95-23493. Availability of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility Final Environmental Impact Statement

[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 183 (Thursday, September 21, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48975-48976]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-23493]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Availability of the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test 
Facility Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of 
the Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) Facility Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), DOE/EIS-0228. The alternative 
actions analyzed in the EIS would occur at the DOE's Los Alamos 
National Laboratory (LANL) in northern New Mexico.

DATES: The Final EIS was approved by the Department on August 25, 1995. 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published its Notice of 
Availability regarding this Final EIS on September 8, 1995 (60 FR 
46833). DOE intends to issue a Record of Decision on the DARHT project; 
the decision may be issued no sooner than 30 days from the date of the 
Environmental Protection Agency Notice of Availability.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the DARHT EIS should be addressed to: 
Ms. Diana Webb, DARHT EIS Project Manager, Los Alamos Area Office, 
Department of Energy, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos NM 87544. Ms. Webb 
may be contacted by telephone at [phone] or by facsimile at 
[phone]. In addition, DOE is issuing the DARHT Final EIS in CD 
ROM format. Interested parties may obtain a copy of the CD version by 
contacting Ms. Webb at the address and phone number above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DARHT 
project, interested parties may contact Ms. Webb at the address and 
phone number above. 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 leaving a 
message at [phone] or by calling [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DARHT Final EIS 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 
Parts 1500-1508) and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR part 1021).
    The Department proposes to provide enhanced high-resolution 
radiography (x-ray) capability for the purpose of performing 
hydrodynamic tests and dynamic experiments in support of its national 
defense mission. The enhanced radiographic facility would be a key 
component of the Department's near-term science-based stockpile 
stewardship and management program. These hydrodynamic tests and 
dynamic experiments are needed to assist DOE in ensuring the continued 
safety, performance and reliability of existing nuclear weapons as they 
age.
    The DARHT EIS analyzes the environmental consequences of 
alternative ways to accomplish the proposed action. The DOE's preferred 
alternative would be to complete and operate the DARHT facility at LANL 
in northern New Mexico, and provide an enhanced level of environmental 
protection by using steel containment vessels, with implementation to 
be phased over a 10-year period. Radiographic hydrodynamic testing is 
now conducted in two existing facilities within the DOE complex--a 30-
year-old facility at LANL, and a 10-year-old facility at the DOE's 
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The DARHT EIS 
compares the environmental impacts that would be expected to occur from 
continuing to operate the existing facility at LANL (the No Action 
Alternative) with the consequences that would be expected to occur if 
DOE implemented the Preferred Alternative or one of four other 
operational alternatives. The DARHT EIS has a classified supplement 
that provides additional information and analysis. 

[[Page 48976]]

    DOE issued a DARHT Draft EIS in May 1995 and invited comments on 
the adequacy and accuracy of the draft analysis. Over sixty parties 
provided comments on the Draft EIS. The Final EIS reflects changes made 
by DOE to respond to public comments received, to provide additional 
environmental baseline information, and to discuss additional technical 
considerations. The Final EIS also reflects the commitment made by the 
President on August 11, 1995, to seek a ``zero-yield'' Comprehensive 
Test Ban Treaty. The type of capability proposed for the DARHT facility 
is essential to assuring the continued safety and reliability of the 
nuclear weapons stockpile under a test ban. DOE made the following 
major changes between the Draft and Final EIS:

--A Phased Containment Option was added to the Enhanced Containment 
Alternative, and was designated as DOE's preferred alternative.
--DOE discovered the presence of the federally listed threatened 
species, the Mexican spotted owl, in the vicinity of the DARHT site, 
identified measures to mitigate any adverse effects to the owl, and 
received concurrence from the US Fish and Wildlife Service that 
operation of the facility is not likely to adversely effect the owl.
--Additional mitigation measures were added after consultation with 
affected American Indian tribes.
--The DOE proposal incorporates upgraded accelerator equipment 
within both the first and second axis of the proposed DARHT 
facility.
--DOE incorporated information regarding its Stockpile Stewardship 
and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (60 FR 
31291, June 14, 1995).
--The Final EIS includes unclassified information from the impact 
analysis in the classified supplement, which had been made available 
to the public during the comment period on the Draft EIS.

    DOE has distributed copies of the DARHT Final EIS to appropriate 
Congressional members and committees, the State of New Mexico, affected 
American Indian tribes, local county governments, other federal 
agencies, and other interested parties. DOE expects to issue a Record 
of Decision on the DARHT proposal in October, 1995.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 15th day of September, 1995, for 
the United States Department of Energy.
Everet H. Beckner,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs.
[FR Doc. 95-23493 Filed 9-20-95; 8:45 am]
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