[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2583-2584]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-988]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


West Valley Demonstration Project Final Waste Management 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Final Waste Management 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Cattaraugus County, West Valley, 
New York (DOE/EIS--0337F). DOE has prepared this Final EIS pursuant to 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and applicable NEPA 
regulations issued by the Council on Environmental Quality (40 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 1500-1508) and by DOE (10 CFR part 
1021). DOE proposes to ship radioactive wastes that are either 
currently in storage on the WVDP site or that will be generated from 
WVDP operations over the next ten years, to offsite disposal locations. 
The Final EIS evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the 
proposed action, including impacts to workers and the public from waste 
transportation. The Final EIS also analyzes a No Action Alternative, 
under which most wastes would continue to be stored over the next ten 
years, and an alternative under which certain wastes would be shipped 
to interim offsite storage locations prior to disposal.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Final EIS or requests for 
information about this document should be directed to: Mr. Daniel W. 
Sullivan, EIS Document Manager, DOE West Valley Area Office, 10282 Rock 
Springs Road, WV-49, West Valley, NY 14171-9799, Telephone: (800) 633-
5280 or (716) 942-2152.
    Copies of the Final EIS have been distributed to Federal, State, 
and local officials; Members of Congress; agencies; organizations; and 
individuals who may be interested or affected. The Final EIS will be 
available at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/docs.docs.htm or 
www.wv.doe.gov. Copies of the Final EIS and supporting technical 
reports also are available for public inspection at the following 
locations:

Hulbert Library of the Town of Concord, 18 Chapel Street, Springville, 
NY 14141.
Central Library of the Buffalo, and Erie County Public Library System, 
Science and Technology Department, Lafayette Square, Buffalo, NY 14203.
West Valley Central School Library, 5359 School Street, West Valley, NY 
14171.
The Olean Public Library, 134 North 2nd Street, Olean, NY 14760.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on this 
EIS, contact Mr. Daniel Sullivan at the address provided above. For 
general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact: Ms. Carol 
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-42), U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by calling (202) 586-4600 or by 
leaving a message at (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The WVDP is located on the Western New York 
Nuclear Service Center (also referred to as the Center). The Center 
comprises approximately 13.5 square kilometers (five square miles) in 
West Valley, New York, and is located in the Town of Ashford, 
approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Buffalo, New York. 
The Center was the site of a commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing 
plant, which was the only one to have operated in the United States. 
The Center operated under a license issued by the Atomic Energy 
Commission (now the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC]) in 1966 
to Nuclear Fuel Services, Incorporated, and the New York State Atomic 
and Space Development Authority, now known as the New York State Energy 
Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).
    During reprocessing, spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear 
power plants and DOE sites was chopped, dissolved, and processed by a 
solvent extraction system to recover uranium and plutonium. Fuel 
reprocessing ended in 1972 when the plant was shut down

[[Page 2584]]

for modifications to increase its capacity, reduce occupational 
radiation exposure, and reduce radioactive effluents.
    In 1976, Nuclear Fuel Services estimated that over $600 million 
would be required to modify the facility to increase its capacity and 
to comply with changes in regulatory standards. As a result, the 
company decided to withdraw from the nuclear fuel reprocessing business 
and exercise its contractual right to yield responsibility for the 
Center to NYSERDA. Nuclear Fuel Services withdrew from the Center 
without removing any of the in-process nuclear wastes. NYSERDA now 
holds title to and manages the Center on behalf of the people of the 
State of New York.
    In 1980, Congress passed the WVDP Act (Pub. L 96-368). This Act 
requires DOE to demonstrate that the liquid high-level radioactive 
waste (HLW) from reprocessing can be safely managed by solidifying it 
at the Center and transporting it to a geologic repository for 
permanent disposal. In addition to HLW, the WVDP also manages low-level 
radioactive waste (LLW), transuranic (TRU) waste, and mixed waste 
(radioactive and hazardous) generated as a result of Project 
activities.
    The WVDP Facilities and areas storing the waste are: The Process 
Building, which includes approximately 70 rooms and cells that 
comprised the NRC-licensed spent nuclear fuel reprocessing operations 
(one of the cells--the Chemical Process Cell--now serves as the storage 
facility for the canisters containing the HLW, which has been 
immobilized through vitrification); the Tank Farm, which includes the 
underground HLW storage tanks; Waste Storage Areas, which include 
several facilities such as Lag Storage Areas and the Chemical Process 
Cell Waste Storage Area; and the Radwaste Treatment System Drum Cell 
(Drum Cell), which stores cement-filled drums of stabilized LLW.
    DOE announced its intent to prepare this EIS in a March 2001 Notice 
of Intent (NOI) (66 FR 16447, March 26, 2001). DOE modified the 
proposed scope of this EIS as a result of public comments received 
during scoping and the Department's further evaluation of activities 
that might be required independently of final decisions on 
decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship at the WVDP. In the 
future, DOE plans to issue an EIS on decommissioning and/or long-term 
stewardship. DOE published an Advance NOI (66 FR 56090, November 6, 
2001) inviting preliminary public comment on a proposed scope for the 
decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship EIS and published an NOI 
(68 FR 12004, March 13, 2003).

