[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 173 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46790-46792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-22608]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
Construction and Operation of a Tritium Extraction Facility at the
Savannah River Site
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for construction and operation
of a Tritium Extraction Facility (TEF) pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 USC 4321 et
seq.). In the Record of Decision (ROD) for the Tritium Supply and
Recycling Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement issued
December 5, 1995, and published in the Federal Register on December 12,
1995 (60 FR 63878), DOE decided to construct and operate a Tritium
Extraction Facility (TEF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS) as part of a
dual track strategy to ensure a supply of tritium to support the
continuing nuclear weapons stockpile of the United States. One of the
strategy tracks is the Commercial Light Water Reactor (CLWR)
alternative, and the other is an accelerator system for tritium
production. The primary tritium source will be selected within three
years of the ROD issuance. The TEF would be built at SRS, and would be
capable of extracting tritium both from CLWR targets and from an
alternate design for accelerator targets. (The primary accelerator
design would use a different technology to extract tritium.) This site-
specific EIS would analyze the environmental impacts of construction
and operation of the proposed TEF.
DOE has also decided to prepare an EIS for Accelerator Production
of Tritium (APT) at the SRS. That EIS will be the subject of a separate
Notice of Intent (NOI), but will have scoping meetings concurrent with
the TEF process.
DATES: The public scoping period will be open until November 1, 1996.
Written comments submitted by mail should be postmarked by that date to
ensure consideration. DOE will consider comments mailed after that date
to the extent practicable. DOE will conduct public scoping meetings to
assist in defining the appropriate scope of the EIS and identifying
significant environmental issues to be addressed. Meetings for the TEF
EIS and the APT EIS will be held concurrently, with separate workshops
possible depending upon attendance levels. Notices of the dates, times,
and locations of the scoping meetings will be announced in the local
media at least 15 days before the meetings.
ADDRESSES: Please direct written comments or suggestions on the scope
of the EIS, requests to speak at the public scoping meetings, and
questions concerning the project to: Mr. Andrew R. Grainger, U.S.
Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office, P.O. Box 5031,
Aiken, S.C. 29804-5031, 1-800-242-8269, E-mail: nepa@barms036.b-r.com.
Mark the envelopes: ``Tritium Extraction Facility EIS Comments''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE
NEPA process, please contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office
of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-0119, telephone 202-
586-4600 or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The SRS is an 800 square kilometer (300
square mile) controlled access area located in
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southwestern South Carolina. The Site is approximately 25 miles
southeast of Augusta, Georgia, and 20 miles south of Aiken, South
Carolina. Since its establishment, the mission of the SRS has been to
produce nuclear materials that support the defense, research, and
medical programs of the United States.
With the end of the Cold War and the reduction in the size of the
U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, there is no longer a requirement to
produce new nuclear materials for defense purposes, with the exception
of tritium. As a result, activities at SRS have shifted from nuclear
material production to cleanup and environmental restoration. All
production reactors are permanently shut down. However, a new source of
tritium is needed to support the nuclear weapons stockpile well into
the twenty-first century. Tritium has a relatively short half life
(12.3 years) and therefore must be periodically replenished in each
weapon in the stockpile.
The Department evaluated the programmatic need for a new tritium
source in a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for
Tritium Supply and Recycling (DOE/EIS-0161, October 1995). Based on the
findings in the PEIS and other technical, cost, and schedule
evaluations, the Department issued a Record of Decision (ROD) on
December 5, 1995 (60 FR 63877, December 12, 1995). In the ROD, the
Department decided to pursue a dual-track approach on the two most
promising tritium supply alternatives: (1) To initiate purchase of an
existing commercial reactor (operating or partially complete) for
conversion to a defense facility, or purchase of irradiation services
with an option to purchase the reactor; and (2) to design, build, and
test critical components of an accelerator system for tritium
production. Within a three-year period, the Department would select one
of these approaches to serve as the primary source of tritium. The
other alternative, if feasible, would continue to be developed as a
backup tritium source. SRS was selected as the location for an
accelerator, should one be built. Under the ROD, the tritium recycling
facilities at SRS would be upgraded and consolidated and a tritium
extraction facility would be constructed at SRS to support both of the
dual-track options.
