[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 241 (Friday, December 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74472-74473]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30204]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability of the Final Tank Closure and Waste 
Management Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site, 
Richland, Washington

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of its Final Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Hanford Site, Richland, Washington (Final TC & WM 
EIS, DOE/EIS-0391), prepared pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA). This final environmental impact statement addresses 
all public comments on the Draft TC & WM EIS, which was issued in 
October 2009, and identifies DOE's preferred alternatives.

DATES: DOE will publish a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days 
after publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) 
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final TC &WM EIS (paper or electronic) may be 
obtained by contacting:

Ms. Mary Beth Burandt, NEPA Document Manager, Office of River 
Protection, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box 1178, Richland, 
Washington 99352, Email: [email protected].

    The Final TC & WM EIS is also available on the DOE NEPA Web site at 
http://energy.gov/nepa, as well as in the public reading rooms listed 
in SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the Final 
TC & WM EIS, contact Ms. Burandt at the address listed in ADDRESSES or 
by telephone at 1-888-829-6347. For general information regarding the 
DOE NEPA process, contact:

Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, 
GC-54, U. S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585, Telephone: 202-586-4600, or leave a message at 1-
800-472-2756, Email: [email protected].


[[Page 74473]]


    Additional information on the Final TC & WM EIS is also available 
through the Hanford Web site at http://www.hanford.gov/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Hanford Site, located in southeastern Washington State along 
the Columbia River, is approximately 586 square miles in size. 
Hanford's mission from the early 1940s to approximately 1989 included 
defense-related nuclear research, development, and weapons production 
activities. These activities created a wide variety of chemical and 
radioactive wastes. Hanford's mission now is focused on the cleanup of 
those wastes and ultimate closure of the Site. An important part of the 
mission includes the retrieval and treatment of waste from 177 
underground radioactive waste storage tanks, including 149 single shell 
tanks (SSTs), and closure of the SSTs. Hanford's mission also includes 
radioactive waste management on the Site and decommissioning of the 
Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), a nuclear test reactor that has been 
designated for closure.
    To support its decision making for these actions, DOE prepared the 
TC & WM EIS pursuant to NEPA and in accordance with Council on 
Environmental Quality and DOE NEPA implementing regulations (40 CFR 
Parts 1500-1508; 10 CFR Part 1021). EPA and the Washington State 
Department of Ecology are cooperating agencies on this EIS. DOE held a 
public comment period on the draft EIS that extended from October 30, 
2009, through May 3, 2010, with public hearings in Washington, Oregon, 
and Idaho. DOE considered all public comments received in preparing the 
Final TC & WM EIS, which includes DOE's responses to those comments.

Scope of the TC & WM EIS

    The Final TC & WM EIS addresses proposed actions in three major 
areas: Retrieving and treating radioactive waste from 177 underground 
storage tanks at Hanford, including 149 SSTs and closure of the SSTs; 
decommissioning the FFTF and its auxiliary facilities; and continued 
and expanded solid waste management operations, including disposal of 
low-level radioactive waste and mixed low-level radioactive waste. The 
final EIS also includes a No Action Alternative to the proposed actions 
for each of the three major areas, as required by NEPA.
    DOE's preferred alternatives are described in the Summary, Section 
S.7, and in Chapter 2, Section 2.12, of Volume 1 of the Final TC & WM 
EIS. Copies of the Final TC & WM EIS are available in the following 
public reading rooms or via the means identified in ADDRESSES.

Public Reading Rooms

Gonzaga University, Foley Center Library, 101-L East 502 Boone, 
Spokane, Washington 99258, (509) 313-5931.
Portland State University, Government Information, Branford Price 
Millar Library, 1875 SW Park Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97201, (503) 725-
5874.
University of Washington, Suzzallo-Allen Library, Government 
Publications Division, Seattle, Washington 98195, (206) 543-4164.
U.S. Department of Energy, Public Reading Room, 1776 Science Center 
Drive, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402, (208) 526-5190.
U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Reading Room, 1000 
Independence Avenue SW., 1G-033, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-5955.
U.S. Department of Energy, Public Reading Room, Consolidated 
Information Center, 2770 University Drive, Room 101L, Richland, 
Washington 99352, (509) 372-7443.
U.S. Department of Energy, WIPP Information Center, Skeen-Whitlock 
Building, 4021 National Parks Highway, Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220, 
(575) 234-7348.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 10, 2012.
Mark A. Gilbertson,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Site Restoration.
[FR Doc. 2012-30204 Filed 12-13-12; 8:45 am]
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