Presidential Directed Mission Requiring Authorization of National Security Provisions

For a 2004 action to assist the Libyan government in reducing its inventories of proliferation-sensitive nuclear materials, the NNSA Administrator invoked the national security provisions of 49 CFR 173.7(b) to exempt the transport of nuclear materials, including four cylinders of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) of varying enrichment levels, from DOE Order 461.1, Packaging and Transfer of Materials of National Security Interest. The shipment was transported by air to the McGhee Tyson Airport at Knoxville, Tennessee, and then by land to the Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

NNSA consulted with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.11 about alternative arrangements with regard to NEPA compliance for its authorization of national security provisions. CEQ concluded that NNSA’s assessment of the action’s environmental impact provided sufficient alternative arrangements for NEPA compliance. NNSA issued a notice of emergency action pursuant to 10 CFR 1021.343.