[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 191 (Monday, October 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 53669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-25741]



[[Page 53669]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Accomplishing 
Expanded Civilian Nuclear Energy Research and Development and Isotope 
Production Missions in the United States Including the Role of the Fast 
Flux Test Facility (DOE/EIS-0310)

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of change in scoping meeting location.

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SUMMARY: DOE is changing the date and location of the public scoping 
meeting to be held in the Washington, DC area. In the Federal Register 
of September 15, 1999 (64 FR 50066), DOE announced that the meeting 
would take place on October 26, 1999, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel 
located at 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, Virginia. DOE has 
changed the date and location of this meeting to October 27, 1999 at 
the Marriott Metro Center Hotel, located at 775 12th Street, NW 
Washington, DC. The meeting will begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 5:00 
p.m. DOE will announce the dates and locations of all public scoping 
meetings in the local media at least 15 days prior to the meetings.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on this PEIS, 
please contact Ms. Colette Brown, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and 
Technology (NE-50), U.S. Department of Energy, 19901 Germantown Road, 
Germantown, Maryland 20874. Telephone: (301) 903-6924, Facsimile: (301) 
903-1510, Electronic Mail: [email protected]. For 
further information on DOE procedures for implementing the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), please contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, 
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S. Department 
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC. 20582-0119, 
Telephone: (202) 586-4600 or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE's civilian nuclear research and isotope 
production infrastructure has diminished significantly since the early 
1990s. As a result, DOE is concerned that it may no longer be able to 
accommodate new and expanding missions such as: (1) The production of 
isotopes for medical and industrial uses; (2) the production of 
plutonium-238 for use in advanced radioisotope power systems for future 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration space missions; and, (3) 
the Nation's nuclear research and development needs.
    Therefore, pursuant to NEPA, the Secretary of Energy recently 
announced DOE's intent to prepare a PEIS to evaluate potential 
enhancements to its infrastructure to meet its expanded mission needs, 
including the possible role of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) 
located at DOE's Hanford Site near Richland, Washington.
    This PEIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts of 
alternative ways to meet the projected irradiation needs for the next 
35 years by enhancing the existing infrastructure as follows: (1) 
Resuming FFTF operation; (2) Constructing and operating a research 
reactor at a generic DOE site; and (3) Constructing and operating one 
or more neutron accelerators at a generic DOE site. In addition, the 
PEIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts of meeting the 
projected mission needs to the extent possible using existing reactor 
and neutron accelerator facilities.
    DOE published a notice in the Federal Register on September 15, 
1999, (64 FR 50064), announcing its intent to prepare this PEIS and 
outlining the alternatives that it plans to analyze. DOE announced that 
it would conduct seven public scoping meetings to assist in defining 
the scope of this PEIS including the significant environmental issues 
to be addressed. Meetings will be held October 13-27, 1999, in Oak 
Ridge, Tennessee; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Seattle, Washington; Portland, 
Oregon; Hood River, Oregon; Richland, Washington; and in the Washington 
DC area. The date and location of the meeting in the Washington, DC 
area has changed from October 26, 1999, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in 
Crystal City, Virginia to October 27, 1999 at the Marriott Metro Center 
Hotel, located at 775 12th Street, NW, Washington, DC. The meeting will 
begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 28th day of September 1999, for 
the U.S. Department of Energy.
Robert M. Knipp,
Deputy Director, for Management and Planning, Office of Nuclear Energy, 
Science and Technology.
[FR Doc. 99-25741 Filed 10-1-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P