[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 143 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40062-40065]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-19616]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Environmental Impact Statement for Siting, Construction, and 
Operation of the National Spallation Neutron Source

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to 
prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS), pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act

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(NEPA), on the siting, construction, and operation of the proposed 
National Spallation Neutron Source (NSNS). The proposed NSNS facility 
would consist of a proton accelerator system; a spallation target; and 
appropriate experimental areas, laboratories, offices, and support 
facilities to allow ongoing and expanded programs of neutron research. 
The proposed site for the NSNS is the DOE-owned Oak Ridge National 
Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The alternative sites under 
consideration are three other DOE-owned laboratories: Argonne National 
Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois; Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los 
Alamos, New Mexico; and Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New 
York. DOE invites the public, organizations, and agencies to present 
oral or written comments concerning: (1) The scope of the EIS, (2) the 
issues the EIS should address, and (3) the alternatives the EIS should 
analyze.

DATES: The public scoping period begins with publication of this NOI 
and continues until September 12, 1997. Written comments submitted by 
mail should be postmarked by that date to ensure consideration. 
Comments mailed after that date will be considered to the extent 
practicable.
    DOE will conduct public scoping meetings to assist in defining the 
appropriate scope of the EIS and to identify significant environmental 
issues to be addressed. These meetings will be held at the following 
times and locations:

August 11, 1997, American Museum of Science and Energy, 300 South 
Tulane Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830; Times: 1:30-4:30 p.m. and 
6:30-9:30 p.m.
August 14, 1997, Argonne National Laboratory, Building 401--Advanced 
Photon Source, Room A1100, 9700 Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439; 
Times: 1:30-4:30 p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m.
August 19, 1997, Los Alamos Area Office, Main Conference Room (Room 
100), 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87544; Times: 1:30-4:30 
p.m. and 6:30-9:30 p.m.
September 4, 1997, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Berkner Hall (Bldg. 
488), Brookhaven Avenue, Upton, New York 11973; Times: 1:30-4:30 p.m. 
and 6:30-9:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Please direct comments or suggestions on the scope of the 
EIS, requests to speak at the public scoping meetings, requests for 
meeting special needs to enable participation at scoping meetings 
(e.g., interpreter for the hearing-impaired) and questions concerning 
the project to: David Wilfert, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge 
Operations Office, 200 Administration Road, 146/FEDC, Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee 37831, telephone: (800) 927-9964, facsimile: (423) 576-4542, 
or e-mail [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information associated 
with the research aspects of the NSNS, please contact: Iran Thomas, 
Deputy Associate Director, Office of Basic Energy Research, Office of 
Energy Research, U.S. Department of Energy, ER-10, Germantown, MD 
20874, telephone: (301) 903-3427.
    For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please 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. 20585-0119, telephone: (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-
2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Over the past 40 years, the use of neutrons for research purposes, 
a use pioneered in the United States, has played a valuable role in 
advancements in the fields of fundamental physical and biological 
sciences, material technology, and medicine. However, in the last two 
decades, the United States has fallen behind the European scientific 
community in the availability of state-of-the-art neutron sources and 
instrumentation because of the age of its existing facilities. Existing 
United States reactor-based neutron sources were built in the 1960s, 
and existing accelerator-based sources were built in the early 1980s. 
These facilities have had minimal upgrading and modernization, and are 
not well suited for the specific areas of research to which scientific 
investigation has evolved. In 1994, a proposal to build a new reactor-
based neutron source, the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS), was not 
supported by Congress because of high costs (approximately $3 billion) 
and potential nuclear proliferation issues. Now, DOE is proposing to 
construct and operate the NSNS Project to provide the United States 
with a modern accelerator-based neutron source and neutron science 
research facility at a cost of approximately $1 billion to meet current 
and future research needs.
    The proposed NSNS would produce short pulses of neutrons for use in 
materials research. This would be accomplished through the 
``spallation'' process wherein (1) subatomic particles, called protons, 
are accelerated to very high energies; (2) the high energy protons are 
``bunched'' into a compact group; (3) the bunched, high energy protons 
are directed onto a target made of a high atomic number material, in 
this case mercury; and (4) the collision of the protons with the target 
produces a pulse of neutrons from the target material. Once the 
spallation process is completed and the neutron pulse is produced, the 
neutrons would be slowed to useful energy levels, and would be guided 
onto samples of the materials being studied. The interactions of the 
neutrons and the specimens would be measured and analyzed, thus 
revealing information on the structure, properties, and behavior of the 
test material.

