[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 21, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38522-38527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-15797]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


National Nuclear Security Administration; Emergency Activities 
Conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos County, New 
Mexico in Response to Major Disaster Conditions Associated With the 
Cerro Grande Fire

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of emergency action.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing this notice of 
emergency activities conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory 
(LANL), Los Alamos County, New Mexico, in response to the recent Cerro 
Grande Fire. DOE's emergency response activities began with certain 
preventive actions undertaken immediately before the wildfire entered 
LANL boundaries in early May 2000, and include those actions taken 
while the fire burned within LANL boundaries, as well as related 
subsequent actions (as described below) that are ongoing since the fire 
was contained and extinguished to address the extreme potential for 
flooding damage.
    About 7,500 acres of land administered by DOE at LANL burned during 
the Cerro Grande Fire, while another 35,500 acres burned along the 
mountain flanks above LANL and to the north of the site making this New 
Mexico's most destructive fire in recorded history. With such large 
areas of burned vegetation, including areas of bare ash along the steep 
slopes and canyon sides above LANL, there is a very high risk for 
flooding within the LANL facility and in residential communities 
downstream all the way to the Rio Grande. About 36 percent of the 
annual precipitation for the Los Alamos area falls in the form of rain, 
primarily during intense thunderstorms that occur in July and August 
each year, but which may occur as early as June and as late as in 
October. The time period for the DOE's Cerro Grande Fire emergency 
actions discussed in this Notice, therefore, extends through November 
2000.
    Flood control measures of temporary, semi-permanent, and permanent 
natures must be taken immediately to prevent the potential loss of life 
and property damage from this threat, and also to protect sensitive 
cultural resources and potential habitat for Federally-listed 
threatened and endangered species present within floodplain areas. 
Moreover, there are 74 potential contaminant release sites (PRSs) and 
two nuclear facilities at LANL that contain hazardous and radioactively 
contaminated soils and materials that are vulnerable to flooding. The 
PRSs and nuclear facilities have the potential to release contaminants 
downstream. Some 10,000 residents live in communities located 
downstream from LANL; lands of Pueblo de Cochiti lie to the south along 
the Rio Grande, as does Cochiti Reservoir, which is a popular 
recreation and fishing site. Until enough vegetation is established to 
cover the hillsides and canyons to act as a deterrent to soil erosion 
and flooding, the potential for flooding will exist for the next 
several years to decades in some locations.
    DOE would normally prepare an environmental impact statement 
analyzing the actions described for public review and comment pursuant 
to its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing 
regulations (10 CFR part 1021). However, due to the urgent nature of 
the actions required to address the effects of the Cerro Grande Fire 
and the potential for severe flooding impacts, DOE prepared this notice 
regarding emergency actions pursuant to 10 CFR 1021.343. Because the 
cumulative impacts of these actions are significant, DOE has consulted 
with the Council on Environmental Quality about alternative 
arrangements with regard to NEPA compliance for its emergency actions 
pursuant to the Council NEPA regulation at 40 CFR 1506.11. Consistent 
with those consultations, DOE will prepare a special environmental 
analysis of known and potential impacts from wildfire and flood control 
actions as the ``alternative arrangement'' contemplated by the Council 
on Environmental Quality regulation. The special environmental analysis 
is scheduled to be completed in September 2000 and will be available to 
the public. DOE will continue to employ a variety of mechanisms, as 
explained below, to facilitate public involvement. DOE will consider 
public comments received on this Notice of Emergency Action and will 
also consider public comments received on the special environmental 
analysis in planning future mitigation actions. This compliance 
strategy may be modified or altered as conditions warrant.
    This notice also serves as the Public Notice and Statement of 
Findings regarding DOE's intention to take action involving 
construction and other actions within floodplains and wetlands pursuant 
to DOE's regulations for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetlands 
Environmental Review Requirements (10 CFR part 1022). As provided in 10 
CFR 1022.18, and because there is an immediate need to take emergency 
flood control and hazard reduction actions, DOE is waiving the public 
review periods that would otherwise apply before DOE would take such 
actions in a floodplain or wetland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO SUBMIT COMMENTS, CONTACT: For further 
information on these activities or other information related to this 
Notice, contact: Elizabeth Withers, NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Los Alamos Area Office, 528 35th Street, Los 
Alamos, NM 87544, phone (505) 667-8690, fax (505) 665-4872.
    For information on the DOE National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
process, 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 leave a message at 
(800) 472-2756.
    For more information regarding activities related to the Cerro 
Grande Fire and the LANL Emergency Rehabilitation Team, including 
relevant phone numbers, visit the LANL web site at www.lanl.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On the evening of May 4, 2000, employees of 
the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Bandelier 
National Monument, ignited a prescription burn within the boundaries of 
Bandelier National Monument at a location identified as the Cerro 
Grande. This fire was quickly pushed by winds outside the boundaries of 
the prescription area and was declared by the National Park Service to 
be a ``wildfire'' on May 5, 2000. The fire spread rapidly in a 
generally northeastern/eastern direction

