[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 131 (Friday, July 10, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33232-33235]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16343]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Record of Decision: Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, 
NM

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Record of decision.

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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a 
separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), 
is issuing this Record of Decision (ROD) for the continued operation of 
the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico, 
pursuant to the Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New 
Mexico, DOE/EIS-0380 (SWEIS) (73 FR 28453, May 16, 2008). This ROD is 
the second ROD based on the information and analyses contained in the 
SWEIS and other factors, including comments received on the SWEIS, 
costs, technical and security considerations, and the missions of NNSA. 
These decision factors also include results from the analyses in the 
October 24, 2008, Final Complex Transformation Supplemental 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0236-S4, 73 FR 
63460) (Complex Transformation SPEIS) and its two RODs (73 FR 77644, 73 
FR 77656, December 19, 2008). NNSA issued the first ROD for the 
continued operation of LANL based on the SWEIS (73 FR 55833) on 
September 26, 2008.
    In the LANL SWEIS, NNSA analyzed three alternatives for the 
continued operation of LANL: (1) No Action, (2) Reduced Operations, and 
(3) Expanded Operations. NNSA identified the Expanded Operations 
Alternative as its Preferred Alternative.
    For this second ROD, NNSA continues to select the No Action 
Alternative, announced in the 2008 ROD as its decision for continuing 
the operation of LANL, and has decided to implement additional elements 
of the Expanded Operations Alternative. Specific projects that will be 
implemented under this ROD are: (1) Complete the environmental 
remediation and closure of Technical Area 18 (TA-18) Pajarito Site; (2) 
complete the environmental remediation and closure of TA-21 (also 
referred to as the Delta Prime or DP Site); (3) refurbish the Plutonium 
Facility Complex at TA-55; (4) construct and operate a new Radioactive 
Liquid Waste Treatment Facility in TA-50 and operate a zero liquid 
discharge facility in TA-52 as an auxiliary action; (5) install 
additional processors and equipment to further expand the capabilities 
and operation level of the Nicholas C. Metropolis Center for Modeling 
and Simulation in TA-3; and (6) construct and operate a new Science and 
Engineering Complex at TA-62. These projects and the changes in 
operations associated with them are needed to support DOE and NNSA 
missions; to maintain and improve the safety and security of existing 
capabilities at LANL; and to further LANL intra-site facility 
consolidation. Decisions that NNSA is announcing in this ROD will not 
change the plutonium pit production throughput capability at LANL (20 
plutonium pits per year), nor will they influence or be impacted by 
future decisions that may be made based on the upcoming Nuclear Posture 
Review.\1\
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    \1\ The Nuclear Posture Review is a congressionally mandated 
comprehensive review of U.S. nuclear deterrence policy and strategy 
that the Secretary of Defense will conduct in consultation with the 
Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of State. The requirement for 
this review can be found in the National Defense Appropriations Act 
for 2008, Public Law 110-181.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of the SWEIS, the 2008 
SWEIS ROD or this ROD, or to receive further information about other 
issues regarding the Los Alamos Site Office's National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) compliance program, contact: Mr. George J. Rael, 
Assistant Manager Environmental Operations, NEPA Compliance Officer, 
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, 
Los Alamos Site Office, 3747 West Jemez Road, Los Alamos, NM

[[Page 33233]]

