[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 120 (Tuesday, June 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34153-34154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16655]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Grand Junction Office; Notice of Floodplain/Wetlands Involvement 
for Site Characterization Activities at Shiprock, New Mexico, Uranium 
Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Site

AGENCY: Grand Junction Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Floodplain/Wetlands Involvement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

[[Page 34154]]

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) hereby provides notice as 
required by 10 CFR Part 1022, to conduct site characterization 
activities within the 100-year floodplain of the San Juan River at the 
Shiprock, New Mexico UMTRA site, with possible impacts to wetlands. The 
site is located within the boundaries of the Navajo Indian Reservation. 
Activities are scheduled to occur in the late summer and fall of 1998. 
Characterization activities are required to determine ground water 
chemistry and flow patterns that will assist the DOE in selecting a 
ground water remedial action strategy for the site in accordance with 
40 CFR 192, ``Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium 
and Thorium Mill Tailings.''

DATES: Written comments are due to the address below no later than July 
8, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Audrey Berry, U.S. 
Department of Energy--Grand Junction Office, 2597 B3/4 Road, Grand 
Junction, Colorado; or transmitted electronically by E-mail via 
Internet to ``Audrey.B[email protected];'' or by facsimile at 
(970) 248-6040.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THIS PROPOSED ACTION, CONTACT: Don Metzler, 
Project Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Grand Junction Office, 2597 
B3/4 Road, Grand Junction, Colorado 81503, Telephone 1-970-248-7612 or 
1-800-399-5618, E-mail Don.M[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON GENERAL DOE FLOODPLAIN/WETLANDS 
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW REQUIREMENTS, CONTACT: Carol M. Borgstrom, 
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S. Department 
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 
586-4600 or (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under E.O. 11988, Floodplain Management, and 
10 CFR 1022, Compliance with Floodplain/Wetlands Environmental Review 
Requirements, notice is given that DOE is planning characterization 
activities in the San Juan River 100-year floodplain north and east of 
the Shiprock UMTRA site.
    Site characterization activities will include the installation of 
additional monitoring wells and a surface water distribution system. A 
typical monitoring well can be installed in one to three days with an 
average disturbed area measuring 30'  x  30'. Access to the floodplain 
will be predominantly using already established roads and trails. 
Disturbances are expected to be less than two acres. The surface water 
distribution system will involve diverting some water that is feeding 
wetland areas. Because the activities are located within the Navajo 
reservation, all proposed activities will be coordinated through the 
Navajo Nation and other federal and state agencies including the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the New 
Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer.
    The area proposed for activities under this assessment was 
disturbed in the mid 1980s during excavation activities associated with 
the removal of mill tailings in the floodplain. Unimproved roads, 
grazing, and monitoring wells are activities that have historically 
occurred, or are ongoing, in the area of the proposed action. A 
floodplain/wetlands assessment was included as Appendix J, Volume 2, in 
the Environmental Assessment of Remedial Action at the Shiprock Uranium 
Mill Tailings Site, Shiprock, New Mexico (May 1984). The extent of 
disturbance addressed under the 1984 assessment is considerably more 
than the disturbance that would transpire under the proposed action. 
However, the 1984 assessment is not considered sufficient due to the 
age of the document and regulatory changes since it was completed. 
Consequently, an updated floodplain/wetlands assessment will be 
prepared.
    Once all regulatory actions are complete, a Statement of Findings 
will be published in the Federal Register.

    Issued in Albuquerque, New Mexico on June 12, 1998.
Constance L. Soden,
Director, Environmental Protection Division, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Albuquerque Operations Office.
[FR Doc. 98-16655 Filed 6-22-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P