[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 29 (Wednesday, February 12, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 7110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-3482]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Revised Scope for the Hanford Site Solid (Radioactive 
and Hazardous) Waste Program Environmental Impact Statement, Richland, 
WA

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has decided to revise the 
scope of the Hanford Site Solid (Radioactive and Hazardous) Waste 
Program Environmental Impact Statement, Richland, Washington. DOE 
issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Hanford 
Site Solid Waste Program in May 2002. Subsequently, DOE issued a Notice 
of Intent to prepare a separate EIS, the Tank Waste Remediation System 
Supplemental EIS for the Disposal of Immobilized Low-Activity Wastes 
from Hanford Tank Waste Processing. DOE now intends to incorporate the 
scope of the Supplemental EIS into the scope of the EIS for the Solid 
Waste Program. DOE will not issue a separate Supplemental EIS for 
immobilized tank waste.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request information about the 
revised draft EIS or to be placed on the EIS distribution list, 
contact:

Mr. Michael S. Collins, HSW EIS Document Manager, Richland Operations 
Office, U.S. Department of Energy, A6-38, Post Office Box 550, 
Richland, Washington, 99352-0550, Telephone and voice mail: (509) 376-
6536, Fax: (509) 372-1926, Electronic mail: [email protected].

    For general information about the DOE NEPA process, 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, 20585-0119, Fax: (202) 586-7031, Telephone: (202) 586-
4600, Voice mail: (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE has decided to revise the scope of the 
Hanford Site Solid Waste (Radioactive and Hazardous) Waste Program 
Environmental Impact Statement, Richland, Washington. DOE issued a 
Draft EIS for the Hanford Site Solid Waste Program in May 2002 (67 FR 
36592, May 24, 2002). Subsequently, DOE issued a Notice of Intent (67 
FR 45104, July 8, 2002) to prepare a separate EIS, the Tank Waste 
Remediation System Supplemental EIS for Disposal of Immobilized Low-
Activity Wastes from Hanford Tank Waste Processing. DOE now intends to 
incorporate the scope of the Supplemental EIS into the scope of the EIS 
for the Solid Waste Program. In making this decision, DOE considered 
comments received on the original Draft EIS for the Solid Waste 
Program, and scoping comments for the Supplemental EIS, including the 
recommendations of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington 
State Department of Ecology, and the Hanford Advisory Board. 
Accordingly, DOE intends to issue a revised Draft EIS for the Solid 
Waste Program that reflects this expanded scope and responds to other 
comments on the Draft EIS, in accordance with Council on Environmental 
Quality and DOE procedures for implementing the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR parts 1500-1508 and 10 CFR part 1021).
    The revised Draft EIS will evaluate the potential environmental 
impacts associated with ongoing activities of the Hanford Site Solid 
Waste Program, disposal of immobilized low-activity wastes from Hanford 
tank waste processing, and reasonably foreseeable treatment, storage 
and disposal facilities and activities. The revised Draft EIS also will 
contain additional analyses of alternatives for managing both waste 
generated at the Hanford Site and waste received from offsite DOE 
generators, consistent with decisions resulting from the Department's 
Final Waste management Programmatic EIS (DOE/EIS-0200-F, May 1997) for 
low-level waste and mixed low-level waste (65 FR 10061, February 25, 
2000).
    Anticipated changes for the revised draft EIS include:

--The addition of alternatives for the disposal of immobilized low-
activity waste from the tank farms and evaluation of the impacts of 
those alternatives.
--The addition of more alternatives for the disposal of low-level waste 
and mixed low-level waste and evaluation of the impacts of those 
alternatives.
--The addition of alternatives for disposal of different waste types 
(immobilized low-activity waste, low-level waste, mixed low-level 
waste) together and evaluation of the impacts of those alternatives.
--The addition of information on the impacts of transporting waste 
especially as it pertains to the States of Washington and Oregon.
--The addition of DOE responses to major issues from the first draft 
EIS.

    In addition, DOE recently issued a Notice of Intent to prepare a 
separate EIS, Treatment, and Disposal of Tank Waste and Closure of 
Single-Shell Tanks at the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (DOE/EIS-
0356), (68 FR 1052, January 8, 2003). In this new tank waste treatment 
and closure EIS, DOE intends to evaluate alternative tank waste 
treatment processes for low activity waste. DOE will coordinate this 
EIS with the EIS on Hanford's Solid Waste Program, as appropriate.

    Issued in Richland, Washington, on this 5th day of February, 
2003.
Keith A. Klein,
Manager, Richland Operations Office.
[FR Doc. 03-3482 Filed 2-11-03; 8:45 am]
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