume 3 of the Final VTR EIS.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on May 12, 
2022, by Robert Boston, DOE Idaho Operations Office Manager, Office of 
Nuclear Energy, 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 May 13, 2022.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2022-10692 Filed 5-19-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P