[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 39 (Friday, February 27, 2004)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9311-9312]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-4358]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued 
Operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Supplemental 
Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security 
Administration (NNSA).

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: NNSA announces the availability of the Draft Site-wide 
Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operation of Lawrence 
Livermore National Laboratory and Supplemental Stockpile Stewardship 
and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-
0348 and DOE/EIS-0236-S3) (LLNL SW/SPEIS). The Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS was 
prepared in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Implementing Regulations (40 
CFR parts 1500-1508) and the DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR 
part 1021). The Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS analyzes the potential 
environmental impacts associated with continuing current Lawrence 
Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) operations and foreseeable new 
and/or modified operations and facilities. The Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS 
analyzes a Proposed Action and two alternatives; the No Action 
Alternative and a Reduced Operation Alternative. The No Action 
Alternative would continue operation of current LLNL programs in 
support of currently assigned missions. The Proposed Action includes 
operations discussed under the No Action Alternative plus new and/or 
expanded LLNL operations in support of reasonably foreseeable future 
mission requirements. The Reduced Operation Alternative includes an 
overall reduction of LLNL activities below the No Action Alternative 
level. This Notice of Availability also sets forth the dates, times, 
and locations for public hearings on the Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS.

DATES: NNSA invites Federal agencies, State and local governments, 
Native American tribes, and the public to comment on the Draft LLNL SW/
SPEIS. The comment period extends from the publication of this Notice 
of Availability through May 27, 2004. Written comments must be 
submitted by May 27, 2004. Comments submitted after this date will be 
considered to the extent practicable. The NNSA will consider the 
comments in the preparation of the Final LLNL SW/SPEIS. Public hearings 
to present information and receive comments on the Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS 
will be held at three locations. This information will also be 
published in local California newspapers in advance of the hearings. 
Any necessary changes will be announced in the local media and on the 
web site noted in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Oral and 
written comments will be accepted at the public hearings.
    The locations, dates, and times for these public hearings are as 
follows:
    Tuesday, April 27, 2004 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., Livermore Double Tree 
Club Hotel, 720 Las Flores Road, Livermore, CA, (925) 443-4950;
    Wednesday, April 28, 2004 at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Tracy Holiday 
Inn Express, 3751 N. Tracy Boulevard, Tracy, CA, (209) 830-8500;
    Friday, April 30, 2004 at 10 a.m., U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Ave, SW., Room 1E-245, Washington, DC (202) 586-3012.
    The following Web site may be accessed for additional information: 
http://www-envirinfo.llnl.gov/. For information or instructions on how 
to record comments call 1-877-388-4930.

ADDRESSES: Send written comments on the Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS or requests 
for copies of the Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS to: Mr. Thomas Grim, Document 
Manager, National Nuclear Security Administration, Livermore Site 
Office, L-293, 7000 East Avenue, Livermore, CA 94550-9234. Phone (925) 
422-0704 or toll free 1-877-388-4930. Comments can be mailed to Mr. 
Grim at the address above, faxed to (925) 422-1776, or e-mailed to 
[email protected]. Please mark correspondence ``Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS 
Comments''. The Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS will be available on the LLNL 
Environmental Community Relations Web site at http://www-envirinfo.llnl.gov/.
    A copy of the Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS will be available at several 
locations: The Livermore Public Library, 1000 South Livermore Avenue, 
Livermore California. The Tracy Public Library, 20 East Eaton Avenue, 
Tracy, CA. The LLNL Public Reading Room, LLNL Visitors Center, Building 
6525, located at the East Gate Entrance off Greenville Road, Livermore, 
California (925) 424-4026. The NNSA Energy Information Center, eighth 
floor, north tower, Oakland Federal Building, 1301 Clay Street, 
Oakland, CA 94612 (510) 637-1762. The DOE Freedom of Information Act 
Office and Reading Room, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Ave, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585 (202) 586-3142.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the NNSA 
NEPA process, please contact: Ms. Janet Neville, NEPA Compliance 
Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, NNSA Service Center, 1301 Clay 
Street, 700N, Oakland, CA 94612-5208, (510) 637-1813 or Mr. James J. 
Mangeno, NNSA NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy/NNSA, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; 1-202-586-8395. 
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, (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at 1-800-472-
2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The primary purpose and need for continued 
operation of LLNL is to provide support for the NNSA stockpile 
stewardship missions. LLNL is also needed to support other DOE programs 
and Federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, and the 
Department of Homeland Security. The Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS analyzes the 
environmental impacts of these operations.
    LLNL was founded in September 1952 as a second nuclear weapons 
design laboratory to support design of our Nation's nuclear stockpile. 
LLNL consists of two sites: The Livermore Site located in Livermore, 
California in Alameda County, and Site 300 a high-explosives test site, 
located near Tracy, California, in San Joaquin and Alameda counties. 
The Livermore Site is the primary LLNL site and is located 
approximately 40 miles east of San Francisco in the Livermore Valley on 
the east side of the city of Livermore. Site 300 is located 12 miles 
southeast of

