[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 235 (Friday, December 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74160-74162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28806]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West 
Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service 
Center

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning 
and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project 
and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D [Revised]) 
(referred to as the ``Draft Decommissioning and/or Long-Term 
Stewardship EIS'' or ``Draft EIS''). This Draft EIS revises the Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement for Completion of the West Valley 
Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term Management of Facilities 
at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D) issued 
for public comment in January 1996 (referred to as the ``1996 Cleanup 
and Closure Draft EIS'').
    This Draft EIS 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). DOE and the New York State 
Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are joint lead 
agencies for preparing the Draft EIS, while the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission (NRC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and 
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) 
are cooperating agencies. NYSDEC and the New York State Department of 
Health (NYSDOH) are involved agencies under the New York State 
Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
    This Draft EIS analyzes alternatives for decommissioning the site 
and/or long-term stewardship, as well as a No Action Alternative as 
required by NEPA and SEQRA. The Proposed Action is the completion of 
the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the decommissioning 
and/or long-term

[[Page 74161]]

management or stewardship of the Western New York Nuclear Service 
Center (WNYNSC). This includes the decontamination and decommissioning 
of the waste storage tanks and facilities used in the solidification of 
high-level radioactive waste, and any material and hardware used in 
connection with the WVDP. DOE needs to determine the manner in which 
facilities, materials, and hardware for which the Department is 
responsible will be managed or decommissioned in accordance with 
applicable Federal and State requirements. NYSERDA needs to determine 
what material or structures for which it is responsible will remain on 
site, and what institutional controls, engineered barriers, or 
stewardship provisions would be needed.
    For the Proposed Action, the three action alternatives evaluated in 
the Draft EIS are Sitewide Removal, Sitewide Close-In-Place, and Phased 
Decisionmaking. A No Action Alternative is also evaluated in accordance 
with NEPA, which would continue management and oversight of the WNYNSC 
under the conditions that will exist at the Starting Point of this EIS 
in 2011.

DATES: The public is invited to comment on the Draft EIS, and all 
comments received which are postmarked no later than the end of the 
public comment period, June 8, 2009, will be addressed in preparing the 
Final EIS. Comments postmarked after this date will be considered to 
the extent practicable. Public hearings on the Draft EIS will be held 
at the following dates and locations in New York: Tuesday, March 31, 
2009, Seneca Nation of Indians, William Seneca Building, 12837 Rte. 
438, Irving, NY; Wednesday, April 1, 2009, Ashford Office Complex, 9030 
Route 219, West Valley, NY; and Thursday, April 2, 2009, Clarion 
Hotel--McKinley's Banquet and Conference Center, S-3950 McKinley 
Parkway, Blasdell, NY. Information regarding these dates, times and 
locations will be announced via other means such as local press 
announcements. Oral and written comments will be accepted at the public 
hearings.

