[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 176 (Tuesday, September 10, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47739-47741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-23046]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Draft Hanford Remedial Action; Environmental Impact Statement and 
Comprehensive Land-Use Plan, Richland, WA

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA).

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SUMMARY: DOE announces the availability of the Draft Hanford Remedial 
Action Environmental Impact Statement and Comprehensive Land-Use Plan 
(HRA-EIS). The Draft EIS addresses DOE's proposed alternatives for 
establishing future land-use objectives for the Hanford Site. Decisions 
resulting from the assessment of the environmental impacts associated 
with these alternatives, in consultation with stakeholders and 
regulators, will establish a desired future land use for a given area. 
The scope of the HRA-EIS is based on the Hanford Future Site Uses 
Working Group (Working Group) recommendations which were developed by 
stakeholders representing a diverse combination of interests that 
worked for a number of years to identify future use options for the 
Hanford Site. The HRA-EIS addresses potential remediation impacts for 
four of the six Hanford geographic areas identified by the Working 
Group; (1) The Columbia River (Hanford Reach), (2) Reactors on the 
River (100 Areas), (3) the Central Plateau (200 Areas), and (4) All 
Other Areas (300, 400, 600, 1100, and 3000 Areas). Remediation of all 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) operable units and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA) past-practice waste site as defined under the Tri-Party 
Agreement located within these geographic areas are included in the 
scope of this EIS. Decommissioning of selected surplus facilities is 
also addressed, along with RCRA waste treatment, storage, and disposal 
(TSD) units located in or near past-practice waste units. The Fitzner-
Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology Reserve and the area north of the Columbia 
River (North Slope) have been remediated and are considered available 
for unrestricted uses, and therefore have not been analyzed as part of 
this EIS. However, potential future land uses for these two areas are 
addressed in the Comprehensive Land-Use Plan portion of the Draft HRA-
EIS. The alternatives presented in this EIS were developed by applying 
different levels-of-access scenarios (i.e., restricted use, 
unrestricted use, and exclusive use) to the different geographic areas 
identified by the Working Group.

DATES: DOE invites all interested parties to submit written comments 
concerning the Draft EIS during the comment period ending November 1, 
1996. Comments postmarked after that date will be considered to the 
extent practicable. A public hearing will be conducted on October 17, 
1996.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Draft EIS, further information on 
the Draft EIS, and/or written comments on the Draft EIS should be 
directed to Mr. Thomas W. Ferns, DOE National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations 
Office, P.O. Box 550, MSIN HO-12, Richland, Washington 99352-0550. 
Requests for copies of the Draft EIS or comments on the Draft EIS can 
also be made through (1) the Internet at Thomas__W__ F[email protected], (2) 
by calling 1-800-786-2018, or (3) by FAX at (509) 376-4360. Locations 
of Public Reading Rooms and information repositories where the Draft 
EIS will be available for review are listed in this notice under 
``Supplementary Information.'' The Draft EIS is also available on the 
DOE Hanford Internet Home Page at http://www.hanford.gov/eis/hraeis/
hraeis.htm.
    Information on the DOE NEPA process may be obtained from Ms. Carol 
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, MSIN EH-42, 
Washington, D.C. 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by telephone at 
(202) 586-4600 or by leaving a message at 1-800-472-2756.
    The public is also invited to attend a hearing in which oral and 
written comments will be received on the Draft EIS. Oral and written 
comments will be considered equally in preparation of the Final EIS. 
The public hearing will be held on the date and at the location listed 
below:

    Dates: October 17, 1996.
    Time: 6:30 p.m.
    Location: Shilo Inn.
    Addresses: 50 Comstock Street, Ballroom # 1, Richland, WA 99352.


