95-2099. Withdrawal of Notice of Intent to Prepare Environmental Impact Statement for East Fork Poplar Creek Remedial Action Project at the Oak Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, TN  

  • [Federal Register Volume 60, Number 18 (Friday, January 27, 1995)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 5374-5375]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 95-2099]
    
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
    
    
    Withdrawal of Notice of Intent to Prepare Environmental Impact 
    Statement for East Fork Poplar Creek Remedial Action Project at the Oak 
    Ridge Reservation, Oak Ridge, TN
    
    AGENCY: Department of Energy.
    
    ACTION: Notice.
    
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    SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy today withdraws its Notice of 
    Intent (53 FR 46648, November 18, 1988) to prepare an Environmental 
    Impact Statement for the East Fork Poplar Creek Remedial Action 
    Project. The Department intends to rely upon the Comprehensive 
    Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) 
    process, which will incorporate National Environmental Policy Act 
    (NEPA) values, to document its environmental review of actions to be 
    taken in connection with this project.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the East 
    Fork Poplar Creek Remedial Action Project, please contact:
    
    Mr. Robert C. Sleeman, Director, Environmental Restoration Division, 
    Oak Ridge Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box 2001, 
    Oak Ridge, TN 37831, (615) 576-0715
    
        For information on the Department of Energy's NEPA process, please 
    contact:
    
    Ms. Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Oversight, U.S. 
    Department of [[Page 5375]] Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., 
    Washington, D.C. 20585, (202) 586-4600 or leave a message at (800) 472-
    2756
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The East Fork Poplar Creek Remedial Action 
    Project was initiated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery 
    Act's (RCRA) off-site release provisions. The project was later 
    incorporated into the CERCLA program when the Oak Ridge Reservation was 
    determined to be a National Priorities List site in December 1989.
        This project involves an operable unit consisting of 14.2 miles of 
    the lower portion of East Fork Poplar Creek (i.e., the portion of the 
    creek from the point it exits the Y-12 Plant until its confluence with 
    Poplar Creek). The operable unit includes the creek, creek sediments, 
    the soils in the 100-year floodplain surrounding the creek, and the Oak 
    Ridge Sewerline Beltway.
        On November 18, 1988, the Department of Energy published in the 
    Federal Register a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact 
    Statement for the East Fork Poplar Creek Remedial Action Project. At 
    the time of the Notice, it was the Department's policy to integrate the 
    CERCLA and NEPA processes, whenever practicable. Under that policy, the 
    Department intended to prepare an integrated CERCLA/NEPA Remedial 
    Investigation/Feasibility Study-Environmental Impact Statement for the 
    project. As stated in the Secretary of Energy's June 13, 1994, Policy 
    Statement on NEPA, however, it is now the Department's policy to 
    generally rely on the CERCLA process for the review of actions to be 
    taken under CERCLA, and to incorporate NEPA values (e.g., analysis of 
    cumulative, off-site, ecological, and socioeconomic impacts) in the 
    Department's CERCLA documents to the extent practicable.
        To date, the public has been extensively involved in the East Fork 
    Poplar Creek Remedial Action Project. Numerous meetings have been held 
    with private property owners and interested citizens. A property owner 
    workshop and a general public workshop were held on the Remedial 
    Investigation report, and a volunteer 30-person Citizens Working Group 
    formed in June 1993, continues to meet monthly and provides input and 
    suggestions into the decision-making process.
        Discussions have been held with the Army Corps of Engineers, the 
    Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
    Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the Citizens 
    Working Group, and other interested parties regarding the Department's 
    intent to rely on the CERCLA process to document its environmental 
    review of actions for this project. In addition, a notice was placed in 
    a local newspaper and letters were sent to approximately 300 
    stakeholders soliciting input on the proposed withdrawal of the Notice 
    of Intent; no objections were received. Thus, the Department of Energy 
    has decided to rely on the CERCLA process to document its environmental 
    review of actions to be taken under CERCLA for the East Fork Poplar 
    Creek Remedial Action Project, with NEPA values incorporated into the 
    CERCLA process to the extent practicable. Public involvement has been 
    and will continue to be an integral part of the decision-making process 
    for the project.
        Copies of documents related to the East Fork Poplar Creek Remedial 
    Action project are on file at, and may be obtained from, the 
    Information Resource Center, 105 Broadway, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830.
    
        Issued in Washington, DC, on January 23, 1995.
    Thomas P. Grumbly,
    Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
    [FR Doc. 95-2099 Filed 1-26-95; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
    
    

Document Information

Published:
01/27/1995
Department:
Energy Department
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Notice.
Document Number:
95-2099
Pages:
5374-5375 (2 pages)
PDF File:
95-2099.pdf