[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 112 (Friday, June 11, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31554-31559]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-14880]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement; Geologic Repository for the
Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of floodplain and wetlands involvement.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to construct,
operate and monitor, and eventually close a geologic repository for the
disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. As part of its proposal, DOE is
considering shipping spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive
waste in the State of Nevada over a rail line that would be constructed
or over an existing highway route that may need upgrading to
accommodate heavy-haul trucks. Portions of the rail corridor or highway
route would cross perennial and ephemeral streams and their associated
floodplains, as well as possible wetlands. Furthermore, portions of the
transportation system in the immediate vicinity of the proposed
repository would be located within the 100-year floodplains of Midway
Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash, Busted Butte Wash and/or Fortymile Wash.
No other aspect of repository-related operations or nuclear or
nonnuclear repository facilities would be located within the 500-year
or 100-year floodplains of these washes. In accordance with DOE
regulations for Compliance with Floodplain/Wetlands Environmental
Review Requirements (10 CFR Part 1022), DOE will prepare a floodplain
and wetlands assessment commensurate with proposed decisions and
available information. The assessment will be included in the
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a Geologic Repository for the
Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada. A draft of this EIS is scheduled to
be published during the summer of 1999.
DATES: The public is invited to comment on this notice on or before
July 1, 1999. Comments received after this date will be considered to
the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments on this notice should be addressed to Ms. Wendy
Dixon, EIS Project Manager, Yucca Mountain Site Characterization
Office,
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U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box 30307, M/S 010, Las Vegas, Nevada
89036-0307. Comments also can be submitted via electronic mail to:
eisr@notes.ymp.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Proposed Action: Ms. Wendy Dixon, EIS Project Manager, at the above
address, or by calling (800)-881-7292.
Floodplain and Wetlands Environmental Review Requirements: Ms.
Carol Borgstrom, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.
20585, (202)-586-4600 or leave a message at (800) 472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Nuclear Waste Policy
Act, as amended, DOE is studying Yucca Mountain in Nye County, Nevada,
to determine its suitability for the deep geologic disposal of
commercial and DOE spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
In 1989, DOE published a Notice of Floodplain/Wetlands Involvement (54
FR 6318, February 9, 1989) for site characterization at Yucca Mountain,
and in 1992 published a Floodplain Statement of Findings (57 FR 48363,
October 23, 1992).
DOE is now preparing an EIS (DOE-EIS-0250) to assess the potential
environmental impacts from the construction, operation and monitoring,
and eventual closure of the proposed geologic repository. DOE issued a
Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS on August 7, 1995 (60 FR 40164). As
part of its proposal, DOE is considering shipping spent nuclear fuel
and high-level radioactive waste in the State of Nevada over a rail
line that would be constructed or over an existing highway route that
may need upgrading to accommodate heavy-haul trucks. For the rail mode,
DOE is evaluating five potential corridors (Figure 1). For the heavy-
haul truck mode, DOE is evaluating three potential locations for an
intermodal transfer station associated with five potential highway
routes (Figure 2; an intermodal transfer station is a facility at which
shipping casks containing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive
waste would be transferred from trains to trucks, and empty shipping
casks would be transferred from trucks to trains). The rail corridors
would be about 400 meters (0.25 mile) wide. The Carlin Corridor would
be the longest at 520 kilometers (323 miles) followed by the Caliente
(513 kilometers, 319 miles), Caliente-Chalk Mountain (345 kilometers,
214 miles), Jean (181 kilometers, 112 miles), and Valley Modified (159
kilometers, 98 miles) corridors. The heavy-haul routes would utilize
existing roads and rights-of-ways which typically would be less than
400 meters (0.25 miles) in width. The Caliente Route would be the
longest at 533 kilometers (331 miles) followed by the Caliente-Las
Vegas (377 kilometers, 234 miles), Caliente-Chalk Mountain (282
kilometers, 175 miles), Sloan/Jean (190 kilometers, 118 miles) and
Apex/Dry Lake (183 kilometers, 114 miles) routes.