The Department's strategy for compliance with NEPA has been, first,
to make decisions on programmatic alternatives as described and
evaluated in the Tritium Supply and Recycling PEIS. This evaluation was
intended to be followed by site-specific analyses to implement the
selected programmatic decisions. The decisions made in the December 5,
1995 ROD have resulted in the Department proposing to prepare the
following NEPA documents:
1. An EIS for the Selection of One or More Commercial Light Water
Reactors for Tritium Production;
2. An EIS for the Construction and Operation of an Accelerator for
the Production of Tritium at the Savannah River Site;
3. An Environmental Assessment for the Tritium Facility
Modernization and Consolidation at the Savannah River Site; and
4. An EIS for the Construction and Operation of a Tritium
Extraction Facility at the Savannah River Site.
The EIS proposed by this Notice of Intent is the fourth of the
proposed NEPA documents listed above.
Proposed Action: The Department proposes to construct and operate a
TEF at the SRS. The overall mission of the TEF would be to extract
tritium gas from targets irradiated in a CLWR or an accelerator, and
deliver weapons-quality tritium to the Tritium Loading Facility, also
known as the Replacement Tritium Facility, Building 233-H, at the SRS.
The TEF would also be capable of extracting tritium from the
accelerator alternate target design (lithium-6 aluminum alloy), if
required. (The primary design for the accelerator calls for use of
helium-3 gas as a target material and for continuous removal of tritium
in a tritium separation facility co-located with the accelerator.) The
proposed action includes co-location of the TEF with Building 233-H,
and the design of the TEF for an operating life of about 40 years.
Under the proposed action, the TEF would share common plant support
facilities with Building 233-H. Construction of the TEF would require 4
to 5 years. The TEF would be a hardened concrete industrial structure,
partially below ground.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action: DOE has identified two
preliminary alternatives to the proposed action. Comments on these
alternatives, or identification and comment on other reasonable
alternatives, are welcome.
The No Action alternative is not to build the proposed Tritium
Extraction Facility. Under this alternative, the facility would not be
constructed. At the SRS, tritium can be extracted from heavy water
reactor targets in the Tritium Extraction, Concentration and Enrichment
Facility (Building 232-H), but there are no facilities in operation to
fabricate or irradiate heavy water reactor targets. Currently, the
Tritium Extraction, Concentration and Enrichment Facility cannot
extract tritium safely from light water reactor targets or the
accelerator alternate targets (lithium-6 aluminum alloy) without
process modifications, in sufficient quantities to meet stockpile
demands. Therefore, under this alternative, the stockpile demands for
tritium could not be met if the existing commercial reactor option is
selected for tritium production, or if the alternative target is used
in the accelerator.
The second alternative is to make substantial modifications to
Building 232-H, the Tritium Extraction, Concentration and Enrichment
Facility. This facility is currently in use for tritium extraction but
would require modification to attain safety and environmental
performance requirements for tritium extraction from light water
irradiated targets. Under this alternative, this existing facility
would be modified to receive and handle remotely the light water
reactor or accelerator-irradiated targets; no new building would be
constructed. Additionally, a new furnace would be needed to achieve the
required extraction temperatures and comply with current environmental
requirements.
Identification of Environmental and Other Issues: The Department
has identified the following issues for analysis for proposed and
alternative actions in the EIS. Additional issues may be identified as
a result of the scoping process.
1. Public and Worker Safety, Health Risk Assessment: radiological
and nonradiological impacts of the proposed action and alternatives,
including projected effects on workers and the public from
construction, normal operations, and accidents.
2. Impacts from releases to air, water, and soil.
3. Impacts to plants, animals, and habitat, including impacts to
wetlands and threatened or endangered species and their habitat.
4. The consumption of natural resources and energy including water,
natural gas, and electricity.
5. Socioeconomic impacts to affected communities from construction
and operation labor forces and support services in the SRS area.
6. Environmental justice: disproportionately high and adverse human
health or environmental effects on minority and low-income populations.
