[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]
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