[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 224 (Tuesday, November 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58866-58871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-29650]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement on
Management of Certain Plutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy Stored at the
Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), in accordance with the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural
Provisions of NEPA and the DOE NEPA implementing regulations. This EIS
will evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with
reasonable management alternatives for certain plutonium residues and
all scrub alloy currently being stored at the Rocky Flats Environmental
Technology Site in Golden, Colorado. The residues and scrub alloy are
materials that were generated during the separation and purification of
plutonium, or during the manufacture of plutonium-bearing components
for nuclear weapons. Due to the risk they present, DOE previously
decided to stabilize and repackage the plutonium residues at the Rocky
Flats Site for safe interim storage as discussed in the Solid Residue
Treatment, Repackaging, and Storage Environmental Assessment/Finding of
No Significant Impact. The activities analyzed in this EIS would be in
addition to certain activities described in the Solid Residue
Environmental Assessment by subjecting a portion of those residues to
further treatment to prepare them for disposal or other disposition.
This EIS will also analyze management activities for scrub alloy. This
notice describes the proposed scope of the EIS and requests that
members of the public submit comments regarding the scope of the EIS.
Comments may be submitted in writing at the public scoping period and
orally during public scoping meetings as described below.
DATES: The public scoping period begins with the publication of this
notice and will continue until December 19, 1996. Written comments
postmarked by that date will be considered in preparation of the EIS.
Comments postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent
practicable.
Public Scoping meetings will be held at the locations and times
specified below. This information will also be announced in local
public notices before the planned meetings.
Meeting: Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site.
Date: Tuesday, December 3, 1996.
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
Location: Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Building 060
(Outside the West Gate), State Highway 93, Golden, Colorado 80402.
Contact for the Golden Meeting: Mr. Mike Konczal, Telephone: (303)
966-5993.
Meeting: Savannah River Site.
Date: Thursday, December 12, 1996.
Time: 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
Location: North Augusta Community Center, 101 Brookside Drive,
North Augusta, South Carolina 29841, (803) 441-4290.
Contact for the North Augusta Meeting: Mr. Andrew R. Grainger,
Telephone: 1-800-242-8269.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the Rocky Flats Plutonium
Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS, including issues to be addressed,
questions about the plutonium residues, and/or requests for copies of
the draft EIS should be sent to the following address: Mr. Charles R.
Head, Office of Nuclear Material and Facility Stabilization (EM-60),
United States Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20585, Telephone: 202-586-9441, Facsimile: 202-586-
5256.
Members of the public who request a copy of the draft EIS should
specify whether they would like a copy of the entire draft EIS (which
will consist of multiple bound volumes), or if they would prefer a copy
of the Summary of the draft EIS (which will be a brief single volume).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the Rocky
Flats Plutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS, please contact Mr.
Charles R. Head at the address specified above under the heading
ADDRESSES.
For general information on the DOE NEPA review process, please
contact: Ms. Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and
Assistance (EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585, Telephone: 202-586-4600 or leave
a message at 800-472-2756.
Addresses of reading rooms where additional Rocky Flats Plutonium
Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS information is available are listed below
in the section entitled ``Public Scoping Process''.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE announces its intent to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. Sec. 4321, et seq.), in accordance with
the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the
Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and the DOE NEPA
implementing regulations (10 CFR Part 1021) to evaluate reasonable
alternatives for management of certain plutonium residues and all of
the scrub alloy at the Rocky Flats Site in Golden, Colorado. Plutonium
residues and scrub alloy are materials that were generated while
processing plutonium during the manufacture of components for nuclear
weapons. The management alternatives to be analyzed include treatment
of these materials to enable them to be disposed of as waste or, for
some surplus weapons-usable material, otherwise dispositioned.
