Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2023 / Notices 63099 

(56,776 burden hours times $87.36 per 

hour.) 

EIA estimates that respondents will 

have no additional costs associated with 

the surveys other than the burden hours 

and the maintenance of the information 

during the normal course of business. 

Comments are invited on whether or 

not: (a) The proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of agency functions, 

including whether the information will 

have a practical utility; (b) EIA’s 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used, is accurate; (c) EIA 

can improve the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information it will collect; 

and (d) EIA can minimize the burden of 

the collection of information on 

respondents, such as automated 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. 

Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b) 

and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on September 

11, 2023. 

Samson A. Adeshiyan, 

Director, Office of Statistical Methods and 

Research, U.S. Energy Information 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19929 Filed 9–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration 

Amended Record of Decision for the 

Production of Tritium in Commercial 

Light Water Reactors 

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security 

Administration, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Amended record of decision. 

SUMMARY: The National Nuclear 

Security Administration (NNSA), a 

semi-autonomous agency within the 

Department of Energy (DOE), is 

announcing this amendment to the June 

22, 2016, Record of Decision (ROD) for 

the Final Supplemental Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Production of 

Tritium in a Commercial Light Water 

Reactor (CLWR SEIS) (DOE/EIS–0288– 

S1). NNSA is amending the 2016 

decision in partnership with the 

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). TVA 

is considering increasing the number of 

TPBARs irradiated in their reactors at 

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN) using 

tritium-producing burnable absorber 

rods (TPBARs). NNSA initially decided 

to implement the CLWR SEIS Preferred 

Alternative, Alternative 6, which allows 

for the irradiation of up to a total of 

5,000 TPBARs every 18 months using 

TVA reactors at both the Watts Bar and 

Sequoyah sites. Subsequent to the 

CLWR SEIS, WBN Unit 1 increased 

tritium production under Unit 1 License 

Amendment #107 (July 2016) and Unit 

2 tritium production was authorized 

under Unit 2 License Amendment #27 

(May 2019). Hence, TVA and NNSA are 

now opting to choose the previously 

analyzed CLWR SEIS Alternative 4, 

which allows for the irradiation of up to 

a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 18 

months at the Watts Bar site using Watts 

Bar Units 1 and 2. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on NNSA’s NEPA process, 

please contact Mr. James Sanderson, 

NEPA Compliance Officer, National 

Nuclear Security Administration, Office 

of General Counsel, Telephone (202) 

586–1402; or by email to 

jim.sanderson@nnsa.doe.gov. This 

Amended Record of Decision is 

available on the internet at https://

energy.gov/nepa. The 2016 ROD, the 

CLWR SEIS, and related NEPA 

documents are available on the DOE 

NEPA website at https://

www.energy.gov/nepa/doeenvironmental-impact-statements. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NNSA is 

the lead Federal agency responsible for 

maintaining and enhancing the safety, 

security, reliability, and performance of 

the United States (U.S.) nuclear 

weapons stockpile. Tritium, a 

radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is an 

essential component of every weapon in 

the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and 

must be replenished periodically due to 

its short half-life. In March 1999, DOE 

published the 1999 EIS, which 

addressed the production of tritium in 

the TVA’s Watts Bar and Sequoyah 

nuclear reactors using TPBARs. The 

1999 EIS assessed the potential 

environmental impacts of irradiating up 

to 3,400 TPBARs per reactor per fuel 

cycle (a fuel cycle lasts about 18 

months). On May 14, 1999, DOE 

published the ROD for the 1999 EIS (64 

FR 26369) in which it announced its 

decision to enter into an agreement with 

TVA to irradiate TPBARs in the Watts 

Bar Unit 1 reactor (Watts Bar 1) in Rhea 

County, Tennessee, near Spring City; 

and Sequoyah Units 1 and 2 reactors 

(Sequoyah 1 and 2) in Hamilton County, 

Tennessee, near Soddy-Daisy. In 2002, 

TVA received license amendments from 

the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission (NRC) to irradiate TPBARs 

in those reactors. (However, TVA’s 

license for the Sequoyah reactors no 

longer allows for the irradiation of 

TPBARs.) Since 2003, TVA has been 

irradiating TPBARs for NNSA by 

irradiating TPBARs only in Watts Bar 1. 