[[Page 38523]]

across land administered by the Department of Agriculture, Forest 
Service, Santa Fe National Forest. Starting late on May 7, through May 
8 and 9, while winds were somewhat moderate, shrubs and trees were cut 
and back fires were ignited in an effort to hold the fire line at New 
Mexico State Road 501, which is located at the northwestern side of 
LANL. A very narrow strip of land a few hundred feet wide is present 
within that back fire area that is administered by DOE as a part of 
LANL property. The wind speed increased dramatically on May 10, 2000, 
and spread sparks over a mile in advance of the wildfire fronts and 
well beyond the established fire lines, igniting forested areas within 
the heart of LANL and residential areas within the Los Alamos townsite 
located nearby.
    From May 10 until about May 17, the fire burned within LANL and the 
townsite area before its spread was stopped and it was considered 
contained. About 7,500 acres of land administered by DOE at LANL burned 
during the Cerro Grande Fire; another 35,500 acres burned along the 
mountain flanks above LANL and to the north of the site. Over 200 
residential units occupied by over 400 families burned within the Los 
Alamos townsite. This fire has consumed more forest acreage and 
resulted in more property loss than any other fire in New Mexico's 
recorded history. Small spot fires that periodically flare up, as well 
as subsurface smoldering, continue to be extinguished within LANL's 
boundaries and nearby.
    During the efforts undertaken to contain and extinguish the fire 
within LANL, various fire lines were created at several locations 
within the LANL boundaries using hand tools and heavy machinery to 
establish clearings; fire access roads were bladed or existing roads 
were improved for use by heavy transport equipment and fire trucks; 
trees were mechanically felled to protect exposed utility lines and 
structures; small back fires were set in locations around LANL to 
protect buildings and utilities; and water drops and fire-retardant 
slurry drops were made over LANL from low flying helicopters and 
airplanes.
    After the fire was controlled and had been extinguished (except for 
occasional flare ups and smoldering hot spots), DOE's planning for 
stormwater runoff damage was initiated through a cooperative effort 
with the U.S. Forest Service; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the 
Department of the Interior's National Park Service and Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Northern Pueblos Agency; Pueblo of San Ildefonso; Pueblo of 
Santa Clara; Pueblo of Jemez; Pueblo de Cochiti; the State of New 
Mexico's Department of Game and Fish and Department of the Environment; 
the County of Los Alamos; and various other federal, state and local 
government agencies and entities, including representatives of the 
University of California (which currently manages and operates LANL 
under contract to the DOE). This ongoing effort is coordinated and 
facilitated by the U.S. Forest Service's Burned Area Emergency 
Rehabilitation (BAER) Team, a multidisciplinary team of individuals 
experienced in such planning exercises and in the implementation of 
erosion and flood control measures.
    About 36 percent of the annual precipitation for LANL falls in the 
form of rain, primarily during intense thunderstorms occurring in July 
and August of each year, though the rainy season may start as early as 
June and extend through October. With large areas of burned vegetation, 
including areas of bare ash along the steep slopes and canyon sides 
above LANL, there is a very high risk for flooding within the LANL 
facility and to area residential communities downstream all the way to 
the Rio Grande. There are 74 potential contaminant release sites (PRSs) 
and two nuclear facilities at LANL that contain hazardous and 
radioactively contaminated soils and materials that are vulnerable to 
flooding. These PRSs and nuclear facilities have the potential to 
release contaminants downstream. Canyon stormwater discharge flow 
measurements for a six-hour storm event time period at LANL typically 
are in the range of about 35 to 590 cubic feet per second; post-fire 
modeling estimates the canyon discharge flows (unmodified) to be in the 
range of 90 to 2182 cubic feet per second for the same duration storm 
events. Some canyons are expected to have even greater flow amounts 
over some areas due to location specific site conditions after the 
fire.
    It is extremely important that erosion and flood control measures 
be implemented immediately to protect lives and property from damage by 
soil erosion and flooding, and also to protect sensitive cultural 
resources and potential habitat for Federally-listed threatened and 
endangered species present within floodplain areas. Some 10,000 
residents live in communities located downstream from LANL; lands of 
Pueblo de Cochiti lie to the south along the Rio Grande, as does 
Cochiti Reservoir, which is a popular recreation and fishing site. The 
planned flood control measures are of temporary, semi-permanent and 
permanent natures. The potential for flooding will exist for the next 
several years to decades in some locations until enough vegetation is 
established to cover the hillsides and canyons to act as a sufficient 
deterrent to the soil erosion and flooding threat.
    The potential for a wildfire occurring at LANL and its subsequent 
impacts was considered in the LANL Site-wide Environmental Impact 
Statement (LANL Site-wide EIS) issued by DOE in February 1999. In that 
analysis, a wildfire scenario was considered that was similar in 
intensity and nature to the actual Cerro Grande Fire. The identified 
impacts in that document that correlate with the real fire include the 
actual path of the fire into the LANL facility and its consumption of 
about 8,000 acres of forest; the burning over of identified potential 
contaminant release sites and subsequent airborne contaminant fraction 
(during and subsequent to the actual fire, however, air monitoring 
stations did not detect and have not detected any contaminant releases 
above the normal background levels of naturally occurring elements and 
common substances associated with burning trees); the loss of 
protective groundcover and subsequent increase in soil erosion and 
flooding; the potential for movement downstream of contaminants in silt 
and soil; adverse effects on wildlife and biological systems; and 
adverse effects on cultural resources.
    Various impact mitigations were identified through the LANL Site-
wide EIS analysis, including the need to remove vegetation and 
combustibles around certain high risk buildings and structures around 
LANL (this action was completed before the fire occurred); and 
interagency efforts to reduce vegetation fuel loading within 
neighboring lands administered by Bandelier National Monument, the 
Santa Fe National Forest and DOE (the prescribed fire that ignited the 
Cerro Grande Fire was a part of this LANL-area effort).
    In late 1999, DOE notified LANL stakeholders, including local 
pueblos and tribes, and various identified interested parties of its 
intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposed 
wildfire hazard reduction and forest health improvement management 
program at LANL. This draft EA was scheduled to be released to the 
stakeholders for review during the week of May 8, 2000. This proposed 
long-term management program would allow DOE to thin forest vegetation 
to an appropriate level and then maintain it at that level in the long 
term to accomplish both the reduction of wildfire hazards and to 
improve the overall health of the forest resources at LANL. This

