[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16546-16548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04799]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Department of Energy Activities in Support of Commercial 
Production of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU)

AGENCY: Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Department of Energy 
Activities in Support of Commercial Production of High-Assay Low-
Enriched Uranium (HALEU) (Draft HALEU EIS) (DOE/EIS-0559). DOE is also 
announcing a public comment period and public hearings to receive 
comments on the Draft HALEU EIS. DOE prepared the Draft HALEU EIS to 
evaluate the potential environmental impacts of DOE's Proposed Action 
for the acquisition of HALEU produced by a commercial entity using 
enrichment technology and making it available for commercial use or 
demonstration projects.

DATES: Comments will be accepted during the comment period, which will 
extend for 45 days after the date that the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes its Notice of Availability in the 
Federal Register March 8, 2024. DOE plans to hold three public hearings 
on the Draft HALEU EIS. DOE will host internet-based, virtual public 
hearings in place of in-person hearings. The dates of the hearings will 
be on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. ET, and 
10:00 p.m. ET. Further information on the public hearings is available 
on the following website: https://www.energy.gov/ne/haleu-environmental-impact-statement. DOE will hold the hearings no earlier 
than 15 days from the posting of the EPA Notice of Availability.

ADDRESSES: DOE invites Federal and state agencies, state and local 
governments, Native American Tribes, industry, other organizations, and 
members of the public to review and submit comments on the Draft HALEU 
EIS. Written comments on the Draft HALEU EIS should be sent to Mr. 
James Lovejoy, HALEU EIS Document Manager, by mail at: U.S. Department 
of Energy, Idaho Operations Office, 1955 Fremont Avenue, MS 1235, Idaho 
Falls, Idaho 83415; or by email to [email protected]. The 
Draft HALEU EIS is available for viewing or

[[Page 16547]]

download at https://www.energy.gov/ne/haleu-environmental-impact-statement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding DOE HALEU 
activities or the Draft HALEU EIS, visit https://www.energy.gov/ne/haleu-availability-program or https://www.energy.gov/ne/haleu-environmental-impact-statement or contact Mr. James Lovejoy at the 
mailing address listed in the ADDRESSES section or via email at [email protected] or telephone: (208) 526-4519. For general 
information on DOE's National Environmental Policy Act process, contact 
Mr. Jason Anderson at the mailing address listed in the ADDRESSES 
section or via email at [email protected] or telephone: 
(208) 526-0174.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Energy Act of 2020 directs the Department of Energy ``to 
establish and carry . . . out a program to support the availability of 
HA-LEU for civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and 
commercial use.'' DOE is committed to support the development and 
deployment of the HALEU fuel cycle and to acquire and provide HALEU as 
authorized by Congress in Section 2001 of the Energy Act of 2020.
    Low-enriched uranium (LEU) is enriched to less than 20% uranium-235 
(U-235), the main fissile isotope that produces energy during a chain 
reaction. The current U.S. commercial power reactor fuel cycle is based 
on LEU enriched to less than 5% of U-235, but many advanced reactor 
designs require HALEU.
    HALEU is defined as ``uranium having an assay greater than 5.0 
weight percent and less than 20.0 weight percent of the uranium-235 
isotope'' (42 U.S.C. 16281(d)(4)). In the United States, HALEU is 
currently made, in limited quantities, by blending down highly enriched 
uranium (HEU) (enriched to 20% or greater), with natural uranium or 
lower enriched uranium (i.e., ``downblending''). Anticipated demand 
from research reactors, isotope production facilities, and advanced 
nuclear reactors will require more HALEU to be manufactured for 
commercial purposes. The capability to downblend provides insufficient 
capacity to support commercialization of domestic HALEU supply. A 
commercial capability to produce HALEU through enrichment of natural 
uranium or LEU does not exist in the United States.
    DOE predicts that by the mid-2020s, approximately 22 metric tons 
(MT) of HALEU will be needed for initial core loadings to support 
reactor demonstratirons and DOE test and research reactors that were 
converted from HEU fuel. DOE also predicts a HALEU demand of between 8 
and 12 MT of HALEU annually into the early 2030s increasing to over 50 
MT of HALEU per year by 2035, and ultimately over 500 MT of HALEU per 
year by 2050. The lack of an adequate domestic, commercial fuel supply 
could impede both reactor demonstrations and deployment of advanced 
reactor technologies requiring HALEU.
    As indicated by many commercial entities that responded to DOE's 
Request for Information (RFI) Regarding Planning for Establishment of a 
Program to Support the Availability of High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium 
(HALEU) for Civilian Domestic Research, Development, Demonstration, and 
Commercial Use (86 FR 71055, December 2021) (referred to as the 
``RFI''), there is a potential timing/coordination issue with 
developing that capability.
    There is currently insufficient private incentive to invest in 
commercial HALEU production due to the current market base, resulting 
in those interested in designing, building, and operating advanced 
reactor designs that use HALEU fuel being hesitant to invest in the 
technology without a reliable source of HALEU fuel. There is also 
insufficient incentive to invest in the necessary commercial deployment 
of advanced reactors because the domestic HALEU fuel cycle does not 
currently exist. The Energy Act of 2020 aims to stimulate HALEU supply 
to support the development, demonstration, and deployment of advanced 
reactors in a manner that establishes a diversity of supply and healthy 
market forces for the future. This concern is a consistent theme in the 
industry responses to DOE's RFI. These responders emphasized the 
importance of the HALEU consortium that is called for in the Energy Act 
of 2020 and that DOE established on December 7, 2022 (87 FR 75048). 
Responders also emphasized the opportunity for DOE to be an agent for 
stability (both in assuring HALEU availability and market price 
certainty) during the initial phase of HALEU fuel production.
    To address this issue, an initial public/private partnership is 
intended to accelerate development of a sustainable commercial HALEU 
supply capability. If successful, this partnership could provide the 
incentive for the private sector to incrementally expand the capacity 
in a modular fashion as a sustainable market develops.
    On June 5, 2023, the DOE Idaho Operations Office published for 
comment two Draft Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for: (1) HALEU 
enrichment capability in the United States; and (2) U.S. capabilities 
in HALEU deconversion to oxide, metal, or other forms (a final RFP for 
the deconversion RFP was published on November 28, 2023, and the final 
RFP for the enrichment RFP was published on January 9, 2024). Under the 
RFP for Purchase of High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU)--Enrichment 
(the ``Enrichment RFP''), DOE solicited response from industry 
regarding DOE's proposal to acquire, through procurement from 
commercial sources, HALEU as uranium hexafluoride (UF6) 
enriched to a minimum of 19.75 and less than 20 weight percent U-235 as 
soon as possible to secure a more robust, longer-term HALEU production 
capability.
    The enriched UF6 must be deconverted to other forms, 
like oxide or metal, before it can be fabricated into HALEU fuel or put 
to other use. Under the RFP for the Purchase of High-Assay Low-Enriched 
Uranium (HALEU)--Deconversion Services (the ``Deconversion RFP''), DOE 
solicited response from industry regarding DOE's proposal to acquire 
domestic HALEU deconversion services for HALEU and storage until future 
fuel fabrication.