(In 2020, TVA began irradiating TPBARs 

in Watts Bar 2.) After irradiation, NNSA 

transports the TPBARs to the Tritium 

Extraction Facility at the DOE Savannah 

River Site in South Carolina. NNSA’s 

Interagency Agreement with TVA to 

irradiate TPBARs is in effect until the 

earlier of either (a) November 30, 2035, 

or (b) the date TVA no longer has a 

pressurized water reactor in operation. 

NNSA prepared the 2016 CLWR SEIS 

to update the environmental analyses in 

the 1999 Final Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Production of Tritium 

in a Commercial Light Water Reactor 

(DOE/EIS–0288; the 1999 EIS). The 2016 

CLWR SEIS provides analysis of the 

potential environmental impacts from 

TPBAR irradiation based on a 

conservative estimate of the tritium 

permeation rate through the TPBAR 

cladding, NNSA’s revised estimate of 

the maximum number of TPBARs 

necessary to support the current and 

projected future tritium supply 

requirements, and a maximum 

production scenario of irradiating no 

more than a total of 5,000 TPBARs every 

18 months. NNSA initially decided to 

implement the Preferred Alternative, 

Alternative 6, which allows for the 

irradiation of up to a total of 5,000 

TPBARs every 18 months using TVA 

reactors at both the Watts Bar and 

Sequoyah sites. Although near-term 

tritium requirements could likely be met 

with the irradiation of 2,500 TPBARs 

every 18 months, at the time, this 

decision provided the greatest flexibility 

to meet potential future needs that 

could arise from various plausible but 

unexpected events. Subsequent to the 

2016 SEIS, WBN Unit 1 increased the 

irradiation of TPBARs under Unit 1 

License Amendment #107 (July 2016) 

and Unit 2 TPBAR irradiation was 

authorized under Unit 2 License 

Amendment #27 (May 2019). Hence, 

TVA and NNSA are now opting to 

choose the previously analyzed CLWR 

SEIS Alternative 4, which allows for the 

irradiation of up to a total of 5,000 

TPBARs every 18 months at the Watts 

Bar site using Watts Bar 1 and 2. TVA 

noted new information or circumstances 

relevant to environmental concerns that 

could potentially have a bearing on the 

current proposal or its impacts. This 

new information was analyzed in a 

February 6, 2023 TVA memorandum, 

‘‘Determination of NEPA Adequacy, 

Production of Tritium in a Commercial 

Light Water Nuclear Reactor (Watts Bar 

Nuclear Plant), Tennessee Valley 

Authority.’’ In this memo, TVA 

addressed their recent review of the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
63100 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 177 / Thursday, September 14, 2023 / Notices 

2016 CLWR SEIS to determine if 

additional environmental review under 

NEPA was needed, consistent with CEQ 

regulations at 40 CFR 1502.9(d). The 

analysis demonstrated that the current 

proposal does not represent a 

substantive change to operations, 

activities, and associated impacts 

assessed in existing NEPA 

documentation. Both the TVA analysis 

and the CLWR SEIS analysis indicate 

that there would not be any significant 

increase in radiation exposure 

associated with TPBAR irradiation for 

facility workers or the public. For all 

analyzed alternatives (including both 

Alternatives 4 and 6), estimated 

radiation exposures would remain well 

below regulatory limits. The calculated 

estimated exposures for normal reactor 

operations with even the maximum 

number of TPBARs are comparable to 

those for normal reactor operation 

without TPBARs. 

Amended Decision 

NNSA is amending its previous 

decision (81 FR 40685), which was to 

choose the 2016 CLWR SEIS’s 

Alternative 6 that assumes TVA would 

irradiate up to a total of 5,000 TPBARs 

every 18 months using both the Watts 

Bar and Sequoyah sites. Because TVA 

would irradiate a maximum of 2,500 

TPBARs in any one reactor, this could 

involve the use of one or both reactors 

at each of the sites. Instead, NNSA’s 

new decision is to choose the 2016 

CLWR SEIS’s Alternative 4 that assumes 

TVA would irradiate up to a total of 

5,000 TPBARs every 18 months at the 

Watts Bar site using Watts Bar 1 and 2 

reactors. Since TVA would irradiate a 

maximum of 2,500 TPBARs in any one 

reactor, this would involve use of both 

Watts Bar reactors. Under this decision, 

TVA will not irradiate TPBARs for 

tritium production at the Sequoyah site. 

Basis for Decision 

The environmental impacts of this 

proposed action have been addressed in 

previous environmental impact 

statements, i.e., the 1999 Final EIS for 

the Production of Tritium in a 

Commercial Light Water Reactor (DOE/ 

EIS–0288) and the 2016 CLWR SEIS. 

