[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]
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