[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 79 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20281-20282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10411]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Floodplain Statement of Findings for the Transfer of Parcel H at 
the Miamisburg Environmental Management Project

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE), Ohio Field Office, Miamisburg 
Environmental Management Project (MEMP).

ACTION: Floodplain statement of findings.

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SUMMARY: This is to give notice of DOE's proposal to transfer ownership 
of approximately 14 acres of property in the northeast corner of the 
MEMP site, commonly referred to as ``Parcel H;'' the MEMP site is 
located approximately 10 (ten) miles southwest of Dayton, Ohio. A small 
portion of Parcel H lies within the 100-year floodplain, i.e., the area 
is subject to a 1% chance per year of inundation from a nearby 
tributary of the Great Miami River. In accordance with 10 CFR 
1022.5(d), DOE has identified those uses that are restricted under 
Federal, state, and local floodplain regulations. Several restrictions 
are found in state and local codes; these restrictions would apply to 
any future land owner, and are aimed exclusively at future development 
within the floodplain (e.g., construction of a building, modification 
of an existing public water system, operation of a hazardous waste 
management facility). There are no state or local floodplain protection 
standards governing the transfer (e.g., sale) of property that lies 
within a floodplain. As a part of the transfer, however, the DOE will 
make the future owner of Parcel H aware of the applicable governing 
regulations for development within or adjacent to the 100-year 
floodplain. It is the responsibility of the future land owner to comply 
with those regulations.
    Consistent with 10 CFR 1022.12(a), an assessment describing the 
effects of the proposed action on the floodplain and other alternatives 
to the proposed action was prepared. Other options which were 
considered included sale of the property to another landlord or the 
Government Services Agency, long term lease, and no action (i.e., the 
land would continue in its current use under DOE ownership). The 
assessment concluded that these alternatives would be less successful 
or unsuccessful in meeting DOE's objective of quickly dispositioning 
real property. These alternatives also provide limited support for 
joint community/DOE goals to transition the site to an end-use that 
provides for economic redevelopment.
    Relative to 10 CFR 1022.15(b)(4), the proposed action conforms to 
the appropriate floodplain protection standards, in the sense that any 
development of Parcel H by future landowners would be subject to all 
applicable Federal, state and local statutes, regulations and/or 
restrictions governing development activities within a floodplain. No 
such restrictions apply to the transfer of the floodplain property 
itself. Given the extent to which floodplain management is regulated 
(e.g., through design and construction constraints), it is reasonable 
to assume that potential harm to or within the floodplain would be 
minimized and that future development would not have an adverse effect 
on lives, property, or the environment. Therefore, no short-or long-
term effects are expected as a result of the proposed action. Nor would 
the proposed action adversely affect the natural and beneficial values 
of the bulk of the 100-year floodplain that lies

[[Page 20282]]

outside Parcel H and the MEMP site as a whole.

DATES: Written comments must be received by the DOE at the following 
address on or before May 11, 1999.

ADDRESSES: For further information on this proposed action, including a 
site map and/or copy of the Floodplain Assessment, contact: Mr. Frank 
Schmaltz, Project Manager, U. S. Department of Energy, Miamisburg 
Environmental Management Project, P.O. Box 66, Miamisburg, OH 45343-
0066, Phone: (937) 865-3620, Facsimile: (937) 865-4489.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on general DOE 
floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements, contact: Ms. 
Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH-42, 
U. S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, 
D.C. 20585, Phone: (202) 586-4600 or 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Floodplain Statement of Findings for 
the Transfer of Parcel H at the MEMP has been prepared in accordance 
with Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, and 10 CFR 1022, DOE 
Regulations for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetland Environmental Review 
Requirements. A Notice of Floodplain Involvement was published in the 
Federal Register on January 12, 1999 (64 FR 1797). The DOE received no 
public comments on the Notice, and the proposed action remains the 
same. The proposed action would support ultimate disposition of the 
MEMP site. The MEMP site has been determined to be excess to DOE's 
long-term needs. This decision is supported by the Nonnuclear 
Consolidation Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-0792) and associated 
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) dated September 14, 1993, and 
the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the DOE Defense Programs, 
Environmental Management and Nuclear Energy Programs, dated August 1, 
1995. In order to meet DOE's programmatic need to disposition land 
determined to be excess to its needs, ownership of the entire MEMP site 
will eventually be transferred to a non-Federal entity. The property 
will be released in phases, since certain parcels of property are still 
in use or are not yet suitable for transfer. This Statement of Findings 
addresses one parcel of land, comprising approximately 14 acres of 
property in the northeast corner of the MEMP site. Transfer of the 
subject parcel conforms to state or local floodplain protection 
standards, in so much as any future land owner will be subject to the 
applicable state and local codes governing development activities in 
property that lies within a floodplain.

    Issuance: Issued in Miamisburg, Ohio on April 15, 1999.
Susan L. Smiley,
NEPA Compliance Officer, Ohio Field Office.
[FR Doc. 99-10411 Filed 4-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P