Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
The Navy today said it plans to conduct an environmental impact statement to analyze how several options for the disposal of the service's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier could affect the environment.
In a Federal Register notice, the Navy said the "public scoping period" to assess the Enterprise's (CVN-65) disposal will start May 31 and run through July 15. A series of "public scoping meetings" will take place in Texas, Washington and Virginia during that time period.
The notice refers to a 2012 "final environmental assessment" about discarding the carrier's defueled reactors. The Navy's assessment at the time found there would be "no significant impact."
"In the Finding of No Significant Impact, the Navy decided to remove the reactor compartments from ex-Enterprise at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF), prepare the reactor compartments for disposal as reactor compartment packages, recycle non-radioactive hull sections, and transport the reactor compartment packages for disposal at the [Department of Energy] Hanford Site near Richland, Washington," the May 31 notices reads.
"The [Navy Department] has since identified new preliminary alternatives that could address the disposal of the ex-Enterprise. DON is preparing this EIS/OEIS to consider these preliminary alternatives and potentially others that may be identified during the EIS/OEIS scoping process," it continues.
The Navy has struggled to reach a decision as to how it will dispose of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Inside Defense previously reported that the disposal of a Surface Ship Support Barge (SSSB) could help inform the Navy’s approach to disposing of the Enterprise.
According to the notice, the Navy is assessing four options, one of which the service describes as "no action" that would have the carrier "stored waterborne."
"The vessel would require periodic maintenance to ensure that storage continues in a safe and environmentally responsible manner," according to the notice.
The Navy notes it has eliminated fuel from the carrier's reactor plants.
A GAO report released last year about the Enterprise disposal estimates the Navy finishing its environmental impact statement and deciding how to approach the carrier's disposal by 2023.