[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 231 (Friday, November 30, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71414-71415]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28713]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the 
Transfer of the Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, MO

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental assessment.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), and the Council on Environmental Quality 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 Assessment (EA) for 
the transfer of the Kansas City Plant (KCP) (DOE/EA-1947), which is an 
NNSA-owned property at the Bannister Federal Complex (BFC). 
Concurrently, NNSA is canceling the Notice of Intent issued on January 
23, 2012 (77 FR 3259) for the preparation of an Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Disposition of the Bannister Federal Complex, Kansas 
City, Missouri, and Notice of Wetlands Involvement (DOE/EIS-0475).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To ask questions about the KCP 
Transfer EA, or to be notified when the draft EA is available for 
public review, please contact: Mr. Nathan Gorn, NNSA Kansas City Field 
Office, 2000 E. 95th Street, Kansas City, Missouri, 64131; telephone: 
(816) 997-4197; or email: [email protected]. For general 
information about GSA activities at the BFC, please contact: Jeremiah 
Nelson, Asset Manager, U.S. General Services Administration, 1500 East 
Bannister Road, Room 2135, Kansas City, Missouri 64131-3088; email: 
[email protected]; telephone: (816) 823-5803; fax: (816) 926-
1140.
    DOE's NEPA Compliance Program: Additional information regarding DOE 
NEPA activities and access to many of DOE's NEPA documents are 
available on the Internet through the DOE NEPA Web site at http://energy.gov/nepa. 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Background. The KCP is within the corporate city limits of Kansas 
City, Missouri, approximately 8 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. The approximately 300-
acre BFC is owned by NNSA and the General Services

[[Page 71415]]

Administration (GSA). NNSA owns the portion of the BFC known as the 
KCP, consisting of approximately 122 acres and 38 buildings. GSA owns 
the remainder of the BFC, consisting of approximately 175 acres and 13 
buildings. The KCP shares individual buildings and utilities with GSA 
operations at the BFC. The property is currently zoned M3-5, 
manufacturing.
    No wetlands are present on the KCP. There are no residences and no 
agricultural activities or farmlands on the KCP. 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 KCP 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, and NNSA continues to implement environmental 
remedies. On August 24, 2012, NNSA received final permit modifications 
for the existing Missouri Hazardous Waste Management Facility Part I 
Permit and the existing Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 
Part II Permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Those permit 
modifications require NNSA and GSA to conduct further environmental 
investigation, monitoring, and risk assessment, and will allow better 
coordination of environmental investigations.
    Beginning in 2013, NNSA will relocate its operations from the KCP 
to a newly constructed industrial campus 8 miles south of the BFC. 
NNSA's relocation of operations to the new facility was analyzed in an 
EA that GSA completed in 2008 and DOE adopted (DOE/EA-1592). When the 
move is completed, the KCP property at the BFC will be excess to the 
needs of NNSA's mission and will be available for transfer.
    GSA is continuing to evaluate 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 also could be 
available for transfer.
    Purpose and Need for Agency Action. The purpose and need for agency 
action is to transfer the KCP as excess Federal property in an 
environmentally safe and fiscally responsible manner. This would enable 
NNSA to reduce its operational footprint and reduce operational and 
maintenance costs.
    Proposed Action and No Action Alternative. The proposed action is 
to transfer the NNSA's KCP property either in whole or in part. 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 the KCP. Through this ongoing notice of 
availability process, NNSA identified a preferred planning partner and 
determined that only land uses consistent with current zoning are 
feasible. Based on preliminary discussions with the preferred planning 
partner, and input received during the scoping process for the now-
cancelled EIS, NNSA's Environmental Assessment for the Transfer of the 
Kansas City Plant, Kansas City, Missouri (the KCP Transfer EA) will 
consider the No Action Alternative, where NNSA relocates operations 
from the KCP and maintains ownership of its property; and the Proposed 
Action Alternative, where NNSA transfers the KCP property for mixed use 
(industrial, warehouse, commercial, office). Under the proposed action, 
the EA will address the potential direct, indirect, and cumulative 
impacts of using the KCP property for uses consistent with current 
zoning. NNSA will also analyze the potential environmental impacts of 
partial and/or complete demolition of some KCP structures.

    Issued in Kansas City, MO, this 16th day of November 2012.
Mark L. Holecek,
Manager, Kansas City Field Office, NNSA Kansas City Plant.
[FR Doc. 2012-28713 Filed 11-29-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P