[[Page 38524]]

management program still has merit and changes are therefore now being 
made to the draft EA to reflect the changed environmental conditions 
since the Cerro Grande Fire. This EA will not analyze the environmental 
impacts resulting from actions discussed in this Notice of Emergency 
Action. The draft EA is now scheduled to be issued for review and 
comment at the end of June 2000.

Emergency Actions To Address Cerro Grande Fire Impacts

    The following paragraphs list the activities undertaken by DOE 
during the Cerro Grande Fire, assessment activities taken immediately 
thereafter, and actions that have been initiated and which will be 
completed over about the next five months to address the adverse 
impacts of the fire and subsequent potential erosion and flooding. 
These measures have been designed to protect the various natural and 
cultural resources at LANL, as well as the LANL structures, operations, 
infrastructure, and employee population, and to protect the citizens 
and their properties within the communities of White Rock, Pueblo of 
San Ildefonso, and Pueblo de Cochiti located downstream of LANL, and, 
finally, to protect the water quality of the Rio Grande and nearby 
Cochiti Reservoir.

I. Fire Suppression Response Activities Conducted on DOE-
Administered Lands

    Routine operations at LANL were suspended from May 8, 2000 until 
May 23, 2000, when non-emergency response employees were allowed to 
return. The restriction to low-flying aircraft over the LANL reserve 
was rescinded to allow fire fighting measures from the air to be 
undertaken most advantageously. Non-DOE fire response personnel were 
permitted access to DOE-administered lands to suppress fire and protect 
property. DOE-controlled roads were closed to public use for more than 
two weeks. Fire breaks and fire access roads were bladed at several 
LANL locations using heavy equipment and by hand-held tools. Tree 
cutting ahead of the fire was performed around buildings, utility lines 
and infrastructure locations. Back-burn fires were set ahead of the 
main fire and around buildings and utilities to help suppress the fire. 
A temporary water supply station (a ``pumpkin tank'') to supply water 
for water-tanker helicopters was brought in and used during the fire 
suppression stage. Frequent helicopter over-flights to deliver water 
onto the fire during the daytime hours were made. Single nighttime 
over-flights by airplane to assess fire size using infrared imagery 
were employed. DOE and New Mexico Environment Department environmental 
sampling stations were set up to monitor smoke, ash, and contaminants.

II. Immediate Follow-on Response and Stabilization Activities on 
DOE-Administered Lands, Including Preliminary Assessment of 
Environmental Damage From Fire and Potential Erosion and Flooding

    Field surveys were conducted on-foot and by helicopter and airplane 
as soon as possible after fire suppression to determine the extent of 
fire damage to LANL facilities and forest resources, post-fire 
condition of soils and vegetation, potential for stormwater runoff, 
presence of threatened or endangered species and other wildlife, and 
cultural resources damages. The following actions were identified as 
needing to be undertaken to control potential erosion and abate 
flooding risks. Steps to conduct these activities are already underway, 
and it is expected that these actions will be completed over the next 
five months.

Environmental Monitoring Stations

    Damaged air and surface water monitoring stations are being 
repaired or replaced. Groundwater monitoring wells are being protected 
from potential floods. Rain and stream flow gauges are being installed 
as needed to monitor for flood conditions.
    Contaminant monitoring of key watersheds for sediment transport, 
surface water flow, alluvial water, and ash flow, are being continued 
and will be expanded as necessary, as will air monitoring and 
groundwater monitoring stations outside LANL within surrounding 
community areas.

Potential Release Sites or PRS (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
regulated sites) and Potential Contamination Issue Areas

    The condition of any known PRS potentially affected by the fire or 
related flooding actions are being identified and assessed. Actions are 
on-going to stabilize damaged sites or treat, remove, and dispose of 
contaminants, if prudent.
    Potential contamination issue areas, such as canyon bottoms, are 
being assessed. Excavation and removal of potentially contaminated 
soils or sediments may be required.

Cultural Resources

    The number and extent of damage to cultural resources and historic 
properties at LANL are being determined and documented. Protection or 
stabilization of damaged or vulnerable sites is being conducted if 
required. The LANL burned areas include at least 430 known 
archeological sites, an unknown amount of traditional cultural 
properties, several historic homesteader cabins, and several Manhattan 
Project buildings and structures. The Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation, New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer, the 
Governors of the Pueblo de Cochiti, Pueblo of Jemez, Pueblo of Santa 
Clara and Pueblo of San Ildefonso, and the President of the Mescalero 
Apache Tribe were notified in accordance with the Emergency Situation 
procedures contained in the implementing regulations of section 106 of 
the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 as amended (36 CFR 
800.12) and invited to comment on DOE's anticipated erosion and flood 
control measures and cultural and historic property treatments. No 
comments were received. An assessment of the detailed effects of the 
fire on cultural resources will be compiled and provided to these 
stakeholders. Members of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 
visited LANL on June 14, 2000.

Threatened and Endangered Species

    A determination of fire and any post-flooding effects on nesting 
Mexican spotted owls and their habitat is being made through field 
visits. Similar effects on Southwestern willow flycatcher and bald 
eagle habitat are also being determined. Emergency consultation with 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was initiated by DOE as required 
under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and the Department of the 
Interior and Department of Commerce interagency cooperation regulations 
(50 CFR 402.05). The consultation was conducted as a cooperative effort 
with the Department of Agriculture, Santa Fe National Forest; 
Department of the Interior, Bandelier National Monument, and the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs, Santa Clara Pueblo Tribal Counsel. DOE determined 
that emergency actions taken at LANL to suppress the fire and those 
emergency actions already taken and to be taken as flood control 
measures may affect, but are not likely to adversely affect, 
individuals of Federally-listed threatened or endangered species or 
their potential critical habitat. To date, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service staff have expressed oral concurrence with that determination, 
and they are expected to provide written concurrence soon. Staff of the 
New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, visited LANL on June 13, 2000.