Public Comments

    The Waste Management EIS was issued in draft on May 16, 2003, for 
public review and comment (68 FR 26587 (2003)). The 45-day comment 
period ended on June 30, 2003, although DOE also considered comments 
received after that date. Two public hearings on the Draft EIS were 
held on June 11, 2003, at the Ashford Office Complex near the WVDP 
site. The Final EIS incorporates public comments received on the Draft 
EIS and DOE responses.
    In response to public comments, several changes were made in the 
Final EIS. In particular, the option under Alternative B of placing 
retrievable grout in the HLW tanks as an interim stabilization measure 
has been eliminated. Information has been added regarding the extent to 
which the Canadian population within 80 kilometers (50 miles) of the 
site could be affected by the activities at the site and transportation 
under routine and accident conditions. In addition, a number of 
specific technical changes and corrections have been made in response 
to public comments, and updated DOE guidance regarding health risk 
factors was used to estimate potential impacts.

Description of Alternatives

    The Final EIS analyzes three alternatives for the continued onsite 
waste management and shipment of wastes to offsite disposal. Under the 
No Action Alternative, Continuation of Ongoing Waste Management 
Activities, waste management would include continued storage of 
existing Class B and Class C LLW, TRU waste, and HLW. Limited amounts 
of Class A LLW would be shipped for off-site disposal and the remainder 
would be stored onsite. The waste storage tanks and their surrounding 
vaults would continue to be ventilated to manage moisture levels as a 
corrosion prevention measure.
    Under DOE's Preferred Alternative A, Offsite Shipment of HLW, LLW, 
Mixed LLW, and TRU Wastes to Disposal, DOE would ship Class A, B, and C 
LLW and mixed LLW to one of two potential DOE disposal sites (in 
Washington or Nevada) or to a commercial disposal site (such as the 
Envirocare facility in Utah); ship TRU waste to the Waste Isolation 
Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico; and ship HLW to the proposed Yucca 
Mountain HLW Repository. LLW and mixed LLW would be shipped over the 
next ten years. TRU waste shipments to the WIPP could occur within the 
next ten years if the TRU waste were determined to meet all the 
requirements for disposal in this repository. If some or all of WVDP's 
TRU waste did not meet these requirements, the Department would need to 
explore other alternatives for disposal of this waste. The waste 
storage tanks would continue to be managed as described under the No 
Action Alternative.
    Under Alternative B, Offsite Shipment of LLW and Mixed LLW to 
Disposal, and Shipment of HLW and TRU Waste to Interim Storage, LLW and 
mixed LLW would be shipped offsite for disposal at the same locations 
as Alternative A. TRU wastes would be shipped for interim storage at 
one of five DOE sites: the Hanford Site in Washington; the Idaho 
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL); the Oak 
Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee; the Savannah River Site 
(SRS) in South Carolina; or WIPP. TRU wastes would subsequently be 
shipped to WIPP for disposal or interim storage at WIPP until disposal 
could be arranged. HLW would be shipped to SRS or Hanford for interim 
storage, with subsequent shipment to Yucca Mountain for disposal. The 
waste storage tanks would continue to be managed as described under the 
No Action Alternative.
    In addition, DOE considered, but did not analyze, an alternative to 
construct and maintain waste storage facilities for indefinite storage 
of waste at the WVDP. DOE presently does not consider that alternative 
to be practical or reasonable over time, because of continuing costs of 
construction of new facilities and maintenance of existing facilities.

Record of Decision (ROD)

    DOE intends to issue a ROD no sooner than 30 days following 
publication in the Federal Register of the Environmental Protection 
Agency's Notice of Availability of the WVDP Final EIS. DOE will publish 
its ROD in the Federal Register.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 12, 2004.
Jessie Hill Roberson,
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 04-988 Filed 1-15-04; 8:45 am]
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