[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 79 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20281-20282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-10411]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Floodplain Statement of Findings for the Transfer of Parcel H at
the Miamisburg Environmental Management Project
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE), Ohio Field Office, Miamisburg
Environmental Management Project (MEMP).
ACTION: Floodplain statement of findings.
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SUMMARY: This is to give notice of DOE's proposal to transfer ownership
of approximately 14 acres of property in the northeast corner of the
MEMP site, commonly referred to as ``Parcel H;'' the MEMP site is
located approximately 10 (ten) miles southwest of Dayton, Ohio. A small
portion of Parcel H lies within the 100-year floodplain, i.e., the area
is subject to a 1% chance per year of inundation from a nearby
tributary of the Great Miami River. In accordance with 10 CFR
1022.5(d), DOE has identified those uses that are restricted under
Federal, state, and local floodplain regulations. Several restrictions
are found in state and local codes; these restrictions would apply to
any future land owner, and are aimed exclusively at future development
within the floodplain (e.g., construction of a building, modification
of an existing public water system, operation of a hazardous waste
management facility). There are no state or local floodplain protection
standards governing the transfer (e.g., sale) of property that lies
within a floodplain. As a part of the transfer, however, the DOE will
make the future owner of Parcel H aware of the applicable governing
regulations for development within or adjacent to the 100-year
floodplain. It is the responsibility of the future land owner to comply
with those regulations.
Consistent with 10 CFR 1022.12(a), an assessment describing the
effects of the proposed action on the floodplain and other alternatives
to the proposed action was prepared. Other options which were
considered included sale of the property to another landlord or the
Government Services Agency, long term lease, and no action (i.e., the
land would continue in its current use under DOE ownership). The
assessment concluded that these alternatives would be less successful
or unsuccessful in meeting DOE's objective of quickly dispositioning
real property. These alternatives also provide limited support for
joint community/DOE goals to transition the site to an end-use that
provides for economic redevelopment.
Relative to 10 CFR 1022.15(b)(4), the proposed action conforms to
the appropriate floodplain protection standards, in the sense that any
development of Parcel H by future landowners would be subject to all
applicable Federal, state and local statutes, regulations and/or
restrictions governing development activities within a floodplain. No
such restrictions apply to the transfer of the floodplain property
itself. Given the extent to which floodplain management is regulated
(e.g., through design and construction constraints), it is reasonable
to assume that potential harm to or within the floodplain would be
minimized and that future development would not have an adverse effect
on lives, property, or the environment. Therefore, no short-or long-
term effects are expected as a result of the proposed action. Nor would
the proposed action adversely affect the natural and beneficial values
of the bulk of the 100-year floodplain that lies
[[Page 20282]]
outside Parcel H and the MEMP site as a whole.
DATES: Written comments must be received by the DOE at the following
address on or before May 11, 1999.
ADDRESSES: For further information on this proposed action, including a
site map and/or copy of the Floodplain Assessment, contact: Mr. Frank
Schmaltz, Project Manager, U. S. Department of Energy, Miamisburg
Environmental Management Project, P.O. Box 66, Miamisburg, OH 45343-
0066, Phone: (937) 865-3620, Facsimile: (937) 865-4489.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on general DOE
floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements, contact: 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, Phone: (202) 586-4600 or 1-800-472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This Floodplain Statement of Findings for
the Transfer of Parcel H at the MEMP has been prepared in accordance
with Executive Order 11988, Floodplain Management, and 10 CFR 1022, DOE
Regulations for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetland Environmental Review
Requirements. A Notice of Floodplain Involvement was published in the
Federal Register on January 12, 1999 (64 FR 1797). The DOE received no
public comments on the Notice, and the proposed action remains the
same. The proposed action would support ultimate disposition of the
MEMP site. The MEMP site has been determined to be excess to DOE's
long-term needs. This decision is supported by the Nonnuclear
Consolidation Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-0792) and associated
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) dated September 14, 1993, and
the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the DOE Defense Programs,
Environmental Management and Nuclear Energy Programs, dated August 1,
1995. In order to meet DOE's programmatic need to disposition land
determined to be excess to its needs, ownership of the entire MEMP site
will eventually be transferred to a non-Federal entity. The property
will be released in phases, since certain parcels of property are still
in use or are not yet suitable for transfer. This Statement of Findings
addresses one parcel of land, comprising approximately 14 acres of
property in the northeast corner of the MEMP site. Transfer of the
subject parcel conforms to state or local floodplain protection
standards, in so much as any future land owner will be subject to the
applicable state and local codes governing development activities in
property that lies within a floodplain.
Issuance: Issued in Miamisburg, Ohio on April 15, 1999.
Susan L. Smiley,
NEPA Compliance Officer, Ohio Field Office.
[FR Doc. 99-10411 Filed 4-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
