Federal Register - Notice of Availability of Draft Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Draft Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft GNEP PEIS, DOE/EIS–0396). The Draft GNEP PEIS provides an analysis of the potential environmental consequences of the reasonable alternatives to support expansion of domestic and international nuclear energy production while reducing the risks associated with nuclear proliferation and reducing the impacts associated with spent nuclear fuel disposal (e.g., by reducing the volume, thermal output, and/or radiotoxicity of waste requiring geologic disposal). Based on the GNEP PEIS and other information, DOE could decide to<br/>support the demonstration and deployment of changes to the existing commercial nuclear fuel cycle in the United States. Alternatives analyzed include the existing open fuel cycle and various alternative closed and open fuel cycles. In an open (or once-through) fuel<br/>cycle, nuclear fuel is used in a power plant one time and the resulting spent nuclear fuel is stored for eventual disposal in a geologic repository. In a closed fuel cycle, spent nuclear fuel would be recycled to recover energy bearing components for use in new nuclear fuel. Six programmatic domestic alternatives are assessed: No Action Alternative—Existing Once-Through Uranium Fuel Cycle (open fuel cycle); Fast Reactor Recycle Fuel Cycle Alternative (closed fuel cycle); Thermal/Fast Reactor Recycle Fuel Cycle Alternative (closed fuel cycle); Thermal<br/>Reactor Recycle Fuel Cycle Alternative (closed fuel cycle); Once-Through Fuel Cycle Alternative using Thorium (open fuel cycle); and Once-Through Fuel Cycle Alternative using Heavy Water Reactors (HWRs) or High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors (HTGRs) (open fuel cycle). DOE’s preference is to close the nuclear fuel cycle, although it has not yet identified a specific preferred alternative.