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Revised Strategy for the Environmental Impact Statement for Completion of the West Valley Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term Management of Facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center and Solicitation of Scoping Comments
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: March 26, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 58)]
[Notices]
[Page 16447-16451]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26mr01-37]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Revised Strategy for the Environmental Impact Statement for
Completion of the West Valley Demonstration Project and Closure or
Long-Term Management of Facilities at the Western New York Nuclear
Service Center and Solicitation of Scoping Comments
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the New York State
Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) announce their
intent to revise their strategy for completing the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for Completion of the West Valley Demonstration
Project and Closure or Long-Term Management of Facilities at the
Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D) (also referred
to as the 1996 Completion and Closure Draft EIS) issued for public
comment in March 1996. Under the revised strategy, DOE will prepare and
issue a revised draft EIS for public comment focusing on DOE's actions
to decontaminate West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) facilities
and manage WVDP wastes controlled by DOE under the West Valley
Demonstration Project Act (WVDP Act; Public Law 96-368). NYSERDA will
not be a joint lead agency but will participate as envisioned under
Section 6.03 of the Cooperative Agreement between United States
Department of Energy and New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority on the Western New York Nuclear Service Center at West
Valley, New York (October 1, 1980, amended September 18, 1981) and as
appropriate under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act
(SEQRA). Further, DOE intends to issue soon a Notice of Intent for a
second EIS, with NYSERDA as a joint lead agency, on decommissioning
and/or long-term stewardship of the WVDP and the Western New York
Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC). This approach is expected to
facilitate decisions in a more tractable and timely fashion.
DATES: Although this notice expresses DOE's intent to prepare the
revised Draft EIS, DOE welcomes, as part of the scoping process,
comments on the plan for revising the strategy for completion of the
1996 Completion and Closure Draft EIS. Please provide comments on the
plan and on the scope of the revised Draft EIS on WVDP Decontamination
and Waste Management to DOE by April 25, 2001. Written comments
postmarked, faxed, or e-mailed by that date will be considered in the
preparation of the revised Draft EIS. Late comments will be considered
to the extent practicable.
Also, DOE will hold a public scoping meeting at the Ashford Office
Complex, located at 9030 Route 219 in the Town of Ashford, NY, from
7:00 to 9:30 p.m. on April 10, 2001. Make requests to speak at the
public meeting by calling or writing the DOE Document Manager. (See
ADDRESSES, below.)
ADDRESSES: Address comments on this plan for revising the strategy for
completion of the 1996 Completion and Closure EIS and on the scope of
the revised Draft EIS to the DOE Document Manager: Mr. Daniel W.
Sullivan, West Valley Area Office, U.S. Department of Energy, 10282
Rock Springs Road, West Valley, NY 14171. Telephone: (716) 942-4016,
facsimile: (716) 942-4703, or e-mail: daniel.w.sullivan@wv.doe.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the West
Valley Demonstration Project or the EIS,
[[Page 16448]]
contact Mr. Daniel Sullivan as described above. Those seeking general
information on DOE's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process
should contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy
and Compliance, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585. Telephone: (202) 586-4600, facsimile: (202)
586-7031, or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756, toll-free.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOE and NYSERDA announce their intent to
revise their strategy for completing the Draft EIS for Completion of
the West Valley Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term
Management of Facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center
(DOE/EIS-0226-D) (also referred to as the 1996 Completion and Closure
Draft EIS). The Draft EIS was prepared by DOE and NYSERDA as joint lead
agencies and issued for public comment in March 1996.
I. Revised NEPA Review Strategy
Under the revised strategy, DOE will prepare and issue for public
comment a revised Draft EIS focusing on DOE's actions to decontaminate
WVDP facilities and manage WVDP wastes controlled by DOE under the WVDP
Act. The analyses and subsequent decision making with respect to this
Decontamination and Waste Management EIS will focus exclusively on WVDP
activities conducted by DOE and will not involve any decision making on
the balance of the property at the WNYNSC. NYSERDA will not be a joint
lead agency but will participate as envisioned under Section 6.03 of
the Cooperative Agreement between United States Department of Energy
and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority on the
Western New York Nuclear Service Center at West Valley, New York
(October 1, 1980, amended September 18, 1981) and as appropriate under
SEQRA. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission does not intend to be a
Cooperating Agency on the Decontamination and Waste Management EIS,
because the Commission is not prescribing criteria for the activities
to be considered in this revised EIS. DOE will inform the Commission of
WVDP activities and progress as required under the WVDP Act and the
Memorandum of Understanding between DOE and the Commission.
