Two nuclear watchdog organizations on Friday said they had requested that Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz order a new site-wide environmental impact statement for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee.
The updated EIS is necessary after the department amended its 2011 record of decision for the new Uranium Processing Facility, changing the plan from building a single “Capability-sized UPF” building to constructing multiple structures and maintaining operations at the existing Buildings 9202-2E Building 9215, according to an Oct. 27 letter to Moniz from the Oak Ridge, Tenn., Environmental Peace Alliance and Nuclear Watch New Mexico.
“The Amended Record of Decision for the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) is a significant change from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s July 2011 Record of Decision for the Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” the letter says. “As an agency within the Department of Energy, NNSA is required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement if “there are substantial changes to the proposal or significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental concerns.” (10 CFR § 1021.314(a); 40 CFR § 1502.9(c)).”
On the question of significant new circumstances, the groups cited potential damage from earthquakes to the decades-old Buildings 9202-2E and 9215, along with the 2014 finding of a radioactive debris field during site preparation operations for the Uranium Processing Facility.
The organizations have requested a response within 30 days.
DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration aims to complete the Uranium Processing Facility by 2025 at a cost of no more than $6.5 billion.
