[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 231 (Friday, November 29, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60690-60693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-30460]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Phase, Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement; Notice of Availability and Public
Hearings
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or Department) announces the
availability for public review and comment of the draft supplemental
environmental impact statement (SEIS-II) for the proposed disposal of
transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
(WIPP) near Carlsbad, NM, and the schedule for public hearings on that
document.
DATES: DOE invites all interested parties to submit comments on the
draft SEIS-II during a comment period ending on January 28, 1997.
Written comments must be postmarked by January 28, 1997 to ensure
consideration. Comments postmarked after that date will be considered
to the extent practicable.
DOE will also hold several public hearings to receive public
comments and suggestions on the draft SEIS-II. Public hearings will be
held on the dates and at the locations given below.
[[Page 60691]]
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Albuquerque, NM............. January 6, 1997..... Albuquerque
Convention Center,
401 2nd Street
N.W., Albuquerque,
NM 87103, (505) 768-
4575.
January 7, 1997.....
Santa Fe, NM................ January 8, 1997..... Sweeney Convention
Center, 201 West
Marcy, Santa Fe, NM
87501, (505) 986-
6901.
January 9, 1997.....
January 10, 1997....
Richland, WA................ January 15, 1997.... Red Lion Inn
Richland, 802
George Washington
Way, Richland, WA
99352, (509) 946-
7611.
Carlsbad, NM................ January 13, 1997.... Pecos River Village,
711 N. Muscatel,
Carlsbad, NM 88220,
(505) 887-6516.
Denver, CO.................. January, 13 1997.... Arvada Center for
Arts and
Humanities, 6901
Wadsworth
Boulevard, Denver,
CO 80003, (303) 431-
3080.
Boise, ID................... January 15, 1997.... Red Lion Inn
Riverside, 2900
Chinden Boulevard,
Boise, ID 83714,
(208) 946-7611.
Oak Ridge, TN............... January 21, 1997.... American Museum of
Science and Energy,
300 South Tulane
Avenue, Oak Ridge,
TN 37830, (423) 576-
3200.
N. Augusta, SC.............. January 23, 1997.... North Augusta
Community Center,
495 Brookside
Drive, North
Augusta, SC 29841,
(803) 441-4290.
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Public hearings are planned for morning (only in Albuquerque and on
January 9th and 10th in Santa Fe), afternoon, and evening sessions. The
length of sessions held at each location may be adjusted as
preregistration demand warrants. The planned hours for hearings are:
9:00 AM to 12 noon for the morning sessions, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM for the
afternoon sessions, and 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM for the evening sessions.
Call the WIPP Information line at 1-800-336-9477 at least a week before
the hearing to register in advance to speak at a particular public
hearing. Persons who have not registered in advance may register to
comment when they arrive at the hearing to the extent time is
available. For additional information about the format for the hearings
and speaker registration see the Public Hearing subheading under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the draft SEIS II should be directed to:
Harold Johnson, NEPA Compliance Officer, Attn: SEIS Comments, P.O. Box
9800, Albuquerque, NM 87119.
Comments submitted by electronic mail should be sent to
[email protected]. Faxed comments should be directed to Harold
Johnson at 1-505-224-8030. Oral comments will be accepted only at the
public hearings.
Copies of the draft SEIS II are also available for reference at the
public reading rooms set forth below. The reading rooms also contain
reference documents.
New Mexico State Library 325 Don Gaspar Santa Fe, NM 87503
Carlsbad Public Library 101 S. Halagueno St. Carlsbad, NM 88220
Zimmerman Library Government Publications Department University of
New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131
Pannell Library New Mexico Junior College 5317 Lovington Highway
Hobbs, NM 88240
WIPP Public Reading Room National Atomic Museum U.S. Department of
Energy Albuquerque Operations Office P.O. Box 5400 Albuquerque, NM
87115
Martin Speare Memorial Library New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology Campus Station Soccorro, NM 87801
Raton Public Library Public Reading Room 244 Cook Ave. Raton, NM
87740
New Mexico State University Library P.O. Box 30001 Las Cruces, NM
88003
Los Alamos National Laboratory Community Reading Room P.O. Box 1663,
MS A-117 Los Alamos, NM 87545
DOE Public Reading Room--Oakland 1301 Clay St., Room 700N Oakland,
CA 94612
DOE Public Reading Room--Nevada 2621 Losee Rd. North Las Vegas, NV
89030
Flagstaff--Coconino County Public Library 300 West Aspen Flagstaff,
AZ 86001
The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency
c/o Levon Benally Jr.