[[Page 47740]]



SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On August 21, 1992, DOE published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to 
prepare the HRA-EIS in the Federal Register (57 FR 37959). The scoping 
period for the HRA-EIS was scheduled to run from August 21, 1992, to 
November 25, 1992, but was extended, at the public's request, to 
January 15, 1993. A notice of this extension was printed on November 
25, 1992 (57 FR 55517). During the public scoping period, four scoping 
meetings were held in the Northwest: Spokane, Washington, on September 
29, 1992; Pasco, Washington, on October 1, 1992; Seattle, Washington, 
on October 5, 1992; and Portland, Oregon, on October 8, 1992. Public 
comments received during the scoping period were considered by DOE in 
developing the Draft HRA-EIS. Some comments resulted in modifications 
of the scope and content of the EIS as set forth in the original NOI. 
Comments from the public scoping process and the DOE responses to those 
comments can be found in the Implementation Plan for the HRA-EIS, 
issued in June 1995 (DOE/RL-93-66).
    Recently, DOE issued a policy requiring land and facility-use 
planning at large multi-function DOE sites (this policy has been 
incorporated into DOE Order 430.1, ``Life-Cycle Asset Management''). To 
satisfy the requirements of this Order, DOE began development of the 
Hanford Site Comprehensive Land-Use Plan (Comprehensive Plan). The 
purpose of the Comprehensive Plan is to guide land and facility-use 
decisions through the integration of natural, cultural, and 
socioeconomic factors and to designate existing and future land uses 
that are appropriate for the Hanford Site, including an evaluation of 
DOE's responsibilities, authorities, and applicable requirements. In 
addition, the land-use analysis considers values expressed by other 
federal agencies; state and local governments; the Tribal Nations; 
businesses, labor, environmental, and other groups and organizations; 
and members of the public concerned with or affected by the Hanford 
Site. These values, taken in conjunction with specific characteristics 
of the natural and built landscape within the Hanford Site, are used to 
identify areas of the Hanford Site which could be designated for 
various future uses.
    Copies of the Draft HRA-EIS have been distributed to federal, 
state, and local officials; Tribal Nations; and agencies, 
organizations, and individuals who may be interested or affected by the 
proposed action. The document number for this EIS is DOE/EIS-0222D. 
This EIS has been prepared in accordance with NEPA; the Council on 
Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations, 40 CFR Parts 1500-1508; and 
the DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures, 10 CFR Part 1021. DOE plans to 
issue the Final EIS in February of 1996, with a Record of Decision 
issued no sooner than 30 days after issuance of the Final EIS. The 
Draft EIS and key supporting technical documentation can be found in 
the DOE reading rooms and designated information repositories 
identified at the end of this notice.

