The Nuclear Energy Waste Transmutation Optimized Now (NEWTON) program will support the research and development of technologies that enable the transmutation of used nuclear fuel to reduce the impact of storage in permanent disposal facilities.
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
February 27, 2026
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AMENDED PROGRAMMATIC NEPA DETERMINATION (See attached original Determination, dated August 8, 2025). The Nuclear Energy Waste Transmutation Optimized Now (NEWTON) program will support the research and development of technologies that enable the transmutation of used nuclear fuel to reduce the impact of storage in permanent disposal facilities. Specifically, the projects focus on three technical categories: (A) generating and accelerating particle beams that can initiate transmutation reactions, (B) modeling, designing, and fabricating target materials for transmutation of used nuclear fuel, incorporating transmutable materials into a target, and processing transmuted material for waste or isolation, and (C) integrating the technologies developed in Categories A and B into a techno-economic analysis and life-cycle assessment of a transmutation facility and maintaining a materials and components database for transmutation facilities.