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DOE OSTI2024

2023 Annual Site Environmental Report for Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sandia Field Office administers the Prime Contract and oversees contractor operations at Sandia National Laboratories, California. Activities at this multi-program engineering and science laboratory support the nuclear weapons stockpile program, energy and environmental research, homeland security, micro-and nanotechnologies, and basic science and engineering research. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and its management and operating contractor are committed to safeguarding the environment, assessing sustainability practices, and ensuring the validity and accuracy of the monitoring data presented in this annual site environmental report. This report provides a summary of environmental monitoring of information and compliance activities that occurred at Sandia National Laboratories, California during calendar year 2023 unless noted otherwise. General site and environmental program information is also included. This report was prepared in accordance with DOE O 231.1B, Admin Change 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

2024 Annual Site Environmental Report for Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sandia Field Office administers the Prime Contract and oversees contractor operations at Sandia National Laboratories, California. Activities at this multi-program engineering and science laboratory support the nuclear weapons stockpile program, energy and environmental research, homeland security, micro- and nanotechnologies, and basic science and engineering research. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and its management and operating contractor are committed to fulfilling regulatory obligations, safeguarding the environment, assessing sustainability practices, and ensuring the validity and accuracy of the monitoring data presented in this annual site environmental report (ASER). This report provides a summary of environmental monitoring and compliance activities that occurred at Sandia National Laboratories, California, during calendar year 2024, unless noted otherwise. General site and environmental program information is also included. This report was prepared in accordance with DOE Order 231.1B, Admin Change 1, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Annual Site Environmental Report: 2021 (ASER) for the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

This report, prepared by the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC) for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), SLAC Site Office (SSO), provides a comprehensive summary of the environmental program activities at SLAC for calendar year 2021. Annual Site Environmental Reports (ASERs) are prepared for all DOE sites with significant environmental activities and distributed to relevant external regulatory agencies and other interested organizations or individuals. To the best of my knowledge, this report accurately summarizes the results of the 2021 environmental monitoring, compliance, and restoration programs at SLAC. This assurance can be made based on SSO and SLAC review of the ASER, and quality assurance protocols applied to monitoring and data analyses at SLAC.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

2024 Site Environmental Report

Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is managed on behalf of the Department of Energy (DOE) by Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA), a partnership between Stony Brook University and Battelle, and six core universities: Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton, and Yale. For over 75 years, the Laboratory has played a lead role in the DOE Science and Technology mission and continues to contribute to the DOE’s missions in energy resources, environmental quality, and national security. BNL manages its world-class scientific research operations with sensitivity to environmental issues and community concerns. The Laboratory’s Environmental, Safety, Security, and Health (ESSH) Policy reflects the commitment of BNL’s management to fully integrate environmental stewardship into all facets of its mission and operations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Annual Site Environmental Report Pantex Plant Calendar Year 2024

The 2024 Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) summarizes Pantex’s status, data, and efforts for the environmental compliance, protection, and restoration programs. It has been prepared in accordance with DOE Order (DOE O) 231.1B, Environment, Safety and Health Reporting, and DOE O 458.1, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment. These orders outline the requirements for environmental protection programs at DOE facilities to ensure that programs fully comply with applicable federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations, executive orders, and DOE policies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

Current and candidate additives for environmentally acceptable lubricants—A review

The world consumes approximately 40 million tons of lubricants annually, and nearly half of them end up in the environment because of leaks, discharges, and evaporation, causing significant environmental and economic impacts. The need for moving toward environmentally acceptable lubricants (EALs) is increasingly being recognized. Synthetic ester, polyalkylene glycol, vegetable oil, and water are among the base fluids approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for EALs. However, neat base fluids cannot fully meet the lubrication requirements without incorporating functional additives such as anti-wear, antioxidant, corrosion inhibitor, and viscosity modifiers. Both the performance and environmental compatibility of lubricant additives are critical. In this article, current and candidate EAL additives, both in liquid and solid forms, are reviewed, with a focus on their functionalities in friction and wear reduction, toxicity, and biodegradability. Finally, a perspective for future research on EAL additives is discussed.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies that maximize portfolio-wide life cycle cost reduction, resilience, and environmental justice benefits

