[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 27, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55221-55223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-25847]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment, To Open 
a Public Scoping Period, and To Conduct a Public Scoping Meeting

AGENCY: Office of Science, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment, to 
open a public scoping period, and to conduct a public scoping meeting 
for the funding of the construction and operation of the Facility for 
Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University, East Lansing, 
Michigan.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to prepare 
an Environmental Assessment (EA) pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) and to hold a public scoping meeting on the proposed 
Federal action to fund the construction and operation of the Facility 
for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) on the campus of Michigan State 
University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan. FRIB's design is composed 
of buildings and/or building additions for a heavy ion/proton 
accelerator, ancillary laboratories, and support facilities. 
Construction/operation would occur adjacent to the existing National 
Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL), which would ultimately be 
subsumed into FRIB. The EA will identify and assess potential 
environmental impacts from the Proposed Action and a range of 
reasonable alternatives so DOE can determine whether to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) or issue a finding of no 
significant impact (FONSI). DOE is also opening a 45-day scoping period 
to allow the public the opportunity to voice any concerns it might have 
and to make recommendations about the analytical approach and 
alternatives. During the scoping period, a public meeting will be held. 
If at any point during the preparation of the EA DOE determines that it 
is necessary to prepare an EIS, this scoping process will serve as the 
scoping process that would normally follow a Notice of Intent to 
prepare an EIS.

DATES: The public scoping period starts with the publication of this 
Notice in the Federal Register and will continue until December 11, 
2009. DOE will consider all comments received or postmarked by that 
date in defining the scope of the EA. Comments received or postmarked 
after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    DOE invites public comment on the scope of this EA during a public 
scoping meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on November 11, 2009 in room 
1400 of the Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building (BPS) on the 
campus of Michigan State University, in East Lansing, Michigan. The 
scoping meeting will be preceded by an educational open house to be 
held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the NSCL, which is adjacent to BPS.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions on the scope of the EA may 
be submitted by mail to: FRIB Comments, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Office of Science, Chicago Office (STS), 9800 South Cass Avenue, 
Argonne, Illinois 60439; by toll free fax to 1-888-676-3672; by e-mail 
to [email protected]; or through the EA Web site at http://www.frib.msu.edu/NEPA/.
    The Pre-approval Draft EA is expected to be completed in the Spring 
of 2010. Advance requests for copies can also be made at this time via 
the methods above. In making your request, please specify whether you 
would like a paper copy, a compact disc, or notification of its 
availability on the Internet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the 
proposed project, contact Mr. James Hawkins, FRIB Program Manager, U.S. 
Department of Energy, SC-26.2/Germantown Building, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-1290, by telephone at 301-903-3613, 
or via e-mail at [email protected]; or Dr. Thomas 
Glasmacher, FRIB Project Manager, Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, 
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1321, by telephone at 
517-908-7750, or via e-mail at [email protected]. The FRIB 
project is described in detail at the FRIB Web site, http://www.frib.msu.edu/.
    For general information concerning DOE's NEPA process, contact: 
Peter Siebach, NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, 
Office of Science-Chicago Office (STS), 9800 South Cass Avenue, 
Argonne, Illinois 60439, by telephone at 603-252-2007, or via e-mail at 
[email protected]. This Notice of Intent and general information 
on the DOE NEPA process are available at http://www.gc.energy.gov/NEPA/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    DOE published a ``funding opportunity announcement'' on May 20, 
2008 seeking applications for the design and establishment of a 
particle acceleration facility--the FRIB--as a National User Facility. 
The FRIB would take about a decade to design and build and would cost 
an estimated $550 million, including cost sharing from MSU. MSU would 
also make other, non-monetary contributions. The research conducted at 
FRIB would involve experimentation with intense beams of rare 
isotopes--short-lived nuclei not normally found on earth--that will 
enable researchers to address pressing questions in nuclear structure 
and nuclear astrophysics. Two applications were received. The results 
of an independent merit review process, as well as an environmental 
critique, i.e., a comparison of environmental information provided in 
the applications, were considered by DOE and on December 11, 2008, MSU 
was selected to design and establish the FRIB. A cooperative agreement 
with DOE was signed on June 8, 2009, establishing terms and conditions 
for the work to be performed and ensuring DOE's substantial ongoing 
involvement in the project.

Purpose and Need for Action

    DOE has a mission to advance our basic understanding of science. 
Scientific research at a FRIB holds the promise to vastly expand our 
understanding of nuclear astrophysics and nuclear structure. DOE 
determined that the establishment of the FRIB is a high priority for 
the future of U.S. nuclear science research. The FRIB establishes a 
highly sophisticated research laboratory that would produce intense 
beams of rare isotopes. These beams enable scientists to study the 
nuclear reactions that power stars and generate the elements found on 
earth; explore the structure of the nuclei of atoms, which form the 
core of all matter and the forces that bind them together; test current 
theories about the fundamental nature of matter; and play a role in 
developing new nuclear medicines and other societal applications of 
rare isotopes.
    The FRIB concept has undergone numerous studies and assessments 
within DOE and by independent parties such as the National Research 
Council of the National Academy of Sciences. These studies--in addition 
to the joint DOE/National Science Foundation (NSF) Nuclear Science 
Advisory Committee (NSAC) 2007 Long Range Plan--concluded that such a 
facility is

