[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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