In accordance with Council on Environmental Quality regulations for
implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1508.25) DOE has determined that the
decontamination and waste management actions will not be connected
within the meaning of the regulations to decommissioning and/or long-
term stewardship actions because decontamination and waste disposal
actions can be implemented without previous or simultaneous actions
being taken, are not an interdependent part of a larger action, and do
not depend on a larger action for their justification. Further, the
WVDP decontamination and waste management actions being proposed by DOE
do not limit or prejudge the range of alternatives to be considered or
the decisions to be made for eventual decommissioning of Project
facilities and/or long-term stewardship of the site, which would be the
focus of a second EIS (described below in Section VI).
The decontamination and waste management actions being proposed
merit evaluation in an EIS, however, including adequate analysis of
cumulative impacts. While the decontamination and waste management
actions will share common geography with subsequent decommissioning
and/or long-term stewardship actions, the regulatory and physical
nature of the two categories of actions are different, as are the
timing needs for decisions. This approach is expected to facilitate
decisions in a more tractable and timely fashion.
Under the revised strategy, the 1996 Draft EIS will be reissued in
part as a revised Draft EIS retitled the West Valley Demonstration
Project Decontamination and Waste Management Environmental Impact
Statement. The analysis in the revised Draft EIS will support only
those DOE decisions on WVDP facility decontamination and waste
management alternatives. The revised Draft EIS will include updated
baseline environmental data and new EIS alternative descriptions and
use new analytical techniques developed at West Valley since
publication of the 1996 Completion and Closure Draft EIS. Relevant
comments received on the 1996 Completion and Closure Draft EIS will be
considered in the preparation of the revised Draft EIS.
In the course of quarterly public meetings and Citizen Task Force
meetings held since the issuance of the 1996 Completion and Closure
Draft EIS, stakeholders have had considerable opportunities to discuss
pertinent issues with DOE. DOE is now formally soliciting scoping
comments, which DOE will consider in preparing the Draft
Decontamination and Waste Management EIS. During preparation of this
EIS, DOE intends to maintain informal communications with stakeholders
through ongoing quarterly meetings, at a minimum, to ensure that
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are aware of the
status of EIS preparation and have a continuing forum to ask questions
and provide feedback to the Department. The revised Draft EIS, when
completed, will be issued to the public for review and comment in
accordance with Section V of this notice.
II. DOE Responsibilities
DOE is required by Public Law 96-368, the WVDP Act, to perform a
number of actions involving facilities and wastes at the West Valley
site. Section 2(a)(1-5) of the Act articulates the five actions that
embody the WVDP. Actions 1 and 2 address high-level waste (HLW)
solidification and development of appropriate containers for the
solidified wastes. Action 3 requires DOE to transport the solidified
HLW to a Federal geologic repository for permanent disposal. Action 4
requires DOE to dispose of low-level and transuranic wastes generated
by HLW solifidification and in connection with the WVDP. Action 5
requires DOE to decontaminate and decommission the tanks, facilities,
material, and hardware used in the solidification of HLW and in
connection with the WVDP.
Actions 1 and 2 were the focus of the 1982 Final EIS (DOE/EIS-0081)
and Record of Decision (47 FR 40705, September 15, 1982) on the HLW
solidification. The 1996 Completion and Closure Draft EIS (DOE/EIS-
0226-D) comprehensively examined the remaining actions, 3, 4, and 5.
Based on the comments received on the 1996 Completion and Closure Draft
EIS, feedback from the Citizen Task Force, and ongoing discussions
between the joint lead agencies (DOE and NYSERDA) and the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, the DOE now intends to conduct the NEPA process
for actions 3, 4, and 5 in two separate EISs.
For action 3, DOE will evaluate on-site activities related to
transportation of the New York State-owned solidified HLW to a federal
geologic repository in the Decontamination and Waste Management EIS.