Purpose and Need
Stabilization activities to mitigate the risks associated with the
current storage condition of plutonium residues (e.g., deteriorating
and overpressurized storage containers, and ignitability concerns) are
in progress at the Rocky Flats Site based on the decisions resulting
from the Solid Residue Treatment, Repackaging, and Storage
[[Page 58867]]
Environmental Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact, issued in
April 1996 (DOE/EA-1120, the ``Solid Residue Environmental
Assessment'). The Solid Residue Environmental Assessment addressed the
potential environmental impacts associated with stabilizing the entire
106,600 kg inventory of Rocky Flats Site plutonium residues to allow
its safe interim storage until the final disposition of the residues
could be decided upon and implemented. However, due to the need for
expeditious action to resolve problems with storage of the plutonium
residues at Rocky Flats, the Solid Residues Environmental Assessment
did not address disposal or other disposition of the residues after
these materials were stabilized. Decisions regarding treatment of these
materials for purposes other than stabilization, i.e., disposal or
other disposition,1 will require the evaluation of several
treatment technologies and thus were considered to require a lengthier
and more complex evaluation process than could be completed in time to
meet the more immediate need to make and implement stabilization
decisions.
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\1\ After treatment, the Rocky Flats residues and scrub alloy
could be disposed of as transuranic wastes or, depending on the
treatment, could be transformed or chemically altered so as to
concentrate the plutonium for other disposition (see below).
``Transuranic'' refers to elements, such as plutonium, that have an
atomic number greater than that of uranium. The disposal of
transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is being
analyzed in the Draft Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Phase
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. DOE is developing WIPP,
near Carlsbad, New Mexico, as a potential disposal facility for
transuranic wastes. DOE is evaluating the disposition of weapons-
usable plutonium, which would be relevant if the residue or scrub
alloy materials were treated to separate the plutonium from other
constituents. Such potential uses include using the plutonium in
mixed oxide fuel for power reactors, immobilization, and disposal in
a deep borehole.
As a result of the potential for disposal of these materials at
WIPP, ``disposal requirements'' for the residues and scrub alloy
refers to the Planning Basis Waste Acceptance Criteria for WIPP (or
alternative treatment level, depending on decision in the Record of
Decision for the WIPP SEIS II), and any other requirements that must
be met to allow disposal, such as safeguards termination
requirements. Requirements for other disposition will be developed
as part of detailed NEPA analyses that will be tiered from the
Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (draft issued by DOE in
February 1996; also see item 6 under ``Related NEPA Documentation''
in this Notice).
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DOE has determined that, even after stabilization, approximately
42,300 kg of the total of about 106,600 kg of plutonium residues
currently in storage at Rocky Flats would remain in forms that,
although not directly weapons usable, would contain sufficiently high
concentrations of plutonium so as to not meet the safeguards
termination requirements for disposal.2 Because of the plutonium
concentration and the relative ease with which plutonium could be
recovered from the residues, such residues could be attractive to
terrorist organizations as a source of plutonium (about 2,600 kg could
be separated from the Rocky Flats residues and scrub alloy) for use in
nuclear weapons or other terrorist devices. Diluting these materials
could reduce the plutonium concentrations sufficiently to meet disposal
requirements but, for many samples of the residues, probably would
yield an extremely large waste volume that would be very costly to
transport and dispose of. Therefore, in addition to dilution,
alternatives need to be considered, such as treatments that would
either bind the plutonium in a matrix from which it would be difficult
to extract, or treatments that would separate the plutonium from the
remaining constituents of the residues and scrub alloy. Any separated
plutonium would not be used for nuclear weapons purposes, but would be
safely stored in secure facilities with other similar materials,
pending disposition (see footnote 1). Whenever feasible, DOE would
offer such storage facilities to be placed under International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. For the other 64,300 kg of plutonium-
bearing residues currently in storage at the Rocky Flats Site, the
activities discussed in the Solid Residue Environmental Assessment will
meet the transuranic waste disposal and safeguards termination
requirements and will not be addressed in this EIS.
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\2\ Materials that could be used to fuel nuclear weapons (e.g.,
Uranium-235 or Plutonium-239) are required to be placed under a
system of controls and protections to ensure that they are not
misused or lost. This system of controls and protections is referred
to as ``safeguards.'' In general, wastes that contain large enough
concentrations of nuclear weapons-usable materials cannot be
disposed of unless actions (such as reducing the concentration of
nuclear weapons usable materials, or immobilizing such materials so
that they would be exceptionally difficult to recover) are taken
that make it no longer necessary to ``safeguard'' them. The
requirements that define the state into which such wastes must be
converted in order for them no longer to require ``safeguards'' are
referred to as ``safeguards termination requirements''.
