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Judge voids UPF decision, requires more seismic hazard analysis

Posted at 10:10 pm September 24, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 Uranium Processing Facility
Structural steel installation is under way on the eastern half of the Main Process Building of the Uranium Processing Facility, the Y-12 National Security Complex said Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. (Photo courtesy CNS Y-12)

Note This story was last updated at 9:38 a.m. Sept. 25.

A federal judge in Knoxville on Tuesday said a critical decision made in 2016 for enriched uranium operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex, including for the $6.5 billion Uranium Processing Facility, violated a national environmental law, and she ordered the decision vacated, or set aside.

The UPF is already under construction, and Wedenesday morning, the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees work at Y-12, said construction will continue.

The 104-page opinion and order was filed in U.S. District Court on Tuesday by Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela L. Reeves.

One of the plaintiffs said the decision to vacate the amended record of decision published in the Federal Register in 2016 means the NNSA no longer has the legal authority to continue construction work at UPF.

But the NNSA said it was pleased that the court’s memorandum opinion rejected almost all of the plaintiff’s claims regarding National Environmental Policy Act violations related to UPF construction.

“However, with the court agreeing that there was inadequate consideration of new information concerning seismic hazards at Y-12, NNSA will review the seismic analysis while conferring with the Department of Justice on the possibility of appeal,” the NNSA said. “In the meantime, construction of UPF will proceed.”

Besides the amended record of decision, Reeves said supplement analyses prepared in 2016 and 2018 also violated the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, and she said they were to be set aside as well.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Courts, Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, United States, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: environmental impact statement, lawsuit, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, NEPA, NNSA, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Pamela L. Reeves, Ralph Hutchison, record of decision, seismic hazard, supplement analysis, U.S. Department of Energy, UPF, UPF construction, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

UPF lawsuit: NNSA considering new, supplemental environmental impact statement for Y-12

Posted at 1:35 pm May 21, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

With a lawsuit pending, federal officials are considering whether a new or supplemental environmental impact statement is needed for the Y-12 National Security Complex after design plans changed for the Uranium Processing Facility, the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II.

As part of the process, the National Nuclear Security Administration is preparing what is known as a supplement analysis, or SA. A draft of the new SA has been issued, and you can read it on the Y-12 website.

Comments on the draft supplement analysis can be submitted through June 20.

The final new supplement analysis and a record of decision could be issued by July 27, although the schedule is subject to change, according to a joint status report filed in U.S. District Court in Knoxville on May 11. The record of decision is expected to say whether a new or supplemental environmental impact statement is required for Y-12.

There was a site-wide environmental impact statement, or EIS, prepared for Y-12 in 2011. About five years later, in 2016, there was a supplement analysis prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act. It was connected to the decision by the NNSA and U.S. Department of Energy to not prepare a new or supplemental environmental impact statement after the NNSA decided on a new multi-building design for the UPF, rather than a single-building design, as part of an effort to keep project costs down, among other considerations. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Courts, Federal, Front Page News, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, United States, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Administrative Procedure Act, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DOE, Ed Sullivan, environmental impact statement, Frank G. Klotz, Jack Carl Hoefer, James Richard “Rick” Perry, James Richard “Rick” Perry and Frank G. Klotz, Linda Ewald, Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, Natural Resources Defense Council, NNSA, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Pamela L. Reeves, Ralph Hutchison, record of decision, site-wide environmental impact statement, summary judgement, supplement analysis, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. District Court, U.S. Geological Survey, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

UPF lawsuit moved from DC to Knoxville

Posted at 8:13 am April 5, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

A rendering of the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Image from May 2017 courtesy of NNSA)

A rendering of the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (Image from May 2017 courtesy of NNSA)

 

The federal lawsuit that asks for an environmental review of the new multi-building design for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been transferred from Washington, D.C., to Knoxville.

The transfer of the civil complaint had been requested in September by the defendants, U.S. Energy Secretary James Richard “Rick” Perry and Frank G. Klotz, former administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration. The NNSA is an agency within the U.S. Department of Energy that manages nuclear weapons programs and facilities, including Y-12, among other activities.

United States District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, who was assigned the case in December, granted the motion to transfer the lawsuit from the District of Columbia to U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, which includes the Knoxville division, on March 23.

The 44-page federal lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on July 20, argues that a new environmental impact statement should be prepared for the new design for the UPF, the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II. The plaintiffs allege that the NNSA’s decision to use several new buildings for the UPF, rather than just one, and continue to use some old buildings at Y-12 for some nuclear weapons work is risky because the old buildings could collapse during a major earthquake, possibly leading to a nuclear accident that could release radiological materials.

Federal officials denied that allegation and others in a 29-page response filed September 29. They’ve called some allegations vague, ambiguous, or speculative, and they have said that safety and technical analyses are under way at Y-12. Some buildings may require seismic upgrades, depending upon evaluation results, and an Extended Life Program is meant to ensure that two buildings—Building 9215 and Building 9204-2E—will safely support future operations, federal officials said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Courts, Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy, United States, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Administrative Procedure Act, Amended Record of Decision, Dabney L. Friedrich, District of Columbia, Eastern District of Tennessee, Ed Sullivan, environmental impact statement, federal lawsuit, Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement, Frank G. Klotz, highly enriched uranium, Jack Carl Hoefer, James Richard “Rick” Perry, Linda Ewald, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, Natural Resources Defense Council, NEPA, NNSA, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons work, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Ralph Hutchison, record of decision, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. District Court, UPF, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

DOE, NNSA deny alleged risk of ‘catastrophic collapse’ of old Y-12 buildings

Posted at 11:16 pm October 23, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 Building 9212

A low-level aerial shot of Building 9212 at the Y-12 National Security Complex, one of the buildings mentioned in a federal lawsuit filed in July over the proposed Uranium Processing Facility.

