[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 14 (Monday, January 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3259-3261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-1207]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Disposition of the Bannister Federal Complex, Kansas City, MO, and 
Notice of Wetlands Involvement

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
and conduct a public scoping meeting, and notice of wetlands 
involvement.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) regulations implementing NEPA, the National 
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency within 
DOE, announces its intention to prepare an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) for the disposition of the Bannister Federal Complex 
(BFC) (BFC Disposition EIS; DOE/EIS-0475).
    The 300-acre BFC is owned by NNSA and the General Services 
Administration (GSA). NNSA owns the portion of the BFC known as the 
Kansas City Plant (KCP), consisting of approximately 122 acres and 38 
buildings. GSA owns the remainder of the site, consisting of 
approximately 175 acres and 13 buildings. Beginning in 2013, NNSA will 
relocate its operations from the KCP to a newly constructed industrial 
campus eight miles south of the BFC. Once the move is completed, NNSA's 
real property at the BFC will be excess to the needs of its mission and 
will be available for disposition. GSA is currently analyzing its 
occupancy of the BFC and is performing a separate Environmental 
Assessment (EA) to evaluate a future relocation option. Because GSA 
could also decide to relocate its operations away from the BFC, it is a 
cooperating agency for the preparation of this EIS, which will analyze 
the potential environmental impacts for the disposition of GSA real 
property in addition to NNSA real property. The BFC Disposition EIS 
will analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with 
reasonably foreseeable potential future uses of the property, which 
could be different from its current uses. These potential future uses 
include industrial, warehousing, and commercial/office uses. NNSA also 
will assess the potential environmental impacts of partial and/or 
complete demolition of some BFC structures. Because the proposed 
project could involve actions in wetlands, the EIS will include a 
wetland assessment.

DATES: NNSA invites comments on the scope of this BFC Disposition EIS. 
The public scoping period starts with the publication of this Notice in 
the Federal Register and will continue until February 22, 2012. NNSA 
will consider all comments received or postmarked by that date in 
defining the scope of this BFC Disposition EIS. Comments postmarked 
after that date will be considered to the extent practicable. A public 
scoping meeting is scheduled to

[[Page 3260]]

be held on February 13, 2012, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Evangel 
Temple, 1414 East 103rd Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64131. NNSA will 
publish additional notices on the date, time, and location of the 
scoping meeting in local newspapers before the scheduled meeting. Any 
changes regarding the scoping meeting will be announced in the local 
media. This scoping meeting will provide the public an opportunity to 
present comments, ask questions, and discuss issues with NNSA and GSA 
officials related to the scope of the BFC Disposition EIS.