[[Page 38525]]

Utilities and Infrastructure

    Routine LANL mission operations are being re-initiated using a 
phased start-up approach, including replacement of various filters, 
monitors, alarms, cables, and other facility health and safety 
features; cleaning of all buildings and structures; and replacement of 
equipment and furnishings, such as computers and carpets, damaged by 
fire or smoke.
    Damage to buildings and structures are being repaired, including 
repair to roofs, walls, doors and windows.
    DOE-controlled roads are being reopened to public access; hazardous 
trees along these roads and in other occupied areas at LANL are being 
cut and removed from the site; hazard signs are being installed in 
potential flood-prone areas; hiking and running trails and paths are 
being repaired or closed to public use.
    Damaged utility, security, and communication lines, poles, 
transformers, and other related structures will be repaired or 
replaced, and new lines and systems or equipment such as emergency 
generators are being installed where needed to provide a redundancy of 
service to vulnerable or critical areas.
    Damaged road surfaces, guard rails, temporary structures, small 
storage structures or facility equipment and automobiles/trucks are 
being repaired or replaced.
    New fire-breaks and fire access roads have been bladed and existing 
breaks and roads are being repaired or restored.
    Helicopters and ground fire-fighting equipment are being used at 
LANL to fight hotspots; and helicopters are being used to deliver 
supplies into difficult to reach forested hillside areas. Upon total 
fire suppression and completion of forest rehabilitation activities, 
the LANL fly-over restriction by low flying aircraft will be 
reinstated.
    The potential for flooding from rain and stormwater runoff is being 
assessed. Types of actions to be taken to mitigate these potential 
effects include the redirection or reduction of water flow using comb 
and contour tree felling; hill-side raking, localized terracing or 
contour trenching; installation and use of mulching material by hand or 
machinery (including hydro-mulching measures), silt fences, straw bale 
and straw wattles, sandbags, log erosion barriers, concrete barriers, 
earthen berms, pre-fabricated debris catchers, culverts, sediment 
traps, dams, catchment and overflow basins, and the installation of 
other temporary or long-term flood and erosion devices and use of other 
control techniques. These actions that are on-going to prevent life-
threatening flooding to downstream communities may involve the use of 
hand-held tools (such as rakes for hillside terracing) or heavy 
machinery (such as in the case of creating earthen berms and dams) and 
may involve large acreages.

Miscellaneous Hazard Reduction Actions

    Mechanical means, such as hand-held tools and small machinery, are 
being used to break-up hydrophobic soils and stabilize soils. Steep 
slope areas have been seeded using hand methods and small airplanes.
    Both un-contaminated and contaminated wastes resulting from the 
fire are being removed and disposed of as appropriate, including 
removal of asbestos and lead paint as needed.
    Some unpaved facility access roads are being re-graded and repaired 
as needed.
    Culverts are being evaluated, cleaned, replaced or enlarged as 
needed and existing rock gabions (usually formed of wire mesh forms 
containing rocks or boulders) are being upgraded and repaired, and new 
ones installed as needed; any potential water flow impediments are 
being removed as necessary (such as pedestrian foot bridges in some 
stream-bed locations).
    Emergency community alert alarm systems and remote automated 
weather stations are being installed near roadways or where needed.
    Water storage tanks and pipes at LANL are being drained and 
flushed, including waste treatment lines, as needed.
    Stormwater runoff from Pajarito Canyon may be diverted into Water 
Canyon as determined necessary to protect White Rock residents and LANL 
facilities. This may involve the cutting of trenches or similar devices 
into areas that are presently undisturbed.
    Planning for the possible temporary relocation of hazardous 
materials, special nuclear material and related operations within LANL 
is being conducted and any removal of such materials and operations 
deemed necessary is being undertaken using appropriate packaging and 
transportation methods. Receiving facilities will be compatible with 
the materials and operations removed there or will undergo appropriate 
modification to enable them to function appropriately.
    Planning for the possible relocation of employees out of vulnerable 
facilities will be conducted; some relocation of employees into 
temporary quarters, as deemed necessary, is on-ongoing. This may 
involve the placement of trailers or similar structures within already 
developed areas where utilities are available, or the leasing of 
available off-site office facilities, or similar actions.
    Damaged, dying, or dead trees near structures, buildings, drainages 
and roads are being cut and removed along with trees cut during fire 
suppression efforts. These trees are being felled in place to perform 
erosion control.

