[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 155 (Friday, August 9, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41596-41597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-20237]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Environmental Policy Act Record of Decision for the
Disposal of Decommissioned, Defueled Cruiser, Ohio Class, and Los
Angeles Class Naval Reactor Plants
SUMMARY: This Record of Decision has been prepared on the proposed
disposal of defueled reactor plants from U.S. Navy nuclear-powered
cruisers, OHIO Class submarines and LOS ANGELES Class submarines,
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.] and in accordance with the Council on Environmental
Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the
National Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508). The Navy,
with the concurrence of the Department of Energy, has decided to
dispose of these reactor plants by land burial of the entire reactor
compartment at the Department of Energy Low-Level Waste Burial Grounds
at Hanford, Washington. The Department of Energy participated as a
cooperating agency in the development of the Environmental Impact
Statement on this federal action and has adopted the Environmental
Impact Statement.
ADDRESSES: Requests for further information should be directed to
either
[[Page 41597]]
Mr. John Gordon (Code 1160), Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, 1400 Farragut
Avenue, Bremerton, Washington 98314-5001, telephone (360) 476-7111, or,
Mr. Paul Dunigan, National Environmental Policy Act Compliance Officer,
Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, P.O. Box 550,
Richland, Washington 99352, telephone (509) 376-6667.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final Environmental Impact Statement
analyzes the alternative ways for disposing of decommissioned,
defueled, reactor compartments from U.S. Navy nuclear-powered cruisers
(BAINBRIDGE, TRUXTUN, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA Class and VIRGINIA Class)
and submarines (LOS ANGELES and OHIO Class). A disposal method for the
defueled reactor compartments is needed when the cost of continued
operation is not justified by the ship's military capability, or when
the ships are no longer needed. Navy reactor plants constructed prior
to the USS LOS ANGELES (SSN 688) (referred to as pre-LOS ANGELES Class
submarines) share many common design characteristics with reactor
plants from nuclear-powered cruisers, OHIO Class submarines and LOS
ANGELES Class submarines. Defueled reactor plants from pre-LOS ANGELES
Class submarines are currently being disposed of at the Department of
Energy Hanford Site in Eastern Washington by the Navy, consistent with
its 1984 Record of Decision.
The alternatives examined in detail in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement were the preferred alternative--shipment of the
prepared compartments from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton,
Washington for land burial of the entire reactor compartment at the
Department of Energy Low-Level Waste Burial Grounds at Hanford,
Washington; the no action alternative--protective waterborne storage
for an indefinite period; disposal and reuse of subdivided portions of
the reactor compartments; and indefinite storage above ground at
Hanford.
Among these four alternatives, the subdivision alternative had the
highest impacts, primarily due to the high occupational radiation
exposure that would be received by workers dismantling the reactor
compartments. The other three alternatives had very small environment
impacts. Of these three, only the reactor compartment land burial
alternative provided for permanent disposal of the defueled reactor
plants. Thus, the alternative of land burial of the defueled reactor
compartments at Hanford is the environmentally preferable alternative.
Under this alternative, the Department of the Navy will prepare the
defueled reactor compartments for shipment at the Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard. These preparations involve draining the piping systems,
tanks, vessels and other components to the maximum extent practical,
sealing the radioactive systems, removing the reactor compartment and
enclosing it in a high integrity all-welded steel package. The reactor
compartment packages will meet the type B requirements of the
Department of Transportation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and
the Department of Energy. Non-radioactive metal, such as submarine
hulls, could be recycled. The reactor compartment packages will be
transported by barge out of Puget Sound through the Strait of Juan de
Fuca, down the Washington coast, and up the Columbia River to the Port
of Benton where they will be loaded onto an overland transporter and
hauled to the Department of Energy's Hanford Site near Richland,
Washington.
The Department of Energy will accept the approximately 100 cruiser,
OHIO Class and LOS ANGELES Class submarine reactor compartments for
disposal at the 218-E-12B Low-Level Burial Ground, a 173-acre waste
disposal facility in the 200 East area of the Hanford Site. To date, 55
pre-LOS ANGELES Class submarine reactor compartments have been
transported safely and disposed of in one area of this facility. The
Department of Energy will oversee the future placement of reactor
compartments into this area of the disposal facility and manage
subsequent disposal operations in accordance with all applicable
requirements. The Washington State Department of Ecology will regulate
the reactor compartment disposal packages as a dangerous waste under
Washington Administrative Code 173-303, Dangerous Waste Regulations,
due to the over 100 tons of permanent lead shielding in each reactor
compartment. Treatment before disposal is not required because the
solid elemental lead shielding is encapsulated by thick metal sheathing
plates that meet Resource Conservation and Recovery Act treatment
standards for disposal of radioactive lead solids.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement was made available for
public review, and little public input was received. Review comments
from state regulatory agencies in Washington and Oregon were positive.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assigned a rating of LO-
1 to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, which indicates that EPA
review did not identify any potential environmental impacts requiring
substantive changes to the preferred alternative. The Final
Environmental Impact Statement, which includes responses to public
comments, has been issued and distributed to interested parties.
The Navy, with the concurrence of the Department of Energy, has
decided to proceed with the preferred alternative of land burial of the
defueled reactor compartments at Hanford because this alternative is
the environmentally preferable alternative, it supports the Navy's
mission by providing for responsible, permanent disposal of the
defueled reactor plants from the Navy's nuclear-powered ships, and it
can be accomplished safely and at reasonable cost.
As discussed in the Environmental Impact Statement, the Navy's
current method of disposing of pre-LOS ANGELES Class submarine reactor
plants consists of conservative engineering practices, which serve to
assure that environmental impacts will be very small. These
conservative engineering practices have been incorporated in the Navy's
preferred alternative for nuclear-powered cruisers, OHIO Class
submarines and LOS ANGELES Class submarines. No additional mitigative
measures have been identified which are needed to further reduce the
small impacts which were described in the Environmental Impact
Statement. Accordingly, all practicable means to avoid or minimize
environmental harm from the preferred alternative have been adopted.
Dated: July 3, 1996.
Robert B. Pirie, Jr.,
Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and Environment).
Alvin Alm,
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management, Departmet of Energy.
[FR Doc. 96-20237 Filed 8-8-96; 8:45 am]
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