98-13143. Availability of the Draft Site-wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operation of the Los Alamos National Laboratory

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 95 (Monday, May 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 27271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-13143]



[[Page 27271]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Availability of the Draft Site-wide Environmental Impact 
Statement for Continued Operation of the Los Alamos National Laboratory

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Draft Site-wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for 
Continued Operation of the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), DOE/
EIS-0238, for public review and comment. The SWEIS provides DOE and its 
stakeholders an analysis of the environmental impacts resulting from 
ongoing and reasonably foreseeable new operations and facilities, as 
well as reasonable alternatives at LANL, located in north-central New 
Mexico.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft SWEIS are invited from the public 
and may be submitted through the end of the comment period which ends 
Wednesday, July 15, 1998 (see ADDRESS section for more details). 
Comments must be postmarked by July 15, 1998, to ensure consideration; 
late comments will be considered to the extent practicable. The DOE 
will use the comments received to help prepare the final version of the 
LANL SWEIS. Public hearings on the Draft SWEIS will be held as follows:

June 9, 1998 (Tuesday), Department of Energy, Los Alamos Area Office 
Conference Room, Los Alamos, New Mexico;
June 10, 1998 (Wednesday), Sweeney Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico;
June 24, 1998 (Wednesday), New Mexico Community College, Espanola, New 
Mexico.

    The hearings will provide opportunities for information exchange 
and discussion among DOE, LANL, and the public, as well as submitting 
prepared statements. Public hearing times will be announced in local 
media closer to the meeting dates. For more information call (800) 898-
6623.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing or orally to DOE by 
contacting: Corey Cruz, LANL SWEIS Project Manager, U.S. DOE, 
Albuquerque Operations Office, PO Box 5400, Albuquerque, NM 87185, 
telephone [phone] and fax [phone]. Oral and written 
comments may also be submitted at the public meetings described in the 
DATES section. Requests for copies of the Draft LANL SWEIS or other 
matters regarding this environmental review should be addressed to Mr. 
Cruz at the address above. The Draft EIS will be available under the 
NEPA Analyses Module of the DOE NEPA Web Site at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/
nepa/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE 
NEPA process, please contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office 
of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH-42, Department of Energy, 1000 
Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585. Ms. Borgstrom may be 
contacted by calling [phone] or by leaving a message at (800) 
472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft SWEIS was prepared pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) [42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.], the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations [40 CFR 
part 1500] and the DOE NEPA regulations [10 CFR part 1021].
    The Department proposes to continue operating the Los Alamos 
National Laboratory, located in north-central New Mexico. DOE has 
identified and assessed four alternatives for the operation of LANL: 
(1) No Action, (2) Expanded Operations (DOE's preferred alternative), 
(3) Reduced Operations, and (4) Greener. In the No Action Alternative, 
DOE would continue the historical mission support activities LANL has 
conducted at planned operational levels. In the Expanded Operations 
Alternative, DOE would increase, as needed, the level of existing 
operations to the highest foreseeable levels, including full 
implementation of the mission assignments from recent programmatic 
documents. Under the Reduced Operations Alternative, DOE would operate 
LANL at the minimum levels of activity necessary to maintain the 
capabilities to support its assigned DOE mission in the near term. 
Under the Greener Alternative, DOE would operate LANL to maximize 
operations in support of nonproliferation, basic science, materials 
science, and other nonweapons areas, while minimizing weapons 
activities.
    The DOE's preferred alternative is Expanded Operations. The Draft 
LANL SWEIS compares the environmental impacts that would be expected to 
occur from continuing to operate existing facilities at current 
activity levels at LANL (the No Action Alternative) with the 
consequences that would be expected to occur if DOE implemented the 
Preferred Alternative (Expanded Operations) or one of two other 
operational alternatives. DOE has distributed copies of the Draft LANL 
SWEIS to appropriate Congressional members and committees, the State of 
New Mexico, American Indian tribal governments, local county 
governments, other federal agencies, and other interested parties. 
After the public comment period, which ends July 15, 1998, the 
Department will consider the comments received, revise the Draft SWEIS, 
and issue a Final SWEIS. The Department will consider the Final SWEIS, 
along with other considerations such as economic and technical, to make 
a decision on the appropriate level of operations for LANL.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 12th day of May, 1998, for the 
United States Department of Energy.
Gary T. Palmer,
NEPA Compliance Officer, Defense Programs.
[FR Doc. 98-13143 Filed 5-15-98; 8:45 am]
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