Other Miscellaneous Recovery Actions

    A permit(s) for the use of DOE-administered land will be issued to 
private parties and/or local government entities for community recovery 
efforts and measures, including staging of equipment, building 
materials, temporary housing units (such as mobile homes and trailers), 
temporary storage facilities, and similar actions, and the use of some 
land tracts (such as the DP Road Tract and the White Rock Tract) for up 
to three years for temporary residences. It is possible that up to 200 
temporary housing units would be installed on DOE-managed land, which 
would be occupied by about 500 persons. The permitted parties could 
install permanent and temporary utility infrastructure as well as other 
infrastructure such as roads and sidewalks.
    The effects of reseeding and revegetation efforts, as well as other 
hazard reduction actions, will be monitored annually for at least the 
next five years. Repair, replacement or repetition of these actions 
will be undertaken as needed. Assessments and reevaluations of 
management plans for various natural and cultural resources within LANL 
will be undertaken and implemented as appropriate.

Environmental Impacts

    These listed actions have resulted, or will result, in localized 
and general environmental impacts that range from beneficial to 
significantly adverse. The following qualitative discussions briefly 
identify anticipated impacts that are or could be associated with these 
actions.
    Fire suppression response activities undertaken while the fire 
front raged through LANL property likely resulted in relatively minor 
impacts that were environmentally beneficial from the standpoint of 
reducing fire intensity and severity and suppressing the fire. The 
suspension of routine operations at LANL, and the closing of roads to 
public use, during the fire significantly reduced the potential for 
employee and public health risks and enhanced the ability of the Los 
Alamos townsite and White Rock to be evacuated quickly, thereby aiding 
in the overall protection

[[Page 38526]]