Purpose and Need for the NSNS

    The purpose of the proposed NSNS Project is to provide the United 
States with its only modern, high performance pulsed neutron research 
facility. Since the 1970s, numerous assessments have firmly established 
the need for new neutron sources and instrumentation in the United 
States. The proposed facility would allow for advanced research in the 
United States in the physical and biological sciences, for industrial 
application, and medical research. Current facilities are inadequate to 
meet the existing demand for neutron research and, even if upgraded, 
would not be able to satisfy the growing future demand.
    The need for new neutron sources has been recognized by national 
panels investigating the status of neutron sources and science in the 
United States since a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) study in 1984. 
After reviewing all major domestic facilities for materials research, a 
NAS panel recommended:
    1. Construction of a steady-state, high-flux neutron source; and
    2. Development of a plan leading to the construction of a major 
pulsed spallation neutron source.
    These recommendations were reaffirmed in 1993 by DOE's Basic Energy 
Science Advisory Committee (BESAC) Panel on ``Neutron Sources for 
America's Future.'' Although a reactor-based Advanced Neutron Source 
(ANS) Project was proposed in each of fiscal years 1994 and 1995, the 
proposal was not continued in the fiscal year 1996 budget process, 
primarily due to the high cost (approximately $3 billion) of the total 
project. As a result, emphasis shifted to the lower cost proposed 
accelerator-based NSNS facility. According to the most recent BESAC 
recommendations (1996), there is an urgent need to build a short pulsed 
spallation source in the 1 MW power

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range, dedicated to neutron scattering, with sufficient design 
flexibility to permit future modification for operation at higher 
power. The EIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the construction and operation of the facility in its 
fully upgraded condition (4-5 MW).

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The proposed NSNS facility would consist of a proton accelerator 
system, a spallation source to produce neutron pulses, and appropriate 
experimental areas, laboratories, offices, and support facilities to 
allow ongoing and expanded programs of neutron research. The NSNS 
Project would provide key capabilities to support multiple elements of 
DOE strategic planning, such as:
     Constructing leading-edge facilities for use by 
industries, universities, and government laboratories;
     Providing new insights into the nature of matter and 
energy;
     Maintaining core competencies and partnering with the 
private sector and other agencies; and
     Accelerating the use of emerging technologies.
    DOE proposes to construct and operate the NSNS at Oak Ridge 
National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Locating the NSNS 
at ORNL would offer access to existing facilities which could support 
the proposed NSNS facility and would take advantage of experienced 
staff at those facilities, including researchers with expertise in the 
appropriate scientific disciplines. Supporting facilities, including 
utilities, waste management and storage facilities, also exist at ORNL.
    DOE will evaluate reasonable alternative locations, the no-action 
alternative, and technology alternatives. In addition to ORNL, the 
proposed site of the NSNS, the EIS will also analyze the potential 
environmental impacts associated with constructing and operation of the 
NSNS at three other reasonable sites: Argonne National Laboratory 
(ANL), Argonne, Illinois; Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los 
Alamos, New Mexico; and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, 
New York. DOE identified these sites as reasonable through the 
application of four screening criteria to a total of thirty-nine 
candidate sites. The four criteria were: (1) The availability of 110 
acres of land; (2) the existence of a one mile buffer zone separating 
the proposed NSNS from populated areas; (3) the ready availability of 
50 to 60 MW of electric power; and (4) existence of the infrastructure 
and trained personnel associated with an ongoing neutron science 
program. Technology alternatives include reactor-based neutron sources 
and variations in the accelerator-based system. The no action 
alternative would be not to build or operate the NSNS.

