[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 112 (Friday, June 11, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31554-31559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14880]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement; Geologic Repository for the 
Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at 
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of floodplain and wetlands involvement.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to construct, 
operate and monitor, and eventually close a geologic repository for the 
disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at 
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. As part of its proposal, DOE is 
considering shipping spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste in the State of Nevada over a rail line that would be constructed 
or over an existing highway route that may need upgrading to 
accommodate heavy-haul trucks. Portions of the rail corridor or highway 
route would cross perennial and ephemeral streams and their associated 
floodplains, as well as possible wetlands. Furthermore, portions of the 
transportation system in the immediate vicinity of the proposed 
repository would be located within the 100-year floodplains of Midway 
Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash, Busted Butte Wash and/or Fortymile Wash. 
No other aspect of repository-related operations or nuclear or 
nonnuclear repository facilities would be located within the 500-year 
or 100-year floodplains of these washes. In accordance with DOE 
regulations for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetlands Environmental 
Review Requirements (10 CFR Part 1022), DOE will prepare a floodplain 
and wetlands assessment commensurate with proposed decisions and 
available information. The assessment will be included in the 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Geologic Repository for the 
Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at 
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. A draft of this EIS is scheduled to 
be published during the summer of 1999.

DATES: The public is invited to comment on this notice on or before 
July 1, 1999. Comments received after this date will be considered to 
the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice should be addressed to Ms. Wendy 
Dixon, EIS Project Manager, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization 
Office,

