NNSA Releases Draft Environmental Assessment for Proposed Emergency Response Facility

The National Nuclear Security Administration recently released a draft environmental assessment for a proposed new 17,000 square-foot emergency response facility that would consolidate the Plant Shift Superintendent’s Office, the Emergency Command Center, the Technical Support Center, and the Fire Department Control Room from their present locations to a “survivable facility.” NNSA will accept public comments through July 30. NNSA budget documents show the agency requested $17.9 million for the facility’s construction for Fiscal Year 2016 after $2 million was appropriated for FY 2015. The assessment cautions against the “No Action Alternative,” noting that existing 70-year-old buildings would further age toward obsolescence. “Operations and maintenance costs would likely increase, and system failures would ultimately mean that significant capital investments would be required for this alternative to remain tenable,” the assessment states. “From a mission fulfillment standpoint, the aging facilities would become even more functionally and technologically obsolescent and could see further deceases in efficiency and effectiveness as the buildings become increasingly inadequate.” NNSA did not respond to requests for comment.