Global Laser Enrichment, LLC; Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility; Final Environmental Impact Statement
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding a license application from Global Laser Enrichment, LLC (GLE) to c...
[Docket No. 70-7033; CEQ ID EISX-429-00-000-1754990851; NRC-2025-1007]
AGENCY:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
ACTION:
Notice; issuance.
SUMMARY:
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a final environmental impact statement (EIS) regarding a license application from Global Laser Enrichment, LLC (GLE) to construct and operate the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility. The EIS evaluates the environmental impacts of the proposed action of issuing a license that would authorize GLE to construct and operate a uranium enrichment facility on a 322-acre site located in McCracken County, Kentucky, approximately 5 miles west of Paducah.
DATES:
The final EIS was made publicly available on October 23, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2025-1007 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information regarding this document. You may obtain publicly available information related to this document using any of the following methods:
Federal Rulemaking Website:
Go to
www.regulations.gov
and search for Docket ID NRC-2025-1007. Address questions about Docket IDs in
Regulations.gov
to Bridget Curran; telephone: 301-415-1003; email:
Bridget.Curran@nrc.gov.
For technical questions, contact the individual(s) listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
section of this document.
NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS):
You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at
( printed page 67877)
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html.
To begin the search, select “Begin ADAMS Public Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov.
The final EIS is available in ADAMS under Accession No. ML26286A042.
NRC's PDR:
The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to
PDR.Resource@nrc.gov
or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time (ET), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Public Library:
A copy of the final EIS for GLE's license application for the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility will be available for public review at the McCracken County Public Library, 555 Washington St., Paducah, KY 42003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Hester Minor, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001; telephone: 817-200-1454; email:
Amy.Hesterminor@nrc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
In accordance with section 51.118 of title 10 of the
Code of Federal Regulations
(10 CFR), “Final environmental impact statement—notice of availability,” the NRC is providing notice that the final EIS regarding GLE's license application for the Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility is available for public inspection. The NRC issued a draft EIS regarding this license application on March 23, 2026 (ADAMS Accession No. ML26061A085) and published a
Federal Register
(FR) notice on March 27, 2026 (91 FR 14882) to request comments on the draft EIS. The public comment period for the draft EIS ended on May 11, 2026. The final EIS includes responses to comments on the draft EIS and conforming changes where appropriate.
II. Discussion
The NRC has prepared a final EIS regarding GLE's application for a license to construct and operate a uranium enrichment facility on a 322-acre greenfield site in McCracken County, Kentucky. The proposed Federal action is the issuance of a license that would authorize GLE to receive title to, own, acquire, receive, possess, use, transfer, and/or deliver source material, special nuclear material, and byproduct material as specified in the license for the purposes of constructing, and then operating for up to 40 years, a facility that uses laser-based isotope separation technology to enrich uranium. The facility would be authorized to re-enrich depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) tails to natural levels and enrich natural-grade UF6
up to 8 percent uranium-235 (U-235) by weight.
The final EIS contains the NRC staff's analysis that evaluates the environmental impacts of the proposed action and the no-action alternative to the proposed action. The final EIS also contains the NRC staff's final recommendation on the action to be taken, which is based on the following factors:
The NRC staff's review of GLE's environmental report, other information in GLE's license application, and associated responses from GLE to requests from the NRC staff for clarifying information;
The NRC staff's consideration of comments received as part of the scoping process;
The NRC staff's communications with Federal, State, and local agencies, as well as Tribal officials;
The NRC staff's consideration of comments on the draft EIS; and
The NRC staff's independent environmental review.
The NRC staff's final recommendation, unless safety issues mandate otherwise, is that the NRC issue the license to construct and operate the proposed enrichment facility to GLE.
www.regulations.gov
www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html
42 U.S.C. 2011