[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 212 (Thursday, November 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55702-55704]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-27231]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Floodplain Statement of Findings for Remedial Action at the
Uranium Mill Tailings Sites Located Near Maybell and Naturita, CO
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Floodplain Statement of Findings.
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SUMMARY: This Floodplain Statement of Findings is prepared pursuant to
Executive Order 11990 and 10 CFR Part 1022, Compliance with Floodplain/
Wetlands Environmental Review Requirements. Under authority granted by
the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978, the
Department of Energy (DOE) plans to clean up residual radioactive mill
tailings and other contaminated materials at the former uranium mill
tailings processing sites near Maybell and Naturita, Colorado.
Contaminated material occurs in the 100-year floodplains of rivers and
streams at and near these processing sites, and the 100-year floodplain
of the San Miguel River at the Naturita site is contaminated. Remedial
action activities to remove contaminated material would result in the
temporary disturbance of the 100-
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year floodplain. Contamination occurs along Johnson Wash and Lay Creek
at the Maybell site; these areas may qualify for supplemental standards
and would therefore remain mostly undisturbed.
Copies of the floodplain/wetlands assessments for the Maybell and
Naturita sites are available from: National Technical Information
Service, Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, VA
22161, (703) 487-4650.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE NEPA PROCESS, CONTACT: Carol M.
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Oversight, EH-25, U.S. Department
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, (202)
586-4600 or 1-800-472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement Notification for remedial
action in the floodplains and wetlands at the Maybell and Naturita
sites was published in the Federal Register in 1988 (53 FR 5033). The
final environmental assessments (EA) were published in 1994 and 1995
for the Maybell (DOE/EA-0347) and Naturita (DOE/EA-0464) sites. In
addition, the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for each of
these sites was signed. Floodplain/Wetlands Assessments were prepared
for each site and are attached to the EAs.
Project Descriptions
Maybell Site
The Maybell site is 25 miles (mi) west of the city of Craig, in a
rural area of Moffat County in northwestern Colorado. The Maybell site
was established by Trace Elements Corporation in 1955, and Umetco
assumed control in 1957. A total of 2.6 million tons of ore was
processed before the mill shut down in 1964. The tailings pile and most
of the surrounding land contaminated with windblown tailings are in
upland areas. However, water erosion has contaminated nearby Johnson
Wash and a portion of Lay Creek; approximately 61,000 cubic yards
(yd3) of contaminated material are in these two drainages.
Johnson Wash begins in the sagebrush and pinon-juniper dominated
land northeast of the Maybell site and extends south about 1.5 mi to
Lay Creek. The wash is ephemeral and dry much of the year except at two
springs that create a surface flow that floods 600 to 900 feet (ft) of
the wash. Heavily grazed riparian vegetation occurs along 1 mi of the
wash, indicating that ground water is near the surface. Most of Johnson
Wash traverses a steep-sided valley, and sagebrush and/or pinon-juniper
plant communities occur along its entire length.
Lay Creek is a meandering stream with a flat, broad floodplain. The
creek contains water all year; ground water discharge is the source of
this water during dry parts of the year.
Various species of aquatic plants form a dense growth along the
stream, while higher areas are dominated by black greasewood and big
sagebrush. The area is heavily grazed by sheep and cattle.
The proposed action at the Maybell site is to stabilize the
contaminated material in place at the existing tailings pile. In
addition, a supplemental standards application will be prepared for
most of the contaminated areas along Johnson Wash and Lay Creek. The
rationale for supplemental standards at these two drainages is based on
ecological, radiological, geomorphological, socioeconomic, and
engineering criteria (see the Floodplain/Wetlands Assessment for more
details). Two areas of contamination, totaling about 12 acres (ac),
will be cleaned up along Johnson Wash and Lay Creek; one is in the
upper portion of the wash, in the windblown contaminated area, and the
other is in the lower portion of the wash, near its confluence with Lay
Creek. Currently, additional radiological characterization is taking
place along Johnson Wash and Lay Creek to verify the levels of
contamination along these two drainages. These surveys may identify
additional areas that need to be cleaned up. At this time, it is
anticipated that any additional clean-up along Johnson Wash and Lay
Creek will be minimal and that most of these two drainages will
continue to qualify for supplemental standards. Land disturbed in the
100-year floodplains of Johnson Wash and Lay Creek would be
recontoured, covered with topsoil, and revegetated with native plant
species.
Alternatives considered include no action and clean-up of all the
contaminated material along Johnson Wash and Lay Creek. Implementation
of no action would not be consistent with UMTRCA and would not be
protective of human health and the environment since it would not meet
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards (40 CFR 192). Clean-up
of all the contaminated material would cause more environmental harm
than good, given the occurrence of wetlands and other sensitive
habitats along these drainages and the relatively low levels of
contamination.
Naturita Site
The Naturita site is 2 mi northwest of the unincorporated town of
Naturita in Montrose County, Colorado. The Naturita mill site was
constructed in 1930. It became operational in 1939, when it was
modified for the recovery of vanadium. Uranium milling began in 1942
and continued until 1963, when the mill was shut down. The tailings
were removed from the site in 1979 for reprocessing at a facility in
the hills about 3 mi south of the site. There is an estimated 542,400
yd3 of contaminated material on 244 acres of land. Approximately
263,000 yd3 of this contaminated material covers 31 ac in the 100-
year floodplain of the San Miguel River.