While strategies to achieve net-zero emissions at an individual site are well understood, new analysis methods are required for organizations seeking to achieve net-zero across multiple facilities, each with concurrent priority goals. At a portfolio level, distinct locations present varied challenges that cannot be addressed through singular solutions, and competing goals can take precedence with the assumption that net-zero emissions strategies deter from energy resilience and cost savings, therefore negatively impacting nearby communities. This study tests these assumptions by analyzing 16 diverse sites (varying in size, climate, and energy use) to identify strategies that reduce emissions and assess the impact these strategies have on life cycle costs, resilience, and communities with environmental justice concerns. Methods were developed to approximate missing information essential to net-zero evaluation. Established methods were augmented to evaluate life cycle costs, resilience, and environmental justice impacts across a set of strategies and accommodate the multi-criteria analyses. Potential benefits from identified strategies were quantified using site characteristics and a set of corresponding metrics. The net-zero analysis found that 11 sites could use on-site strategies to eliminate all but 2% of emissions generated. The remaining emissions can be offset, for instance through sequestration, executed at the portfolio scale. On-site carbon-free energy was found to reduce 51% of emissions across all sites; efficiency reduced 19% of emissions; sequestration 16%; procured carbon-free energy 15%; fuel switching 1.6%; and fleet electrification 1.3%. Building electrification, however, increased emissions by 4.4%. Different strategies also provide cost, resilience, and/or environmental justice benefits—the degree to which varies with individual site conditions. The findings indicate an advantage to considering the strategies as a comprehensive set, which leads to co-benefits, both in the ability to achieve net-zero goals and in advancing other goals. The results present the case for comprehensive advanced planning at the portfolio level to prioritize investments that will balance the minimization of emissions and life cycle cost with the maximization of resilience and environmental justice benefits. The novel methods for evaluation and integration, valuation of benefits, and consideration at the portfolio scale allow organizations to select investments that simultaneously address multiple key priorities.

Net-Zero Emissions↗

DOE OSTI2021

Marine Energy Environmental Permitting and Compliance Costs

Costs to permit Marine Energy projects are poorly understood. In this paper we examine environmental compliance and permitting costs for 19 projects in the U.S., covering the last 2 decades. Guided discussions were conducted with developers over a 3-year period to obtain historical and ongoing project cost data relative to environmental studies (e.g., baseline or pre-project site characterization as well as post-installation effects monitoring), stakeholder outreach, and mitigation, as well as qualitative experience of the permitting process. Data are organized in categories of technology type, permitted capacity, pre- and post-installation, geographic location, and funding types. We also compare our findings with earlier logic models created for the Department of Energy (i.e., Reference Models). Environmental studies most commonly performed were for Fish and Fisheries, Noise, Marine Habitat/Benthic Studies and Marine Mammals. Studies for tidal projects were more expensive than those performed for wave projects and the range of reported project costs tended to be wider than ranges predicted by logic models. For eight projects reporting full project costs, from project start to FERC or USACE permit, the average amount for environmental permitting compliance was 14.6%.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

DOE OSTI2025

A Novel Continuous Ultrasound-Assisted Leaching Process for Rare Earth Element Extraction: Environmental and Economic Assessment

Rare earth elements (REEs) make up integral components in personal electronics, healthcare instrumentation, and modern energy technologies. REE leaching with organic acids is an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional extraction methods. Our previous study demonstrated that batch ultrasound-assisted organic acid leaching of REEs can significantly decrease environmental impacts compared to traditional bioleaching. The batch method is limited to small volumes and is unsuitable for industrial implementation. This study proposes a novel approach to increase reaction volume using a continuous ultrasound-assisted organic acid leaching method. Laboratory experiments showed that continuous ultrasound-assisted leaching increased the leaching rate (µg/h) 11.3–24.5 times compared to our previously reported batch method. Techno-economic analysis estimates the cost of the continuous approach using commercially purchased organic acids is $\$$9465/kg of extracted REEs and $\$$4325/kg of extracted REEs, using gluconic acid and citric acid, respectively. The sensitivity analysis reveals that substituting commercially purchased organic acids with microbially produced biolixiviant can reduce the process cost by approximately 99% while minimally increasing energy consumption. Environmental assessment shows that most of the emissions stemmed from the energy required to power the ultrasound reactor. We concluded that increased leaching capacity using a continuous ultrasound-assisted approach is feasible, but process modifications are needed to reduce the environmental impact.