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This EIS will evaluate reasonable management alternatives for the
approximately 42,300 kg of plutonium residues discussed above,
including treatment of the material to a form and concentration that is
suitable for disposal or other disposition. Evaluation of these
alternatives at this time will facilitate planning for disposal or
other disposition, and allow any additional treatment to be integrated
with the on-going stabilization process so that handling the material
can be minimized (i.e., by avoiding potential double handling).
Minimizing such handling would reduce the worker risk associated with
achieving a material form suitable for disposal or other disposition.
In addition to the residues discussed above, approximately 700 kg
of scrub alloy (predominately a magnesium/aluminum/americium/plutonium
metal mixture) currently in storage at the Rocky Flats Site, containing
about 200 kg of plutonium, also needs treatment before being suitable
for disposal or other disposition. Due to similarities in the issues
related to the management of the scrub alloy and the plutonium
residues, management alternatives for the scrub alloy will also be
analyzed in this EIS.
The entire inventory of plutonium residues currently stored at
Rocky Flats is included in the Draft Waste Management Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (WMPEIS) under the assumption that it
may be managed as transuranic waste. The WMPEIS analyzes storage and
treatment configurations (i.e., centralized, regionalized and
decentralized treatment and storage) for transuranic wastes, including
the Rocky Flats plutonium residues. The analysis of alternatives in
this EIS will take into account the analyses of alternatives in the
WMPEIS and the decisions made in any Records of Decisions that may
result from those analyses.
Background
Plutonium residues and scrub alloy were generated by processes used
to recover and purify plutonium and manufacture components for nuclear
weapons. Approximately 125,000 kilograms (kg) of residues (containing
about 5,800 kg of plutonium) and approximately 700 kg of scrub alloy
(containing about 200 kg of plutonium) are currently stored at various
DOE sites. Of these totals, approximately 106,600 kg of the residues
(containing about 3,000 kg of plutonium), and nearly all of the scrub
alloy are stored in various types of containers in six former plutonium
production facilities at the Rocky Flats Site. The remaining
approximately 18,400 kg of plutonium residues are stored at the
Savannah River Site in South Carolina, the Hanford Site in Washington,
Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory in California. About 6 kg of scrub alloy are stored
at the Savannah River Site. Stabilization activities for the
approximately 18,400 kg of plutonium residues and 6 kg of scrub alloy
not located at the Rocky
[[Page 58868]]
Flats Site are analyzed in NEPA reviews that have already been
completed or are currently underway. These reviews are listed and
summarized in the section of this notice titled ``Related NEPA
Documentation.'' The final approximately 5 kg of plutonium residues are
located at several DOE sites, each having an inventory of less than 1
kg. Treatment options for these plutonium residues have been identified
or are in the process of being defined by the managements of the
installations at which these residues are stored.
The plutonium residues at the Rocky Flats Site that require
treatment beyond stabilization prior to disposal or other disposition
consist of four categories: ash, salts, wet residues, and direct
repackage residues. The residues are grouped into these categories due
to chemical similarities or similarities in the manner in which they
could be managed. All these residue categories and scrub alloy will be
discussed in this EIS and are briefly described below. The approximate
quantities in each category requiring treatment beyond stabilization to
prepare them to meet the requirements for disposal or other disposition
are noted.3
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\3\ As noted previously in this Notice, a total of approximately
106,600 kg of plutonium residues is currently in storage at Rocky
Flats. Of this total, approximately 6,600 kg is in a residue
category designated ``Classified Shapes'' that does not require
treatment beyond that analyzed in the Solid Residue Environmental
Assessment. This leaves approximately 100,000 kg of residues in the
four listed categories, 42,300 kg of which will need additional
treatment beyond that analyzed in the Solid Residue Environmental
Assessment. The scrub alloy is not a plutonium residue, and thus is
not included in the 100,000 kg residue total.