ADDRESSES: To submit comments on the scope of the BFC Disposition EIS, 
ask questions about the document or scoping meeting, or to be included 
on the document distribution list, please contact: Mr. Nathan Gorn, BFC 
Disposition EIS Document Manager, NNSA Kansas City Site Office, 2000 E. 
95th Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64131; telephone (816) 997-4197; 
email: [email protected]; or via the Internet at http://nnsa.energy.gov/nepa/bfceis.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information about the DOE 
NEPA process, please contact: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of 
NEPA Policy and Compliance, Office of the General Counsel (GC-54), U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585; email: [email protected]; telephone: (202) 586-4600; fax: (202) 
586-7031; or leave a message at (800) 472-2756. Additional information 
about DOE NEPA activities is available on the Internet through the NEPA 
Web site: http://energy.gov/nepa.
    For general information about GSA activities at the BFC, please 
contact: Jeremiah Nelson, Asset Manager, U.S. General Services 
Administration, 1500 E. Bannister Road, Room 2135, Kansas City, 
Missouri 64131-3088; email: [email protected]; telephone: (816) 
823-5803; fax: (816) 926-1140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Background. The BFC is within the corporate city limits of Kansas 
City, approximately eight miles south of the city center. It can be 
accessed via major highways (Interstate 435 and U.S. Highway 71), as 
well as auxiliary and smaller secondary streets. There are no 
residences and no agricultural activities or farmlands on the BFC. The 
adjoining properties are mostly residential with isolated commercial 
tracts, except along the eastern and northern sides, which have been 
designated for public and recreational uses.
    The mission of the NNSA's KCP at the BFC is to produce or procure 
non-nuclear electrical and mechanical components for nuclear weapons. 
At present, the KCP occupies a large 1940s-vintage industrial facility 
with 38 buildings or other structures on a site contiguous with GSA 
facilities. The KCP shares individual buildings and utilities with GSA 
operations. The entire site is known as the BFC. The site is zoned for 
heavy industry.
    Between 2013 and 2015, NNSA will relocate its operations at the BFC 
in total to a newly constructed industrial campus eight miles south of 
the current location. NNSA's relocation of operations to the new 
facility was analyzed in an EA completed by GSA in 2008 and adopted by 
DOE (DOE/EA-1592). When the move is completed, NNSA real property at 
the BFC will be excess to the needs of the KCP mission and will be 
available for disposition. Accordingly, in October 2011, NNSA issued a 
notice of availability, via the Federal Business Opportunities Web 
site, soliciting proposals of interest for the transfer, sale or lease 
of its portion of the BFC property. The NNSA KCP facilities at the BFC 
include office space and manufacturing space for machining; mechanical 
and electrical assembly; rubber and plastics formulation and 
fabrication; painting; heat treatment; quality assurance testing, 
measurement and laboratory functions; clean rooms; and inventory 
storage. GSA is evaluating its options to potentially relocate its 
operations to a new location away from the BFC. If GSA decides to 
relocate its operations, its real property at the BFC could also be 
available for disposition. Thus the BFC Disposition EIS will analyze 
the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed action 
to transfer the BFC property either in whole or in part and reasonably 
foreseeable uses of the property.
    The environmental review process under NEPA requires Federal 
agencies to involve the public in preparing an EIS and to analyze 
potential impacts on environmental, social, cultural, and economic 
resources. DOE has options under NEPA for addressing the subject of 
land transfer and in this case has elected to prepare an EIS. This is a 
site-specific determination. In this case, the environmental impacts of 
future uses of the site may or may not be significant. For example, KCP 
market research indicates that potentially interested parties may 
demolish and replace some or all of the currently existing structures 
on the property. As part of the EIS analysis, NNSA expects to assess 
the potential impacts of partial and/or complete demolition of various 
buildings on the BFC. Additionally, NNSA and GSA acknowledge the 
interest that stakeholders have expressed in wanting to understand as 
fully as possible the nature of legacy contaminants present at the BFC 
and their potential environmental impacts. Preparation of an EIS 
affords the greatest opportunity to interact with stakeholders, inform 
them about potential future uses for the BFC and the results of the 
NEPA analyses and receive comments from stakeholders on uses and issues 
for analysis.
    Disposition of the property would not take place until the BFC 
Disposition EIS and all required historical, cultural, and wetland 
assessments are completed and a Record of Decision is issued.
    The BFC has been extensively characterized for the presence of 
legacy contamination that might impact soils and groundwater at the 
site. Active remediation has taken place at previously identified solid 
waste management units with implementation of environmental remedies 
ongoing. To support the proposed action, NNSA and GSA have submitted 
requests for a modified Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility 
Permit with Region 7 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) that will 
require a BFC-wide comprehensive environmental assessment and 
remediation program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA). This anticipated environmental assessment will identify and 
characterize any remaining environmental contamination and define 
actions that may need to be taken to contain or eliminate any threat to 
human health or the environment. The outcome of this reexamination of 
the BFC could include identifying the need to conduct additional NEPA 
analyses and/or to place restrictions on the potential future uses of 
the property.
    During the BFC Disposition EIS process, NNSA will consult with: (1) 
Region 7 of the EPA and the MDNR, in accordance with NEPA on 
environmental issues associated with disposition of the BFC including 
but not limited to the RCRA assessment described above; and (2) the 
Missouri State Historic Preservation Office, in accordance with Section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
    The BFC lies within the 100-year floodplain of the Blue River and 
Indian Creek, but is protected from a 500-year flood by a federally 
funded floodwall and earthen berm system and is, therefore, not 
considered to be in the 100-year floodplain per the Federal Insurance 
Rate Map. Based on a 2009

[[Page 3261]]

