The Draft PEIS meets NNSA’s obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act and the January 2025 settlement agreement reached between the parties in Savannah River Site Watch v. United States Department of Energy.
National Nuclear Security Administration
April 10, 2026
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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) is announcing the publication by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a Notice of Availability for the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for plutonium pit production. The Notice is posted in DOE’s NEPA webpage (https://www.energy.gov/nepa/office-nepa-policy-and-compliance).
The Draft PEIS meets NNSA’s obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the obligations of the January 2025 settlement agreement reached between the parties in Savannah River Site Watch v. United States Department of Energy (Settlement Agreement). The Draft PEIS evaluates the programmatic environmental impacts of producing plutonium pits at the Congressionally mandated rate and other reasonable rates at various single and multi-site alternatives, pit production-associated activities at other NNSA sites, and associated waste and transportation activities.
The Draft PEIS is subject to public review and a 90‑day comment period, which will begin with the Environmental Protection Agency’s publication of a Notice of Availability for this Draft PEIS in the Federal Register. During the public comment period, NNSA will hold at least five, in-person public hearings (as stipulated in the Settlement Agreement), which will be announced at least 15 days in advance on the DOE NEPA webpage for this Draft PEIS – This was an empty link: https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0573-plutonium-pit-production-multiple-locationshttps://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0573-plutonium-pit-production-multiple-locations – or https://www.energy.gov/nepa, in local newspapers, in notices sent to established email distribution lists, and in letters and meetings with respective tribes and pueblos.
NNSA will consider all comments received during the public comment period in preparing the Final PEIS and will append or otherwise publish all substantive comments received on the Draft PEIS, or summaries, if the comments are extensive. All comment documents received on the Draft PEIS will be included in the PEIS Administrative Record. In accordance with DOE’s NEPA Implementing Procedures, NNSA intends to issue a ROD concurrently with the Final PEIS.