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1. Ash Residues. The ash residue category consists of approximately
28,000 kg of material containing approximately 1,100 kg of plutonium in
three basic groups. Examples from each group are: (a) Incinerator ash,
firebrick heels and fines, and soot; (b) pulverized sand, slag and
crucible; and (c) graphite fines. Approximately 71 percent of the ash
residue inventory (19,900 kg) would require treatment
beyond stabilization for disposal in WIPP or other disposition.
2. Salt Residues. The salt residue category consists of about
16,000 kg of material containing approximately 1,000 kg of plutonium
and can be further sub-divided into three groups: electrorefining
salts, molten salt extraction salts, and direct oxide reduction salts.
These salts consist primarily of sodium chloride, potassium chloride
and magnesium chloride. Approximately 93 percent of the salt residue
inventory (14,900 kg) would require treatment beyond
stabilization for disposal in WIPP or other disposition.
3. Wet Residues. The wet residues consist of approximately 17,000
kg of material containing approximately 600 kg of plutonium and are
made up of a disparate assembly of materials, such as wet (aqueous and
organic contaminated) combustibles, plutonium fluorides, high
efficiency particulate air filter media, sludges and Raschig (glass)
rings. Approximately 26 percent of the wet residue inventory
(4,400 kg) would require treatment beyond stabilization for
disposal in WIPP or other disposition.
4. Direct Repackage Residues. The direct repackage residue category
consists of about 39,000 kg of material, containing about 300 kg of
plutonium, and comprises those plutonium residues that are considered
to be stable and do not require stabilization for storage. These
residues consist of materials such as paper, rags, cloth, plastic,
personal protective equipment, and gaskets. Approximately 8 percent of
the direct repackage residue (3,100 kg) would require
treatment for disposal in WIPP.
5. Scrub Alloy. Scrub alloy is predominately a magnesium/aluminum/
americium/plutonium metal mixture that was created as an interim step
in plutonium recovery. The entire Rocky Flats scrub alloy inventory of
approximately 700 kg, containing approximately 200 kg of plutonium,
will require treatment to put it in a form that would meet the
requirements for disposal in WIPP or other disposition.
Preliminary Alternatives
Discussed below are the preliminary alternatives identified for
management of certain Rocky Flats Site plutonium residues
(approximately 42,300 kg) and scrub alloy (approximately 700 kg),
including transportation to reasonable treatment sites and treatment to
prepare them for disposal or other disposition. DOE welcomes comments
on these or other reasonable alternatives and on the identification of
a preferred alternative.
Alternative 1--No Action: The No Action alternative consists of
ongoing residue storage activities, and activities addressed in the
Solid Residue Treatment, Repackaging, and Storage Environmental
Assessment/Finding of No Significant Impact, plus the on-site storage
of the scrub alloy inventory in its current form. Under the No Action
alternative, stabilization, repackaging, and monitoring of the entire
plutonium residue inventory for safe interim storage would continue.
Interim storage would be in containers and under conditions appropriate
for a period of approximately 20 years, with approximately 64,300 kg of
the residues prepared for waste disposal. The other 42,300 kg of
plutonium residues and the scrub alloy would remain in a form that is
not suitable for disposal as waste, or other disposition.
Alternative 2--On-Site Treatment: This alternative would involve
treatment at the Rocky Flats Site, as discussed below:
a. Treatment Without Plutonium Separation--This alternative
includes treating the plutonium residues or scrub alloy to prepare the
material for disposal as waste without removal of the plutonium. This
treatment alternative would use techniques such as immobilization,
(e.g., ceramification or vitrification), or dilution by blending with
other matrix materials (e.g., blending the salt residues with depleted
uranium oxide or additional salt). The resulting waste form would meet
the planning basis waste acceptance criteria for disposal in WIPP. The
material would no longer be attractive as a potential source of
plutonium since it would be in a physical and chemical form from which
it would be difficult to recover the plutonium, or the resulting
material would have too low a concentration of plutonium. However, the
dilution approach would result in substantially greater amounts of
transuranic waste.
b. Treatment With Plutonium Separation--Plutonium separation would
consist of removing the plutonium from the residue or scrub alloy.