Alternatives

    The Draft HALEU EIS evaluates potential environmental impacts for 
the Proposed Action and the No Action Alternative. The Proposed Action 
is to acquire, through procurement from commercial sources, HALEU 
enriched to at least 19.75 and less than 20.00 weight percent U-235 
over a 10-year period of performance, and to facilitate the 
establishment of commercial HALEU fuel production. The Proposed Action 
implements section 2001(a)(2)(D)(v) of the Energy Act of 2020 for the 
acquisition of HALEU produced by a commercial entity using enrichment 
technology and making it available for commercial use or demonstration 
projects.
    This Draft HALEU EIS addresses the following activities 
facilitating the commercialization of HALEU fuel production and 
acquisition of up to 290 MT of HALEU under the Proposed Action: (1) 
mining, extraction, and recovery of uranium ore producing triuranium 
octoxide (U3O8) (from domestic or foreign in-situ 
recovery or conventional mining and milling sources); (2) uranium 
conversion from

[[Page 16548]]

U3O8 to UF6 for input to enrichment 
facilities; (3) enrichment in up to three steps (a) from natural 
uranium to LEU of no more than 5 weight percent U-235, (b) from LEU to 
HALEU of less than 10 weight percent U-235, and (c) to HALEU of less 
than 20 weight percent U-235; (4) HALEU deconversion from 
UF6 to uranium oxide, metal, and other forms; (5) storage; 
(6) transportation of uranium/HALEU between facilities; and (7) DOE 
acquisition of HALEU of between at least 19.75 weight percent and less 
than 20 weight percent U-235. In addition to the activities above, the 
following actions could result from implementation of the Proposed 
Action: (1) fuel fabrication for a variety of fuel types in a U.S. 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Category II facility; (2) HALEU-
fueled reactor (demonstration and test, power, isotope production) 
operations; and (3) spent fuel storage and disposition. While not 
specifically a part of the Proposed Action, these activities are 
reasonably foreseeable and therefore acknowledged and addressed to the 
extent possible in the Draft HALEU EIS.
    While the Draft HALEU EIS provides information that could be used 
to identify impacts from the construction and operation of HALEU fuel 
cycle facilities, the selection of specific locations and facilities 
will not be a part of the Record of Decision for this EIS.

Preferred Alternative

    The Preferred Alternative is the Proposed Action, to acquire, 
through procurement from commercial sources, HALEU enriched to at least 
19.75 and less than 20 weight percent U-235 over a 10-year period of 
performance, and to facilitate the establishment of commercial HALEU 
fuel production. The No Action Alternative would not implement the 
Proposed Action, leaving development of a domestic commercial supply of 
HALEU to industry or industry would remain reliant on foreign supplies 
of HALEU, contrary to Congressional direction under section 2001 of the 
Energy Act of 2020.

Virtual Public Hearings

    DOE will host three interactive, virtual public hearings during the 
public comment period on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at 6 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. 
ET, and 10 p.m. ET. During these public hearings, DOE will give a brief 
presentation on the Draft HALEU EIS, followed by a period during which 
DOE will accept oral comments on the Draft HALEU EIS. Parties 
interested in providing oral comments are encouraged to preregister for 
the public hearings and indicate their desire to comment. Oral comments 
will be transcribed. Written comments on the Draft HALEU EIS may also 
be submitted during the public comment period as indicated under the 
ADDRESSES section. All comments, received before the end of the comment 
period, whether oral or written, will be considered by DOE as the HALEU 
EIS is finalized. DOE will post information regarding the public 
hearings on the HALEU EIS website at https://www.energy.gov/ne/haleu-environmental-impact-statement. The hearings will also be announced in 
newspapers.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on March 1, 
2024, by Dr. Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, 
pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That 
document with the original signature and date is maintained by the 
Department of Energy. For administrative purposes only, and in 
compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned Department of Energy 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 March 1, 2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024-04799 Filed 3-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P