[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 211 (Tuesday, October 31, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64934-64935]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27902]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Draft Long-Term Stewardship Study

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of availability, opportunity to comment and public 
hearing.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the release of the 
Draft Long-Term Stewardship Study (Draft Study) for public review, 
comment and public hearing. This Draft Study has been prepared in 
accordance with the terms of a 1998 Settlement Agreement that resolved 
a lawsuit brought against DOE by the Natural Resources Defense Council 
(NRDC) and other plaintiffs.
    The Draft Study examines the institutional and programmatic issues 
facing DOE as it completes the environmental cleanup program at its 
sites. In keeping with the requirement that the Draft Study meet 
certain DOE requirements for public review in 10 CFR 1021.313, made 
applicable under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, DOE invites the 
general public, other Federal agencies, Native American Tribes, state 
and local governments, and all other interested parties to comment on 
the Draft Study. The purpose of the public hearing is to receive oral 
and written comments on the Draft Study.

DATES: The public comment period will extend to December 15, 2000. 
Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent 
practicable.
    The public hearing will be held Thursday, November 30, 2000, from 9 
am to 1 pm. Submit written notices of participation by November 20, 
2000.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the U.S. Department of 
Energy, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C., 
Room 1E245.
    Submit written notices of participation in the public hearing, 
requests for information about the Draft Study and written comments on 
the Draft Study to Steven Livingstone, Project Manager, Office of Long-
Term Stewardship (EM-51), Office of Environmental Management, U.S. 
Department of Energy, P.O. Box 45079, Washington, D.C. 20026-5079, 
phone: 202-586-9280; or submitted electronically to: 
[email protected]; or submitted by fax to: 202-863-7036.
    Copies of the Draft Study can be requested by telephone at 1-800-
736-3282 (``1-800-7EM-DATA''). The Draft Study and its supporting 
technical documents also are available for review at www.em.doe.gov/lts 
and at the DOE Reading Room addresses referenced in the ``Availability 
of the Draft Study and Related Information'' section of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    DOE has prepared the Draft Study on the possible consequences of 
long-term stewardship according to the terms of a 1998 settlement 
agreement that resolved a lawsuit brought against DOE by the Natural 
Resources Defense Council and 38 other plaintiffs [Natural Resources 
Defense Council, et al. v. Richardson, et al., Civ. No. 97-936 (SS) 
(D.D.C. Dec. 12, 1998)]. The Draft Study incorporates input received 
during a public scoping process and examines the institutional and 
programmatic issues currently facing DOE as it completes the 
environmental cleanup program at its sites. Long-term stewardship, 
under the agreement, refers to:

The physical controls, institutions, information and other 
mechanisms needed to ensure protection of people and the environment 
at sites where DOE has completed or plans to complete ``cleanup'' 
(e.g., landfill closures, remedial actions, removal actions, and 
facility stabilization). This concept of long-term stewardship 
includes, inter alia, land-use controls, monitoring, maintenance, 
and information management.

Study Goal and Approach

    The goal of the Draft Study is to inform decision-makers and the 
public about the long-term stewardship issues and challenges facing DOE 
and potential options for addressing such issues.
    The Draft Study does:
     Describe DOE's long-term stewardship responsibilities, the 
status of current and ongoing stewardship obligations, activities and 
initiatives, and the plans for future activities;
     Analyze the national issues that DOE needs to address in 
planning for and conducting long-term stewardship activities; and
     Promote information exchange on long-term stewardship 
among DOE,

[[Page 64935]]

Tribal nations, state and local governments, and private citizens.
    The Draft Study does not:
     Serve as a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
document or its functional equivalent;
     Identify or address site-specific issues, except as 
examples in the context of presenting national issues; or
     Address issues specific to nuclear stockpile stewardship, 
other activities related to national security, or the Central Internet 
Database required by the settlement agreement.

Study Development Process

    The terms of the settlement agreement stipulate that DOE follow the 
President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) procedures for 
public scoping, 40 CFR 1501.7(a)(1)-(2) for this study, even though it 
is not a NEPA document or its functional equivalent. Therefore, DOE 
conducted a scoping process during October 1999--February 2000 to 
gather comments on the scope of the Draft Study. The scoping period was 
initially intended to run from October 1999 to January 2000, but was 
extended by request to February 2000. The scoping process provided DOE 
with input about the topics and issues that should be included in the 
Draft Study, within the general parameters established by the 
settlement agreement. DOE developed the overall scope and issues that 
are addressed in the Draft Study based on comments received through the 
scoping process, ongoing work on long-term stewardship being conducted 
by DOE and non-DOE organizations, and requirements of the settlement 
agreement. DOE is soliciting comments on the Draft Study during a 
public comment period that begins on the date of publication of this 
notice and ends on December 15, 2000. Similarly, a public hearing will 
be held to receive oral and written comments from the public on the 
Draft Study. Comments received during the public comment period will be 
used by DOE to complete the final study. DOE's responses to comments 
received during the public comment period will be presented in a public 
comment summary document to be issued as part of the final study.

Availability of the Draft Study and Related Information

    DOE released a background document, From Cleanup to Stewardship, a 
Companion Report to ``Paths to Closure'' and Background Information to 
Support the Scoping Process Required for the 1998 PEIS Settlement Study 
in October 1999. In producing the background document and the Draft 
Study, DOE used the same data set used to develop the 1998 Accelerating 
Cleanup: Paths to Closure report. DOE used this information to identify 
sites where contaminated facilities, water, soil, and/or engineered 
units would likely remain after cleanup is complete to estimate the 
scope of long-term stewardship activities. Both the Draft Study on 
long-term stewardship and the background document are the best 
available information sources to date on the issue of DOE's long-term 
stewardship responsibilities. Copies of the Draft Study and the 
background document or other related information can be obtained by 
contacting:
     The Internet Web Site at www.em.doe.gov/lts, which 
contains information on long-term stewardship related issues produced 
by DOE and outside sources.
     The Center for Environmental Management Information, 955 
L'Enfant Plaza, North, SW, Suite 8200, Washington, D.C. 20024, 1-800-
736-3282 (``1-800-7EM-DATA'').
     DOE Reading Rooms (for locations of the DOE Reading Rooms 
or other public information repositories containing background 
information, please contact the Center for Environmental Management 
Information at the above address and telephone).

    Issued in Washington D.C., October 24, 2000.
James D. Werner,
Director, Office of Long-Term Stewardship, Office of Environmental 
Management.
[FR Doc. 00-27902 Filed 10-31-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-U