[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11568-11569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-4641]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


National Nuclear Security Administration; Notice of Availability 
of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the 
National Ignition Facility

AGENCY: Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security administration.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-
autonomous agency within the Department of Energy (DOE), announces the 
availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement 
(SEIS) for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) Project-Specific 
Analysis Portion (Volume III, Appendix I) of the Stockpile Stewardship 
and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SSM PEIS) 
(DOE/EIS-0236-S1). The NIF, which is being designed as the world's most 
powerful laser, has been under construction at Lawrence Livermore 
National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, California since 1997, in 
accordance with the SSM PEIS Record of Decision (ROD) (61 FR 68014, 
December 26, 1996).
    In September 1997, buried capacitors containing polychlorinated 
biphenyls (PCBs) were discovered during site excavation for the NIF. 
The capacitors and contaminated soil were cleaned up to levels 
protective of human health and the environment in accordance with the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) and its implementing regulations and in consultation with 
state and federal regulators. This SEIS analyzes how the results of 
characterization studies completed should affect the manner in which 
the NNSA proceeds with the construction and operation of NIF. The 
proposed action is the ``No Action'' alternative of continuing to 
construct and to operate NIF at LLNL. The SEIS also evaluates the No 
Action alternative of ceasing construction of the NIF. The preferred 
alternative is to construct and operate NIF.

DATES: A ROD for the SEIS will be issued no sooner than 30 days after 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes a Notice of 
Availability of the Final SEIS in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: To request copies of the Final NIF SEIS, or for additional 
information, contact: Richard Scott, Document Manager, U.S. Department 
of Energy, L-293, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550. Mr. Scott may also 
be contacted by telephone (925) 423-3022, facsimile (925) 424-3755, or 
by e-mail at [email protected]. Requests for copies of the 
Final NIF SEIS may also be addressed to the DOE Oakland Operations 
Office, Energy Information Center, 1st floor in the North Tower of the 
Federal Building at 1301 Clay Street in Oakland, CA, (510) 637-1762. 
The Final NIF SEIS is available for public review at the Oakland 
Operations Office; LLNL, East Gate Visitors Center on Greenville Road 
in Livermore CA, (925) 424-4026, and DOE's Freedom of Information 
Reading Room, Rm. 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, 
(202) 586-3142. The Final NIF SEIS is available under the NEPA Analysis 
module of the DOE NEPA Web Site at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the NNSA 
NEPA process, please contact: Mr. Henry Garson, NEPA Compliance Officer 
for Defense Programs, U.S. Department of Energy/NNSA, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; or telephone 1-800-832-0885, ext. 
30470. For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact: 
Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance 
(EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585, telephone 202-586-4600, or leave a message at 1-
800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final NIF SEIS was prepared pursuant to 
a Joint Stipulation and Order issued by the U.S. District Court for the 
District of Columbia on October 27, 1997, in partial settlement of the 
lawsuit, Natural Resources Defense Council [NRDC] v. Richardson, Civ. 
No. 97-936 (SS) (D.D.C.). In that Joint Stipulation and Order, DOE 
agreed to prepare an SEIS evaluating the reasonably foreseeable 
significant adverse environmental impacts of continuing to construct 
and of operating NIF at LLNL with respect to any potential or confirmed 
contamination in the area by hazardous, toxic, and/or radioactive 
materials. On September 25, 1998, DOE announced its intent to prepare 
an SEIS for the NIF portion (Volume III, Appendix I) of the SSM PEIS 
(63 FR 51341). That Notice of Intent was amended on August 5, 1999 to 
announce a revised schedule for preparing the Draft SEIS (64 FR 42681).
    The Joint Stipulation and Order required further investigations of 
potential buried wastes and of soil and groundwater contamination in 
seven site areas. The results of these investigations are as follows. 
Interviews and searches of historical information indicated a low 
probability of the existence of additional buried sources of 
contamination. Magnetometer, electromagnetic induction, and ground-
penetrating radar surveys identified no additional potential areas of 
concern. In December 1998, soil sampling during routine maintenance 
operations identified residual PCBs in soils in the East Traffic Circle 
(ETC) Area from a previous landfill closure. This area is outside the 
NIF Construction Area. The cleanup of the buried capacitors, 
contaminated soils, and other, nonhazardous items found in 1997 and 
1998 resulted in some minor dust emissions. The risks of cancer and

[[Page 11569]]

noncancer health effects due to PCBs on inhaled dust from the cleanups 
are estimated to have been orders of magnitude below levels of concern 
established by the EPA. Information from LLNL's extensive groundwater 
monitoring program and new information in this SEIS regarding present 
and potential future groundwater concentrations of PCBs in the study 
areas indicate that PCB contamination levels are well below 
concentrations that would impact human health and the environment. No 
adverse impacts on human health or the environment would result from 
this low level of potential contamination.
    Impacts on the environment of both alternatives--(1) continue to 
construct and then operate the NIF at LLNL and (2) cease construction 
of the NIF--are similar. Concentrations of PCBs in soil or groundwater 
originating from buried material would be below any level of regulatory 
concern for all alternatives, and therefore would not adversely affect 
human health.
    DOE held several public hearings on the Draft NIF SEIS: Wednesday, 
December 1, 1999, at 2 p.m. at the U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC; and Wednesday, December 8, 
1999, at 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at LLNL, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore CA. 
After the public comment period, which ended December 20, 1999, the 
Department considered and responded to the comments received, revised 
the Draft NIF SEIS as appropriate, and issued this Final NIF SEIS.
    Copies of the Final NIF SEIS have been distributed to appropriate 
Congressional members and committees, the State of California, local 
governments, other federal agencies, and other interested parties. DOE 
intends to issue a ROD no sooner than 30 days following publication of 
the EPA Notice of Availability of the Final NIF SEIS in the Federal 
Register.

    Issued in Washington, DC this 20th day of February, 2001.
Thomas F. Gioconda,
Brigadier General, USAF, Acting Deputy Administrator for Defense 
Programs, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of 
Energy.
[FR Doc. 01-4641 Filed 2-23-01; 8:45 am]
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