ADDRESSES: Copies of this Draft EIS are available for review at the 
Concord Public Library, 18 Chapel Street, Springville, NY 14141, (716) 
592-7742, the Ashford Office Complex Reading Room, 9030 Route 219, West 
Valley, NY 14171, (716) 942-4555 and the U.S. Department of Energy, 
FOIA Reading Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Bldg., 1000 Independence Ave., 
SW., Washington, DC 20585, 202-586-3142.
    This Draft EIS is also available at http://www.westvalleyeis.com.
    Oral and written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted at the 
public hearings, or written comments may be mailed to Catherine Bohan, 
EIS Document Manager, West Valley Demonstration Project, U.S. 
Department of Energy, P.O. Box 2368, Germantown, MD 20874. Comments or 
requests for information may also be submitted via e-mail at http://www.westvalleyeis.com or by faxing toll-free to 866-306-9094. Please 
mark all envelopes, faxes and e-mail: ``Draft Decommissioning and/or 
Long-Term Stewardship EIS Comments.'' All comments received or 
postmarked during the comment period will be considered during 
preparation of the Final EIS. Late comments will be considered to the 
extent practicable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the WVDP or 
this Draft EIS, contact Catherine Bohan at the above address. The 
following Web sites may also be accessed for additional information on 
the Draft EIS or the West Valley Site: http://www.westvalleyeis.com or 
http://www.wv.doe.gov.
    For general information on DOE's NEPA process contact: Carol 
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-20), U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585; e-mail [email protected]; telephone 202-586-4600; or leave a 
message at 800-472-2756. The Draft EIS will also be accessible through 
the Department's NEPA Web site at http://www.gc.energy.gov./NEPA.
    For general questions and information about NYSERDA, contact Paul 
Bembia, Program Director, West Valley Site Management Program, New York 
State Energy Research and Development Authority, Ashford Office 
Complex, 9030 Route 219, West Valley, NY 14171; telephone 716-942-9960, 
extension 4900; fax 716-942-9961; or e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The WNYNSC is located south of Buffalo, NY, 
owned by NYSERDA, on behalf of New York State, and was the site of a 
commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. Spent fuel reprocessing 
operations conducted from 1966 to 1972 resulted in the generation of 
2,500,000 liters (660,000 gallons) of high-level radioactive waste, 
which were stored in two underground tanks. WVDP was authorized by 
Congress in 1980 to demonstrate the solidification of the high-level 
radioactive waste remaining in the underground tanks at the WNYNSC 
site. Through a Cooperative Agreement between DOE and NYSERDA, DOE 
assumed control, but not ownership, of the project premises portion of 
the site (the area in which the WVDP is located) in order to conduct 
the WVDP. Solidification of the high-level radioactive waste was 
completed in 2002, and the solidified high-level radioactive waste is 
currently stored at the site and will ultimately be transported to an 
appropriate Federal repository for permanent disposal.
    A Draft EIS for cleanup and closure of the WNYNSC was issued for 
public comment in 1996 (1996 Cleanup and Closure Draft EIS), but a 
Preferred Alternative was not identified, and a Final EIS was not 
issued. Instead, DOE and NYSERDA believed it was important to defer 
selection of a Preferred Alternative until more studies and analyses 
were completed and the NRC policy statement, including decommissioning 
criteria for the WVDP, were issued. Since that time, additional data 
have been collected on structural geology, local fractures, and 
seismicity. Designs for potential engineering approaches for 
decommissioning have been evaluated. Disposal area and facility 
inventory reports have been updated; improved methods for analyzing 
erosion and groundwater flow and transport have been developed and 
refined; a citizen task force has been consulted on the nature of a 
Preferred Alternative; and workshops to refine methods for long-term 
performance assessment have been conducted. Assumptions and design 
features for specific alternatives were reviewed and revised.
    This Draft Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship revises the 
1996 clean-up and closure EIS, and was prepared in accordance with the 
Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act 
NEPA Implementing Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and DOE NEPA 
Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021). DOE and NYSERDA are joint 
lead agencies for preparing the Draft EIS, while NRC, EPA and NYSDEC 
are cooperating agencies. NYSDEC and NYSDOH are involved agencies under 
SEQRA. DOE needs to determine what material or structures for which it 
is responsible will remain on site, and what institutional controls, 
engineered barriers, or stewardship provisions would be needed. NYSERDA 
needs to determine the manner in which facilities and property for 
which NYSERDA is responsible, including the State-licensed Disposal 
Area, will be managed or decommissioned, in accordance with applicable 
Federal and State requirements. To this end,

[[Page 74162]]