54 - ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES/GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE ↗

DOE OSTI2021

Geophysical and Environmental Monitoring Data, Lower Watershed, Teller Road Mile Marker 27, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2017-2019

This data set contains geophysical and environmental monitoring data acquired between September 2017 and 2019 at the lower Teller watershed, Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Geophysical data comprises processed resistivity data, acquired daily between Spring and Fall of 2018 and 2019, and a baseline measurement of Fall 2017. The environmental monitoring data comprises depth resolved, distributed soil moisture and soil temperature data. These measurements were obtained used Decagon 5TE sensors placed at 0.1 m, 0.2 m , 0.3 m, and 0.4 m depth. In addition, temperature data at 0.5 m, 1.0 m, and 1.5 m were acquired using Hobo temperature sensors. Data were collected to improve our understanding of the hydrological response of discontinuous permafrost systems, in particular focusing on multi-annual dynamics and short term disturbances, such as snowmelt or precipitation events. The electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) monitoring data are included as processed resistivity models, with model cells x dimension equal to the distance along the profile, and model z dimension being elevation. The start and end point of the transect are (UTM Zone 3N): E 454881.66 m, N 7178949.45 m, and E 454772.60, N 7178885.81. Locations of the soil moisture and temperature sensors are provided in the data package. This dataset is discussed in detail in the Uhlemann, S. et al 2021 paper listed in the references. This dataset includes one *.pdf user guide and 315 *.csv data files included within four zipped files.The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research.The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska.Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Vegetation Warming Experiment: Environmental conditions, Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, 2019

Environmental conditions measured in five warming chambers and paired ambient control plots located on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO), Utqiagvik, Alaska from 19 June – 25 September, 2019. These data were recorded in support of the Zero Power Warming (ZPW) vegetation warming experiment, a series of single season vegetation warming treatments conducted over four years from 2017–2021 (no experiment in 2020). Air temperature and humidity, infrared surface (canopy) temperature, soil temperature, soil moisture, NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), PRI (photochemical reflectance index), solar radiation and chamber venting were recorded in each chamber at 1 minute intervals. Ambient air temperature, humidity, solar radiation and uplooking PRI and NDVI were measured at a centrally located meteorology station. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was calculated and included in the final processed data products. Data has undergone full QA/QC and is presented as 1 minute data, and hourly and daily aggregate data products. This data package includes unprocessed raw data (*.dat files), processed data (*.csv) and metadata including a full description of sensors, calculations and processing (*.csv, *.pdf). See related NGEE-Arctic "Vegetation Warming Experiment" data packages for leaf-level gas exchange and other leaf trait data; chamber, plot and landscape phenocamera images; thaw depth, and GPS locations of chambers and ambient plots.The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a 15-year research effort (2012-2027) to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Vegetation Warming Experiment: Environmental conditions, Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska, 2021

Environmental conditions measured in five warming chambers and paired ambient control plots located on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO), Utqiagvik, Alaska from 19 June - 17 September, 2021. These data were recorded in support of the Zero Power Warming (ZPW) vegetation warming experiment, a series of single season vegetation warming treatments conducted over four years from 2017-2021 (no experiment in 2020). Air temperature and humidity, infrared surface (canopy) temperature, soil temperature, soil moisture, NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index), PRI (photochemical reflectance index), solar radiation and chamber venting were recorded in each chamber at 1 minute intervals. Ambient air temperature, humidity, solar radiation and uplooking PRI and NDVI were measured at a centrally located meteorology station. Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) was calculated and included in the final processed data products. Data has undergone full QA/QC and is presented as 1 minute data, and hourly and daily aggregate data products. This data package includes unprocessed raw data (*.dat files), processed data (*.csv) and metadata including a full description of sensors, calculations and processing (*.csv, *.pdf). See related NGEE-Arctic "Vegetation Warming Experiment" data packages for leaf-level gas exchange and other leaf trait data; chamber, plot and landscape phenocamera images; thaw depth, and GPS locations of chambers and ambient plots. The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2015

Durability and CMAS Resistance of Advanced Environmental Barrier Coatings Systems for SiC/SiC Ceramic Matrix Composites

Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) and SiCSiC ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) systems will play a crucial role in next generation turbine engines for hot-section component applications because of their ability to significantly increase engine operating temperatures with improved efficiency, reduce engine weight and cooling requirements. This paper will emphasize advanced environmental barrier coating developments for SiCSiC turbine airfoil components, by using advanced coating compositions and processing, in conjunction with mechanical and environment testing and durability validations. The coating-CMC degradations and durability in the laboratory simulated engine fatigue-creep and complex operating environments are being addressed. The effects of Calcium-Magnesium-Alumino-Silicate (CMAS) from road sand or volcano-ash deposits on the degradation mechanisms of the environmental barrier coating systems will be discussed. The results help understand the advanced EBC-CMC system performance, aiming at the durability improvements of more robust, prime-reliant environmental barrier coatings for successful applications of the component technologies and lifing methodologies.

Ceramic Matrix Composites↗

NASA NTRS2013

Environmentally Friendly Rotorcraft Concepts: 2011-2014: US/France MoA Helicopter Aeromechanics - Task 5

Motivation: Greenhouse gas concentrations have increased well beyond their pre-industrial levels due to human activities; Aircraft emissions are becoming regulated in industrialized nations, so future rotorcraft will need to be designed for minimal environmental impact. Objectives: Determine suitable metrics to measure environmental impact of rotorcraft, focusing first on air pollution; Integrate performance metrics with rotorcraft design codes; Generate rotorcraft designs with minimal environmental impact. Outcomes: Obtain an understanding of how targeting reduced emissions affects the rotorcraft design process; Advance the capability of existing rotorcraft design tools to include environmental performance metrics. Tools: Evaluation and predesign - NDARC (NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft) and CREATION (Concepts of Rotorcraft Enhanced Assessment Through Integrated Optimization Network); Flight simulation - CAMRAD II (Comprehensive Analytical Model of Rotorcraft Aerodynamics and Dynamics) and HOST (Helicopter Overall Simulation Tool).

Environmentally Friendly↗

NASA NTRS2023

Migration and Livelihood Constellations: Assessing Common Themes in the Face of Environmental Change in Somalia and Among Agro-Pastoral Peoples

Research on migration has become more challenging due to at least four factors: (1) more complex migration traditions; (2) the development of migration economies that engage many types of migrants from ever more social and cultural backgrounds; (3) increasing likelihood of climate change-driven environmental migration; and (4) increasing likelihood of conflict-based migration in some contexts. These developments have shaken economic theories of migration and have encouraged interdisciplinary, methodologically mixed, qualitative and quantitative research and analysis. From a review of the literature, we have gleaned 11 common themes about environmental, economic and conflict migration that we differentiate by process (migration behaviours that are still evolving) and patterns (migration behaviours that have become customary). We then consider how positive and negative dimensions of migration can be captured and represented with close attention to livelihood constellations (multiple economic activities combined by individuals, households and families). Finally, focusing on Somalia and agro-pastoral peoples generally, where recent environmental and conflict migration have been added to decades of economic migration and centuries of seasonal, environmental migration associated with pastoralism, we combine historical and qualitative work to demonstrate the value of a livelihood constellation perspective.

migration↗

DOE OSTI2014

Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization Case Study: Selection of Electrical Equipment to Be Subjected to Environmental Qualification

The Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) pathway of the DOE’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program focuses on advancing the state of the art in safety analysis and risk assessment to support decision-making on nuclear power plant operation well beyond the originally designed lifetime of the plants (i.e., beyond 60 years). Among the issues being addressed in RISMC is the significance of SSC aging and how confident we are about our understanding of its impact on the margin between the loads SSCs are expected to see during normal operation and accident conditions, and the SSC capacities (their ability to resist those loads) as the SSCs age. In this paper, a summary is provided of a case study that examines SSC aging from an environmental qualification (EQ) perspective. The case study illustrates how the state of knowledge regarding SSC margin can be characterized given the overall integrated plant design, and was developed to demonstrate a method for deciding on which cables to focus, which cables are not so important from an environmental qualification margin standpoint, and what plant design features or operating characteristics determine the role that environmental qualification plays in establishing a safety case on which decisions regarding margin can be made. The selection of cables for which demonstration of margin with respect to aging and environmental challenges uses a technique known as Prevention Analysis. Prevention Analysis is a Boolean method for optimal selection of SSCs (that is, those combinations of SSCs both necessary and sufficient to meet a predetermined selection criterion) in a manner that allows demonstration that plant-level safety can be demonstrated by the collection of selected SSCs alone. Choosing the set of SSCs that is necessary and sufficient to satisfy the safety objectives, and demonstrating that the safety objectives can be met effectively, determines where resources are best allocated to assure SSC performance margin. The paper describes the resulting component types that were selected by Prevention Analysis and identifies the accident sequence characteristics that cause these component types to be important from an EQ and aging perspective (and, hence, worthwhile evaluating the extent of safety margin). In addition, component types not selected as needing significant margin from an EQ and aging perspective are discussed and an engineering rationale is developed justifying the lack of need to apply resources to demonstrating margin for these component types. This rationale is in terms of design features of the plant and operating characteristics that make these component types less important from an EQ and aging perspective. While the case study focuses on EQ and aging of equipment and cables located inside the containment of this PWR, the prevention analysis method is demonstrated to be an effective technique for identification of minimal collections of components that would be effective in managing safety for a variety of issues associated with aging and long-term operation of the fleet of plants.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Managing Environmental Effects to Facilitate Marine Renewable Energy Development

