[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 21, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43850-43851]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21088]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management


Site Recommendation Consideration Hearings and End of Public 
Comment Period; Yucca Mountain Preliminary Site Suitability Evaluation

AGENCY: Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Notice of public hearings and public comment period closure; 
document availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (the Department) announces the 
scheduling of public hearings on the possible recommendation by the 
Secretary of Energy to the President of the Yucca Mountain Site in 
Nevada for development as a spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear 
waste geologic repository, pursuant to Section 114(a)(1) of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), as amended. The Department also 
announces the availability of the Yucca Mountain Preliminary Site 
Suitability Evaluation (PSSE) for the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada and 
the date for the closure of the public comment period on the 
Secretary's consideration of a possible site recommendation.

DATES: Public Hearings are scheduled for the following dates, locations 
and times:
    September 5, 2001: Suncoast Hotel and Casino, 9090 Alta Drive, Las 
Vegas, Nevada, 89144, 5:00 pm--9:00 pm--

[[Page 43851]]

Poster Session; 6:00 pm--9:00 pm--Hearing.
    September 12, 2001: Longstreet Inn and Casino, Highway 373, 
Armagosa Valley, Nevada 89020; 5:00 pm--9:00 pm--Poster Session; 6:00 
pm--9:00 pm--Hearing.
    September 13, 2001: Bob Ruud Community Center, 150 Highway North 
#160, Pahrump, Nevada 89048, 5:00 pm-9:00 pm--Poster Session; 6:00 pm-
9:00 pm--Hearing.
    The public also may submit written comments on the Secretary's 
consideration of Yucca Mountain for a potential site recommendation to 
the President. Written comments will be accepted for consideration if 
received by September 20, 2001. Comments received after September 20, 
2001, will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed to Carol Hanlon, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office, (M/S 
#025), P.O. Box 30307, North Las Vegas, Nevada 89036-0307, or provided 
by electronic mail to [email protected]. Written comments should be 
identified on the outside of the envelope, and on the comments 
themselves, with the designation: ``Possible Site Recommendation for 
Yucca Mountain.'' Comments can also be submitted by facsimile to 1-800-
967-0739.
    Copies of any written comments, and documents referenced in this 
notice may be inspected and photocopied in the Department's Freedom of 
Information Act Reading Room located at the Yucca Mountain Science 
Center, 4101B Meadows Lane, Las Vegas, Nevada, (702) 295-1312, between 
the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10:00 
a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, except for Federal holidays. Documents 
referenced in this notice may also be found on the Internet at http://www.ymp.gov and at http://www.rw.doe.gov. For more information 
concerning public participation, please refer to the Opportunity for 
Public Comment section of this notice.
    Copies of the PSSE and other supporting technical documents may be 
requested by telephone (1-800-967-3477) or over the Internet via the 
Yucca Mountain Project website using the document ordering form at 
http://www.ymp.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of 
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Yucca Mountain Site 
Characterization Office, (M/S #025), P.O. Box 30307, North Las Vegas, 
Nevada 89036-0307, 1-800-967-3477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On May 7, 2001, the Department announced in the Federal Register 
(66 FR 23013-23016) the initiation of a public comment period on the 
Secretary's consideration of the Yucca Mountain site for recommendation 
as a spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste repository. In conjunction 
with the initiation of the comment period, the Department issued a 
report, the Yucca Mountain Science and Engineering Report (YMS&ER), 
summarizing the scientific and technical information compiled by the 
Department to date outlining the preliminary design and performance 
attributes of a potential geologic repository at the Yucca Mountain 
site. This report was provided to inform the public and facilitate 
public comment and review on the technical and scientific information 
and analyses forming the basis for the Department's consideration of a 
possible site recommendation.
    With this notice, the Department announces the issuance of another 
report, the PSSE, that also is intended to inform the public and 
facilitate public review and comment on a possible site recommendation. 
The PSSE contains a preliminary evaluation of the suitability of the 
Yucca Mountain site for development as a geologic repository based on 
the Department's proposed site suitability regulations, to be codified 
as 10 CFR part 963. The preliminary evaluation described in the PSSE is 
based on information contained in the YMS&ER, supplemented by the most 
recent available technical information.

II. Opportunity for Public Comment

A. Participation in Comment Process

    Interested persons are invited to participate in the comment 
process by submitting written data, views, or comments with respect to 
the possible recommendation of the Yucca Mountain site. The Department 
encourages the maximum level of public participation possible in this 
process. Individuals, coalitions, states or other government entities, 
and others are urged to submit written comments on technical, policy or 
other issues related to the possible recommendation of the Yucca 
Mountain site.

B. Written Comment Procedures

    The Department invites the public to comment on a possible 
recommendation for the Yucca Mountain site. Written comments should be 
identified on the outside of the envelope, and on the comments 
themselves, with the designation: ``Possible Site Recommendation for 
Yucca Mountain.'' In the event any person wishing to submit written 
comments cannot provide them directly, alternative arrangements can be 
made by calling 1-800-967-3477. All comments postmarked by the closing 
date of the public comment period will be considered by the Department 
before a decision is made on the potential site recommendation. 
Comments postmarked after the closing date will be considered to the 
extent practicable. All comments submitted will be available for 
examination at the Yucca Mountain Science Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
Pursuant to the provisions of 10 CFR 1004.11, any person submitting 
information or data that is believed to be confidential, and which may 
be exempt by law from public disclosure, should submit one complete 
copy, as well as two copies from which the information considered 
confidential has been deleted. The Department of Energy will make its 
own determination of any such claim and treat it accordingly.

C. Public Hearings

    At the beginning of this notice, the Department has indicated where 
and when there will be public hearings for the site consideration 
process. As required by the NWPA, the Department will hold these 
hearings in the vicinity of Yucca Mountain to inform and receive 
comments from those in the vicinity of the site. These hearings will 
not be trial-type evidentiary hearings that require a lawyer. They will 
be informal, and the Department intends to use a facilitator in an 
effort to ensure they are fair and productive.

    Issued in Washington, DC on August 16, 2001.
Lake Barrett,
Acting Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
[FR Doc. 01-21088 Filed 8-20-01; 8:45 am]
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