7. Impacts to resources such as historically, archaeologically,
scientifically, or culturally important sites.
8. Compliance with all applicable Federal, state, and local
statutes and regulations; required Federal and state
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environmental consultations and notifications; and DOE Orders on waste
management, waste minimization initiatives, and environmental
protection.
9. Cumulative impacts from the proposed action and other past,
present, and reasonably foreseeable actions at SRS.
10. Potential irreversible and irretrievable commitments of
resources.
Public Scoping Process: DOE will conduct public scoping meetings to
assist in defining the appropriate scope of the EIS and to identify
significant environmental issues to be addressed. Because another EIS
for a separate tritium-related activity at SRS is commencing
simultaneously (the APT; see the notice in today's Federal Register),
the public scoping meetings for the TEF will be held concurrently with
the public scoping meetings for the APT EIS. DOE will begin each
scoping meeting with an overview of tritium activities at SRS.
Following the initial presentation, DOE will hold workshops on the APT
and the TEF. These will either be separate workshops or a combined
workshop depending on attendance levels. There will be two sessions at
each meeting location. Copies of handouts from the meetings will be
available to those unable to attend by writing Mr. Grainger at the
address above, or by calling 1-800-242-8269.
Public notices of the dates, times, and locations of the scoping
meetings will be announced in the local media at least 15 days before
the meetings. DOE is committed to providing opportunities for the
involvement of interested individuals and groups in this and other DOE
planning activities.
The public, organizations, and agencies are invited to present oral
and written comments concerning (1) the scope and issues of the EIS,
and (2) the alternatives the EIS should analyze. Please address written
comments to Mr. Grainger at the address indicated above.
Organizations and individuals wishing to participate in the public
meeting can call 1-800-242-8269 between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM. Eastern
Standard Time, Monday through Friday, or submit their requests to Mr.
Grainger at the address indicated above. DOE requests that anyone who
wishes to speak at the scoping meeting preregister by contacting Mr.
Grainger, either by phone or in writing. Preregistration should occur
at least two days before the designated meeting. Persons who have not
preregistered to speak may register at the meeting and will be called
on to speak as time permits.
Related Documentation: Completed and ongoing environmental reviews
and public comments and concerns may affect the scope of this EIS.
Background information is listed below on past, present, and future
activities at the SRS.
Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Tritium
Supply and Recycling, DOE/EIS-0161, 1995. This PEIS presents a
programmatic environmental analysis for selection of the CLWR option,
as well as the analysis for the APT technology, both of which would
require the TEF to support the lithium-6 aluminum alloy target
alternative.
Final Interim Management of Nuclear Materials Environmental Impact
Statement, DOE/EIS-0220, 1995. This EIS contains information on DOE
waste management activities which could be affected by TEF waste
streams.
Final Savannah River Site Waste Management, DOE/EIS-0217, 1995. The
EIS contains information on SRS waste management activities which could
be affected by TEF waste streams.
Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Stockpile
Stewardship and Management, DOE/EIS-0236, February, 1996. The
cumulative analysis of this PEIS includes the impacts at the Savannah
River Site from the Tritium Supply and Recycling Programmatic EIS for
the construction of an accelerator, an upgraded tritium recycling
facility, and an extraction facility.
Environmental Impact Statement for the Construction and Operation
of an Accelerator for the Production of Tritium at the Savannah River
Site (see notice in today's Federal Register).
Environmental Assessment for the Tritium Facility Modernization and
Consolidation (anticipated). The environmental assessment is to include
the impacts of modernizing and consolidating the existing tritium
recycling facilities at the Savannah River Site.
This information is available in these DOE public reading rooms:
DOE Freedom of Information Reading Room, Room 1E-190, Forrestal
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585, phone
202-586-6020; and DOE Public Document Room, University of South
Carolina, Aiken Campus, University Library, 2nd Floor, 171 University
Parkway, Aiken, S.C. 29801, phone 803-648-6851.
Issued in Washington, D.C., this 29th day of August, 1996.
Peter N. Brush,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 96-22608 Filed 9-4-96; 8:45 am]
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