The marine renewable energy (MRE) industry is in the early stages of commercial development. In addition to the challenges of deploying and maintaining devices under harsh ocean conditions and transporting electricity to shore, concerns around potential environmental effects continue to slow permitting (consenting) processes. Regulators and stakeholders perceive a wide array of potential environmental interactions as risky and highly uncertain, and request that considerable baseline assessments and post-installation monitoring be carried out in order to permit or license a project. The MRE industry is struggling with the high cost of baseline assessments and post-installation monitoring, as well as extended timelines for obtaining permits, leading to uncertainty and risk for financing projects. As a means to mitigate this uncertainty and risk, regulators in the US have been engaged to ensure that they understand the underlying science that drives these challenges and to explore the feasibility of transferring learning and information from early MRE projects and analogous industry interactions to inform potential environmental effects and permitting for new MRE projects. The ability to use data and information from one project or location to another can aid the industry by reducing the high costs of environmental monitoring and accelerating permitting processes for future projects. This paper presents findings of a regulator survey and other engagements with regulators, provides insight into the process of data transferability, suggests a framework for data transferability and collection consistency, and details efforts to engage the research community in furthering this process.

Marine renewable energy, environmental effects, da↗

DOE OSTI2020

Comprehensive Land Use and Environmental Stewardship

Comprehensive Land Use and Environmental Stewardship (CLUES) Report serves as a summary document of the land use and environmental stewardship activities occurring on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site (Desert) and the Research and Education Campus (REC) within Idaho Falls. Land and facility use planning and decisions at the INL Site are guided by a comprehensive planning process in accordance with the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Order 430.1C, “Real Property Asset Management,” which states "Establish a data-driven, risk-informed, performance-based approach to the life-cycle management of real property assets that aligns the real property portfolio with DOE mission needs; acquire, manage, positively account for, and dispose of real property assets in a safe, secure, cost-effective, and sustainable manner; and ensure the real property portfolio is appropriately sized, aligned, and in the proper condition to support efficient mission execution." Land use planning, like Campus Master Planning and 5-Year Facility Planning, provides a means for better, more sustainable use of the INL Site in a coordinated effort to ensure current and future mission needs are met, including acquisition, recapitalization, maintenance, disposition, real property utilization and long-term stewardship. This document and all functions of INL are guided by the DOE Vision for INL and the INL Mission and builds on the baseline established in the FY 2015 CLUES Report. However, it delivers a revised structure with focus on new resource management zones, which provide organization of key management considerations and access restrictions to optimize land use and environmental stewardship. A new set of thematic Guiding Principles presented in this report provide the intent and sustainable management direction to protect the INL Site natural environment. They demonstrate that the mission and vision of DOE and INL can be realized with inclusion of first of a kind technology, private sector development, and globally recognized testing and demonstration. This CLUES Report encourages comprehensive management decision-making with additional resource discussions for sustainability, the built environment, and the ecological landscape at the INL Site. Enhanced resource considerations and trends emphasize the importance of air, land use, environmental, subsurface, and cultural resources. The INL Site supports exceptional and interdependent resources. A diversity of bat species are accommodated by culturally significant caves distributed around the Site. Big game species like elk, deer, and moose seek vegetation communities which are protected by long-term stewardship and monitoring programs.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