Portions of the transportation system in the immediate vicinity of
the proposed repository are likely to be located within the 100-year
floodplains of Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash, Busted Butte Wash
and/or Fortymile Wash (Figure 3). Fortymile Wash, a major wash that
flows to the Amargosa River, drains the eastern side of Yucca Mountain.
Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash and Busted Butte Wash are
tributaries to Fortymile Wash. Although water flow in Fortymile Wash
and its tributaries is rare, the area is subject to flash flooding from
thunderstorms and occasional sustained precipitation. There are no
naturally occurring wetlands near the proposed repository facilities,
although there are two man-made well ponds in Fortymile Wash that
support riparian vegetation.
If the Proposed Action were implemented, DOE would use an existing
road during construction of the repository that crosses the 100-year
floodplain of Fortymile Wash (Figure 3). This road and other features
of site characterization that involve floodplains have previously been
examined by DOE and a Statement of Findings was issued in 1992 (57 FR
48363, October 23, 1992). It is uncertain at this time whether this
existing road would require upgrading to accommodate the volume and
type of construction vehicles.
In addition, transportation infrastructure would be constructed
either in Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash and Busted Butte Wash, or
in Midway Valley Wash, Drillhole Wash and Fortymile Wash. The decision
on which washes would be involved is dependent on future decisions
regarding the mode of transport (rail or truck) which, in turn, would
require the selection of one rail corridor or the selection of one site
for an intermodal transfer station and its associated heavy-haul route.
Structures that might be constructed in a floodplain could include one
or more bridges to span the washes, one or more roads that could pass
through the washes, or a combination of roads and culverts in the
washes. No other aspect of repository-related operation of nuclear or
nonnuclear facilities would be located within 500-year or 100-year
floodplains.
Outside of the immediate vicinity of the proposed repository, the
five rail corridors, and the three sites for an intermodal transfer
station and associated five heavy-haul routes, would cross perennial
and ephemeral streams, and possibly wetlands. It is likely that a
combination of bridges, roads and culverts, or other engineered
features, would be needed to span or otherwise cross the washes and
possible wetlands, although the location of such structures is
uncertain at this time.
DOE will prepare an initial floodplain and wetlands assessment
commensurate with the proposed decisions and available information.
This assessment will be included in the Draft EIS that is scheduled to
be issued for public comment later this summer. If, after a possible
recommendation by the Secretary of Energy, the President considers the
site qualified for an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission for a construction authorization, the President will submit
a recommendation of the site to Congress. If the site designation
becomes effective, the Secretary of Energy will submit to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission a License Application for a construction
authorization. DOE would then probably select a rail corridor or a site
for an intermodal transfer station among those considered in the EIS.
Following such a decision, additional field surveys, environmental and
engineering analyses, and National Environmental Policy Act reviews
would likely be needed regarding a specific rail alignment for the
selected corridor or the site for the intermodal transfer station and
its associated heavy-haul truck route. When more specific information
becomes available about activities proposed to take place within
floodplains and wetlands, DOE will conduct further environmental review
in accordance with 10 CFR Part 1022. Information that would be
considered in a subsequent assessment includes, for example, the
identification of 500-year and 100-year floodplains among feasible
alignments of the selected rail corridor or the site of the intermodal
transfer station and its associated heavy-haul route, identification of
individual wetlands, and whether the floodplains and wetlands could be
avoided. If the floodplains and wetlands could not be avoided,
information on specific engineering designs and associated construction
activities in the floodplains and wetlands also would be needed to
permit a more detailed assessment and
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to ensure that DOE minimizes potential harm to or within any affected
floodplains or wetlands.
Issued in Las Vegas, Nevada, on the 4th day of June 1999.
Wendy Dixon,
EIS Project Manager.
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[FR Doc. 99-14880 Filed 6-10-99; 8:45 am]
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