In the running: Brownsville could get world's first nuclear carrier

Jul. 3—Only have a minute? Listen instead

The Port of Brownsville may be the final destination for the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise (CVN-65), deactivated by the Navy in 2012 and decommissioned in 2017.

The Navy announced June 30 that Brownsville is among three potential locations evaluated in a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) where the former Enterprise might be sent for dismantling by a commercial ship recycler. The other locations are Hampton Roads, Va., and Mobile, Ala.

Brownsville's shipbreakers have scrapped several carriers and other naval vessels over the years. The most recent carrier to come here was the former USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), a conventionally powered warship that arrived here on May 31, 2022, and is being dismantled by EMR International Shipbreaking Ltd. EMR was also awarded a Navy contract to dismantle the former USS John F. Kennedy, though it's not clear when that ship will arrive in Brownsville.

The Enterprise, currently mothballed at Newport News, Va., was built by Newport News Shipbuilding beginning in 1958, launched in September 1960 and commissioned in November 1961. The Navy said it has prepared a Final EIS/Overseas EIS related to the disposal of the ship and its defueled reactor plants, and that having the ship recycled commercially was one of three alternatives considered under the EIS/OEIS, including a "no action" alternative.

The EIS/OEIS concluded that having the ship dismantled commercially is the preferred alternative, since it would allow the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility to concentrate on high-priority fleet-maintenance and "submarine inactivation and reactor compartment package work" that is already part of the shipyard and maintenance facility's workload.

This alternative also would provide cost benefits to U.S. taxpayers and would not result in significant environmental impacts, according to the Navy, which said any "low-level radiological waste and other hazardous waste" would be disposed of at an authorized commercial or Department of Energy waste-disposal facility. The Navy undertook the EIS/OEIS with the DOE as a cooperating agency, and said that completion of the document followed "years of research, analysis and public involvement."

The Navy said it analyzed direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of the dismantling project and expects no significant environmental impacts as long as standard operating procedure, best management practices and mitigation measures are implemented. In keeping with National Environmental Policy Act regulations, the Navy will wait at least 30 days after publication of the EIS/OEIS "before making a decision on the action," it said.

The EIS/OEIS is available for public viewing online at www.carrierisposaleis.com, at the Brownsville Public Library Main Branch, 2600 Central Blvd., and at the library's Southmost Branch, 4320 Southmost Blvd.