Off-site activities related to HLW transportation were evaluated in the
Final Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM
PEIS, DOE/EIS-0200-F, May 1997). For action 4, DOE will evaluate on-
site activities for transportation of low-level waste generated in
connection with the WVDP in the Decontamination and Waste Management
EIS; off-site
[[Page 16449]]
transportation activities were evaluated in the WM PEIS. DOE also will
evaluate on-site and off-site transportation activities for transuranic
waste associated with the WVDP in the Decontamination and Waste
Management EIS.
For action 5, DOE will evaluate the decontamination of facilities,
material, and hardware used in the solidification of HLW in the
Decontamination and Waste Management EIS. DOE intends to analyze the
decommissioning of the HLW tanks, facilities, material, and hardware
used in connection with the WVDP in the EIS for decommissioning and/or
long-term stewardship of the WVDP and WNYNSC, with NYSERDA as a joint
lead agency.
III. Proposed Scope of the Decontamination and Waste Management EIS
A. Purpose and Need for Agency Action
Facility decontamination and waste disposal are the next DOE
actions mandated by the WVDP Act that are ripe for evaluation and
decision making. By implementing these actions in the near term, DOE
may continue toward completion of the WVDP while decommissioning and/or
long-term stewardship issues are being evaluated in a separate EIS,
which DOE intends to develop jointly with NYSERDA in the near future
(described below in Section VI).
The DOE needs to decide upon decontamination and waste management
actions that are described below for facilities that are either no
longer necessary or where decontamination will support the safer and
more efficient continuation of WVDP site operations. DOE's primary
objectives in this regard include both reducing risks posed to human
health or the environment by removing and containing contamination and
reducing the site management costs incurred by continuing to maintain
unneeded facilities in a safe and operational condition.
B. Facilities and Waste Storage Areas To Be Evaluated
Potential decontamination of up to four facilities at the WVDP will
be evaluated in the Decontamination and Waste Management EIS. The
evaluation will include such activities as removal of loose radioactive
contamination; removal of hardware and equipment; nonstructural
decontamination of walls, ceilings, and floors; and flushing and/or
removal of vessels and piping. The WVDP facilities that will be
evaluated are:
--Vitrification Facility--Houses the HLW melter and supporting systems
for combining liquid HLW with borosilicate glass formers, pouring the
molten glass into stainless steel canisters, and transporting those
canisters to the Process Building for storage.
--01-14 Building--Houses the Cement Solidification System, used to
combine low-level liquid wastes from HLW pretreatment into a cement
blend, which was then placed into drums and removed to an on-site
storage facility. The 01-14 Building also houses the Vitrification Off-
Gas System.
--HLW Storage Area--Includes the underground HLW storage tanks, along
with supporting systems for maintenance, surveillance, and waste
transfer.
--Process Building--Includes approximately 70 rooms and cells that
comprised the original NRC-licensed spent nuclear fuel reprocessing
operations in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Parts of this building
have been decontaminated and modified to support WVDP operation, while
other parts remain highly contaminated from fuel reprocessing
operations. One of the large cells in the Process Building also serves
as the storage facility for vitrified HLW canisters.
The WVDP storage areas that contain the Project's low-level
radioactive wastes, which will be evaluated for removal and offsite
disposal, are:
--Lag Storage Area--Includes several facilities used to store and
manage the radioactive wastes generated from WVDP activities. Wastes
currently in storage include Class A, B, and C low-level wastes,
transuranic waste, and greater-than-Class C wastes.
--Radwaste Treatment System Drum Cell--Stores cement-filled drums of
stabilized low-level waste produced by the Cement Solidification
System.
--Various Other Locations--Soils estimated to contain very low levels
of radioactive contamination are stored in large containers in various
locations.
C. Proposed Action
DOE's Proposed Action under the Decontamination and Waste
Management EIS will be to decontaminate the four Project facilities
described above and to dispose of Project-generated low-level waste
controlled by DOE under the WVDP Act. The remaining facilities for
which the DOE is responsible, along with all final decommissioning and/
or long-term stewardship actions to be taken by the DOE and NYSERDA,
will be evaluated in a new EIS for decommissioning and/or long-term
stewardship described in Section VI.