Jurisdictional Waters Determination Report prepared by NNSA, the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has determined that there are no 
wetlands or jurisdictional waters on the NNSA-owned property at the 
BFC. USACE has determined that there are 2.95 acres of jurisdictional 
waters on the GSA-owned property. In accordance with 10 CFR part 1022, 
DOE Compliance with Floodplain and Wetland Environmental Review 
Requirements, and GSA Order ADM 1095.5, Consideration of Wetlands in 
Decisionmaking, dated January 12, 2001, the BFC Disposition EIS will 
include a wetlands assessment that discusses the effects of the 
proposed action and alternatives on the wetlands and evaluates measures 
that mitigate the adverse effects in the wetlands.
    Purpose and Need for Agency Action. The purpose and need for agency 
action is to dispose of excess federal property, in an environmentally 
safe and fiscally responsible manner. The proposed action will likely 
involve conveying the title of usable facilities and land at the BFC to 
an entity(ies) that would use, market, sell, lease, or otherwise 
develop the transferred facilities and property to conduct commercial 
activities in the Kansas City area.
    Proposed Action and Alternatives. The proposed action is to 
transfer the BFC property either in whole or in part for uses that 
could be different from its current use. The BFC Disposition EIS will 
consider the following alternatives: (1) No Action:--the status quo is 
maintained with NNSA and/or GSA continuing to conduct operations at the 
BFC; (2) Federal Site Stewardship under which a significant portion of 
the BFC is vacated but the entire site remains the property of the NNSA 
and GSA and is unused; and (3) a group of at least four Transfer Action 
Alternatives with conveyance of title, occupancy and use of the entire 
BFC or a significant portion thereof to other entity(ies) that reflect 
a range of potential future uses. The group of four Action Alternatives 
that NNSA currently expects to evaluate include: (1) High intensity 
use, such as heavy industrial, (2) low intensity use: that would 
involve demolition of the BFC facilities and conversion to ``green 
use'' as parkland, nature preserve, or similar uses; (3) low-moderate 
intensity use, such as warehousing and commercial/office uses; and (4) 
high-moderate intensity use, such as light industrial, warehousing, and 
commercial/office uses. The BFC Disposition EIS will also evaluate any 
reasonable alternatives that may be identified during public scoping.
    Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues. Issues 
tentatively identified for analysis in the BFC Disposition EIS include 
impacts associated with: land use, aesthetics, climate and air quality, 
geology and soils, water resources, biological resources, cultural and 
historic resources, socioeconomics, waste management, human health and 
safety, accidents, and environmental justice.
    EIS Process and Invitation to Comment. The EIS scoping process 
provides an opportunity for the public to assist the NNSA and GSA in 
determining issues for analysis in the BFC Disposition EIS. A public 
scoping meeting will be held as noted under DATES in this Notice. The 
purpose of the scoping meeting is to provide attendees an opportunity 
to present comments, ask questions, and discuss issues about the BFC 
Disposition EIS with NNSA and GSA officials. Comments can also be 
provided to Mr. Nathan Gorn as noted in this Notice under ADDRESSES.
    The EIS scoping meeting will use a format to provide the public 
with information regarding the proposed BFC Disposition EIS, and to 
provide individuals the opportunity to give written or oral comments. 
NNSA and GSA welcome specific comments or suggestions on the BFC 
Disposition EIS process and future uses of the BFC. The BFC Disposition 
EIS will describe potential environmental impacts of each alternative 
by using available data when possible and obtaining additional data 
when necessary. Copies of written comments and transcripts of oral 
comments provided during the scoping period will be available at the 
Mid-Continent Public Library, Blue Ridge Branch, 9253 Blue Ridge 
Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri 64138 and on the Internet at http://nnsa.energy.gov/nepa/bfceis.
    After the close of the public scoping period, NNSA and GSA will 
begin developing the Draft BFC Disposition EIS. NNSA and GSA expect to 
issue the Draft EIS for public review by mid-2012. The public comment 
period on the Draft EIS will begin with the publication of the EPA 
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
    The Notice of Availability, along with notices placed in local 
newspapers, will provide dates and locations for public hearings and 
the deadline for comments on the Draft BFC Disposition EIS. Once 
issued, the BFC Disposition EIS will be available on the Internet at 
http://nnsa.energy.gov/nepa/bfceis. Persons who would like to receive a 
copy of the Draft EIS for review should notify Mr. Nathan Gorn at the 
address noted under ADDRESSES.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 17th day of January 2012.
Thomas P. D'Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2012-1207 Filed 1-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P