NYSERDA needs to determine what material or structures for which it is 
responsible will remain on site, and what institutional controls, 
engineered barriers, or stewardship provisions would be needed.
    This Draft EIS is intended to support DOE and NYSERDA decisions 
regarding the Proposed Action, which is the completion of the WVDP and 
the decommissioning and/or long-term management or stewardship of the 
WNYNSC. This would include the disposition of the high-level 
radioactive waste storage tanks, the former spent fuel reprocessing 
plant, the North Plateau Groundwater Plume, the Cesium Prong, the NRC-
licensed Disposal Area (NDA), and the State-licensed Disposal Area 
(SDA). The three action alternatives evaluated for the Proposed Action 
are as follows:
    Sitewide Removal: Under this alternative, all site facilities as 
outlined in this Draft EIS would be removed; all environmental media 
would be decontaminated; and all radioactive, hazardous, and mixed 
waste would be characterized, packaged as necessary, and shipped off 
site for disposal. Completion of these activities would allow 
unrestricted use of the site (i.e., the site could be made available 
for any public or private use). This alternative includes temporary 
onsite storage of vitrified high-level radioactive waste canisters 
pending the availability of a Federal repository.
    Sitewide Close-In-Place: Under this alternative, most facilities 
would be closed in place. Residual radioactivity in facilities with 
larger inventories of long-lived radionuclides would be isolated by 
specially designed closure structures and engineered barriers. Major 
facilities and sources of contamination, such as the Waste Tank Farm 
and burial grounds, would be managed at their current locations. This 
would allow large areas of the site to be released for unrestricted 
use. The license for remaining portions of the WNYNSC could be 
terminated under restricted conditions, or those portions could remain 
under long-term NRC license or permit. Facilities that are closed in-
place, and any buffer areas around them, would require long-term 
stewardship.
    Phased Decisionmaking: Under this alternative, decommissioning 
would be completed in two phases. This alternative involves near-term 
removal actions where there is agency consensus and characterization 
studies to facilitate decisionmaking for the remaining facilities or 
areas.
    Phase 1 would include removal of the Main Plant Process Building, 
the source of the North Plateau Groundwater Plume, and the lagoons on 
the WVDP premises. All facilities and the lagoons would be removed, 
except for the permeable treatment wall (an in-situ groundwater 
mitigation technology). Phase 1 decisions would also include removal of 
a number of other facilities on the WVDP premises. No decommissioning 
or long-term management activities would be conducted for the Waste 
Tank Farm and its support facilities, the construction and demolition 
debris landfill, the non-source area of the North Plateau Groundwater 
Plume, or the NDA. The SDA would continue under active management, 
consistent with its permit and license requirements. Phase 1 activities 
would make use of proven technologies and available waste disposal 
sites to reduce the potential near-term health and safety risks from 
residual radioactivity and hazardous contaminants at the site. Phase 1 
would also include an ongoing assessment period during which DOE and 
NYSERDA would conduct additional studies, evaluations, and 
characterization of site contamination. The studies and evaluations 
would be conducted to clarify and possibly reduce technical 
uncertainties related to the decision on final decommissioning and 
long-term management of the site, particularly uncertainties associated 
with the long-term performance models, the performance of engineered 
barriers and other technologies for in-place containment, the viability 
and cost of technology for exhuming buried waste, and the availability 
of waste disposal sites. In consultation with NYSERDA and the 
cooperating and involved agencies on this Draft EIS, DOE would 
determine whether the new information warrants a new or supplemental 
EIS. NYSERDA also would assess the results of site-specific studies and 
other information during Phase 1 to determine the need for additional 
SEQRA documentation.
    According to the approach determined most appropriate during the 
additional Phase 1 studies and evaluations, Phase 2 would complete 
decommissioning or long-term management decisionmaking. Under the 
Phased Decisionmaking Alternative, the Phase 2 decision would be made 
within 30 years.
    No Action Alternative: Under this alternative, no actions toward 
decommissioning would be taken. This alternative would involve the 
continued management and oversight of all facilities located on the 
WNYNSC property as of the Starting Point for this EIS in 2011. The No 
Action Alternative does not meet the Purpose and Need for agency 
action, but analysis of the No Action Alternative is required under 
NEPA and SEQRA as a basis of comparison.
    Preferred Alternative: The Phased Decisionmaking Alternative is 
DOE's and NYSERDA's Preferred Alternative.
    Combination Alternatives: DOE and NYSERDA recognize that, after 
consideration of public comments, some combination of alternatives 
analyzed in the Draft EIS may be identified as the best way to meet 
agency goals and protect human health and safety and the environment. 
If a specific combination alternative is identified as preferred 
between the Draft and Final EISs, DOE would present the combination 
alternative and its potential impacts in the Final EIS. If a 
combination alternative is ultimately selected for implementation, the 
Record of Decision and Findings Statement (under SEQRA) would explain 
the reasons DOE and NYSERDA made that decision.
    Following the end of the public comment period, DOE will consider 
and respond to the comments received, and issue the Final 
Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship EIS, including a Comment 
Response Document. DOE will issue a Record of Decision no sooner than 
30 days after EPA issues a Notice of Availability of the final EIS in 
the Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, November 25, 2008.
Ines R. Triay,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. E8-28806 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
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