The WVDP Decontamination and Waste Management EIS will incorporate,
as needed, analysis of environmental impacts at West Valley associated
with implementing DOE's records of decision for the WM PEIS. Under
those decisions, DOE will dispose of the Project low-level and low-
level mixed waste in storage, and generated by decontamination
activities, at either the Nevada Test Site or the Hanford Reservation
near Richland, Washington (65 FR 10061, February 25, 2000), continue to
store transuranic waste at West Valley (63 FR 3629, January 23, 1998),
and continue to store the New York State-owned HLW at West Valley
pending availability of a Federal geologic repository (64 FR 46661;
August 26, 1999).
The WM PEIS LLW Record of Decision does not preclude DOE's use of
commercial disposal facilities, consistent with current DOE Orders and
appropriate site-specific NEPA analysis. Therefore, the revised Draft
EIS will also assess shipment of WVDP low-level waste to the Envirocare
commercial low-level waste disposal facility, near Tooele, Utah.
Any hazardous or mixed wastes generated as a result of
decontamination activities will be managed in accordance with the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the WVDP Site
Treatment Plan, respectively.\1\
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\1\ Any decontamination activities that may be performed
following issuance of the Record of Decision for the Decontamination
and Waste Management EIS will also provide information associated
with RCRA hazardous wastes and mixed wastes, as well as potential
future measures that may be needed to manage these wastes.
Management of RCRA wastes identified and/or generated during these
activities may be performed in accordance with the provisions of the
RCRA 3008(h) Administrative Order on Consent between the DOE and
NYSERDA, and the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This information will also be factored into long-term decision
making associated with the decommissioning and/or long-term
stewardship EIS, which will be coordinated with the DEC and EPA to
meet the requirements of the RCRA 3008(h) Consent Order.
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D. Preliminary Alternatives To Be Evaluated
In the Decontamination and Waste Management EIS, DOE intends to
evaluate the range of alternatives for decontamination of Project
facilities. These include a ``no action'' alternative, which will
evaluate continued current decontamination and waste management
operations at the WVDP. The other alternatives will evaluate
[[Page 16450]]
decontaminating different sets of WVDP facilities and areas within
them. The three alternatives DOE is proposing to evaluate are
summarized below. DOE will identify its Preferred Alternative in the
Draft EIS.
No Action Alternative--Minimum Decontamination and Off-Site Waste
Disposal Alternative
This alternative is considered the ``no action'' alternative
required to be analyzed under Council on Environmental Quality and DOE
NEPA regulations, and involves no change from the current in-progress
or planned decontamination activities for WVDP facilities and waste
management activities currently in progress.
These ongoing decontamination and waste management activities have
already been considered under NEPA, as follows:
--1982 Final Environmental Impact Statement for Long-Term Management of
Liquid High-Level Radioactive Wastes Stored at the Western New York
Nuclear Service Center, West Valley (DOE/EIS-0081), Record of Decision
(47 FR 40705, September 15, 1982), and two Supplement Analyses (DOE/
EIS-0081-SA1, September 24, 1993; DOE/EIS-0081-SA2, June 23, 1998).
--Environmental Checklist for Removal of Class A Low-Level Radioactive
Waste for Commercial Disposal (OH-WVDP-96-01), an action that was
categorically excluded from further NEPA review in October 1997.
--Environmental Checklist for Decontamination Activities for the Main
Plant (OH-WVDP-2000-05), an action that was categorically excluded in
November 2000.
Project Facility Decontamination and Off-Site Waste Disposal
Alternative
This alternative involves extensive decontamination of the
Vitrification Facility, 01-14 Building, HLW Storage Area, and Process
Building. Activities would include: (1) Removing any nonessential
vessels, hardware, piping, and components, (2) cleaning surfaces to
remove loose contamination, (3) treating or otherwise fixing-in-place
remaining contamination on surfaces, as appropriate, (4) deactivating
and/or removing all support systems (ventilation and utilities) no
longer necessary for safe operations and maintenance, and (5)
collecting and treating for disposal any effluent from the
decontamination activities.
Wastes currently in storage and wastes generated by decontamination
activities would be processed as necessary and shipped offsite for
disposal under this alternative. A combination of truck and rail
shipment modes would be used, depending on the type and amount of
waste, and the intended disposal site. Any wastes for which there
currently are no suitable disposal sites, such as greater-than-Class C
waste, HLW, and transuranic waste, would be retained in on-site storage
pending the availability of an off-site disposal location. DOE will
evaluate shipment of these wastes from West Valley, as appropriate,
however, so that the environmental impacts would have already been
evaluated in case an opportunity to move these wastes off-site should
arise.
