[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 183 (Thursday, September 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48975-48976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23493]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Availability of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test
Facility Final Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of
the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) Facility Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), DOE/EIS-0228. The alternative
actions analyzed in the EIS would occur at the DOE's Los Alamos
National Laboratory (LANL) in northern New Mexico.
DATES: The Final EIS was approved by the Department on August 25, 1995.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published its Notice of
Availability regarding this Final EIS on September 8, 1995 (60 FR
46833). DOE intends to issue a Record of Decision on the DARHT project;
the decision may be issued no sooner than 30 days from the date of the
Environmental Protection Agency Notice of Availability.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the DARHT EIS should be addressed to:
Ms. Diana Webb, DARHT EIS Project Manager, Los Alamos Area Office,
Department of Energy, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos NM 87544. Ms. Webb
may be contacted by telephone at (505) 665-6353 or by facsimile at
(505) 665-4872. In addition, DOE is issuing the DARHT Final EIS in CD
ROM format. Interested parties may obtain a copy of the CD version by
contacting Ms. Webb at the address and phone number above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DARHT
project, interested parties may contact Ms. Webb at the address and
phone number above. For general information on the DOE NEPA process,
please contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy
and Assistance, EH-42, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Ave.,
SW., Washington DC 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by leaving a
message at (800) 472-2756 or by calling (202) 586-4600.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DARHT Final EIS was prepared pursuant to
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations (40 CFR
Parts 1500-1508) and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR part 1021).
The Department proposes to provide enhanced high-resolution
radiography (x-ray) capability for the purpose of performing
hydrodynamic tests and dynamic experiments in support of its national
defense mission. The enhanced radiographic facility would be a key
component of the Department's near-term science-based stockpile
stewardship and management program. These hydrodynamic tests and
dynamic experiments are needed to assist DOE in ensuring the continued
safety, performance and reliability of existing nuclear weapons as they
age.
The DARHT EIS analyzes the environmental consequences of
alternative ways to accomplish the proposed action. The DOE's preferred
alternative would be to complete and operate the DARHT facility at LANL
in northern New Mexico, and provide an enhanced level of environmental
protection by using steel containment vessels, with implementation to
be phased over a 10-year period. Radiographic hydrodynamic testing is
now conducted in two existing facilities within the DOE complex--a 30-
year-old facility at LANL, and a 10-year-old facility at the DOE's
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The DARHT EIS
compares the environmental impacts that would be expected to occur from
continuing to operate the existing facility at LANL (the No Action
Alternative) with the consequences that would be expected to occur if
DOE implemented the Preferred Alternative or one of four other
operational alternatives. The DARHT EIS has a classified supplement
that provides additional information and analysis.
[[Page 48976]]
DOE issued a DARHT Draft EIS in May 1995 and invited comments on
the adequacy and accuracy of the draft analysis. Over sixty parties
provided comments on the Draft EIS. The Final EIS reflects changes made
by DOE to respond to public comments received, to provide additional
environmental baseline information, and to discuss additional technical
considerations. The Final EIS also reflects the commitment made by the
President on August 11, 1995, to seek a ``zero-yield'' Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty. The type of capability proposed for the DARHT facility
is essential to assuring the continued safety and reliability of the
nuclear weapons stockpile under a test ban. DOE made the following
major changes between the Draft and Final EIS:
--A Phased Containment Option was added to the Enhanced Containment
Alternative, and was designated as DOE's preferred alternative.
--DOE discovered the presence of the federally listed threatened
species, the Mexican spotted owl, in the vicinity of the DARHT site,
identified measures to mitigate any adverse effects to the owl, and
received concurrence from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that
operation of the facility is not likely to adversely effect the owl.
--Additional mitigation measures were added after consultation with
affected American Indian tribes.
--The DOE proposal incorporates upgraded accelerator equipment
within both the first and second axis of the proposed DARHT
facility.
--DOE incorporated information regarding its Stockpile Stewardship
and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (60 FR
31291, June 14, 1995).
--The Final EIS includes unclassified information from the impact
analysis in the classified supplement, which had been made available
to the public during the comment period on the Draft EIS.
DOE has distributed copies of the DARHT Final EIS to appropriate
Congressional members and committees, the State of New Mexico, affected
American Indian tribes, local county governments, other federal
agencies, and other interested parties. DOE expects to issue a Record
of Decision on the DARHT proposal in October, 1995.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 15th day of September, 1995, for
the United States Department of Energy.
Everet H. Beckner,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs.
[FR Doc. 95-23493 Filed 9-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P