[en] The US Department of Energy (DOE) proposed to site, construct, and operate new production reactor (NPR) capacity intended primarily to produce tritium and secondarily to produce plutonium for the US nuclear weapons program. DOE studies show that this new capacity is needed to ensure reliable maintenance of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. It also is essential that these necessary nuclear materials be produced in a safe and environmentally sound manner. The DOE has determined that this proposed action constitutes a major federal action that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment; therefore, the DOE will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess the potential impacts of the proposed action and reasonable alternatives on the human and natural environment. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as implemented in regulations promulgated by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). This EIS implementation plan (IP) includes a description of the proposed action, descriptions of alternatives, a summary of EIS assumptions, a list of environmental issues to be considered in the EIS (including those identified during public scoping activities), a list of proposed agency consultations, a schedule for EIS preparation and related activities, and an annotated outline for the EIS. It is the Department's intent that the EIS on the NPR capacity will serve as the programmatic National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of modernization of DOE defense nuclear materials production of tritium and plutonium. The Department is currently developing a NEPA compliance strategy for modernization of the remainder of the nuclear weapons production complex, which will reference the EIS on NPR capacity. 7 refs., 8 tabs