87544. Mr. Rael may be contacted by telephone at (505) 665-5658, or by 
e-mail at [email protected]. For information on the DOE NEPA 
process, contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 
Policy and Compliance (GC-20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-4600, or 
leave a message at (800) 472-2756. Additional information regarding DOE 
NEPA activities and access to many DOE NEPA documents, including those 
referenced in this ROD, are available on the Internet through the DOE 
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NEPA Web site at http://www.gc.energy.gov/nepa/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    NNSA prepared this ROD pursuant to the regulations of the Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 
1500-1508) and DOE's NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021). 
Decisions presented in this second ROD are based on information and 
analysis contained in the SWEIS (including a classified appendix that 
assesses the potential environmental impacts of a representative set of 
credible intentional destructive acts that include terrorism scenarios) 
(73 FR 28453, May 16, 2008), comments received on the Final SWEIS; 
NNSA's two December 19, 2008, RODs resulting from information and 
analysis contained in the Complex Transformation SPEIS (73 FR 77644, 73 
FR 77656); and other factors, including costs, technical and security 
considerations, and the missions of NNSA.
    LANL is a multidisciplinary, multipurpose research institution in 
north-central New Mexico, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north-
northeast of Albuquerque, and about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest 
of Santa Fe. LANL occupies about 25,600 acres (10,360 hectares), or 
approximately 40 square miles (104 square kilometers). About 2,000 
structures with approximately 8.6 million square feet under roof serve 
to house LANL operations and activities, with about half the square 
footage used as laboratory or production space, and the remaining half 
used for administrative, storage, service, and other purposes.
    LANL is one of three national security laboratories within NNSA's 
Nuclear Security Enterprise. The main role of LANL in the fulfillment 
of NNSA and DOE missions is scientific and technological work that 
supports nuclear materials handling and processing, and weapons 
component fabrication; stockpile management; materials and 
manufacturing technologies; nonproliferation programs; and waste 
management activities. LANL plays a key role in providing stewardship 
for the nation's nuclear stockpile that includes manufacturing some 
nuclear weapons components, such as plutonium pits. In addition to 
weapons component manufacturing, LANL performs weapons component 
testing, stockpile assurance, component replacement, surveillance, and 
maintenance. Research and development activities at LANL include high 
explosives processing, chemical research, nuclear physics research, 
materials science research, systems analysis and engineering, human 
genome mapping, biotechnology applications, and remote sensing 
technologies. Work at LANL is also conducted for other Federal agencies 
such as the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, as well as 
for universities, institutions, and private entities.
    The alternatives evaluated in the SWEIS span a range of potential 
operations from minimum levels that would maintain essential mission 
support capabilities (Reduced Operations Alternative), through the 
highest reasonably foreseeable levels that could be supported by 
current facilities or new facilities (Expanded Operations Alternative). 
The No Action Alternative analyzed in the SWEIS is essentially a 
continuation of current operations based on previous NEPA analyses and 
decisions, including the 1999 LANL SWEIS (DOE/EIS-0238, January 1999) 
and its ROD (64 FR 50797, September 20, 1999). The Reduced Operations 
and Expanded Operations Alternatives analyzed in the SWEIS are 
reductions or expansions of the level of operations for the No Action 
Alternative. As a matter of convenience, actions associated with 
implementing the March 2005 LANL Compliance Order on Consent (Consent 
Order) with the State of New Mexico \2\ are only analyzed in the 
Expanded Operations Alternative. However, NNSA stated in the SWEIS that 
DOE intends to implement actions necessary to comply with the Consent 
Order, regardless of decisions it makes on other actions analyzed in 
the LANL SWEIS.
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    \2\ The March 2005 LANL Compliance Order on Consent was issued 
pursuant to the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act and entered into by 
the State of New Mexico, the Department of Energy and its Management 
and Operating Contractor to address requirements concerning certain 
groundwater contaminants toxic pollutants and explosive compounds. 
The Consent Order may be viewed at http://www.lanl.gov/environment/compliance/consent_order.shtml.
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    The 2008 SWEIS ROD announced NNSA's decision to continue to 
implement the No Action Alternative with certain elements of the 
Expanded Operations Alternative. These specific elements were: (1) 
Continuing to implement actions necessary to comply with the Consent 
Order, which requires investigation and remediation of environmental 
contamination at LANL; (2) broadening the types and quantities of 
radioactive sealed sources for isotopes of Cobalt, Iridium, Californium 
and Radium, (Co-60, Ir-192, Cf-252, Ra-226), that LANL will manage and 
store prior to disposal; (3) expanding the capabilities and operational 
level of the Nicholas C. Metropolis Center for Modeling and Simulation 
to support the Roadrunner super computing platform; (4) performing 
research regarding beryllium detection and mitigation measures; (5) 
retrieving and disposing of about 3,100 cubic yards of contact-handled 
and 130 cubic yards of remote-handled legacy transuranic (TRU) waste 
from below-ground storage; (6) planning, design, construction, and 
operation of the Waste Management Facilities Transition projects to 
facilitate actions required by the Consent Order; (7) repairing and 
replacing mission critical cooling system components for buildings in 
Technical Area-55 (TA-55); and (8) completing final design of a new 
Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, and designing and 
constructing the zero liquid discharge facility auxiliary component of 
the new treatment facility.
    NNSA has previously announced its determination that the Expanded 
Operations Alternative is both its Preferred Alternative and the 
Environmentally Preferred Alternative. Considering the many aspects of 
the alternatives analyzed in the SWEIS, and looking out over the long 
term, NNSA believes that the implementation of changes analyzed in the 
Expanded Operations Alternative would allow it to best achieve both its 
mission and environmental responsibilities. Under this alternative, 
NNSA would be better positioned to minimize the use of electricity and 
water; streamline operations through consolidation; replace older 
laboratory and production facilities with new buildings that 
incorporate modern safety, security, and energy efficiency standards 
improving NNSA's ability to protect human health; reduce the 
``footprint'' of LANL as a whole; and allow some areas to return to a 
natural state.
    NNSA published as Volume 3 of the SWEIS all comments received on 
the