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U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box 30307, M/S 010, Las Vegas, Nevada 
89036-0307. Comments also can be submitted via electronic mail to: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Proposed Action: Ms. Wendy Dixon, EIS Project Manager, at the above 
address, or by calling (800)-881-7292.
    Floodplain and Wetlands Environmental Review Requirements: Ms. 
Carol Borgstrom, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 
20585, (202)-586-4600 or leave a message at (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy 
Act, as amended, DOE is studying Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nevada, 
to determine its suitability for the deep geologic disposal of 
commercial and DOE spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. 
In 1989, DOE published a Notice of Floodplain/Wetlands Involvement (54 
FR 6318, February 9, 1989) for site characterization at Yucca Mountain, 
and in 1992 published a Floodplain Statement of Findings (57 FR 48363, 
October 23, 1992).
    DOE is now preparing an EIS (DOE-EIS-0250) to assess the potential 
environmental impacts from the construction, operation and monitoring, 
and eventual closure of the proposed geologic repository. DOE issued a 
Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS on August 7, 1995 (60 FR 40164). As 
part of its proposal, DOE is considering shipping spent nuclear fuel 
and high-level radioactive waste in the State of Nevada over a rail 
line that would be constructed or over an existing highway route that 
may need upgrading to accommodate heavy-haul trucks. For the rail mode, 
DOE is evaluating five potential corridors (Figure 1). For the heavy-
haul truck mode, DOE is evaluating three potential locations for an 
intermodal transfer station associated with five potential highway 
routes (Figure 2; an intermodal transfer station is a facility at which 
shipping casks containing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste would be transferred from trains to trucks, and empty shipping 
casks would be transferred from trucks to trains). The rail corridors 
would be about 400 meters (0.25 mile) wide. The Carlin Corridor would 
be the longest at 520 kilometers (323 miles) followed by the Caliente 
(513 kilometers, 319 miles), Caliente-Chalk Mountain (345 kilometers, 
214 miles), Jean (181 kilometers, 112 miles), and Valley Modified (159 
kilometers, 98 miles) corridors. The heavy-haul routes would utilize 
existing roads and rights-of-ways which typically would be less than 
400 meters (0.25 miles) in width. The Caliente Route would be the 
longest at 533 kilometers (331 miles) followed by the Caliente-Las 
Vegas (377 kilometers, 234 miles), Caliente-Chalk Mountain (282 
kilometers, 175 miles), Sloan/Jean (190 kilometers, 118 miles) and 
Apex/Dry Lake (183 kilometers, 114 miles) routes.
    Portions of the transportation system in the immediate vicinity of 
the proposed repository are likely to be located within the 100-year 
floodplains of Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash, Busted Butte Wash 
and/or Fortymile Wash (Figure 3). Fortymile Wash, a major wash that 
flows to the Amargosa River, drains the eastern side of Yucca Mountain. 
Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash and Busted Butte Wash are 
tributaries to Fortymile Wash. Although water flow in Fortymile Wash 
and its tributaries is rare, the area is subject to flash flooding from 
thunderstorms and occasional sustained precipitation. There are no 
naturally occurring wetlands near the proposed repository facilities, 
although there are two man-made well ponds in Fortymile Wash that 
support riparian vegetation.
    If the Proposed Action were implemented, DOE would use an existing 
road during construction of the repository that crosses the 100-year 
floodplain of Fortymile Wash (Figure 3). This road and other features 
of site characterization that involve floodplains have previously been 
examined by DOE and a Statement of Findings was issued in 1992 (57 FR 
48363, October 23, 1992). It is uncertain at this time whether this 
existing road would require upgrading to accommodate the volume and 
type of construction vehicles.
    In addition, transportation infrastructure would be constructed 
either in Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash and Busted Butte Wash, or 
in Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash and Fortymile Wash. The decision 
on which washes would be involved is dependent on future decisions 
regarding the mode of transport (rail or truck) which, in turn, would 
require the selection of one rail corridor or the selection of one site 
for an intermodal transfer station and its associated heavy-haul route. 
Structures that might be constructed in a floodplain could include one 
or more bridges to span the washes, one or more roads that could pass 
through the washes, or a combination of roads and culverts in the 
washes. No other aspect of repository-related operation of nuclear or 
nonnuclear facilities would be located within 500-year or 100-year 
floodplains.
    Outside of the immediate vicinity of the proposed repository, the 
five rail corridors, and the three sites for an intermodal transfer 
station and associated five heavy-haul routes, would cross perennial 
and ephemeral streams, and possibly wetlands. It is likely that a 
combination of bridges, roads and culverts, or other engineered 
features, would be needed to span or otherwise cross the washes and 
possible wetlands, although the location of such structures is 
uncertain at this time.
    DOE will prepare an initial floodplain and wetlands assessment 
commensurate with the proposed decisions and available information. 
This assessment will be included in the Draft EIS that is scheduled to 
be issued for public comment later this summer. If, after a possible 
recommendation by the Secretary of Energy, the President considers the 
site qualified for an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission for a construction authorization, the President will submit 
a recommendation of the site to Congress. If the site designation 
becomes effective, the Secretary of Energy will submit to the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission a License Application for a construction 
authorization. DOE would then probably select a rail corridor or a site 
for an intermodal transfer station among those considered in the EIS. 
Following such a decision, additional field surveys, environmental and 
engineering analyses, and National Environmental Policy Act reviews 
would likely be needed regarding a specific rail alignment for the 
selected corridor or the site for the intermodal transfer station and 
its associated heavy-haul truck route. When more specific information 
becomes available about activities proposed to take place within 
floodplains and wetlands, DOE will conduct further environmental review 
in accordance with 10 CFR Part 1022. Information that would be 
considered in a subsequent assessment includes, for example, the 
identification of 500-year and 100-year floodplains among feasible 
alignments of the selected rail corridor or the site of the intermodal 
transfer station and its associated heavy-haul route, identification of 
individual wetlands, and whether the floodplains and wetlands could be 
avoided. If the floodplains and wetlands could not be avoided, 
information on specific engineering designs and associated construction 
activities in the floodplains and wetlands also would be needed to 
permit a more detailed assessment and

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to ensure that DOE minimizes potential harm to or within any affected 
floodplains or wetlands.

    Issued in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the 4th day of June 1999.
Wendy Dixon,
EIS Project Manager.

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[FR Doc. 99-14880 Filed 6-10-99; 8:45 am]
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