Conceptual Design

    Neutrons are one of two major particles (protons being the other) 
comprising the nucleus of atoms, and because they have no electric 
charge, they can penetrate deeply into the molecules of test materials 
to give scientists new insights into the structure and properties of 
the material. The NSNS facility would extract neutrons from the nuclei 
of ``target'' material so they can be subsequently used for research on 
various specimens.
    A process known as ``spallation'' is applied to extract neutrons 
from target nuclei. In the spallation process, target nuclei containing 
large numbers of neutrons (typically heavy metals such as lead, 
mercury, tungsten, etc.) are struck with high energy (fast moving) 
particles to eject some of the contained neutrons. A large part of the 
NSNS facility is the accelerator system needed to produce and deliver 
the high energy particles (in this case protons) onto the target 
material. The accelerator system is comprised of:
    1. An ion source to electrically charge hydrogen atoms (a hydrogen 
atom is comprised of a single proton in the nucleus and one orbiting 
electron) so they can be accelerated using magnetic fields and 
electromagnetic energy. This part of the facility is relatively small, 
i.e., only a few meters in length.
    2. A Linear Accelerator (linac), which is a series of energy-
inducing devices used to accelerate (increase energy level) the protons 
(hydrogen ions) and form a beam of high energy particles. The linac 
structure is approximately 550 meters (about \1/3\ mile) long.
    3. A storage ring to accumulate large numbers of the high energy 
protons, and then release that grouping of protons in a single pulse 
onto the target. The storage ring is a rectangular-shaped structure 
approximately 80 meters across.
    The accelerator system is operated so that proton pulses from the 
storage ring are repeatedly directed onto the target at a repetition 
rate of 6 Hz (60 times per second). The initial design of the NSNS 
would involve approximately 1 MW of power (equivalent to approximately 
1,340 horsepower) being deposited onto the target from this series of 
proton pulses. As time and technology permits, the NSNS may undergo a 
series of upgrades in future years to raise the beam power on the 
target.
    The target of the proton pulse power would be liquid mercury 
circulated in a stainless steel vessel. Mercury, as a target material, 
provides good conversion of protons to released neutrons and, as a 
liquid, it can be continuously circulated in a closed system to absorb 
the impact of the proton pulses, release pulses of neutrons, and 
transport impact energy (heat) to remote cooling systems. Approximately 
1 cubic meter of mercury would be used in the NSNS, a volume that would 
be expected to last for the facility's design life of 40 years.
    Because the neutrons released by the spallation process are moving 
very fast, they must be moderated (slowed) to levels suitable for 
research needs. Neutron moderation is achieved by successive collisions 
of the fast neutrons with cooler nuclei. In the NSNS, two thermal 
moderators and two cryogenic moderators would be positioned around the 
mercury target to slow the neutrons in each pulse. First, the thermal 
moderators would use water to slow the neutrons to speeds associated 
with room temperatures (approximately 2200 meters per second). 
Concurrently, cryogenic moderators would use liquid hydrogen to slow 
the neutrons to speeds associated with very low temperatures 
(approximately 500 meters per second). Beam guides, 18 in all, would 
direct the slowed neutrons to experiment stations where the scientific 
research is conducted. The building housing the target, moderators, 
beam guides, and research instruments would be approximately 50 by 75 
meters in size.
    The NSNS facility would be appropriately integrated into the site 
infrastructure of the host laboratory, including roadways, utilities, 
and monitoring systems. The laboratory would provide security and fire 
protection. The entire facility would require approximately 110 acres 
of cleared land, and ready access to and availability of 50-60 MW of 
electric power. It would have a design lifetime of 40 years, but the 
design would not preclude lifetime extensions beyond 40 years. Systems 
and structures would be designed to facilitate eventual decontamination 
and removal.
    Design of the NSNS is projected to span four years (FY 1999-2002), 
and construction nearly five years (FY 2000-2004). Facility 
commissioning would occur in FY 2003-2004, with FY 2005 being the first 
full year of operation. Project staffing is estimated to rise from 
approximately 30 to approximately 90 during conceptual design (FY 1996-
1998); rise from approximately 100 to a peak of approximately 1200 and 
decline to approximately 225 during design/

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construction (FY 1999-2004); and hold at approximately 225 for 
operation (FY 2004 and beyond). The estimated total project cost from 
conceptual design through commissioning is approximately $1 billion.