of human life for the residents of the local communities.
    During the fire DOE allowed aircraft to fly over LANL lands and 
allowed fire fighters to enter the facility and engage in fire 
suppression activities. These actions may have had localized adverse 
environmental effects including the impacts of water dropping from a 
height onto exposed soil, vegetation and possibly onto cultural 
resources; soil disturbance, tree damage, and cultural resource damage 
may have resulted. Fire retardant slurry was also dropped from 
aircraft; the slurry is typically a fertilizer compound that actually 
aids in the establishment of plants during the recovery period after a 
fire while, like the water drops, it acted as a retardant to fire 
spread.
    The blading of firebreaks and access roads, while being a means for 
firefighters to stop the spread of the fire, resulted in adverse 
impacts from the removal of swaths of vegetation. The removal of this 
vegetation has resulted in additional disturbed acreage vulnerable to 
erosion and that is unpleasant in appearance. The acreage involved at 
LANL has not yet been calculated. It is known that about 40 miles of 
fuel break line was created using heavy machinery and about 15 miles of 
fuel break line were created by the use of hand tools around the fire 
fronts, with about 17 miles of line created both by hand means and 
using heavy machinery being within the LANL boundaries. The width of 
these lines varied depending on site conditions and suppression needs. 
Tree cutting in front of the fire line decreased the amount of 
vegetation and habitat for small animals and birds, while at the same 
time helping to control the spread of the fire and thereby protecting 
infrastructure and buildings from loss or damage. Back fires set 
intentionally to suppress the wildfire had similar impacts.
    The installation and use of a temporary water supply station had 
minimal environmental effects and helped the firefighters to extinguish 
the fire and protect property. Over-flights for the purpose of using 
infrared imagery to access the fire progress resulted in minimal 
effects and aided firefighters in determining the best locations from 
which to fight the fire and stage equipment. The installation and use 
of portable air monitors resulted in minimal environmental effects and 
provided valuable information.
    The post-fire actions, both on-going and to be undertaken in the 
near term, are more likely to result in major adverse impacts, and will 
be discussed herein in terms of the bounding significant adverse 
impacts for which an environmental impact statement would normally have 
been prepared. Lesser impacts (not likely to be of individually 
significant nature) would be expected for those activities not 
specifically identified. The actions most likely to result in 
significant adverse impacts include the actions taken to remove 
potential release site legacy environmental contaminants (either in the 
soil and silt, or buried beneath a soil covering) if this removal 
involves a large spatial area, and especially if it involves the 
removal of contamination located within a canyon bottom area within the 
floodplain. (This would likely result in the removal of additional 
vegetation and create additional potential for soil erosion; however, 
it would also decrease the potential for movement downstream of 
contaminants and the increased spreading out of the contaminant 
materials.)
    Other actions involving significant adverse impacts include the 
installation of flooding control and hazard reduction structures such 
as several large earthen berms, dams, sediment traps, and catchment and 
overflow basins. These would be installed using heavy equipment within 
floodplain areas and would likely involve the permanent removal of 
vegetation and soil and possibly substrate removal over tens of acres 
for each structure; and the local drainage pattern and ecology of each 
site will be altered. In addition, the potential diversion of 
stormwater from Pajarito Canyon into Water Canyon (or another canyon) 
would involve either trenching through tens of feet of rock material 
comprising the mesa that lies between the two canyons or the tunneling 
