[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 56 (Thursday, March 21, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11619-11621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6836]
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[[Page 11620]]
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Completion of the West
Valley Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term Management of
Facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center
AGENCY: United States Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of wetlands involvement.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the New York State
Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announce the
availability for public review and comment of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for Completion of the West Valley Demonstration
Project (Project) and Closure or Long-Term Management of Facilities at
the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (Center). DOE also gives
public notice that the alternatives analyzed in the EIS include
proposed actions that would occur in wetlands. The EIS evaluates
alternatives for integrated sitewide actions to complete DOE
decontamination and decommissioning activities and provide for
NYSERDA's closure or long-term management of facilities at the Center.
This joint EIS supports the selection of the site management strategy
and will assist NYSERDA and DOE in making decisions for future site
closure or management activities. DOE and NYSERDA will identify the
selected site management strategy in a National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) Record of Decision and in State Environmental Quality Review
Act (SEQRA) Findings, respectively. If necessary, additional NEPA or
SEQRA documents will be prepared for DOE and NYSERDA actions not
specifically addressed in this document.
DATES: The comment period on the Draft EIS will continue until
September 22, 1996. Comments postmarked after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable. Public meetings will be held at
the locations and dates listed in the supplementary information section
of this notice.
ADDRESSES: Requests for information about, and copies of, the Draft EIS
should be directed to the Community Relations Department of the West
Valley Demonstration Project, P.O. Box 191, West Valley, NY 14171-0191,
or by calling (800) 633-5280 or (716) 942-2152.
Written comments on the Draft EIS should be mailed to the following
address:
Draft EIS, Community Relations Dept./MS-A, West Valley Demonstration
Project, P.O. Box 191, West Valley, New York 14171. Fax: (716) 942-
4703, Internet: http://freenet.buffalo.edu/wvdp/eisform.htp
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, call (800) 472-
2756 to leave a message, or contact:
Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-
42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-0119, (202) 586-4600
For general information on the New York State Environmental Quality
Review Act (SEQRA) process, call (518) 457-2224 to leave a message or
contact:
Jack Nasca, Regulatory Services, New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, 50 Wolf Road, Room 538, Albany, NY 12233-
1750
Availability of the Draft EIS: Copies of the Draft EIS have been
distributed to federal, state, tribal and local officials, as well as
agencies, organizations and individuals who may be interested or
affected. Copies of the Draft EIS are also available for public review
at the locations listed at the end of this Notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On December 27, 1988, DOE issued a Notice of Intent (53 FR 53052)
to prepare the Environmental Impact Statement for Completion of the
West Valley Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term Management
of Facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center. The
Notice of Intent stated that the EIS would evaluate alternatives for
completing the Project and closure or long-term management of
facilities at the Center which is located near Buffalo, New York. The
public comment period on the Notice of Intent extended from December
27, 1988 to February 23, 1989, with two public scoping meetings.
DOE issued an Implementation Plan in March 1995 that recorded the
results of the scoping process.
The Center is the site of a former spent nuclear fuel reprocessing
facility. NYSERDA holds title to the site on behalf of the people of
the State of New York. The site includes the process building and
associated facilities, waste storage facilities, two radioactive waste
disposal areas, and tanks containing liquid high-level radioactive
waste from past reprocessing operations. The West Valley Demonstration
Project is a joint federal-state cleanup under which DOE, in
cooperation with NYSERDA, will solidify the high-level radioactive
waste, transport the solidified waste for disposal at an appropriate
federal repository, dispose of the low-level and transuranic waste
produced by the solidification of the high-level waste, and
decontaminate and decommission all facilities used in solidifying the
high-level waste. In 1982, a Final EIS was issued by DOE concerning
long-term management of the liquid high-level wastes. On the basis of
that earlier EIS, DOE decided to concentrate, chemically treat, and
convert the liquid high-level wastes to a solid terminal waste form
suitable for transportation offsite and eventual disposal in a federal
geologic repository.
The current EIS evaluates alternatives for integrated sitewide
actions to complete DOE decontamination and decommissioning activities
and provide for NYSERDA's closure or long-term management of facilities
at the Center. This EIS evaluates the treatment, storage, and disposal
of high-level, low-level, low-level mixed, hazardous, and industrial
waste and contaminated soil. This EIS is being prepared in accordance
with the requirements of NEPA of 1969; with Council on Environmental
Quality regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and DOE
NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021); and with the New York
State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). This joint EIS provides
environmental information to support the selection of the site
management strategy and will assist NYSERDA and DOE in making decisions
for future site closure or management activities. The Nuclear
Regulatory Commission is a cooperating agency in the preparation of
this EIS. DOE and NYSERDA will identify the selected site management
strategy in a NEPA Record of Decision and in SEQRA Findings,
respectively. If necessary, additional NEPA or SEQRA documents will be
prepared for DOE and NYSERDA actions not specifically addressed in this
document.
Alternatives Considered
Five alternatives for Project completion and closure or long-term
management of the facilities at the Center are analyzed in this EIS.