Preliminary Environmental Analysis

    DOE plans to analyze potential impacts of the NSNS project on the 
following parameters. This list is neither intended to be all-
inclusive, nor is it a predetermination of potential impacts. Additions 
to or deletions from this list may occur as a result of the scoping 
process.
     Earth Resources: physiography, topography, geology, and 
soil characteristics.
     Land Use: plans, policies and controls.
     Water Resources: surface and groundwater hydrology, use, 
and quality.
     Air Quality: Meteorological basis, ambient background, 
pollutant sources, and potential degradation.
     Radiation Background: Cosmic, rock, soil, water, and air.
     Hazardous Materials: Handling, storage, and use; waste 
management both near- and long-term.
     Noise: Ambient, sources, and sensitive receptors.
     Ecological Resources: Aquatic, terrestrial, economically/
recreationally important species, threatened and endangered species.
     Socioeconomics: Demography, economic base, labor pool, 
housing, transportation, utilities, public services/facilities, 
education, recreation, and cultural resources.
     Historical and Archaeological Resources: Paleontological 
and archaeological sites, Native American resources, historic and 
prehistoric sites.
     Scenic and Visual Resources.
     Wetlands: Protection and remediation.
     Health and Safety: Public and occupational impacts from 
routine operation and credible accident scenarios.
     Natural Disasters: Floods, tornadoes, and seismic events.
     Unavoidable Adverse Impacts.
     Natural and Depletable Resources: Requirements and 
conservation potential.
     Environmental Justice: Disproportionately high and adverse 
impacts to minority and low income populations.
    The preliminary identification of reasonable alternatives and 
environmental issues presented in this NOI is not meant to be 
exhaustive or final. Alternatives other than those presented in this 
document may warrant examination, and new issues may be identified for 
evaluation.
    Relevant issues related to decommissioning of the NSNS will be 
addressed to the extent possible. Additional NEPA review may be 
necessary in the future when decommissioning plans are proposed.

Scoping Meetings

    The purpose of this NOI is to encourage early public involvement in 
the EIS process and to solicit public comments on the proposed scope 
and content of the EIS. DOE plans to hold formal public scoping 
meetings in the vicinity of the proposed and alternative sites to 
solicit both oral and written comments from interested parties.
    DOE will designate a presiding officer for the scoping meetings. 
The scoping meetings will not be conducted as evidentiary hearings, and 
there will be no questioning of the commentors. However, the presiding 
officer may ask for clarification of statements to ensure that DOE 
fully understands the comments and suggestions. The presiding officer 
will establish the order of speakers. At the opening of each meeting, 
the presiding officer will announce any additional procedures necessary 
for the conduct of the meetings. To ensure that all persons wishing to 
make a presentation are given the opportunity, a five-minute limit may 
be enforced for each speaker, with the exception of public officials 
and representatives of groups who will be allotted ten minutes each. 
Comment cards will also be available for those who would prefer to 
submit their comments in written form.
    DOE will make transcripts of the scoping meetings and other 
environmental and project-related materials available for public review 
in the following reading rooms:

1. U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Public Reading 
Room, Forrestal Building, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585, Telephone: (202) 586-3142
2. U.S. Department of Energy Reading Room, Oak Ridge Operations Office, 
200 Administration Road, Room G-217, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, 
Telephone: (423) 241-4780
3. Argonne National Laboratory, 3/3 Documents Department, University 
Library, Third Floor Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, 801 
South Morgan Street, Chicago, Illinois 60439, Telephone: (312) 996-2738
4. BNL Research Library, Bldg. 477A Brookhaven Ave., Upton, NY 11973, 
Telephone: (516) 344-3483
5. Longwood Public Library, 800 Middle Country Rd., Middle Island, NY 
11953, Telephone: (516) 924-6400
6. Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library, 301 William Floyd 
Parkway, Shirley, NY 11967, Telephone: (516) 399-1511
7. Los Alamos National Laboratory Public Outreach and Reading Room, Los 
Alamos, New Mexico 87544, Telephone: (505) 665-2127

NEPA Process

    The EIS for the proposed facility will be prepared according to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Council on Environmental 
Quality's Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of 
NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and DOE's NEPA Regulations (10 CFR part 
1021).
    The draft EIS is scheduled to be published by March 1998. A 45-day 
comment period on the draft EIS is planned, and public hearings to 
receive comments will be held approximately one month after 
distribution of the draft EIS. Availability of the draft EIS, the dates 
of the public comment period, and information about the public hearings 
will be announced in the Federal Register and in the local news media 
when the draft EIS is distributed.
    The final EIS, which will incorporate public comments received on 
the draft EIS, is expected in July 1998. No sooner than 30 days after a 
notice of availability of the final EIS is published in the Federal 
Register, DOE will issue its Record of Decision and publish it in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC this 21st day of July, 1997.
Peter N. Brush,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 97-19616 Filed 7-24-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P