[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 38 (Friday, February 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9483-9484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-4844]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Conveyance and Transfer of Certain Land Tracts Administered by the 
Department of Energy and Located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los 
Alamos and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Conveyance and 
Transfer (CT) of Certain Land Tracts Administered by the Department of 
Energy and Located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos and 
Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico (CT EIS), DOE/EIS-0293, for public review 
and comment. The CT EIS provides DOE and its stakeholders an analysis 
of the environmental impacts that could result from DOE's conveyance or 
transfer of up to approximately 4,800 acres of land located in north-
central New Mexico to either the Incorporated County of Los Alamos or 
to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the San Ildefonso 
Pueblo.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft CT EIS are invited from the public 
and may be submitted through the end of the comment period, which is 
April 12, 1999 (see ADDRESSES section for more details). Comments must 
be postmarked by April 12, 1999, to ensure consideration; late comments 
will be considered to the extent practicable. The DOE will use the 
comments received to help prepare the Final CT EIS. Public hearings on 
the Draft CT EIS will be held as follows:

March 24, 1999 (Wednesday), 2 pm-5 pm and 6 pm-9 pm, Cities of Gold 
Hotel, Pojoaque, New Mexico.
March 25, 1999 (Thursday), 2 pm-5 pm and 6 pm-9 pm, Fuller Lodge, Los 
Alamos, New Mexico.


[[Page 9484]]


    The hearings will provide opportunities for information exchange 
and discussion among DOE and the public, as well as opportunities for 
the public to present oral or written comments. For more information on 
the public hearing call (800) 791-2280.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing or orally to DOE by 
contacting: Ms. Elizabeth Withers, CT EIS Document Manager, U.S. DOE, 
Los Alamos Area Office, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544; by 
leaving a message at (800) 791-2280; by faxing (505) 665-4872; or by 
electronic mail at [email protected]. Oral and written comments may also 
be submitted at the public hearings described above in the DATES 
section. Requests for copies of the Draft CT EIS or other matters 
regarding this environmental review should be addressed to Ms. Withers 
at the address above. The Draft CT EIS will be available under the NEPA 
Analysis Module of the DOE NEPA Web Site at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/
nepa/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE 
NEPA process, please contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office 
of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH-42, Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be 
contacted by calling (202) 586-4600 or by leaving a message at (800) 
472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft CT EIS was prepared pursuant to 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations (40 CFR 
part 1500) and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR part 1021).
    DOE proposes to dispose of land that is not needed to support DOE's 
national security mission and that can be environmentally remediated or 
restored before November 26, 2007, by either conveyance to the 
Incorporated County of Los Alamos, or by transfer to the Secretary of 
the Interior, in trust for the San Ildefonso Pueblo, in accordance with 
section 632 of Public Law 105-119, enacted on November 26, 1997. 
Criteria established by Public Law 105-119 for determining if land is 
suitable for conveyance or transfer includes the requirement that the 
land be suitable for use by the named recipients for the purposes of 
environmental, historic or cultural preservation, economic 
diversification purposes, or community self-sufficiency purposes.
    The DOE has analyzed two alternatives: (1) The No Action 
Alternative and (2) the Conveyance and Transfer of Each Tract 
Alternative (the Proposed Action). Under the No Action Alternative, DOE 
would continue its historical use of each of the land tracts identified 
as potentially being suitable for conveyance and transfer. Under the 
Conveyance and Transfer of Each Tract Alternative, the conveyance or 
transfer of each tract identified as suitable is considered, either in 
whole or in part, to either Los Alamos County or their designee, or the 
Secretary of the Interior in trust for the San Ildefonso Pueblo. DOE's 
Preferred Alternative is a subset of the Proposed Action Alternative, 
namely to convey or transfer several of the tracts of land entirely and 
several tracts in part (portions without potential contamination issues 
or mission support concerns). Environmental restoration activities 
would continue under current or future plans for the tracts that 
require such action and will include coordination with the State of New 
Mexico and public involvement.
    The Draft CT EIS compares the environmental impacts that could be 
expected to occur from continuing to use the subject tracts of land as 
currently planned for the next 10 years with the direct consequences 
expected from conveying or transferring suitable tracts, in whole or in 
part, to the recipients named in Public Law 105-119, together with the 
indirect consequences expected from the subsequent development and use 
of the tracts by the receiving parties. A wetland/floodplains 
assessment is included as an appendix to the EIS. A range of cost 
estimates for clean up of each tract is provided in a separate 
Environmental Restoration Report prepared to support the CT EIS and can 
be obtained by contacting Ms. Elizabeth Withers as indicated in the 
ADDRESSES section above.
    DOE has distributed copies of the Draft CT EIS to appropriate 
Congressional members and committees, the State of New Mexico, American 
Indian tribal and pueblo governments, local county governments, other 
Federal agencies, and other interested parties. After the public 
comment period, which ends April 12, 1999, DOE will consider the 
comments received, revise the Draft CT EIS, and issue a Final CT EIS. 
DOE will consider the Final CT EIS, along with other considerations 
such as economic and technical considerations, in deciding the action 
it will take regarding the conveyance and transfer of the subject 
tracts.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22, 1999.
John C. Ordaz,
Program Manager, CT EIS, Defense Programs.
[FR Doc. 99-4844 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P