Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed National Enrichment Facility in Lea County, New Mexico: Chapters1 – 10 and Appendices A – G (NUREG-1790, Volume 1)

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• Publication Information
• Abstract

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• NUREG-1790, Volume 1
  • Introductory Pages (PDF - 104 KB)
  • Chapter 1-3 (PDF - 4.60 MB)
  • Chapter 4-10 (PDF - 1.19 MB)
  • Appendices A-B (PDF - 4.88 MB)
  • Appendices C-G (PDF - 1.56 MB)

Publication Information

Manuscript Completed: June 2005
Date Published: June 2005

Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection
Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

Louisiana Energy Services (LES) has submitted a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct, operate, and decommission a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility near Eunice, New Mexico, in Lea County. The proposed facility, referred to as the National Enrichment Facility (NEF), would produce enriched uranium-235 (²³⁵U) 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 proposed NEF would be licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act. Specifically, an NRC license under Title 10, “Energy,” of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Parts 30, 40, and 70 would be required to authorize LES to possess and use special nuclear material, source material, and byproduct material at the proposed NEF site.

This Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the NRC regulations for implementing NEPA. This EIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action and its reasonable alternatives. This EIS also describes the environment potentially affected by LES's proposal, presents and compares the potential environmental impacts resulting from the proposed action and its alternatives, and describes LES's environmental monitoring program and proposed mitigation measures.