Plutonium separation would generate two distinct forms of material; a
treated waste form and a plutonium metal or oxide. The treated waste
would meet the planning basis waste acceptance criteria for disposal in
WIPP. The plutonium metal or oxide would be in a form that would be
suitable for disposition in accordance with the decisions resulting
from the Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials
Programmatic EIS. The Rocky Flats Plutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy
EIS will include analysis of any actions needed to manage separated
plutonium until the decisions resulting from the Storage and
Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials Programmatic EIS are
implemented. Under this treatment alternative, there would be no need
to dilute the plutonium-bearing materials to allow them to meet
transuranic waste disposal requirements, although other types of waste
would be produced that are more easily disposed of.4 The recovered
[[Page 58869]]
plutonium could not be used for nuclear explosive purposes under the
DOE Secretarial policy established in December 1994.5
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4 Both low-level radioactive and hazardous wastes could be
generated as a result of such treatment. Any hazardous wastes would
be sent to a licensed commercial treatment, storage and disposal
facility. Any low-level radioactive wastes would be disposed of
along with other low-level radioactive wastes generated at the Rocky
Flats Site.
5 Such plutonium would be stabilized, packaged for storage
(under DOE safe storage criteria suitable for 50 years) and would be
stored at Rocky Flats pending implementation of storage and
disposition decisions. While in storage, the plutonium metal/oxide
would remain safe and in a secured facility.
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Alternative 3--Off-Site Treatment: Under this alternative, the
plutonium residues or scrub alloy would be treated off-site using
various treatment technologies, with or without plutonium separation,
as discussed under Alternative 2 above. The plutonium residues might
require pre- treatment at Rocky Flats to modify the material
composition and physical packaging so that the material would be in a
condition suitable for transportation. Potential locations for off-site
treatment include: the Savannah River Site, the Los Alamos National
Laboratory (LANL), and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
(LLNL). The Savannah River Site has the capability to treat most
residues and all scrub alloy efficiently. LANL and LLNL each have
facilities that could treat only part of the salt residues (about
13,400 kg), but at much slower rates than treatment at the Savannah
River Site. The cost of treatment at LANL and LLNL is expected to be
slightly higher than the cost of treatment at the Savannah River Site.
None of these facilities, including the Rocky Flats Site, currently is
capable of treating all of the ash residues. Further, treatment at LANL
and LLNL may be difficult to accommodate in light of the other missions
of those sites. Taking account of all these circumstances, the Savannah
River Site appears to be a more likely offsite location for treating
the Rocky Flats plutonium residues and scrub alloy than LANL or LLNL.
Nevertheless, DOE cannot rule out the possibility that further analysis
or changing circumstances might provide reasons to treat some of these
materials at LANL or LLNL.
Any plutonium that might be separated under the ``Treatment With
Plutonium Separation'' option would be placed in storage pending
implementation of decisions made after completion of the Storage and
Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials Programmatic EIS. As
specified for Alternative 2.b above, the Rocky Flats Plutonium Residues
and Scrub Alloy EIS will include analysis of any actions needed to
manage separated plutonium until the decisions made after completion of
the Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable Fissile Materials
Programmatic EIS are implemented.
Public Scoping Process
To ensure that the full range of issues related to the Rocky Flats
Plutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS is addressed, comments on the
proposed scope of the EIS are invited from all interested parties
during the scoping period. Written comments should be directed to Mr.
Charles R. Head at the address indicated above under the heading
ADDRESSES. Agencies, organizations, and the general public are also
invited to present oral comments at the public scoping meetings to be
held at the times and dates listed in the DATES section above.
Written and oral comments will be given equal consideration.
Individuals desiring to speak at a public scoping meeting (or meetings)
should pre-register by telephoning or writing the contact person(s)
designated for the meeting as specified above in the DATES section of
this Notice. Pre-registration should occur at least four days before
the designated meeting. Persons who register at the meeting will be
called on to speak as time permits, after the pre-registered speakers.
To ensure that everyone has an adequate opportunity to speak, each
speaker at a scoping meeting will be allotted five minutes. Depending
on the number of persons who request an opportunity to speak, more time
may be allowed for speakers representing several parties or
organizations. Persons wishing to speak on behalf of organizations
should identify the organization in their request. Written comments
also will be accepted at the meetings, and speakers at scoping meetings
are encouraged to provide written versions of their oral comments for
the record.
