Welcome to the Department of Energy (DOE) Non-Time Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) page for the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (“Knolls”) F-Complex Project. Knolls is a DOE Naval Reactors site located in Niskayuna, Schenectady County, New York.
The mission at Knolls is to conduct research on nuclear reactors for the U.S. Navy for propulsion of aircraft carriers and submarines. Knolls has been an important member of the Town of Niskayuna community since 1946. Naval Reactors is in a partnership with DOE-Environmental Management (DOE-EM) to address legacy facilities and to conduct remediation of environmental liabilities, which includes the F-Complex. EM has been engaged in the cleanup of the Department’s assets across the US for over 30 years and is committed to its mission, sound stewardship, and community involvement.
F-Complex
F-Complex is an interconnected group of five buildings: F1, F2, F3, F4, and F6 (F5 was demolished in 1978). The complex was built between 1951 and 1970 and has reached the end of its use. During its active life, the F-Complex supported several research reactor projects, stored nuclear materials, and contained a machine shop, office space and storage areas. Three test reactor assemblies remain in F-Complex. All three test reactors have been defueled and are in a safe and stable condition awaiting disposition. The buildings have otherwise been largely emptied out and are not currently occupied or in use.
DOE is proposing a Non-Time Critical Removal Action (NTCRA) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). The CERCLA NTCRA process that will be used to assist Agency decision-making is shown below. DOE has initiated community involvement activities, which will continue until the F-Complex Project is completed.
The Regulatory Process
The CERCLA process is a public process and public participation is welcome! DOE has prepared a document about the history and use of the F-Complex (Historical Site Assessment) and an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) that evaluates the F-Complex removal action alternatives. A Community Involvement Plan (CIP) has also been prepared. The CIP includes DOE’s plan for community outreach and discusses the variety of ways that DOE is seeking to obtain community input and keep the community involved. These three documents are available for your review and comments. DOE has established a public comment period between January 6, 2023 and February 6, 2023. You can access these documents below. The email address for comments is FComplexPublicComments@emcbc.doe.gov.
DOE will maintain an Administrative Record for the project and has established an Information Repository for the public.
Information Repository
The Information Repository, or IR, is a collection of F-Complex documents and materials that will include the Historical Site Assessment (HSA), Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA), Community Involvement Plan (CIP), Fact Sheets, Frequently Asked Questions pertaining to the F-Complex project, and F-Complex photos. Hard copies of the documents are available for review. The IR also has a copier if you would like to make copies of project documents.
The physical location for the IR is:
Schenectady County Public Library - Niskayuna Branch
2400 Nott Street E.
Niskayuna, NY 12309
www.scpl.org
Search by document title to find the location of the F-Complex documents on the shelves. The following documents are also attached here:
Administrative Record
The Administrative Record is a file maintained at the DOE office and includes documents such as the Historical Site Assessment (HSA), and Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) that are considered or relied upon by DOE for their F-Complex decision-making. The AR file will also include the Action Memorandum (AM), that documents the selected alternative. The materials in the AR file are available at the IR; search by document title in the on-line card catalogue at www.scpl.org. You can also access the on-line versions of the documents by clicking on the links in the above Regulatory Process section of this webage.
Public Meeting
On January 19, 2023, DOE held a public meeting at the Niskayuna, NY Town Center Building to discuss the F-Complex and the removal action alternatives. The meeting featured a presentation by Mr. Martin Krentz, the Federal Project Director at the DOE New York Project Support Office, on the F-Complex project and included background on the Environmental Management program, an explanation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) process that is being followed for the project, an overview of F-Complex history, use, and environmental conditions, a review of the removal alternatives and description of DOE’s preferred alternative. Twenty-five members of the public attended the meeting in person, and 30 people viewed the presentation on a livestream provided by the Town of Niskayuna. The livestream portion of the event concluded at the end of the presentation. The meeting began and concluded with an invitation to the public to submit their comments via a variety of methods, including in person at the meeting, in writing by mail, and by email or phone. Following the presentation, the meeting was opened up for comments and questions.
A copy of the agenda and the presentation are available by clicking on the links below.
Key Activities
Notice of Availability for the EE/CA, CIP, Administrative Record, and Information Repository – January 5, 2023
Public Comment Period - January 6, 2023 - February 6, 2023
DOE F-Complex Public Meeting – January 19, 2023
DOE Issues Action Memorandum - Spring 2023
DOE Issues Request for Proposal for Selected Alternative – TBD
DOE Awards Contract – TBD
Selected Alternative Implemented - TBD
Contact DOE
Mr. Martin Krentz
U.S. Department of Energy
Federal Project Director
2425 River Road
Niskayuna, NY 12309-7100
(518) 395-4580
martin.krentz@emcbc.doe.gov