However, TVA staff reviewed new 

information or circumstances relevant to 

environmental concerns that could 

potentially have a bearing on the current 

proposal or its impacts. This new 

information was analyzed in a February 

6, 2023 TVA memorandum, i.e., 

‘‘Determination of NEPA Adequacy, 

Production of Tritium in a Commercial 

Light Water Nuclear Reactor (Watts Bar 

Nuclear Plant), Tennessee Valley 

Authority.’’ In this memo, TVA 

addresses their recent review of the 

2016 CLWR SEIS to determine if 

additional environmental review under 

NEPA was needed, consistent with CEQ 

regulations at 40 CFR 1502.9(d). During 

an interagency teleconference held in 

May 2021, NNSA requested information 

from TVA to help NNSA in its 

determination of the adequacy of the 

2016 SEIS as far as TVA’s updated 

proposal. Additional information given 

to NNSA addresses anticipated effects 

on the amount of spent fuel to be 

generated at Watts Bar, the fuel cycle 

there, and the amount of tritiated 

wastewater estimated to be generated 

from TPBAR irradiation. In terms of the 

amount of spent fuel to be generated at 

Watts Bar, TVA’s current proposal 

would result in 36 additional fuel 

assemblies every 18 months. The SEIS 

assumed up to 41 additional fuel 

assemblies, so it provides a conservative 

bounding analysis of the approximately 

2500 TPBAR equilibrium core designs. 

There would be additional spent fuel 

generated with the new proposal. 

However, TVA has assured NNSA that 

it has infrastructure in place to manage 

the increased volume of spent nuclear 

fuel assemblies. Regarding the new 

proposal’s effects on the fuel cycle, the 

cycle length is only mentioned in the 

SEIS twice, and only in the context of 

being a ‘‘potential uncertainty’’ in 

determining if it was necessary to 

assume in the SEIS a higher, more 

conservative tritium permeation rate. 

TVA does not consider the operating 

cycle length to be uncertain, and it also 

does not anticipate that irradiation of up 

to 2500 TPBARs at each reactor would 

affect the typical fuel cycle. Therefore, 

the issue has no bearing on the review 

for adequacy of the SEIS for any future 

TVA action to irradiate up to 5000 

TPBARs at Watts Bar. Lastly, the 

estimated amount of tritiated 

wastewater (due to permeation from the 

TPBARs into the cooling water) was not 

identified in the SEIS, as it is difficult 

to separate this out from other releases 

from such things as turbine building 

sumps, floor drain collector sumps, 

groundwater sumps, etc. However, to 

keep maximum tritium concentrations 

low, TVA will use a ‘‘feed and bleed’’ 

technique, which will require additional 

cooling water per fuel cycle in order to 

ensure that TVA discharges are within 

regulatory limits. TVA estimates that 

using this technique will increase water 

usage by approximately 25% but is not 

expected to affect environmental 

impacts. The current proposal does not 

represent a substantive change to 

operations, activities, and associated 

impacts assessed in existing NEPA 

documentation. Therefore, the decision 

to choose the previously analyzed 2016 

CLWR SEIS Alternative 4, along with 

the updated analysis provided by TVA 

(summarized previously) and confirmed 

by NNSA, is reasonable, and 

accordingly, no further NEPA analysis 

of this TVA proposal is required. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Department of 

Energy was signed on June 29, 2023, by 

Jill Hruby, Under Secretary for Nuclear 

Security and Administrator, NNSA, 

pursuant to delegated authority from the 

Secretary of Energy. That document 

with the original signature and date is 

maintained by DOE. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DOE 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 September 

11, 2023. 

Treena V. Garrett, 

Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. 

Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19909 Filed 9–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP23–82–000] 

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; 

Notice of Availability of the 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Proposed Lucas and Pavonia Wells 

Abandonment Project 

The staff of the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC or 

Commission) has prepared an 

environmental assessment (EA) for the 

Lucas and Pavonia Wells Abandonment 

Project, proposed by Columbia Gas 

Transmission, LLC (Columbia) in the 

above-referenced docket. Columbia 

requests authorization to abandon 37 

injection/withdrawal wells and 

associated pipelines and appurtenances 

at its existing certificated Lucas and 

Pavonia Storage Fields in Ashland and 

Richland Counties, Ohio. 

The EA assesses the potential 

environmental effects of the 

construction and operation of the Lucas 

and Pavonia Wells Abandonment 

Project in accordance with the 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1