DOE will record and prepare transcripts of the oral comments
received during the public scoping meetings. Interested persons will be
able to review the transcripts, written comments, reference material,
related NEPA documents, and background information during normal
business hours at the following locations:
U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Room, Room 1E-190,
Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20585, Telephone: 202-586-6020
U.S. Department of Energy, Public Reading Room, Gregg Graniteville
Library, 171 University Parkway, Aiken, South Carolina 29801,
Telephone: 803-641-3465
County Library, 2002 Bull Street, Savannah, Georgia 31299-430,
Telephone: 912-234-5127
County Library, 404 King Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29403,
Telephone: 803-723-1645
Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory Board, Public Reading Room, 9035
Wadsworth Avenue, Suite 2250, Westminster, Colorado 80021, Telephone:
303-420-7855
Standley Lake Public Reading Room, 8485 Kipling Street, Arvada,
Colorado 80005, Telephone: 303-456-0806
U.S. Department of Energy, Golden Field Office, Public Reading Room,
14869 Denver West Parkway, Golden, Colorado 80401, Telephone: 303-275-
4742
U.S. EPA Superfund Records Center, 999 18th Street, 5th Floor, Denver,
Colorado 80202-2405, Telephone: 303-312-6473
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Information
Center, 4300 Cherry Creek Drive South, Denver, Colorado 80222,
Telephone: 303-692-2037
Rocky Flats Public Reading Room, Front Range Community College Library,
3645 West 112th Avenue, Westminster, Colorado 80030, Telephone: 303-
469-4435
Albuquerque Operations Office, National Atomic Museum, 20358 Wyoming
Blvd. S.E., Kirtland Air Force Base, P.O. Box 5400, Albuquerque, New
Mexico 87185-5400, Telephone: 505-845-4378
Los Alamos Community Reading Room, 1450 Central, Suite 101, Los Alamos,
New Mexico 87544, Telephone: 505-665-2127
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, East Gate Visitors Center,
Greenville Road, Livermore, California 94550, Telephone: 510-424-4026
Oakland Operations Office, U.S. Department of Energy, Public Reading
Room, EIC, 8th Floor, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612-5208,
Telephone: 510-637-1762
DOE plans to issue the draft EIS in the Spring of 1997. DOE will
announce availability of the draft in the Federal Register and other
media, and will provide the public, organizations, and agencies with an
opportunity to submit comments. These comments will be considered and
addressed in the final EIS, scheduled for issuance in the Fall of 1997.
Preliminary Issues: DOE has preliminarily identified the
[[Page 58870]]
environmental issues listed below for analysis in the Rocky Flats
Plutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS. This list is presented to
facilitate discussion concerning the scope of the EIS and is not
intended to exclude consideration of other pertinent issues that may be
suggested during the scoping period or to predetermine the scope of the
EIS. DOE invites comments on these and any other issues relevant to the
analysis in the EIS. The environmental issues identified by DOE are as
follows:
1. Public and Occupational Safety and Health: The potential
radiological and non-radiological impacts of the management
alternatives for the plutonium residues and scrub alloy, including
projected effects on workers and the public from routine operations and
potential accidents at the Rocky Flats Site, Savannah River Site, Los
Alamos National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
and along transportation routes from the Rocky Flats Site to the other
sites.
2. Environmental Media: Potential impacts on soil, water, and the
air.
3. Sensitive Environmental Resources: Potential impacts on plants,
animals, and habitat, including impacts to flood plains, wetlands, and
threatened and endangered species and their habitat.
4. Resource Consumption: Potential impacts from consumption of
natural resources and energy, including water, natural gas, and
electricity.
5. Socioeconomic: Potential impacts on local communities, including
labor force employment and support services.
6. Environmental Justice: Potential for disproportionately high and
adverse impacts of DOE activities on minority and low-income
populations.
7. Cultural Resources: Potential impacts on cultural resources,
such as historic, archaeological, scientific, or culturally important
sites.
8. Regulatory Compliance: The impacts of the alternatives on
compliance of the Rocky Flats Site, Savannah River Site, Los Alamos
National Laboratory, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory with
applicable Federal and state laws and regulations.