High Activity Waste Removal and Off-Site Waste Disposal Alternative
This alternative is similar to the alternative for Project Facility
Decontamination and Off-site Waste Disposal in terms of the types of
decontamination activities that would be performed, but only those
areas of WVDP facilities that present high health and safety risk would
undergo interim decontamination. Under this alternative, selected areas
in the Vitrification Facility, HLW Storage Area, and Process Building
would be decontaminated, namely, those that are estimated to contain
high concentrations of long-lived radionuclides. The 01-14 Building
would not be decontaminated under this alternative, however, because it
does not contain substantial quantities of long-lived radionuclides and
does not pose a health and/or safety risk comparable to the
Vitrification Facility, HLW Storage Area, and Process Building. Waste
management activities to be evaluated will be comparable, however, to
those under the previous alternative.
E. Preliminary Impacts To Be Analyzed
DOE has identified the following impacts for analysis in this EIS.
Additional issues may be identified as a result of public comments.
Potential impacts to the general population and on-site
workers from radiological and nonradiological releases from
decontamination and waste management activities
Potential environmental impacts, including air and water
quality impacts, from decontamination and waste management activities
Potential transportation impacts from shipments of radioactive
or hazardous material or radioactive, hazardous, or mixed waste
generated during decontamination and waste management activities
Potential impacts from postulated accidents
Short-term land use impacts
Disproportionately high and adverse effects on low-income and
minority populations (environmental justice)
Irretrievable and irreversible commitment of resources
Native American concerns
Unavoidable adverse impacts
Compliance with Federal, state, and local requirements
Cumulative impacts
IV. Public Scoping Meeting
DOE will hold a public scoping meeting on the decontamination and
waste management EIS at the Ashford Office Complex, located at 9030
Route 219 in the Town of Ashford, NY, from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. on April
10, 2001. Requests to speak at the public meeting should be made by
calling or writing the DOE Document Manager (see ADDRESSES, above).
Speakers will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Individuals may sign up at the door to speak and will be accommodated
as time permits. Written comments will also be accepted at the meeting.
Speakers are encouraged to provide written versions of their oral
comments for the record.
The meetings will be facilitated by a moderator. WVDP personnel and
the moderator may ask speakers clarifying questions. Individuals
requesting to speak on behalf of an organization must identify the
organization. Each speaker will be allowed five minutes to present
comments unless more time is requested and available. Comments will be
recorded by a court reporter and will become part of the scoping
meeting record.
V. Schedule
The DOE intends to issue the draft Decontamination and Waste
Management EIS in Fall 2001. A 45-day public comment period will start
upon publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's Federal
Register Notice of Availability. DOE will consider and respond to
comments received on the draft Decontamination and Waste Management EIS
in preparing the final EIS.
Comments received during the 1989 scoping process and from the
public comment period on the 1996 Completion and Closure EIS (DOE/EIS-
0226-D) will be addressed in either the draft Decontamination and Waste
Management EIS or the planned EIS for decommissioning and/or long-term
stewardship, depending on the nature of the specific comments received.
[[Page 16451]]
VI. EIS for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship
DOE anticipates a separate announcement soon in both the Federal
Register and the New York State Environmental Notice Bulletin providing
notice of a second EIS to be prepared by DOE and NYSERDA for
decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship of the WVDP and WNYNSC and
a public scoping process pursuant to NEPA and SEQRA.
DOE anticipates that it will be the lead Federal agency for
purposes of compliance with NEPA, and NYSERDA will be the lead agency
for purposes of compliance with SEQRA. DOE also anticipates that the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission will participate as a cooperating agency
under NEPA, and the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation will be an involved agency under SEQRA. Although DOE
envisions that DOE and NYSERDA will jointly prepare this EIS for
decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship, either agency may decide
to proceed independently in support of its independent mission. The
Notice of Intent will provide further information on this second EIS,
including the alternatives proposed to be evaluated and the
opportunities for stakeholder involvement.
Issued in Washington, D.C. on March 21, 2001.
Steven V. Cary,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 01-7370 Filed 3-23-01; 8:45 am]
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