Alternatives Considered

    Future land-use alternatives discussed in detail in the HRA-EIS 
are:
     ``No-Action''--conduct a long-term monitoring and 
maintenance program instead of continuing the current program of TSD 
unit closures, past-practice waste site remedial actions, and surplus 
facility decommissioning actions (the No-Action Alternative is common 
to all of the geographic areas, but the specific monitoring and 
maintenance activities would vary depending on the types of waste sites 
and facilities found in each area);
     ``Columbia River Unrestricted Future Land-Use 
Alternative''--unrestricted use of the Columbia River geographic area 
would be achieved through excavation and removal of contaminated 
riverbank, riverbottom, and island sediments, in conjunction with 
removal of the river discharge pipelines. This alternative would result 
in residual contamination levels that would not preclude any human uses 
within the Columbia River geographic area;
     ``Columbia River Restricted Future Land-Use 
Alternative''--restricted use would be achieved through the removal of 
physical hazards and contaminants combined with engineering and/or 
institutional controls. This alternative would result in residual 
contaminant levels that require some continuing restrictions on human 
use of the Columbia River geographic area;
     ``Reactors on the River Unrestricted Future Land-Use 
Alternative''--unrestricted use of the Reactors on the River geographic 
area would be achieved through excavation of contaminated soil and 
remediation of past-practice waste sites and ground water in 
conjunction with closure of TSD units and decommissioning of surplus 
contaminated and uncontaminated facilities associated with the 
reactors. This alternative would include ground-water remediation to 
address existing contaminant plumes located in, or potentially entering 
into, the Reactors on the River geographic area. Under this 
alternative, the Reactors on the River geographic area would be 
remediated to levels that do not preclude any human use. However, 
access or certain uses might continue to be controlled for other 
reasons (i.e., the presence of physical hazards or to protect cultural 
resources and/or sensitive wildlife habitat);
     ``Reactors on the River Restricted Future Land-Use 
Alternative''--restricted future land use for the Reactors on the River 
geographic area would be achieved through a combination of remedial 
activities, including excavation and disposal of contaminated soil, 
remediation of past-practice waste sites, closure of TSD units, site 
reclamation, decommissioning of surplus facilities, and/or use of 
engineering and institutional controls. In addition to these potential 
remediation activities, a ground-water remediation strategy would be 
employed for the Reactors on the River geographic area. The EIS 
assesses two primary options for achieving a Restricted Future Land-Use 
for the Reactors on the River geographic area. The first option (R1) 
would emphasize removal and disposal of waste and contaminated 
materials, ground-water remediation, and continuing access 
restrictions. The second option (R2) would emphasize the placement of 
engineered caps, or barriers, over waste sites, in addition to ground-
water remediation;
     ``Central Plateau Exclusive Future Land-Use 
Alternative''--exclusive future land use of the Central Plateau 
geographic area would be achieved primarily through engineering and 
institutional controls, ground-water remediation, and capping of past-
practice waste sites and TSD units. Potential health risks due to 
residual contamination would require strict controls on access. Use of 
the area would be limited to management of radioactive and hazardous 
waste, and similar compatible uses;
     `` All Other Areas Restricted Future Land-Use 
Alternative''--restricted future land use in the All Other Areas 
geographic area could be achieved through a variety of remediation 
activities, including excavation and disposal of contaminated soil, 
remediation of past-practice waste sites, closure of TSD units, site 
reclamation, decommissioning of surplus facilities, and/or use of 
engineering and institutional controls. In addition to these potential 
remediation activities, a ground-water remediation strategy would be 
developed and employed for

[[Page 47741]]

the All Other Areas geographic area. The EIS assesses two primary 
options for achieving a restricted future land use for the All Other 
Areas geographic area. The first option (R1) would emphasize removal 
and disposal of waste and contaminated materials, ground-water 
remediation, and continuing access restrictions. The second option (R2) 
would emphasize the placement of engineered caps, or barriers, over 
waste sites, in addition to ground-water remediation.

Preferred Alternative

    DOE has not selected a preferred alternative at this time. 
Following public comment on the Draft EIS, DOE will develop a preferred 
alternative to be presented in the Final EIS.

Invitation to Comment

    DOE has completed the general distribution of the EIS and has filed 
the document with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which will 
publish a separate Notice of Availability elsewhere in the Federal 
Register. The Draft EIS also is available to the public in the DOE 
reading rooms and designated information repository locations 
identified in this notice.
    Persons interested in speaking at the hearing (see address at the 
beginning of this notice) may register at the hearing and will be 
called on to speak on a first-come, first-served basis. Written 
comments will also be accepted at the hearing, and speakers are 
encouraged to provide written versions of their oral comments for the 
record. Oral and written comments will be considered equally in 
preparing the Final EIS.
    The Summary of the HRA-EIS is available for review for those who do 
not wish to receive the entire Draft EIS. When requesting copies of the 
HRA-EIS, please specify whether you wish to receive only the Summary 
(38 pages) or the entire Draft EIS including associated appendices (4 
volumes).

DOE Public Reading Rooms and Information Repositories

Suzzallo Library, University of Washington, Government Publications 
Room, Seattle, Washington 98159, (206) 543-4664
Foley Center, Gonzaga University, E. 502 Boone, Spokane, Washington 
99258, (509) 328-4220, Ext. 3125
DOE Public Reading Room, Washington State University, Tri-Cities 
Campus, 100 Sprout Road, Room 130, Richland, Washington 99352, (509) 
376-8583
Branford Price Millar Library, Science and Engineering Floor, Portland 
State University, SW Harrison and Park, Portland, Oregon 97207, (503) 
725-3690
DOE Freedom of Information Reading Room, Forrestal Building, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-5955

    Issued this 3rd day of September 1996.
James M. Owendoff,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Restoration.
[FR Doc. 96-23046 Filed 9-9-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P