[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 149 (Thursday, August 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-19062]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: August 4, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management
Process for Evaluating the Suitability of the Yucca Mountain Site
for Development as a Repository for High-Level Radioactive Waste and
Spent Nuclear Fuel
AGENCY: Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: Through this Notice, the Department of Energy makes four
announcements regarding the process for evaluating the suitability of
the Yucca Mountain site for development as a repository for high-level
radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. 1) The Department announces
the availability of Summary Reports of the May 21, 1994 stakeholder
meeting held in Las Vegas, Nevada. 2) The Department announces its
decision to use the Siting Guidelines (10 CFR Part 960) as they
currently exist. 3) The Department announces the availability of a
draft description of the process for evaluating the suitability of the
Yucca Mountain site for public comment. 4) The Department announces
stakeholder meetings to elicit the views of the general public on the
proposed process and particularly the proposed opportunities for
external involvement. The Department invites interested parties to
provide written comments during the term specified in this Notice.
DATES: Written comments on the Draft Summary Reports of the May 21,
1994 stakeholder meeting and the draft description of the proposed
process are due on or before October 3, 1994. The meetings will be held
on August 27, 1994 from 9 am to 5 pm (PDT) at the Stardust Hotel in Las
Vegas, Nevada, and on August 30, 1994 from 9 am to 5 pm (EDT) at the
Renaissance Hotel, in Washington, DC.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Dr. Jane R.
Summerson, U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site
Characterization Office, 101 Convention Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV
89109, (702) 794-5317 (Phone), (702) 794-7907 (Fax).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND COPY OF DRAFT PROCESS CONTACT: Dr. Jane R.
Summerson, U.S. Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain Site
Characterization Office, 101 Convention Center Drive, Las Vegas, NV
89109, (702) 794-5317 (Phone), (702) 794-7907 (Fax).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Summary Reports
The Department of Energy (Department) held a public meeting on May
21, 1994, in Las Vegas, Nevada (59FR19680). The purposes of the meeting
were to follow-up on a previous stakeholder meeting held in August
1993; to update stakeholders on Yucca Mountain site characterization
activities; and to provide an opportunity to discuss the development of
a process to evaluate the suitability of the Yucca Mountain site for
development as a repository. Through this Notice, the Department
announces that the Summary Reports of the meeting are available upon
request.
II. Decision on the Use of 10 CFR Part 960
Issued in 1984, DOE's 10 CFR Part 960 siting guidelines cover all
phases of the siting process including the screening and comparison of
several sites in order to select three for detailed characterization as
potential repository sites. The Department has considered a range of
options concerning the application of the guidelines, from revising
them through the rulemaking process to simply continuing to use them in
their present form and has found that the guidelines are applicable to
the site suitability process. The Department has decided that it will
not amend the siting guidelines. Therefore, in making suitability
decisions that are required at this stage of the siting process, the
Department will use the guidelines as they are currently written. Their
use, however, will be subject to the programmatic changes and
reconfiguration provided in the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of
1987. Because the Amendments Act eliminated all of the pre-
characterization stages by requiring the Secretary to proceed with site
characterization at Yucca Mountain and to cease investigation of all
other potential sites for the first repository, comparative evaluation
is no longer relevant. Accordingly, the Program will not utilize the
comparative portions of the guidelines for purposes of the suitability
assessment of the Yucca Mountain site. This means that the Program will
not make specific evaluations of the favorable and potentially adverse
conditions since these tests are primarily for use in comparing sites.
III. Availability of the draft description of the process for
evaluating the suitability of the Yucca Mountain site
The Department is developing a process for evaluating the
suitability of the Yucca Mountain Site for a repository for high-level
radioactive waste and spent fuel. Through this Notice, the Department
announces that a draft description of the proposed process is available
for public comment. Written comments on the draft description of the
proposed process are due as set forth near the beginning of this
notice.
IV. Stakeholder Meetings
As part of the comment process discussed above, two day-long public
meetings have been scheduled as set forth near the beginning of this
notice. The meeting will provide an opportunity for representatives
from the DOE to explain the draft description of the process and to
receive the views and comments of the public on the proposed process
and, in particular, opportunities for public involvement.
Issued in Washington, DC on July 29, 1994.
Daniel A. Dreyfus,
Director, Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
[FR Doc. 94-19062 Filed 8-3-94; 8:45 am]
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