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AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC Gas Centrifuge Facility

On December 30, 2008, AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (a subsidiary of AREVA NC, Inc.), submitted an application  to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), seeking a license to construct and operate a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility in the United States. Specifically, AREVA has selected a site in Bonneville County, Idaho, for its new facility, which will be known as the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility. For detail, contact us or see the following topics on this page:

On this page:

• Regulation and Legislation
• License Application
• Safety Evaluation Report
• Environmental Review
• Correspondence and Other Information
• Public Involvement
• Related Information

Regulation and Legislation

In 1990, Congress passed the Solar, Wind, Waste, and Geothermal Power Production Incentives Act. Among other things, that legislation amended the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require licensing of uranium enrichment facilities under NRC regulations in Title 10, Parts 40 and 70, of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR Part 40 and 10 CFR Part 70). The Act also stated that the construction and operation of a uranium enrichment facility is considered a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment for the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Therefore, an environmental impact statement (EIS) needs to be prepared for this type of facility, and an adjudicatory hearing must be completed before issuing a license for its construction and operation. In addition, the Act requires the applicant to obtain public liability insurance for the facility, and requires the NRC to inspect the facility before operations begin to ensure that the plant is constructed to meet the license requirements.

License Application

AREVA submitted its license application and environmental report for the Eagle Rock gas centrifuge enrichment facility on December 30, 2008. On April 24, 2009, AREVA resubmitted the application to request an enrichment capacity increase from 3.3 million separative work units (SWU) per year to 6.6 million SWU per year. The facility is to be located in Bonneville County, Idaho.

On July 23, 2009, the Commission issued an Order initiating the AREVA proceeding applicable to its application for a uranium enrichment plant. The Order offers an opportunity for a hearing; a 30-month licensing review schedule; instructions for potential parties to the proceeding regarding access to documents that contain sensitive unclassified non-safeguards information and safeguards information; and addressed several policy issues applicable to uranium enrichment facility licensing.

On August 10, 2009, NRC sent to AREVA a Request for Additional Information (RAI) on the environmental report.  AREVA submitted its response to the RAI on September 9, 2009.  In addition, on September 18, 2009, AREVA submitted its Unanticipated Discovery Plan in response to the RAI. And, on September 25, 2009, AREVA submitted its response to RAI-1 and RAI-3.

On August 26, 2009, an RAI on the license application was sent to AREVA. AREVA submitted its response to the RAI on September 28, 2009.

Safety Evaluation Report

Having received the AREVA license application, the NRC staff will review the application against applicable regulations and guidance, and then prepare a safety evaluation report to document the review findings.

Environmental Review

As required by NEPA, the NRC develops an environmental impact statement (EIS) for "major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment." Licensing a uranium enrichment facility is considered a "major Federal action" and, therefore, requires an EIS. For more information about NEPA and the environmental review process, see Frequently Asked Questions About NRC's Role under the National Environmental Policy Act.

The NRC staff held a public meeting on the scope of the EIS for the proposed Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility (EREF) on June 6, 2009, in Idaho Falls, ID. The public was encouraged to provide comments on the NRC’s scoping process. The Scoping Summary Report was issued on September 11, 2009. The NRC Project Manager for the Environmental Review is Gloria Kulesa.

Correspondence and Other Information

Some links on this page are to documents in our Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS). For additional information, see our Plugins, Viewers, and Other Tools.

Public Involvement

Meeting Schedule

For upcoming meetings, see our Public Meeting Schedule. Information for the meetings on this page are available at this Web site or in ADAMS if an accession number is given.

Meeting Archive

The following table lists, in chronological order, the public meetings that the NRC staff has conducted in regard to the application and licensing processes for the AREVA Eagle Rock gas centrifuge enrichment facility.

Related Information

• Frequently Asked Questions About Gas Centrifuge Enrichment Plants
• Standard Review Plan for the Review of a License Application for a Fuel Cycle Facility: Final Report (NUREG-1520)

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Thursday, February 04, 2010