X--Request for Expression of Interest in DOE Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR DOE PADUCAH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT FACILITIESAND DOE DEPLETED AND OFF-SPECIFICATION UF6 INVENTORIES NOTICE: PLEASE CHECK THE DOE PPPO WEBSITE DAILY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS, ETC. http://www.pppo.energy.gov/Notices.html The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is requesting expressions of interest (EOIs) from industry related to the following, either separately or in combination: ? Lease or purchase of DOE Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) facilities or land near Paducah, Kentucky, either to continue the use of the facilities to enrich uranium, or separately for other nuclear fuel industry applications (e.g., analytical laboratory, uranium transfer and shipping facility) or to utilize individual facilities (e.g., buildings, warehouses, machine shops, utilities) for other commercial purposes. ? Purchase, exchange, or transfer of various lots of uranium hexafluoride (UF6) inventories in standard and non-standard cylinders from the DOE PGDP and the DOE Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS). These inventories include large amounts of high-assay depleted UF6 (DUF6) and smaller amounts of slightly enriched and normal assay off-specification UF6. All of these materials are free from any prior obligations. In addition, DOE also has large amounts of low-assay DUF6 available. This request for EOIs pertains only to the inventories of uranium identified in this EOI and no other DOE uranium inventories; for example, it does not pertain to DOE inventories of natural UF6 and is unrelated to the ongoing transfer of UF6 in exchange for cleanup work at PORTS. ? Any combination of the above two bullets (e.g., use of a portion of the DUF6 in the enrichment operations at the PGDP). The intent of this request for EOIs is to identify opportunities to create value for the U.S. government while lowering overall program costs for surveillance and maintenance and/or disposal of uranium materials. FOR FULL EXPRESSION OF INTEREST PACKAGE COMPLETE WITH ALL ATTACHMENTS GO TO http://www.pppo.energy.gov/Notices.html OVERVIEW OF PADUCAH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT FACILITIES The United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) currently leases the PGDP from DOE and operates the plant to enrich uranium. It is expected that USEC will return essentially all of the PGDP facilities to DOE in the very near term. When DOE accepts USEC?s return of the PGDP to DOE, the opportunity may exist for private industry to lease or purchase PDGP facilities or land, either to continue to enrich uranium and/or to utilize individual facilities (e.g., buildings, warehouses, machine shops, and utilities) for other commercial purposes. The potential also exists for DOE to sell or transfer vacant land and/or personal property associated with PGDP facilities) for reuse/reindustrialization. The PGDP gaseous diffusion parallel cascade includes 1760 stages. The parallel configuration allows the number of stages in series to shift as needed for production efficiency. Through the use of different valve configurations, the plant is operated by USEC to enrich uranium up to assay s of about 5.5% 235U. More detailed information about the PGDP is presented in Attachment 1. The PGDP is a large industrial site that may have radiological or chemical contamination within or around the perimeter of the facilities. Facility contamination would need to be considered in planning for alternative uses at the site. DOE is responsible for implementing the environmental cleanup program at PGDP under the Federal Facilities Agreement among DOE, the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. DOE is interested in uses for PGDP assets that would benefit the local Paducah economy. DOE will also consider the implications of any company that operates PGDP as an enrichment facility on the DOE mission to support national nuclear security and on any safeguards and security requirements. Interested firms should provide information indicating whether they are a wholly-owned U.S. corporation or would otherwise be able to satisfy the legal requi rements in a manner that would allow any enriched uranium resulting from enrichment at the PGDP to be available for national security purposes. Detailed information on conditions, considerations, and submittal requirements for EOIs for the lease or purchase of PGDP facilities is presented in Attachment 2. DOE has broad authority, including section 161g. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, to lease or sell real and personal property. DOE looks to lease, sell or transfer the property in this EOI in a manner and at a value that is overall in the best interest of the government. OVERVIEW OF URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE (UF6) INVENTORIES DOE has large inventories of UF6 located at the DOE PGDP and at the DOE PORTS site near Piketon, Ohio. DOE has DUF6 Conversion Plants at both of these locations. DOE has identified the opportunity to offer for sale, exchange, or transfer (1) high-assay DUF6 (i.e., DUF6 with 0.341% to 0.7% 235U or more), as well as (2) certain off-specification, slightly enriched UF6 (i.e., UF6 with an average assay of 1% 235U) and normal-assay uranium (i.e., previously processed uranium with 0.711% 235U). Large amounts of low-assay (i.e., 0.15% to 0.34%) DUF6 are also available. DOE is seeking detailed EOIs from parties interested in receiving as UF6 the high-assay DUF6, the off-specification UF6, the low-assay DUF6, or a combination of the categories. DOE would comply with all applicable laws in conducting any transfer or sale of uranium, including section 3112(d) of the USEC Privatization Act for transfers or sales of material covered by that section. Attachment 3 presents a summary of the high-assay DUF6 cylinders at PGDP and PORTS that shows assay ranges and total metric tons of uranium (MTU). The DUF6 is primarily contained in thin-walled 14 ton metal (48G) cylinders. The majority of this DUF6 meets the equivalent of the ASTM specification for commercial UF6 feed material, ASTM C787 11 Standard Specification for Uranium Hexafluoride for Enrichment. (There is no ASTM specification for DUF6.) However, some of the DUF6 is known to contain trace contaminants as a result of historical processing in the gaseous diffusion plant cascades. Attachment 3 also presents a summary of information for the off-specification slightly enriched and normal UF6 material. Additional information on all of these uranium materials is available on request. Responses to this request for EOIs should propose potential commercial use of the uranium materials in order to assist DOE in evaluating as necessary any potential adverse material impacts on the domestic uranium market. Detailed information on conditions, considerations, and submittal requirements for EOIs for the purchase, exchange, or transfer of uranium materials is presented in Attachment 4. DOE is also interested in receiving responses from firms interested in a combination of the PGDP facilities and the uranium materials (e.g., using the PGDP to re-enrich DUF6 material). CONDITIONS, CONSIDERATIONS, AND EOI SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PGDP FACILITIES CONDITIONS The following is a list of conditions that would have to be met in the EOI. The inclusion of this list is not exclusive, but represents the significant conditions known at this time. a. Any sale, exchange, or transfer must be in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. b. The respondent must have an NRC license or an arrangement with an NRC licensee to operate the PGDP for purposes of uranium enrichment and/or to possess and/or store uranium materials, as applicable. c. Any Respondent must be able to successfully obtain a positive Foreign, Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) determination, if applicable. CONSIDERATIONS: DOE will be evaluating the EOIs based on several considerations including, but not limited to, the following: a. Ability to obtain an NRC license or an arrangement with an NRC licensee if there is intent to operate PGDP as an enrichment facility or other nuclear operations facility. b. Ability to support national security requirements if applicable. c. Previous experience with operation of nuclear facilities, especially uranium enrichment facilities if there is intent to operate PGDP as an enrichment facility or other nuclear operations facility. SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS The EOI must include all necessary information to allow DOE to complete its evaluation. The EOI must contain at a minimum the following information: a. The name, address and DUNS number of the Respondent. b. Contact information (name, title, e-mail, telephone number) of the individual who shall act as the Respondent?s point of contact with DOE for further information requests and further solicitations, if any. c. A brief description of the Respondent, business lines, organization, mission, affiliates, objectives, location(s), years in business, and a list of previous business names, if any. d…