[[Page 33234]]

Draft SWEIS together with NNSA's responses, and discussions of how 
comments resulted in changes to the document. The 2008 SWEIS ROD 
included a detailed discussion of the comments received on the Final 
SWEIS, and will not be repeated here. In response to the concern raised 
by several of the commenters that proceeding with an increase in 
plutonium pit production at this time would be premature, NNSA agrees 
that making decisions at this time on future plutonium pit production 
levels is premature, and will delay making any decisions in this area 
until after the completion of the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review. 
Decisions that NNSA is announcing in this ROD will not change the 20 
plutonium pits per year level of plutonium pit production throughput 
capability established in the 1999 LANL SWEIS ROD.
    On December 19, 2008, NNSA issued two RODs based in part on the 
Complex Transformation SPEIS for the continued transformation of the 
nuclear weapons complex. One ROD addressed the implementation of 
programmatic alternatives involving plutonium, uranium, and the 
assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons (73 FR 77644). The other 
announced the implementation of project-specific alternatives involving 
tritium research and development, flight test operations, and major 
environmental test facilities (73 FR 77656). NNSA's programmatic 
decision to retain and consolidate plutonium pit manufacturing and 
research and development work at LANL means that special nuclear 
materials and work performed with plutonium will be consolidated from 
some of the other NNSA sites to LANL. This decision supports the 
transformation of the nuclear weapons complex into a smaller, more 
efficient nuclear security enterprise that can respond to changing 
national security challenges and ensure the long-term safety, security, 
and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile. Two of NNSA's 
project-specific decisions also directly affect LANL operations: (1) 
The consolidation of tritium research and operations at the Savannah 
River Site, which reduces tritium operations at LANL; and (2) the 
consolidation of major environmental test facilities at Sandia National 
Laboratories/New Mexico, which closes four facilities at LANL.

Basis for Decision

    In this second ROD, NNSA is announcing its decision to continue to 
implement the No Action Alternative with the addition of elements from 
the Expanded Operations Alternative of the SWEIS. NNSA has also decided 
that it will now implement additional elements from the Expanded 
Operations Alternative that complement the actions taken under the 2008 
SWEIS ROD. These additional elements collectively include increases in 
the operation of some existing facilities and the implementation of a 
limited number of additional new facility projects needed to support 
ongoing stockpile stewardship and environmental closure and remediation 
programs; to enhance nuclear safety and security; and to provide modern 
features for the protection of workers and the environment. NNSA will 
continue to undertake intra-site consolidation of operations and 
activities to reduce the physical ``footprint'' of LANL and improve 
efficiency and address the LANL Land Transfer requirements of Public 
Law 105-119. NNSA also will continue to coordinate with the DOE's 
Office of Environmental Management to execute environmental closure and 
remediation actions including major material disposal area (MDA) 
remediation, canyon cleanups and all activities necessary to meet 
Consent Order requirements, the LANL Federal Facility Compliance 
Agreement, and DOE commitments regarding the use of resources provided 
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (Pub. 
L. 111-5).