9. Cumulative Impacts: The impacts of these alternatives in
conjunction with other past, present and reasonably foreseeable future
actions regardless of agency (Federal or non-federal) or persons
undertaking such other actions.
10. Potential Irreversible and Irretrievable Commitment of
Resources: The potential irreversible and irretrievable commitment of
resources that would be involved in each alternative.
11. Non-Proliferation and International Plutonium-processing
Policy: The potential impacts to international policy regarding the
non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and processing of plutonium that
would be involved with the alternatives involving separation of
plutonium.
Related NEPA Documentation: Documents that have been or are being
prepared that may relate to the scope of the Rocky Flats Plutonium
Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS include the following:
12. Solid Residue Treatment, Repackaging, and Storage Environmental
Assessment (DOE/EA-1120) and Finding of No Significant Impact, issued
April 1996. This Environmental Assessment addressed the stabilization
of the plutonium residue inventory currently at the Rocky Flats Site.
The actions being implemented based on the Environmental Assessment are
included in the No Action alternative of the Rocky Flats Plutonium
Residues and Scrub Alloy Environmental Impact Statement.
13. Rocky Flats Site-wide Environmental Impact Statement Notice of
Intent (59 FR 40011, August 5, 1994). This Notice announced DOE's
intention to prepare a site-wide EIS for the Rocky Flats Environmental
Technology Site. In a Federal Register Notice dated July 17, 1996, DOE
deferred completion of the Site-wide EIS pending the completion of a
new cleanup agreement (since completed) with the Environmental
Protection Agency and the State of Colorado and decisions that may
result from issuance of the WM PEIS (see item 5, below).
14. Interim Storage of Plutonium at the Rocky Flats Environmental
Technology Site Environmental Impact Statement Notice of Intent (61 FR
37247, July 17, 1996). This Notice announced DOE's intention to prepare
an environmental impact statement to evaluate the alternatives for
providing safe interim storage of approximately 10 metric tons of
plutonium at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site pending
implementation of decisions based on the Storage of Disposition of
Weapons--Usable Fissile Materials Programmatic EIS. Any plutonium that
would be separated through the treatment at Rocky Flats of residues and
scrub alloy would be stored in accordance with decisions that may
result from the analysis in the Interim Storage of Plutonium at the
Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site EIS, pending implementation
of decisions based on the Storage and Disposition of Weapons--Usable
Fissile Materials Programmatic EIS.
15. Draft Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Phase Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0026-S2). This is the second
supplemental EIS for WIPP, a DOE research and development project that
is proposed for the disposal of transuranic wastes. The Department's
proposed action is to dispose of transuranic waste at the facility. The
Notice of Intent for the second supplemental EIS was issued on August
23, 1995 (60 FR 43779). The Rocky Flats plutonium residues (including
transportation to WIPP) are considered in the scope of the supplemental
EIS. The draft supplemental EIS is scheduled to be issued in late 1996
and the final supplemental EIS and Record of Decision are scheduled to
be issued in the Summer of 1997. The Rocky Flats Plutonium Residues and
Scrub Alloy EIS will be prepared in coordination with the WIPP
supplemental EIS.
16. Draft Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (WMPEIS) (DOE/EIS-0200-D, August 1995). The WMPEIS considers
alternative approaches for consolidating the management of the
Department of Energy's low-level, low-level mixed, hazardous,
transuranic, and high-level waste. Records of Decision based on the
WMPEIS are scheduled to be issued starting in 1997 and will be made by
waste type. The Rocky Flats Phutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS will
be prepared in coordination with the WMPEIS and applicable records of
decision that may be issued before completion of this EIS.
17. Draft Storage and Disposition of Weapons--Usable Fissile
Materials Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0229-D,
February 1996). This Programmatic EIS analyzes the potential
environmental impacts associated with approaches to storage and
disposition of the Department's weapons-usable fissile materials,
including plutonium. Under the No Action alternative, Rocky Flats
plutonium metals and oxides, including any plutonium metals or oxides
generated as part of plutonium residue treatment, would remain at Rocky
Flats. Under all other alternatives, stabilized weapons-usable Rocky
Flats material would be transferred to another DOE site. The treatment
alternatives discussed in this Notice of Intent that involve separation
of plutonium would generate weapons-usable plutonium metals and oxides
that would be stored and dispositioned according to decisions made
based on the Storage and Disposition of Weapons--Usable Fissile
Materials Programmatic EIS. The final Storage and Disposition of
[[Page 58871]]
Weapons--Usable Fissile Material Programmatic EIS is scheduled to be
issued in late 1996.