P.O. Box 339
Window Rock, AZ
DOE Public Reading Room--Richland
Washington State University Tri-Cities
100 Sprout Rd., Room 130 West
Richland, WA 99352
Oregon State Library
250 Winter St.
Salem, OR 97310
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Reading Room
1776 Science Center Dr.
Idaho Falls, ID 83402
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory--Boise Office
816 West Bannock Suite 306
Boise, ID 83702
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory--Pocatello Office
1651 AT Ricken Dr.
Pocatello, ID 83201
Idaho National Engineering Laboratory--Twin Falls Office
233 2nd St. North, Suite B
Twin Falls, ID 83301
University of Idaho Library
Government Document Department (University of Idaho Campus)
Rayburn Street
Moscow, ID 83843
Shoshone-Bannock Library
Human Resources Center
Bannock and Pima
Fort Hall, ID 83203
Moscow Environmental Restoration Information Office
530 South Ashbury, Suite 2
Moscow, ID 83843
Pocatello Public Library
113 South Garfield
Pocatello, ID 83201
Idaho State University Library
741 South 7th Ave., Box 8089
Pocatello, ID 83209
Twin Falls Public Library
434 2nd St. East
Twin Falls, ID 83301
Wyoming State Library
Supreme Court Building
2301 Capitol Ave.
Cheyenne, WY 82002
DOE Rocky Flats Public Reading Room
Front Range Community College Library
3645 West 112th Ave.
Westminster, CO 80030
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Records Center
999 18th St., 5th Floor
Denver, CO 80220
Information Center
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
[[Page 60692]]
4300 Cherry Creek Dr. South, Building A
Denver, CO 80222-1530
Citizens Advisory Board
9035 N. Wadsworth Pkwy., Suite 2250
Westminster, CO 80021
Standley Lake Library
8485 Kipling St.
Arvada, CO 80005
Texas State Library
Information Services Division
1201 Brazos St.
Austin, TX 78701
Oklahoma Dept. of Libraries
200 N.E. 18th St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Arkansas State Library
One Capitol Mall
Little Rock, AR 72201
Kansas State Library
State Capitol Building
Topeka, KS 66612
Missouri State Library
600 West Main
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Indiana State Library
140 North Senate Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
DOE Public Reading Room--Chicago
9800 South Cass Ave.
Building 201
Argonne, IL 60439
DOE CERCLA Public Reading Room
Miamisburg Senior Adult Center
305 Central Ave.
Miamisburg, OH 45342
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Technical Information Center
P.O. Box 62
Oak Ridge, TN 37831
DOE Public Reading Room--Oak Ridge
55 Jefferson Cir.
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
DOE Public Reading Room--Savannah River
USC--Aiken Library
171 University Pkwy.
Aiken, SC 29801
Mobile Public Library
701 Government St.
Mobile, AL 36602
Atlanta--Fulton Public Library
One Margaret Mitchell Square N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30303
Mississippi State Law Library
450 High St.
Jackson, MS 39215
Louisiana State Library
760 North Third St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
DOE/Forrestal Building
Freedom of Information Reading Room
1000 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20585
Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board
625 Indiana Ave., N.W., Suite 700
Washington, DC 20004
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, to register
to speak at the public hearings, or to obtain a copy of the
environmental impact statement, call the WIPP Information line at 1-
800-336-9477 (staffed 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM mountain time; answering
machine at other times).
For further information on the DOE NEPA process, contact: Carol M.