These five alternatives were identified after considering comments
received during the scoping process. The five alternatives are:
Alternative I: Removal and Release to Allow Unrestricted Use.
Alternative I is the removal of existing facilities including buried
waste so there are minimal remnants of nuclear operations. All waste
would be disposed of offsite.
[[Page 11621]]
Alternative II: Removal, On-Premises Waste Storage, and Partial
Release to Allow Unrestricted Use. Alternative II is the removal of
existing facilities including buried waste so there are minimal
remnants of nuclear operations, with the exception of on-premises
storage of high-level, low-level, and low-level mixed waste.
Hazardous and industrial waste would be disposed of offsite.
Alternative III: In-Place Stabilization and On-Premises Low-
Level Waste Disposal. Alternative III is the in-place stabilization
of contaminated structures and buried waste. Uncontaminated
structures would be removed. Low-level waste would be disposed of
onsite. All other waste would be disposed of offsite.
Alternative IV: No Action: Monitoring and Maintenance.
Alternative IV is the management of the site in its current
configuration. There would be long-term monitoring and maintenance.
Only hazardous waste would be disposed of offsite.
Alternative V: Discontinue Operations. Alternative V is the
discontinuation of operations; the site would be left in its current
configuration. No closure actions would be taken. All waste would be
left onsite.
Alternative IV (No Action: Monitoring and Maintenance) is
required by NEPA and SEQRA regulations to be considered in order to
establish a baseline for comparison with the environmental effects
of the ``action'' alternatives. Alternatives II (On-Premises
Storage) and V (Discontinue Operations) were evaluated in the EIS in
response to comments received during the scoping process. Although
Alternative V is not considered a reasonable alternative by either
DOE or NYSERDA, it provides an environmental baseline for evaluating
impacts. The long-term performance assessment (an analysis of the
effects that contaminated facilities would have on human health and
the environment over the long term) of Alternative V gives an
understanding of the long-term public hazard and contribution of
natural processes, such as surface water flow or erosion, to that
hazard. Table S-1 in the EIS summarizes the actions for each
alternative, including the disposition of newly generated and stored
waste. Neither DOE nor NYSERDA has identified a preferred
alternative.
The alternatives include proposed actions that would occur in
wetlands. Pursuant to 10 CFR Part 1022, the Draft EIS includes an
assessment of the potential impacts to wetlands .
Invitation to Comment
The public is invited to submit written and oral comments on any or
all portions of the Draft EIS. Public information sessions on the Draft
EIS will be held in the Western New York area in April 1996, including
sessions planned specifically to share EIS information with members of
the Seneca Nation of Indians. The dates, times and locations of the
public information sessions are as follows:
Tuesday, April 23, 1996, 1:00-9:00 p.m., Seneca Nation Reservation,
Irving, NY
Wednesday, April 24, 1996, 1:00-9:00 p.m., McKinley Park Inn, McKinley
Parkway, Hamburg, NY
Thursday, April 25, 1996, 1:00-9:00 p.m., Seneca Nation Reservation,
Salamanca, NY
Friday, April 26, 1996, 1:00-9:00 p.m., Ashford Office Complex, Route
219, Ashford, NY
These sessions will also be announced through public notices in
area newspapers, press releases, Internet notifications and through
Seneca Nation advertising media. These sessions will be conducted as
``poster presentations'' with the DOE, NYSERDA, and EIS contractor
personnel available to explain and discuss topics and issues related to
the Draft EIS.
In addition, DOE and NYSERDA are planning to hold one public
hearing, on August 6, 1996, to receive oral and written comments on the
Draft EIS. Further information regarding the EIS will be available by
calling (800) 633-5280 (toll free), or, for those who receive a copy of
the EIS, by contacting the personnel identified in the Summary of the
Draft EIS.
Written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted until September
22, 1996, at the New York address at West Valley (provided above). DOE
and NYSERDA will consider these public comments in preparing the Final
EIS.
Persons who wish to speak at the public hearing are asked to
register in advance by calling the following toll-free number: (800)
633-5280. Requests to speak that have not been submitted before the
hearing will be handled in the order in which they are received. DOE's
and NYSERDA's responses to comments received during the public hearing
or in writing will be included in the Final EIS.
WVDP Public Reading Rooms
The following is a list of public reading rooms where the Draft EIS
and supporting technical documents are available:
Central Library, Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203, Phone: (716)
858-7098
Concord Hulbert Library, 18 Chapel Street, Springville, NY 14141,
Phone: (716) 592-7742
Olean Public Library, 134 North 2nd Street, Olean, NY 14760, Phone:
(716) 372-0200
West Valley Central School Library, West Valley, NY 14171, Phone:
(716) 942-3293
Ashford Office Complex, 9060 Route 219, West Valley, NY 14171 Phone:
(716) 942-4555
Issued in Washington, D.C., March 18, 1996.
Stephen Cowan,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Management.
[FR Doc. 96-6836 Filed 3-20-96; 8:45 am]
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