The San Miguel River originates in the San Juan Mountains near
Telluride, Colorado, and joins the Dolores River 20 mi downstream from
the Naturita site. In the vicinity of the Naturita site, the river has
a drainage area of 1209 square miles. Flow in the river varies
seasonally with the average maximum and minimum flows of 2000 and 330
cubic feet per second. A vegetated riparian zone occurs along the river
with plant communities growing in distinct zones. The zone nearest the
river consists of vegetation growing on the frequently flooded rocky
bars; cottonwood and willow seedlings are common here. Further back and
a bit higher in elevation, thick growths of cottonwood and willow
saplings are typically encountered. Mature cottonwood stands frequent
higher terraces along the river and generally give way to upland plant
communities.
The proposed action is to remove the contaminated material from the
floodplain of the river and upland areas and stabilize it in an off-
site disposal cell. This clean-up effort will disturb 31 contaminated
acres in the 100-year floodplain of the river. The average depth of the
excavation in this area would be 3 ft. The removal of contaminated
material from the upper and lower mill yard terraces would increase the
width of the 100-year floodplain. Clean fill material would be
backfilled into excavated areas as the contaminated material is removed
to minimize any increase in the width of the 100-year floodplain. After
completion of remedial action, all disturbed areas would be recontoured
to promote surface drainage and the man-made upper and lower mill yard
terraces would be replaced with a gentle slope. As a result of this, it
is anticipated that the 100-year floodplain will increase from 31 to 38
ac after the completion of this work. The restoration
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of the floodplain following remedial action is not expected to affect
the path or flow regime of the San Miguel River. All disturbed areas
would be revegetated as soon as possible after completion of remedial
action to minimize erosion.
Alternatives considered were on-site stabilization of the
contaminated material, no action, and other off-site disposal sites.
The impacts to the 100-year floodplain would be the same as described
above for other off-site disposal locations. The disposal of the
contaminated material on-site would also result in the disturbance of
the 100-year floodplain as described for the proposed action. No action
would result in leaving the contaminated material in the floodplain of
the San Miguel River and would not result in a reduction in public
health effects. In addition, the contaminated material would continue
to be susceptible to erosion, particularly during periods of high
water, which could result in negative impacts to the environment. In
addition, no action would not be consistent with the intent of UMTRCA
and would not result in compliance with the EPA environmental
protection standards.
Findings
Maybell Site
Little of Johnson Wash and Lay Creek, would be disturbed if
supplemental standards were successfully applied to these areas. It is
likely that a supplemental standards application would be successful,
given that the areas are ecologically sensitive, are remote from human
habitation, and that they contain relatively low levels of
contamination.
The clean-up of contaminated material of Johnson Wash and Lay Creek
would provide a long-term benefit by preventing impacts to human health
and the environment. Potential impacts to the 100-year floodplain that
may result from the excavation of contaminated material from Johnson
Wash would be mitigated by the following measures:
Erosion control measures would be implemented to minimize
erosion during clean-up activities along Johnson Wash and Lay Creek.
The 12 ac of land within the 100-year floodplain of
Johnson Wash and Lay Creek that would be disturbed would be recontoured
and revegetated following the completion of remedial action.
The excavation of contaminated material from the floodplain of
Johnson Wash and Lay Creek is designed to conform to applicable federal
and state regulations. Permits required under these regulations will be
obtained before the start of remedial action. Wetlands along Johnson
Wash and Lay Creek have been delineated; the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE) has agreed with this delineation. Consultation is
ongoing with other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) and Bureau of Land management (BLM), and with the state
of Colorado.
Based on the above, it was determined that the impacts to the
floodplain along Johnson Wash and Lay Creek would be insignificant.
Naturita Site
The clean-up of contaminated material from the floodplain of the
San Miguel River in the area of the Naturita site would be a long-term
benefit because of the reduction of impacts to potential human health
and the environment. Potential impacts due to excavation of
contaminated material from the floodplain of the San Miguel River would
be mitigated by the following measures.
All excavated areas would be backfilled with clean fill as
soon as clean-up was completed.
Riparian vegetation along the river not subject to
excavation would be left intact as much as possible to reduce river
velocities and associated erosion during flood events.
All excavated areas would be regraded to a gentle slope to
promote positive drainage.
The upper and lower mill yard terraces would be given a
gentle slope to promote positive drainage.
All areas would be revegetated as soon as possible
following clean-up to minimize erosion into the river.
The excavation of contaminated material from the floodplain of the
San Miguel River is designed to conform to applicable federal and state
regulations. Permits required under these regulations will be obtained
before the start of remedial action. Wetlands along the river have been
delineated, USACE has agreed with this delineation, and a 404 Permit is
being prepared. Consultation is ongoing with other federal agencies,
such as FWS and BLM, as well as with the state of Colorado and local
government agencies.
Based on the above, it was determined that the impacts to the
floodplain along the San Miguel River would be insignificant.
Issued at Albuquerque, New Mexico, on July 21, 1995.
W. John Arthur III,
Acting Assistant Manager for Environmental/Project Management.
[FR Doc. 95-27231 Filed 11-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
