More information on this proposal is available at http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=DOE_FRDOC_0001-3020
Comment deadline: March 11, 2016
It appears from the Federal Notice that there will be no scoping process public comment period if DOE decides to do an Environmental Impact Statement — see last paragraph highlighted below. That needs to be clarified and contested if so. To be on the safe side, issues that should be covered in the scope of the EIS should be raised in comments filed now.
Direct written comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA to
Tracy Williams
NEPA Compliance Officer
U.S. Department of Energy
P.O. Box B
Aiken, South Carolina 29802
Email comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA to
GermanSpentNuclearFuelEA@leidos.com
Summary
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of its draft environmental assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1977) evaluating the potential environmental impacts from a proposed action to receive, store, process and disposition spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from the Federal Republic of Germany at DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS) (Draft German Spent Nuclear Fuel EA). (1) This SNF is composed of kernels containing thorium and U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium (HEU) embedded in small graphite spheres that were irradiated in research reactors used for experimental and/or demonstration purposes. DOE invites public comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA and is announcing a public meeting.
Dates
The 45-day public comment period extends from the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register through March 11, 2016. DOE will consider all comments received via email by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time or postmarked by that date. Comments submitted after that date and time will be considered to the extent practicable.
Addresses
This Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA is available at the following sites:
http://energy.gov/nepa/office-nepa-policy-and-compliance
http://www.srs.gov/sro/germanheuproj.html
http://www.srs.gov/general/pubs/envbul/nepa1.htm
To request a print copy of the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA please submit your request to Tracy Williams, NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box B, Aiken, South Carolina 29802; or by telephone at (803) 952-8278.
DOE invites Federal agencies, state and local governments, Native American tribes, industry, other organizations, and members of the general public to submit comments on DOE’s Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA. Please direct written comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA to Tracy Williams, NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box B, Aiken, South Carolina 29802.
Comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA may also be submitted by email toGermanSpentNuclearFuelEA@leidos.com. DOE will give equal weight to written comments and oral comments received at the public meeting. Requests to be placed on the German Spent Nuclear Fuel EA mailing list should be directed to Tracy Williams at the postal or email addresses above.
For Further Information Contact
To request further information on SRS spent nuclear fuel disposition activities or background information on the proposed project, please contact Tracy Williams at the address as listed above.
For general information concerning DOE’s NEPA process, contact: Ms. Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GG-54), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message toll-free, at (800) 472-2756; fax (202) 586-7031; or send an email to AskNEPA@hq.doe.gov.
This Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA is available on the DOE NEPA Web site athttp://nepa.energy.gov, and also at the SRS Web site at http://www.srs.gov/general/pubs/envbul/nepa1.htm.
NEPA Process
All comments on the Draft Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA received during the public comment period will be considered and addressed in the Final Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA. DOE will address comments submitted after the close of the public comment period on the Draft EA to the extent practicable. Following the public comment period, and based on the EA and consideration of all comments received, DOE will either issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or announce its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS). If DOE determines that a FONSI is appropriate, both the Final EA and FONSI will be made available to the public.
If DOE determines that an EIS is needed, either during preparation of the Final Spent Nuclear Fuel from Germany EA or after completing the EA, DOE would issue in the Federal Register a Notice to prepare an EIS. In that case, the June 2014 public comment process would serve as the scoping process that normally would follow a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS.
Heal Fukushima 