[[Page 9312]]

the city of Livermore between Livermore and Tracy, California.
    The alternatives evaluated in the Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS represent a 
range of operation from the minimum level that maintains core 
capabilities (Reduced Operation Alternative) to the highest reasonable 
activity levels that could be supported by current facilities, plus the 
potential expansion and construction of new facilities for specifically 
identified future actions (Proposed Action). The No Action Alternative 
would continue operation of current LLNL programs in support of 
assigned missions and includes approved interim actions and facility 
construction, expansion or modification, and decontamination and 
decommissioning for which NEPA analysis and documentation already 
exists. All alternatives assume LLNL will continue to operate as an 
NNSA national laboratory. However, the Reduced Operation Alternative 
includes an overall reduction of LLNL activities to a level that would 
prevent LLNL from accomplishing the full scope of the currently 
assigned NNSA Stockpile Stewardship Program missions. The Proposed 
Action includes operations discussed under the No Action Alternative 
plus new and/or expanded LLNL operations in support of future mission 
requirements.

Use of Proposed Materials on the National Ignition Facility

    Paragraph 6 of the Memorandum Opinion and Order issued by the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Columbia on August 19, 1998 in NRDC 
v. Pena, Civ. No. 97-936 (SS) (D.D.C.), provides that:

    No later than January 1, 2004, DOE shall (1) determine whether 
any or all experiments using plutonium, other fissile materials, 
fissionable materials other than depleted uranium (as discussed in 
the Supplement Analysis for the Use of Hazardous Materials in NIF 
experiments, A.R. doc. VII.A-12), lithium hydride, or a Neutron 
Multiplying Assembly (NEUMA), such as that described in the document 
entitled Nuclear Weapons Effects Test Facilitization of the National 
Ignition Facility (A.R. doc. VII.A-4) shall be conducted in the NIF, 
or (2) prepare a Supplemental SSM PEIS, in accordance with DOE NEPA 
regulation 10 CFR Sec.  1021.314, analyzing the reasonably 
foreseeable environmental impact of such experiments.

    In November 2002, the NNSA proposed experiments on the National 
Ignition Facility (NIF) using plutonium, other fissile materials, 
fissionable materials, and lithium hydride. The Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS 
analyzes the reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts of these 
experiments. There is no NNSA proposal to use a NEUMA. In the Record of 
Decision, NNSA will address decisions on the use of any or all of these 
proposed materials in NIF experiments within the context of continuing 
LLNL operations.
    After the end of the public comment period which ends on May 27, 
2004, the NNSA will consider and respond to the comments received, 
revise the Draft LLNL SW/SPEIS as appropriate, and issue the Final LLNL 
SW/SPIES. The NNSA will consider the analysis in the Final LLNL SW/
SPEIS, along with other information, in making a decision on the 
operation of the LLNL.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 30th day of January 2004.
Linton F. Brooks,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-4358 Filed 2-26-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P