[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 240 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64406-64407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30807]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact for 
Transportation of Low-Level Radioactive Waste From the Oak Ridge 
Reservation to Off-Site Treatment or Disposal Facilities

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE), announces the availability of 
the Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact 
(FONSI) for Transportation of Low-Level Radioactive Waste from the Oak 
Ridge Reservation to Off-Site Treatment or Disposal Facilities (DOE/EA-
1315) for public review and comment. The EA has been prepared in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 as amended (NEPA); Council on Environmental Quality 
regulations implementing NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500-1508; and DOE NEPA 
Implementing Procedures.

DATES: The review period for the EA/FONSI begins with publication of 
this notice and extends for 30 days. Comments postmarked after that 
date will be considered to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the EA/FONSI may be submitted by mail: Mr. 
William G. McMillan, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Operations 
Office, PO Box 2001, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, or by telephone (1-
865-241-6426), or by fax (1-865-576-6074), or electronically at 
[email protected], or by submitting comments to the NEPA e-mail 
box at [email protected].
    Copies of the Draft EA may also be obtained by contacting Mr. 
William McMillan by any of the means described

[[Page 64407]]

above. The Draft EA is also available for review at the U.S. Department 
of Energy Public Reading Room at 230 Warehouse Road, Oak Ridge, TN 
37830. Phone: (865) 241-4780 or 1-800-382-6938, option 6).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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 EA evaluates the potential environmental 
impacts associated with transportation of legacy and operational low-
level (radioactive) waste (LLW) from the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in 
Tennessee for treatment or disposal at various locations in the United 
States. DOE has determined that the proposed action is not a major 
Federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment within the context of NEPA. Therefore, preparation of an 
environmental impact statement is not necessary, and DOE is issuing a 
FONSI. The EA also evaluates the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the no action alternative.
    The draft Environmental Assessment was distributed in June 2000 to 
the NEPA coordinators in each state through which proposed rail or 
highway routes pass, as well as to local stakeholders in the Oak Ridge, 
Tennessee, area. Their comments were received and incorporated into the 
document. Because this document involves transportation across the 
continental United States, however, DOE has concluded that it should 
provide opportunity for further comment to a broader distribution. 
Therefore, these documents are available for a 30-day public comment 
period. If significant issues are documented as a result of this 
comment period, the document will be revised as appropriate.
    The DOE-Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) Office has LLW that must be 
transported from Oak Ridge to treatment and disposal facilities because 
on-site disposal is not available for the expected large life-cycle 
volumes, nor for the technical constituents, of many ORR LLW streams. 
The reservation encompasses three major DOE facilities: Oak Ridge 
National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant, and East Tennessee 
Technology Park (ETTP). Large quantities of LLW have been generated as 
a result of normal operations associated with research or manufacturing 
conducted at these facilities. DOE legacy and operational LLW on ORR 
(approximately 40,000 m\3\) is managed in compliant storage. It is 
estimated that 7700 m\3\ of waste could be generated annually from 
operations over the next 20 years. While a large portion of ORR LLW 
will eventually be shipped to other federally owned, DOE-operated 
disposal facilities, DOE also intends to use commercial disposal 
facilities when cost-effective, compliant, and in the best interest of 
the government.
    The planned action is to package as needed, load, and ship existing 
and forecasted ORR LLW to existing or future facilities at other DOE 
sites such as the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the Hanford Reservation, the 
Savannah River Site, and licensed commercial nuclear waste treatment or 
disposal facilities. These include Envirocare of Utah Inc. 
(Envirocare), Clive, Utah; Waste Control Specialists (WCS), Andrews, 
Texas; commercial facilities near the Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, 
South Carolina; commercial facilities near ORR; and commercial 
facilities near the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington. LLW will either 
be shipped directly from ORR to a DOE or licensed commercial disposal 
facility or to a licensed commercial treatment facility and then to a 
DOE or licensed commercial disposal facility. ORR LLW will generally be 
transported by truck but may also be transported by rail or intermodal 
carrier (i.e., truck and rail combination) when advantageous.
    The impact analysis in the EA addressed the potential effects of 
loading and transporting accumulated legacy and ongoing operations LLW 
from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to destinations representative of other DOE 
sites and licensed commercial nuclear waste treatment or disposal 
facilities. The potential effects of transport over both highway and 
rail routes were evaluated. Evaluation of LLW being generated by 
ongoing operations at the ORR was based on volumes anticipated over a 
20-year life cycle. The potential effects were evaluated on per 
shipment, annual, and 20-year bases. The EA did not address waste for 
which treatment and disposal are addressed pursuant to the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980 (CERCLA), on-site activities that are already being conducted 
as a part of routine waste management at the ORR, or activities 
conducted prior to loading or at the destination facilities.

    Issued in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on October 29, 2001.
David Allen,
Oak Ridge Operations Office, NEPA Compliance Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-30807 Filed 12-12-01; 8:45 am]
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