[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 199 (Friday, October 13, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60925-60926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26332]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Special Environmental Analysis for Emergency Actions Taken in 
Response to the Cerro Grande Fire at the Los Alamos National 
Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Special Environmental Analysis for Actions Taken in Response to the 
Cerro Grande Fire at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, 
New Mexico. The special environmental analysis (SEA) describes the 
impacts related to the emergency fire suppression, soil erosion and 
flood control actions by DOE starting in early May 2000 at the time of 
the Cerro Grande Fire and extending through November 2000. DOE prepared 
the SEA in compliance with the Council on Environmental Quality 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations regarding 
emergency actions. The SEA will be forwarded in October 2000 to the Los 
Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to be used for implementation of the 
mitigation measures described in the document.

ADDRESSES: For copies of the SEA, further information regarding the 
document or activities described, or to provide comments, 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. The SEA will be available under the 
DOE NEPA Analyses module of the DOE NEPA web site at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/.
    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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE 
NEPA process, please contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, EH-42, Director, 
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Ave., SW., Washington,

[[Page 60926]]

DC 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by calling (202) 586-4600 or 
by leaving a message at (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Council on Environmental 
Quality (Council) regulation for implementing NEPA under emergency 
circumstances (40 CFR 1506.11) and DOE's corresponding NEPA 
implementing regulation (10 CFR 1021.343), DOE consulted with the 
Council regarding alternative NEPA compliance arrangements for 
emergency actions having potentially significant environmental impacts. 
As a result of the consultations, DOE prepared this SEA of impacts 
related to the emergency fire suppression, soil erosion and flood 
control actions by DOE starting in early May 2000 at the time of the 
Cerro Grande Fire and extending through November 2000. A notice of 
emergency DOE actions was published in the Federal Register on June 21, 
2000, which included a brief description of contemplated actions, and 
their potential impacts, as both were understood at that time. The 
Federal Register notice also served 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). DOE announced the 
preparation of the SEA at regular public and stakeholder meetings 
regarding the status of DOE's emergency actions being taken. These 
status meetings were held weekly in Los Alamos beginning on June 30 and 
extending through August 11, 2000. The meetings are now being held on a 
monthly basis, with the first monthly meeting held on September 15, 
2000.
    DOE is providing copies of the SEA to LANL stakeholders, including 
tribes and members of the public who have identified themselves as 
interested parties. DOE has also made the SEA publicly available 
through the Internet and by placing it in DOE and LANL reading rooms 
and local public libraries in: Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Espanola, and 
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
    The actions covered in this SEA encompass a wide range of 
activities, including felling trees, igniting back fires, applying 
fire-retardants, removing and stabilizing contaminants, and controlling 
erosion and storm water. In general, DOE actions had localized or 
limited individual adverse impacts and were designed to protect life 
and property from the effects of the fire and subsequent soil erosion 
and surface water runoff caused by seasonally heavy rainfalls. In this 
respect, the actions had a significant positive cumulative impact at 
LANL and within the regions of influence for most resources. However, 
individual projects had some adverse effects, such as loss of habitat 
for wildlife, primarily resulting from soil and vegetation removal. The 
SEA does not include an analysis of the impacts that resulted from the 
Cerro Grande Fire itself. The fire impacts at LANL will be captured in 
other reports, and specifically, the Annual SWEIS Yearbook will detail 
the cumulative impacts of the wildfire.

Subsequent Document Preparation

    Results of monitoring the mitigation effectiveness and the 
environmental effects of the emergency actions will be made available 
to the public through an annual mitigation tracking report. The first 
annual tracking report will be issued in January 2002 for the Fiscal 
Year beginning October 1, 2000, and ending on September 30, 2001. DOE 
will consider any comments received on the SEA and the subsequent 
documents in pursuing adaptive mitigation measures. Comments should be 
sent to Ms. Withers as indicated in the Addresses section above.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 5, 2000.
Henry Garson,
NEPA Compliance Officer, Defense Programs, National Nuclear Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 00-26332 Filed 10-12-00; 8:45 am]
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