through the mesa to form a subsurface passageway for the water. Impacts 
would include the use of heavy machinery, trucks, and drilling 
equipment; the removal and disposal of tons of soil and rock material, 
part of which potentially could be used elsewhere on site for erosion 
control and the removal of vegetation and destruction of habitat.
    The subsequent diversion of water from one canyon system into 
another would affect the ecology of both canyons, as well as increase 
the erosion in Water Canyon (or another similar canyon), including 
possible scouring and vegetation destruction. Contaminants could move 
downstream, potentially into the Rio Grande, though these would be 
expected to be small quantities that may not be readily detectable and 
would not be expected to result in adverse health effects.
    This list of DOE actions is not intended to be all-inclusive. As 
the assessment of fire effects continues and as the summer rainy season 
develops, various restoration, flood control and hazard reduction 
measures may be found to be inadequate or in need of replacement or 
reinforcement. The list of actions may accordingly be expanded or 
modified to meet additional needs for repair, replacement, 
modifications or additional activities.
    Most of the actions taken by DOE will result in minor environmental 
effects similar to those actions conducted by neighboring government 
agencies (including federal agencies, the pueblos, the State of New 
Mexico, and local county governments) and private land owners in 
response to the Cerro Grande Fire and to protect the lives of area 
residents and workers and the real property located along the path of 
the fire and within downstream areas. The actions being taken on 
neighboring lands are limited in nature to those with individually and 
cumulatively insignificant effects due to extreme site topographical 
constraints and conditions, together with an implementation time 
deadline of July 1, 2000. Some of DOE's actions will result in 
individually significant impacts to the human environment. Further 
more, the sum of DOE's actions, when considered in conjunction with 
other actions conducted on neighboring lands, will have cumulatively 
significant impacts. The overall effects of these cumulative impacts 
will be positive if the risk of flooding is sufficiently lessened to 
achieve the desired results, and neutral or adverse if the risk of 
flooding remains unchanged. It is likely that overall water quality 
will be slightly adversely affected farther away from the burned areas. 
By the time the water enters the upper end of Cochiti Reservoir the 
water quality should be sufficiently good so that no adverse effects 
may be expected. The nearer to the burned areas one comes, the surface 
water will become of increasingly poorer quality due to fine particle 
suspension of ash material and silt, and the transport of larger pieces 
of charcoal and logs. There are no plans to use surface water to 
furnish individuals or communities with potable water within the area 
of concern, however, so potable supplies will not be adversely 
affected. Some use of the Rio Grande for irrigation, however, may 
result in slightly adverse effects, or, depending upon the 
concentration of nutrients, the surface water may have slight positive 
effects on crops. Contaminants that preferentially adhere to charcoal, 
or to silt, may move down stream into the Rio Grande and through the 
Cochiti

[[Page 38527]]

Reservoir, but due to dilution may not be readily detectable and are 
not expected to be harmful to the environment or to human health.
    If there is flooding, the overall removal of many tons of topsoil 
over the burn area will be an adverse irreversible effect. The 
cumulative impact to vegetation, cultural resources, sensitive or 
threatened and endangered species, wildlife, infrastructure and 
utilities, recreational use resources, socioeconomic resources, 
environmental justice issues, and visual resources effects would be 
significantly adverse if severe flooding were to occur. And the loss of 
human life due to flooding would be an unacceptable, irreplaceable, and 
irreversible adverse impact.