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a vital part of the U.S. nuclear science portfolio, complements 
existing and planned international efforts, and will provide 
capabilities unmatched elsewhere.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    DOE and MSU propose to construct and operate the FRIB on 
approximately 10 acres on its East Lansing, Michigan campus. Its design 
is composed of buildings and/or building additions for a heavy ion/
proton accelerator and ancillary laboratories, support facilities such 
as a cryomodule, and offices. Construction/operations would occur on 
campus, adjacent to the existing NSCL, which would ultimately be 
subsumed into FRIB. The function and scope of operations of FRIB would 
be similar to NSCL, but FRIB would have substantially more power. The 
existing NSCL research program relies on a 200 MeV/u coupled cyclotron 
driver accelerator with 1-2 kW beam power. FRIB would be capable of 200 
MeV/u energy for all species, higher energies for lighter ions up to 
600 MeV/u for protons with up to 400 kW beam power. A 12 MeV/u 
reaccelerator is also planned for the facility. Upgrade is possible, 
but not currently planned.
    Most of the structures that would house the accelerator would be 
thick-walled, reinforced concrete structures. The heavy ion linear 
accelerator (linac) would be located in a tunnel below grade. A trench 
(varying between 30 and 75 feet below grade up to 1,800 feet long) 
would be excavated for the accelerator, necessitating that Bogue Street 
be closed between Wilson Road and East Shaw Lane two years and portions 
of East Shaw Lane possibly to be closed for a number of months. The 
high energy end of the accelerator would join with the existing NSCL 
building.
    The ground where FRIB would be located has been previously 
disturbed. Like the NSCL, the FRIB would be licensed by the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC). Operation would result in low levels of 
activation of air and groundwater, which MSU would manage in accordance 
with NRC license requirements and Environmental Protection Agency 
regulations. Radiation doses to workers and members of the public from 
operation of the FRIB would be limited to well below NRC radiation 
protection standards.
    As required by NEPA, the EA will evaluate a No Action alternative 
to serve as a basis for comparison with the action alternatives. Under 
the No Action alternative, a FRIB would not be constructed and operated 
at MSU, although other use of the site could not be ruled out.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    In the EA, DOE will examine public health and safety effects and 
environmental impacts from the construction and operation of the 
proposed FRIB at MSU. This notice is to inform the public of the 
proposed project and to solicit comments and suggestions for 
consideration in the preparation of the EA. To help the public frame 
its comments, this notice contains a preliminary list of potential 
environmental issues that DOE has tentatively identified for analysis. 
It is not intended to be comprehensive, nor to imply any 
predetermination of impacts. These issues include:
    1. Impacts from construction accidents;
    2. Impacts to both workers and the public from potential exposure 
to radiation and other hazards under routine operations and credible 
accident scenarios including natural disasters (e.g., floods, 
hurricanes, tornadoes, and seismic events);
    3. Transportation related impacts;
    4. Impacts on surface and groundwater and on water use and quality;
    5. Impacts on air and soil;
    6. Socioeconomic impacts;
    7. Disproportionately high and adverse impacts on minority and low 
income populations;
    8. Impacts on land-use plans, policies and controls, and visual 
resources;
    9. Pollution prevention and waste management practices and 
activities;
    10. Unavoidable adverse impacts and irreversible and irretrievable 
commitments of resources;
    11. Cumulative environmental effects of past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions;
    12. Status of compliance with all applicable Federal, state and 
local statutes and regulations, international agreements, and required 
Federal and State environmental permits, consultations, and 
notifications; and
    13. Impacts of intentional destructive acts, including sabotage and 
terrorism.
    Since the proposed site is adjacent to a currently operating 
accelerator facility and would involve digging and construction in 
previously disturbed areas now occupied primarily by parking lots and 
roads, impacts in several areas are expected to be minor. These impact 
areas will therefore not be evaluated in detail:
     Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive 
species of animals or plants, or their critical habitats;
     Impacts on cultural or historic resources; and
     Impacts on floodplains and wetlands.

Scoping Process

    DOE invites Federal agencies, State, local and Tribal governments, 
the general public and international community to participate in the 
scoping process both to refine the environmental issues to be analyzed 
and to identify the reasonable range of alternatives. Both oral and 
written comments will be considered and given equal weight by DOE. The 
public scoping period starts with the publication of this Notice in the 
Federal Register and will continue until December 11, 2009. DOE will 
consider all comments received or postmarked by then in defining the 
scope of the EA. Comments received or postmarked after that date will 
be considered to the extent practicable.
    The scoping meeting will be held at the location, date, and times 
indicated above under the DATES section. It will provide interested 
parties the opportunity to ask questions about the project and comment 
on the EA scope. A facilitator will establish procedures needed to 
ensure that everyone who wishes to speak has the opportunity to do so. 
Should any speaker desire to provide further information that cannot be 
presented within the designated time, such additional information may 
be submitted in writing by the date listed in the DATES section. Both 
oral and written comments will be considered and given equal weight by 
DOE.
    The scoping meeting will be preceded by an educational open house, 
to be held at the location, date, and times indicated above under the 
DATES section. During the open house, members of the public can 
register to provide oral comments at the scoping meeting, provide 
written comments, view FRIB informational materials, engage project 
staff, and tour the existing NSCL.
    The Pre-approval Draft EA is planned to be issued for state and 
public review by the Spring of 2010. Persons submitting comments during 
the scoping process will receive a copy. Others who would like to 
receive a copy of the draft EA when it is issued should notify DOE per 
the ADDRESSES section above.
    If at any time during preparation of the EA DOE determines that 
potentially significant environmental impacts might occur with the 
implementation of the Proposed Action and that an EIS would be needed, 
DOE will issue a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS in the Federal

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Register. In that case, this scoping process will serve as the scoping 
process that normally would follow a Notice of Intent to prepare an 
EIS. Accordingly, DOE will consider any comments on the scope of the EA 
received during this scoping process in preparing such an EIS.

    Issued in Washington, DC on October 20, 2009.
Jehanne Gillo,
Director, Facilities and Project Management Division, Office of Nuclear 
Physics.
[FR Doc. E9-25847 Filed 10-26-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P