Environmental Impacts Associated With Decisions

    In making the decisions announced in this ROD, NNSA considered the 
potential impacts for normal operations (those operations without 
accidents or intentional destructive acts) as well as impacts analyzed 
in the SWEIS from potential accidents and intentional destructive acts, 
including credible terrorism scenarios, on workers and surrounding 
populations, as it did in developing the 2008 ROD. NNSA also evaluated 
the potential impacts associated with the irreversible or irretrievable 
commitments of resources, and the relationship between short-term uses 
of the environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term 
productivity. These analyses and results are described in the Summary 
and Chapters 4 and 5 of the SWEIS. Additional project specific analyses 
are included in the Appendices to the SWEIS.

Decisions

    Operations at LANL provide a wide range of scientific and 
technological capabilities for NNSA's National Nuclear Security 
Enterprise (Nuclear Weapons Complex). NNSA's decisions are based on its 
current and anticipated mission responsibilities and its need to 
continue to operate LANL in a manner that allows NNSA to efficiently 
and effectively fulfill its mission responsibilities in an 
environmentally protective and fiscally prudent manner. The need for 
the decisions identified in this ROD exists regardless of any future 
decisions that may be made about the level of plutonium pit production 
at LANL. National security policies and related laws require NNSA to 
maintain the Nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, as well as its core 
competencies in nuclear weapons. The nuclear facilities at LANL are 
essential to NNSA's ability to execute this core program and to support 
NNSA's aggressive and far-reaching nuclear non-proliferation efforts. 
The changes in operations and new projects announced in this ROD are 
needed to fulfill NNSA and DOE mission responsibilities and meet 
various requirements that have arisen since 1999, and are consistent 
with recent decisions regarding the nuclear weapons complex 
transformation.
    Consistent with the decisions announced in the first ROD under the 
SWEIS, NNSA and DOE's Office of Environmental Management will continue 
to implement actions required by the March 2005 Consent Order along 
with other activities needed for environmental cleanup at LANL:
    (1) Analytical chemistry sample processing, waste management 
activities such as waste characterization operations and waste 
processing, storage and transportation actions, as well as waste 
disposal at appropriate waste disposal facilities located both on-site 
and off-site; (2) the clearing of site vegetation; (3) decontamination, 
decommissioning and demolition (DD&D) of structures and buildings with 
priority to those that must be removed to reach buried contamination; 
(4) exhumation of buried contamination; (5) exhumation and 
transportation of soil and rock from on-site borrow pits; (6) 
construction of roads to reach sites with heavy equipment, lay-down 
areas for equipment and materials and waste storage and staging, and 
parking sites to meet the needs of vehicles involved in transporting 
wastes, equipment and materials; and (7) delineation and fencing of 
clean-up sites.
    Environmental cleanup projects that will be undertaken and 
completed under this ROD include:
     Completing the remediation and closure of TA-18 Pajarito 
Site. This would include relocating remaining operations to existing 
facilities within LANL, performing the DD&D of existing