 

Note: This story was updated at 8:30 a.m.

The plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court in July alleged that there is a risk of a catastrophic collapse of old buildings containing nuclear weapon components at the Y-12 National Security Complex, possibly due to a large earthquake. A catastrophic collapse “would likely” result in the release of nuclear or toxic materials and place the environment and local residents in “extreme peril,” the plaintiffs said.

But federal officials denied that allegation and others in a response filed in late September.

The 44-page civil complaint, which is related to the planned Uranium Processing Facility at Y-12, was filed July 20 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The seven plaintiffs include three public interest organizations—Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, and Natural Resources Defense Council of Washington, D.C.—and four people who live in Oak Ridge and Knoxville.

The federal lawsuit asked for an environmental review of the new design for the UPF, where design plans have changed from one building to three. The lawsuit alleged that the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration have violated a federal environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, as they implement the major design change.

Specifically, the plaintiffs have requested a new supplemental environmental impact statement or a new site-wide environmental impact statement for the revised UPF design. They cited the decision to build several new buildings and the plan to continue using existing buildings that the plaintiffs say have significant structural defects. They want the U.S. District Court to vacate, or void, a supplement analysis and an amended record of decision prepared by the NNSA in 2016. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, National Nuclear Security Administration, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: 9215 Complex, Administrative Procedure Act, Building 9204-2E, Building 9212, catastrophic collapse, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Ed Sullivan, Frank Klotz, Jack Carl Hoefer, lawsuit, Linda Ewald, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, NEPA, NNSA, nuclear materials, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico Natural Resources Defense Council, nuclear weapon components, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, OREPA, Ralph Hutchison, record of decision, Rick Perry, site-wide environmental impact statement, supplement analysis, supplemental environmental impact statement, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. District Court, UPF, UPF design, uranium processing facility, Y-12 National Security Complex

Federal lawsuit asks for environmental review of new UPF design

Posted at 5:23 pm July 23, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

OREPA-Ralph-Hutchison-Aug-6-2016-2

Ralph Hutchison, coordinator of the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, is pictured above during a rally at Alvin K. Bissell Park on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2016. (File photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

A lawsuit filed Thursday alleges that the U.S. Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration have violated a federal environmental law, and the civil complaint asks for an environmental review of the new design for the Uranium Processing Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the largest federal construction project in Tennessee since World War II.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia by several public interest organizations—Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico, and Natural Resources Defense Council of Washington, D.C.— and four people: Ed Sullivan of Oak Ridge, and Ralph Hutchison, Jack Carl Hoefer, and Linda Ewald, all of Knoxville.

The defendants are Energy Secretary James Richard “Rick” Perry and NNSA Administrator Frank G. Klotz.

The complaint alleges that the NNSA is taking, but failing to consider, grave risks with safety and the potential environmental impacts of the nation’s nuclear weapons program, in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.

It says the NNSA has refused to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement, or SEIS, to consider important new information about the serious vulnerability of the new design for UPF, which is supposed to be completed by 2025 for no more than $6.5 billion. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Government, National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: Administrative Procedure Act, Ed Sullivan, environmental review, Jack Carl Hoefer, James Richard “Rick” Perry, Linda Ewald, Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP, National Environmental Policy Act, National Nuclear Security Administration, NEPA, NEPA analysis, NNSA, Nuclear Watch of New Mexico Natural Resources Defense Council, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, Ralph Hutchison, record of decision, SEIS, site-wide environmental impact statement, supplemental environmental impact statement, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. District Court, UPF, uranium processing facility, William Lawton, Y-12 National Security Complex

Construction on Y-12 mercury treatment plant could start in 2018, cost $146 million

Posted at 2:28 pm September 10, 2015
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Y-12 Process Buildings and Mercury Use Area

Note: This story was last updated at 3:30 p.m.

Construction on a mercury treatment plant at the Y-12 National Security Complex could start in 2018 and cost $146 million, a federal official said Wednesday.

The plant would treat mercury contamination that originates in the West End Mercury Area at Y-12, flows through storm drains, and enters Upper East Fork Poplar Creek at a point known as Outfall 200. East Fork Poplar Creek flows through Oak Ridge.

The U.S. Department of Energy has evaluated several alternatives for treating the mercury, including doing nothing. But DOE prefers an option that would treat 3,000 gallons of contaminated water per minute and store two million gallons of stormwater. It could reduce the flow of mercury, a toxic metal, by an estimated 84 percent. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge Office, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy, Y-12, Y-12 National Security Complex Tagged With: 2013 DOE Tennessee Science Bowl, Alpha 2, Alpha 4, Alpha 5, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Beta 4, Claude Buttram, East Fork Poplar Creek, EPA, Jason Darby, Lamar Alexander, lithium, Mark Whitney, mercury, mercury cleanup, mercury remediation, Mercury Treatment Facility, mercury treatment plant, MTF, nuclear weapons, Oak Ridge Office, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, Outfall 200, record of decision, Site Specific Advisory Board, SSAB, stormwater, Sue Cange, TDEC, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, treatment plant, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Upper East Fork Poplar Creek, WEMA, West End Mercury Area, Y-12 National Security Complex

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Classifieds

Public Notice: Comment period extended for Draft EA for Lithium Processing Facility at Y-12

EXTENSION OF THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING … [Read More...]

Public Notice: Draft Environmental Assessment Available for Lithium Production Facility at Y-12

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE LITHIUM PROCESSING FACILITY AT THE Y-12 … [Read More...]

Availability of the Final Environmental Assessment for the Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) (DOE/EA-2144), Finding of No Significant Impact, and Wetland Statement of Findings

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

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