The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is issuing a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the production of plutonium pits in support of NNSA’s Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program. NNSA is conducting a programmatic environmental analysis of producing plutonium pits, at the rate
mandated by Congress and other reasonable rates, and will assess multi-site alternatives, associated activities at other NNSA sites, and associated waste and transportation activities, in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). NNSA invites participation in the PEIS process and encourages involvement on the scoping process, including
any environmental issues and/or alternatives that NNSA should consider in the draft PEIS.
On September 30, 2024, United States District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis ruled that the NNSA had violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by failing to properly consider alternatives before proceeding with its plan to produce at least 30 pits per year at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico and at least 50 pits per year
at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina.
The Court found that NNSA’s plans for pit production had fundamentally changed from its earlier analyses which had not considered simultaneous pit production at two sites. Co-plaintiffs argued that these changes required a reevaluation of alternatives under NEPA, which Defendants failed to undertake prior to moving forward and spending tens of billions of
taxpayers’ dollars.
As a result of this ruling and a subsequent settlement of January 16, 2025, the Defendants are now required to newly analyze pit production at a
nationwide programmatic level. This means undertaking a thorough analysis of the impacts of pit production at NNSA sites throughout the United States, including the generation of new radioactive wastes and their uncertain future disposal. Under NEPA, this will provide the opportunity for public scrutiny on NNSA’s aggressive production plans. In addition, NNSA is enjoined from building certain facilities and introducing nuclear materials to the plutonium pit plant at SRS until it completes the
PEIS.
NNSA is conducting this PEIS in compliance with the settlement agreement NNSA reached with the plaintiffs in Savannah River Site Watch v. United States Department of Energy. In alignment with the settlement agreement, NNSA will continue to design and procure the equipment and materials necessary to support the pit production mission, but NNSA will not produce pits at the Savannah River Site until the PEIS is completed
and a Record of Decision is issued.
According to the notice, NNSA will hold initial virtual public scoping meetings and subsequent public hearings on the draft PEIS. During scoping, NNSA invites other Federal agencies, Native American Tribes, State and local governments, industry, other organizations, and members of the public to review and submit comments on the scope and alternatives of the PEIS. The deadline to submit
these comments will be 45 days after the final public scoping meeting.
The final public scoping meeting is currently scheduled for May 28, 2025, and the current deadline for comments is July 14, 2025.
The NOI for the PEIS was announced in the Federal Register today, May 9, 2025. To view the notice in the Federal Register, click here. The NOI is also posted on the NNSA NEPA Reading Room website, which you can
access by clicking here.