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site structures and completing remediation of the TA-18 canyon-bottom 
site.
     Completing the remediation and closure of TA-21 Delta 
Prime (DP) Site with an emphasis on DD&D and environmental remediation 
of MDAs. This would include the DD&D of the TA-21 buildings. Those 
structures that cover or could interfere with activities to investigate 
and remediate MDAs and other potential release sites under the Consent 
Order would be given priority. Both DP West and DP East facilities will 
undergo DD&D and thorough characterization, decontamination, and 
demolition, with waste disposal dependent on facility characterization 
information. The underlying waste sites can then be properly 
investigated, considered for corrective actions that may be required 
under the Consent Order and remediated as appropriate.
    The NNSA has also decided to implement the additional projects 
specified in this ROD that involve the design, construction and 
operation of new replacement buildings, and the renovation of certain 
existing facilities. This decision includes the implementation of all 
associated actions needed to facilitate construction or renovation 
projects, including those related to the transfer of operations, and 
those necessary for the DD&D of spaces vacated by moving existing 
facilities. These projects are part of the vision that NNSA has 
established for the future Nuclear Security Enterprise.
    NNSA's vision for the future remains a smaller, safer, more secure 
and less expensive enterprise that leverages the scientific and 
technical capabilities of its workforce to meet all our national 
security requirements. The specific projects that NNSA has decided to 
implement are:
     Refurbish the Plutonium Facility Complex (PF-4) at TA-55: 
This refurbishment project consists of seven subprojects that either 
replace or upgrade obsolete and/or worn-out facility components/safety 
systems or address regulatory-driven requirements at the PF-4 building 
in TA-55. Replacement and maintenance of critical infrastructure and 
safety systems is necessary to ensure the reliability of this facility 
and compliance with safety and regulatory requirements.
     Construct and operate a new Radioactive Liquid Waste 
Treatment Facility, (RLWTF), at TA-50 together with the operation of a 
zero liquid discharge facility at TA-52 as an auxiliary action: These 
actions replace/restore an existing capability at LANL for processing 
radioactive liquid wastes. The existing RLWTF at TA-50 is the only 
facility available at LANL to treat a broad range of transuranic and 
low-level radioactive liquid wastes. It is an aging facility (over 40 
years old) that has exceeded its design life.
     Install additional processors and equipment as necessary 
to further expand the capabilities and operation level of the Nicholas 
C. Metropolis Center for Modeling and Simulation at TA-3: These actions 
will be undertaken to support future operations up to the level of 
operations analyzed in the SWEIS as attainable through the consumption 
of a maximum electric power use of 15 megawatts, and a maximum potable 
water use of 51 million gallons per year. Calculations performed at the 
Nicholas C. Metropolis Center support the continued certification of 
the nuclear weapons stockpile without conducting underground nuclear 
tests, and also support research on global energy challenges and other 
scientific issues.
     Construct and operate a new Science and Engineering 
Complex at TA-62 (analyzed as the Science Complex Option 1 in Appendix 
G of the SWEIS): This action consolidates offices and light 
laboratories currently located in several outmoded structures at LANL 
into a new, state-of-the-art facility of approximately 400,000 gsf. It 
would support scientific research activities in both basic and applied 
sciences. Execution of this project would be accompanied by DD&D of 
excess structures at LANL.
    The NNSA will implement changes to operational levels at existing 
facilities and install new infrastructure analyzed as part of the 
Expanded Operations Alternative that support decisions announced in 
this ROD, the 2008 SWEIS ROD and the two SPEIS RODs. The changes to on-
going operational levels at existing facilities (and their replacement 
facilities) include: (1) Changes and increases to the capabilities for 
waste storage, characterization, packaging, and labeling at solid and 
liquid radioactive waste and chemical waste management and treatment 
facilities to support the processing and disposition of transuranic, 
low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste, and chemical waste 
from site DD&D activities; and (2) the performance of site assessments, 
soil remediation, and the enhancement of field capabilities to support 
of environmental remediation and risk mitigation at LANL.

Mitigation Measures

    As described in the SWEIS, NNSA and LANL operate pursuant to a 
number of Federal laws including environmental laws, DOE Orders, and 
Federal, State, and local controls, and agreements. Many of these 
mandate actions that serve to mitigate potential adverse environmental 
impacts. A Los Alamos Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for the SWEIS RODs 
has been issued and will be reviewed and updated as necessary to 
implement this ROD. As discussed in the 2008 ROD, this MAP contains a 
summary of all commitments for LANL that are either underway or will be 
initiated. These commitments include such actions as continued forest 
management efforts, trail management efforts, and implementation of a 
variety of site sampling and monitoring measures, as well as additional 
measures to reduce potable water use and pollutant emissions and 
implement resource conservation initiatives.
    In addition, with respect to concerns raised by the Santa Clara 
Pueblo, as discussed in the 2008 ROD, NNSA will continue its efforts to 
support the Pueblo and other tribal entities in matters of human health 
and will participate in various intergovernmental efforts to protect 
indigenous practices and locations of concern. NNSA will conduct 
government-to-government consultations with the Pueblo and other tribal 
entities to incorporate these matters into the MAP.

    Issued at Washington, DC, this 29 day of June 2009.
Thomas P. D'Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-16343 Filed 7-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P