Mitigations

    Mitigation actions that have been and will continue to be employed 
when undertaking the flood control, hazard reduction and various 
recovery actions include: use of certified seed mixes to reduce the 
potential for the introduction of non-native plant species; use of 
standard dust suppression means, such as water sprays on construction 
sites; avoidance of cultural resource sites (trained archeologists are 
on-site during earth moving activities near known cultural resource 
sites to help avoid any adverse effects); avoidance of potential 
habitat areas for Federally-listed threatened and endangered species 
(trained biologists are on-site during earth moving activities near 
potential sensitive habitat areas to help avoid any adverse effects); 
avoidance of PRSs during earth moving activities (unless specifically 
associated with the planned removal, protection or stabilization of 
these sites); and the use of best management industry practices when 
engaged in construction actions.
    DOE will continue to monitor the effectiveness and the 
environmental effects of the emergency actions that it is undertaking 
and will make appropriate modifications during implementation to 
mitigate adverse effects.

Compliance Actions

    Pursuant to Council on Environmental Quality regulations 
implementing NEPA under emergency circumstances (40 CFR 1506.11) and 
DOE's own NEPA implementing regulations (10 CFR 1021.343), DOE has 
consulted with the Council regarding alternative NEPA compliance 
arrangements for emergency actions having significant environmental 
impacts. Because of the urgent need to take action, without delay, to 
employ flood control and hazard reduction measures before the annual 
rainy season begins, DOE, consistent with Council on Environmental 
Quality consultations, will prepare a special environmental analysis of 
impacts from the emergency fire suppression and the flood control 
actions taken by DOE. DOE is scheduled to issue the special 
environmental analysis in September 2000 to LANL stakeholders, 
including pueblos and tribes, and make it otherwise publicly available 
through the Internet and in DOE and LANL reading rooms and local public 
libraries in the following New Mexico communities, towns and cities: 
Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Espanola, and Albuquerque. The availability of 
the document will be published in local area newspapers. All subsequent 
or other actions undertaken by DOE will be subject to NEPA under the 
normal compliance process.
    This notice also serves as the Public Notice and Statement of 
Findings regarding DOE's intention to take action involving 
construction and other actions within floodplains and wetlands pursuant 
to DOE's regulations for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetlands 
Environmental Review Requirements (10 CFR part 1022). As provided in 10 
CFR 1022.18, and because there is an immediate need to take emergency 
flood control and hazard reduction actions, DOE is waiving the public 
review periods that would otherwise apply before DOE would take such 
actions in a floodplain or wetland.

Public Involvement

    DOE will continue to participate in public outreach efforts, 
including those sponsored by DOE and those coordinated by the BAER 
Team. Two public meetings have been held at which technical specialists 
discussed issues of concern with the public, and additional meetings 
are anticipated as the emergency response actions continue. DOE will 
continue to employ a variety of mechanisms, including Web sites, press 
releases, information telephone line, and informal consultations with 
stakeholders, to facilitate public involvement. A Public Advisory Group 
is being established that will focus specifically on communications 
issues as they relate to potential runoff and flood mitigation 
activities.
    The BAER Team has provided information to the public and 
opportunities for public involvement through several mechanisms 
including, the establishment of a Web site (www.baerteam.org), regular 
press releases, an information line (505-603-8942), and individual 
contacts with members of the public. DOE will continue to coordinate 
its fire recovery and flood control actions with the interagency team 
and other stakeholders, and will continue to participate in public 
meetings.
    The public is invited to provide comments on this notice to 
Elizabeth Withers, NEPA Compliance Officer, at U.S. Department of 
Energy, Los Alamos Area Office, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544, 
phone (505) 667-8690 or fax (505) 665-4872. Comments would be 
considered in developing the special environmental analysis on the 
emergency actions that have been and are being undertaken.
    DOE's emergency action plans will be modified, as appropriate, in 
response to new information and changing conditions. Monitoring results 
of the effectiveness and the environmental effects of the emergency 
actions will be made available to the public. DOE will consider any 
comments, to the extent practicable, in pursuing adaptive mitigation 
measures. DOE welcomes comments at any time and will address them to 
the extent practicable.
    Requests for a copy of the special environmental analysis, when 
available, may be directed to Elizabeth Withers (see above). Copies 
will also be available on the DOE NEPA Web at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/. The analysis will be made available to the public and DOE will 
consider comments received in pursuing adaptive mitigation measures.

    Issued at Washington, DC, June 16, 2000.
Henry K. Garson,
NEPA Compliance Officer, Office of the Assistant Administrator for 
Defense Programs.
[FR Doc. 00-15797 Filed 6-19-00; 1:04 pm]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P