18. Final Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operation of
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (DOE/EIS-0157, August 1992, the
``LLNL Site-wide EIS''). This document analyzes the potential
environmental impacts of a proposed action to continue operation of
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National
Laboratories, Livermore. The LLNL site-wide EIS also analyzes the
potential environmental impacts associated with a no-action alternative
involving continuing operations at FY 1992 funding levels without
further growth, an alternative to modify operations to reduce adverse
environmental impacts of operations or facilities, and a shutdown and
decommissioning alternative. The Record of Decision for the LLNL Site-
wide EIS (58 FR 6268, January 27, 1993) announced that DOE had decided
to continue the operation of LLNL and Sandia National Laboratories,
Livermore, including near-term (within 5 to 10 years) proposed
projects. This action included current operations plus programmatic
enhancements and facility modifications required to support the
research and development missions established for the Laboratories by
Congress and the President. The alternatives to be analyzed in the
Rocky Flats Plutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS that would involve
treatment of a portion of the Rocky Flats plutonium residues at LLNL
will represent activities beyond those considered in the LLNL Site-wide
EIS.
19. Los Alamos National Laboratory Site-wide EIS Notice of Intent
(60 FR 92:25697-8, May 12, 1995). This notice announced DOE's intention
to prepare a Site-wide EIS to address operations and planned activities
at the Los Alamos National Laboratory foreseen in the next 5 to 10
years. DOE anticipates that this EIS will provide an analysis of all
activities at LANL and all DOE land management activities related to
operations at LANL. The draft LANL Site-wide EIS is scheduled to be
issued in mid-1997. The alternatives to be analyzed in the Rocky Flats
Plutonium Residues and Scrub Alloy EIS that would involve treatment of
a portion of the Rocky Flats plutonium residues at LANL will be
prepared in coordination with the analyses being performed for the LANL
Site-wide EIS.
20. Plutonium Finishing Plant Stabilization Environmental Impact
Statement (DOE/EIS-0244, May 1996). This EIS addressed the potential
environmental impacts associated with alternative technological
processes at the Hanford Site for stabilizing plutonium-bearing
materials, including plutonium residues. In the Record of Decision for
this EIS (61 FR 36352, July 10, 1996), DOE decided that the plutonium
residues having a low plutonium content (less than 50 weight percent)
and meeting criteria established by DOE will be immobilized at the
Plutonium Finishing Plant through a cementation process and stored
pending disposal. This EIS provided the NEPA analyses required for
management of the plutonium residues currently stored at the Hanford
Site.
21. Interim Management of Nuclear Materials at the Savannah River
Site Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0220, the IMNM EIS). The
IMNM EIS addressed the potential environmental impacts associated with
alternatives that the Department could implement to stabilize a variety
of nuclear materials that are at the Savannah River Site for improved
safety or to convert them to another form to support the Department's
programs. This analysis also included an evaluation of the alternatives
for the treatment of approximately 1,000 kg of plutonium residues and
approximately 6 kg of scrub alloy (discussed in IMNM EIS Section 2.3.3,
``Plutonium and Uranium Stored in Vaults''), some of which originated
at Rocky Flats Site and is currently in storage at the Savannah River
Site. Three Records of Decision have been issued for the IMNM EIS (60
FR 65300, December 19, 1995; 61 FR 6633, February 21, 1996; and 61 FR
48474, September 13, 1996), each covering different materials. The
decision regarding the plutonium residues and scrub alloy, specified in
the first Record of Decision, was to process these materials through
the canyon facilities to a form that meets the DOE storage criteria
(DOE-STD-3013-94) and to store the plutonium at the Savannah River
site.
Issued in Washington, D.C. on this 15th day of November, 1996.
Peter N. Brush,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 96-29650 Filed 11-15-96; 12:52 pm]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