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20585, Telephone: 202-586-4600 or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background, Purpose and Need for Agency Action
TRU waste is waste that contains alpha particle-emitting
radionuclides with an atomic number greater than that of uranium (92),
and half lives greater than 20 years, in concentrations greater than
100 nanocuries per gram of waste. Since the mid 1940s, DOE and its
predecessor agencies have conducted research and development, nuclear
weapons production and fuel reprocessing activities that have produced
TRU waste. Continued operation of Departmental facilities,
decontamination and decommissioning of defense production facilities,
and environmental restoration activities are expected to generate
additional TRU waste in the future.
The Department needs to safely dispose of the accumulated TRU waste
and provide for disposal of the additional TRU waste to be generated.
Since TRU waste emits alpha radiation for a long period of time and
some TRU waste contains hazardous constituents that could be harmful if
taken into the body, the waste must be isolated from means of
environmental transport (primarily air and water) for a long time
period for safe disposal. To this end, the Department has constructed
the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
The draft SEIS II examines the environmental impacts of the
proposed action: disposal at WIPP of the volume of defense TRU waste
allowed by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (i.e., by burying it 2,100 feet
deep in a salt deposit), after treatment to meet planning basis WIPP
waste acceptance criteria. Three action alternatives examine the
impacts of disposal of DOE TRU waste at WIPP, with three alternative
treatments (planning basis WIPP waste acceptance criteria, shred and
grout treatment to reduce gas generation, and thermal treatment to meet
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Land Disposal Restrictions). The
non-thermal treatment alternatives do not include disposal of TRU waste
commingled with polychlorinated biphenyls. If the Department were to
decide that shred and grout or thermal treatment would be the minimal
treatment required for disposal at WIPP, the planning basis waste
acceptance criteria would be revised appropriately. Two no-action
alternatives examine the impacts of leaving the waste at generator
sites. One no-action alternative assumes continued management of TRU
waste in existing and planned storage facilities, while the other
assumes construction of new monitored retrievable storage facilities
for TRU waste that has been thermally treated to meet Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act Land Disposal Restrictions. The proposed
action is identified as the Department's preferred alternative.
Public Hearing and Procedures
The public hearings will be conducted in an informal ``round
table'' setting. Comments will be recorded and a transcript of the
comments will be prepared. A sound system at the comment table will
enable other participants to hear commenters. For participants who want
to ask questions about the content, methodology, and results of the
draft SEIS II analysis before commenting, DOE will provide that
information in a separate room. Clarifying questions regarding the
content of the draft SEIS II may be asked as part of comments at the
public hearing, but the time needed to answer the questions will be
counted as part of the questioner's allotted speaking time. A quiet
area will be set aside where commenters can handwrite their comments or
record their comments on audiotape.
The hearing will not be an adjudicatory or evidentiary hearing and
speakers will not be cross-examined, although DOE's hearing panel
members may ask clarifying questions or respond to questions raised by
the commenter. The hearing transcripts will be available in the public
reading rooms as soon as possible after the hearings have concluded.
Participants can register in advance to present oral comments at a
particular hearing location by calling 1-800-336-9477 at least a week
before the hearing. To ensure that as many persons as possible have the
opportunity to present comments, Government representatives and
representatives of organizations (one per organization) will be allowed
10 minutes to comment and individuals will be allowed 5 minutes.
Reservations for commenting times will be accepted from any
representative of a Government or organization. Individual commenters
must make reservations on
[[Page 60693]]
their own behalf. An individual may register a group of commenters, but
such groups will be scheduled to speak last, and only to the extent
time is available after individuals have commented. Persons who have
not registered in advance may register to comment when they arrive at
the hearing to the extent time is available.
Speakers should confirm their scheduled time at the registration
desk the day of the hearing. Persons presenting oral comments at the
hearing are requested to provide DOE with written copies of their
comments at the hearing, if possible.
More details are available in the public involvement plan. To
obtain a copy of that plan call 1-800-336-9477.
Issued in Washington, D.C., this 25th day of November, 1996.
Alvin L. Alm,
Assistant Secretary, Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 96-30460 Filed 11-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P