95-26963. Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Interim Management of Nuclear Materials at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 210 (Tuesday, October 31, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55367-55369]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26963]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for 
Interim Management of Nuclear Materials at the Savannah River Site, 
Aiken, SC

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability of final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of a Final EIS entitled ``Interim Management of Nuclear Materials, 
Savannah River Site, Aiken, South 

[[Page 55368]]
Carolina,'' DOE/EIS-0220. The Final EIS evaluates the potential 
environmental impacts of actions necessary to safely manage nuclear 
materials at the Savannah River Site (SRS) over the next ten years. The 
Final EIS was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969; Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA, 40 CFR Parts 1500-
1508; and DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures, 10 CFR Part 1021.
    The Final EIS has been distributed to the public and filed with the 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). An EPA notice of availability 
was published in the Federal Register October 20, 1995 (60 FR 54226). 
The Final EIS will also be available to the public in DOE reading rooms 
identified in this notice. DOE plans to issue a Record of Decision on 
the Final EIS no sooner than November 20, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the Final EIS and for further 
information on the Final EIS should be directed to: Andrew R. Grainger, 
NEPA Compliance Officer, Savannah River Operations Office, U.S. 
Department of Energy, P.O. Box 5031, Aiken, South Carolina 29804-5031, 
telephone [phone] or the Information Line [phone].
    General information on the DOE NEPA process may be obtained from 
Ms. Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance 
(EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, D.C. 20585-0119. Ms. Borgstrom may be reached by telephone 
at [phone] or by leaving a message at [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    DOE issued the Draft Interim Management of Nuclear Materials EIS 
for public comment and the EPA published a Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register on March 17, 1995 (60 FR 14432). DOE published a 
corresponding NOA for the Draft EIS on April 6, 1995 (60 FR 17523). The 
public comment period, which began with publication of the EPA NOA, 
ended on May 1, 1995. Two public meetings, one in North Augusta, South 
Carolina, and one in Savannah, Georgia, were held during the comment 
period. DOE revised the Draft EIS as appropriate in response to 
comments received electronically, in letters, and at the public 
meetings. DOE also considered a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board 
(DNFSB) staff report dated August 3, 1995.
    Comments on the Draft EIS were considered by DOE in preparing the 
Final EIS. Comments on the Draft EIS and DOE's responses to those 
comments are contained in Appendix F to the Final EIS.
    The Final EIS, like the Draft EIS, addresses the potential 
environmental impacts of alternatives for the management of nuclear 
materials at the SRS for a period of 10 years. Ten years was selected 
as the period of analysis because it may require that period of time to 
make and begin implementation of decisions on the long-term storage or 
ultimate disposition of these nuclear materials.

Alternatives Considered

    The purpose and need for the Department's action was to manage the 
nuclear materials at the Savannah River Site to eliminate (where 
possible) the vulnerabilities posed by the storage condition of the 
materials by taking action to alter the physical or chemical form of 
the materials or to improve the manner in which they are stored. The 
continued storage of some of these materials in their current condition 
might cause radiological exposure of workers or the public or 
contamination of the environment. In some cases, the material's 
physical or chemical form poses a problem; in other cases the material 
simply requires repackaging or movement to another location to ensure 
safe continued storage.
    In the Final EIS, DOE has organized the inventory of nuclear 
materials at the SRS into three categories: stable materials, 
candidates for stabilization, and programmatic materials. Stable 
materials are already in physical and chemical forms that, combined 
with their storage configurations, do not currently pose an 
environmental, safety, or health concern and are not likely to pose a 
concern over the next 10 years. Materials that are candidates for 
stabilization are those for which DOE has identified a number of 
environmental, safety, and health vulnerabilities associated with their 
continued storage in their current physical state or the manner in 
which they are stored. Programmatic materials contain special isotopes 
that could be needed to support DOE programs. In many cases, the 
current forms of programmatic materials pose the same vulnerabilities 
as the candidates for stabilization.
    Since stable materials do not require stabilization to ensure their 
continued safe management the only alternative considered was continued 
storage (no action). Under this alternative, DOE would maintain 
management facilities in good working condition and provide utilities 
and services, including trained personnel, to ensure the continuation 
of the current stable configuration of the materials and storage areas. 
Materials which are candidates for stabilization were further 
subdivided into seven categories. In the Final EIS, DOE evaluated 
alternatives for stabilization of each material in each of the seven 
categories. Alternatives evaluated in the Final EIS for the candidates 
for stabilization are processing to metal, processing to oxide, 
blending down to low-enriched uranium, processing and storage for 
vitrification (Defense Waste Processing Facility), vitrification (F-
Canyon), improving storage, and continuing storage (no action). 
Alternatives evaluated for programmatic materials in the Final EIS are 
processing to metal, processing to oxide, processing and storage for 
vitrification (Defense Waste Processing Facility), vitrification (F-
Canyon), and continuing storage (no action).

Preferred Alternatives

    DOE selected the following preferred alternatives for each category 
and subcategory of nuclear material considered in the Final EIS:

Stable materials--Continued storage (no action)
Programmatic materials
    Plutonium-242--processing to oxide
    Americium and curium--continuing storage (targets); vitrification
    (F-Canyon) (solutions)
    Neptunium--processing to oxide
Candidates for Stabilization
    H-Canyon plutonium-239 solutions--processing to oxide
    H-Canyon enriched uranium solutions--blending down to low-enriched 
uranium
    Plutonium and uranium stored in vaults--four preferred alternatives 
(improved storage, processing to metal, processing to oxide, 
vitrification
    (F-Canyon); selection to be based on inspection of material
    Mark-31 targets--processing to metal
    Mark-16 and Mark-22 fuel--continuing storage (no action)
    Other aluminum-clad targets--continuing storage (no action)
    Taiwan Research Reactor and Experimental Breeder Reactor II 
targets--processing to metal

    DOE considered environmental factors, programmatic requirements, 
costs, management schedules, and other factors described in the Final 
EIS in determining the preferred alternatives for management of the 
nuclear materials at the SRS. DOE is continuing to 

[[Page 55369]]
evaluate alternatives for management of Mark-16 and Mark-22 fuels and 
other aluminum-clad targets and will announce selection of a 
stabilization alternative (other than ``no action'') at least 30 days 
prior to issuing a record of decision for the management of these 
materials.

Availability of Copies of the Final EIS

    Copies of the Final EIS have been distributed to Federal, State, 
and local officials and agencies; to organizations and individuals 
known to be interested in the EIS, and to persons and agencies that 
commented on the draft EIS. Additional copies may be obtained by 
contacting Mr. Grainger as indicated above. Copies of the Final EIS 
will be available for public review at the following locations:

U.S. Department of Energy, Headquarters, Freedom of Information 
Reading Room, 1E-190 Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, 
SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, [phone]. Monday-Friday: 9:00 a.m. 
to 4:00 p.m.
U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations Office, Public 
Reading Room, Gregg-Graniteville Library, 2nd Floor, University of 
South Carolina-Aiken Campus, University Parkway, Aiken, South 
Carolina, [phone]. Monday-Thursday: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. 
Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 
Sunday 2:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

    Issued at Washington, D.C., October 24, 1995.
John A. Ford,
Director, Savannah River Office, Office of Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 95-26963 Filed 10-30-95; 8:45 am]
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