Louisiana Energy Service's Proposed National Enrichment Facility; Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement

Résumé

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on the proposed construction, operation, and decommissioning of the National Enrichment Facility (NEF), a gaseous centrifuge uranium enrichment facility, near Eunice, New Mexico. The FEIS is being issued as part of the NRC's decision-making process on whether to authorize Louisiana Energy Services (LES) to construct, operate, and decommission the proposed NEF. The proposed NEF would produce enriched uranium-235 ( 235 U) up to 5 weight percent by the gas centrifuge process with a nominal production of 3 million separative work units per year. The enriched uranium would be used in commercial nuclear power plants. The FEIS discusses the purpose and need for the proposed NEF, and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action, including the no-action alternative. The FEIS also discusses the environment potentially affected by the proposed action, presents and compares potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed action and its alternatives, and identifies the mitigation measures proposed by LES to eliminate or lessen the potential environmenta