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Draft Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.



[Federal Register: January 11, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 8)]
[Notices]
[Page 2023-2025]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr11ja08-38]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Draft Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of
Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and Public Hearings.

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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-
autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announces
the availability of the Draft Complex Transformation Supplemental
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Draft Complex
Transformation SPEIS, DOE/EIS-0236-S4). The Draft Complex
Transformation SPEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of
reasonable alternatives to continue the transformation of the U.S.
nuclear weapons complex to one that is smaller, more efficient, more
secure, and better able to respond to changes in national security
requirements. While NNSA has revised the document title from that
indicated in the Notice of Intent, it remains a supplement to the
Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement. NNSA has prepared this document in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) regulations that implement the procedural provisions of
NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and DOE procedures implementing NEPA (10
CFR Part 1021).

DATES: NNSA invites comments on the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS
during the 90-day public comment period, which ends on April 10, 2008.
NNSA will consider comments received after this date to the extent
practicable as it prepares the Final Complex Transformation SPEIS. NNSA
will hold 19 public hearings on the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS.
The locations, dates, and times are listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section.

ADDRESSES: Requests for additional information on the Draft Complex
Transformation SPEIS, including requests for copies of the document,
should be directed to: Mr. Theodore A. Wyka, Complex Transformation
SPEIS Document Manager, Office of Transformation, NA-10.1, Department
of Energy/NNSA, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585,
toll free 1-800-832-0885 ext. 63519. Written comments on the Draft
Complex Transformation SPEIS should be submitted to the above address,
nnsa.doe.gov. Please mark correspondence ``Draft Complex Transformation
SPEIS Comments.''
    For general information regarding the DOE NEPA process contact: Ms.
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-
20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585, telephone 202-586-4600, or leave a message at 1-
800-472-2756. Additional information regarding DOE NEPA activities and
access to many of DOE's NEPA documents are available on the Internet
through the DOE NEPA Web site at http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa.


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public Hearings and Invitation to Comment.
NNSA will hold 19 public hearings on the Draft Complex Transformation
SPEIS. The hearings will be held at the following locations, dates, and
times:

North Augusta, South Carolina, North Augusta Community Center, 495
Brookside Avenue, North Augusta, SC, Thursday, February 21, 2008 (11
a.m.-3 p.m. and 6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, New Hope Center, 602 Scarboro Road (Corner of New
Hope and Scarboro Roads), Oak Ridge, TN, Tuesday, February 26, 2008 (11
a.m.-3 p.m. and 6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo Globe-News Center, Education Room, 401 S.
Buchanan, Amarillo, TX, Thursday, February 28, 2008 (11 a.m.-3 p.m. and
6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Tonopah, Nevada, Tonopah Convention Center, 301 Brougher Avenue,
Tonopah, NV, Tuesday, March 4, 2008 (6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Las Vegas, Nevada, Atomic Testing Museum, 755 E. Flamingo Road, Las
Vegas, NV, Thursday, March 6, 2008 (11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Socorro, New Mexico, Macey Center (at New Mexico Tech), 801 Leroy
Place, Socorro, NM, Monday, March 10, 2008 (6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque Convention Center, 401 2nd Street
NW, Albuquerque, NM, Tuesday, March 11, 2008 (11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6
p.m.-10 p.m.)
Los Alamos, New Mexico, Hilltop House, 400 Trinity Drive at Central,
Los Alamos, NM, Wednesday, March 12, 2008 (6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Los Alamos, New Mexico, Hilltop House, 400 Trinity Drive at Central,
Los Alamos, NM, Thursday, March 13, 2008 (11 a.m.-3 p.m.)
Santa Fe, New Mexico, Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo
Road, Santa Fe, NM, Thursday, March 13, 2008 (6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Tracy, California, Holiday Inn Express, 3751 N. Tracy Blvd., Tracy, CA,
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 (6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Livermore, California, Robert Livermore Community Center, 4444 East
Avenue, Livermore, CA, Wednesday, March 19, 2008 (11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 6
p.m.-10 p.m.)
Washington, DC, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Ave, SW.,
Washington, DC, Tuesday, March 25, 2008 (11 a.m.-3 p.m.)

    Individuals who would like to present comments orally at these
hearings must register upon arrival at the hearing. NNSA will allot
three to five minutes, depending upon the number of speakers, to each
individual wishing to speak so as to ensure that as many people as
possible have the opportunity to speak. More time may be allotted by
the hearing moderator as circumstances allow. NNSA officials will be
available to discuss the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS and answer
questions during the first hour. NNSA will then hold a plenary session
at each public hearing in which officials will explain the Draft
Complex Transformation SPEIS and the analyses in it. Following the
plenary session, the public will have an opportunity to provide oral
and written comments. Oral comments from the hearings and written
comments submitted during the comment period will be considered by NNSA
in preparing the Final Complex Transformation SPEIS.
    The Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS and additional information
regarding complex transformation are available on the Internet at
http://www.ComplexTransformationSPEIS.com and http://www.nnsa.doe.gov.
The Draft

[[Page 2024]]

Complex Transformation SPEIS and referenced documents are available to
the public at the DOE Reading Rooms and public libraries listed below:

California

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NNSA/LSO Public Reading Room,
LLNL Discovery Center (Visitors Center), Building 651, East Gate
Entrance, Greenville Road, Livermore, CA 94550, Phone: (925) 422-4599.
Livermore Public Library, 1188 S. Livermore Avenue, Livermore, CA
94550, Phone: (925) 373-5500.
Tracy Public Library, 20 East Eaton Avenue, Tracy, CA 95376, Phone:
(209) 937-8221.

Georgia

Southeastern Power Administration, Technical Library, 1166 Athens Tech
Road, Elberton, GA 30635, Phone: (706) 213-3815.

Missouri

Kansas City Public Library, 14 West 10th Street, Kansas City, MO 64105,
Phone: (816) 701-3400.
North-East Branch of the Kansas City Library, 6000 Wilson Road, Kansas
City, MO 64123, Phone: (816) 701-3485.

Nevada

NNSA Nevada Site Office, Public Reading Room, 755 E. Flamingo Road, Las
Vegas, NV 89119, Phone (702) 295-3521.
Tonopah Public Library, 167 S. Central Street, Tonopah, NV 89049,
Phone: (775) 482-3374.

New Mexico

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Research Library, West Jemez Road, Los
Alamos, NM 87545, Phone: (505) 667-5809.
NNSA Service Center, Zimmerman Library, Government Documents,
University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, Phone: (505) 277-5441.
Mesa Public Library, 2400 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, NM 87544, Phone:
(505) 662-8240.
Santa Fe Public Library, 145 Washington Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501,
Phone: (505) 955-6780.
Socorro Public Library, 401 Park Street, Socorro, NM 87801, Phone:
(505) 835-1114.

South Carolina

U.S. Department of Energy, Public Reading Room, University of South
Carolina, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC 29801, Phone: (803) 641-
3320.

Tennessee

Oak Ridge Site Operations Office, DOE Information Center, 475 Oak Ridge
Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN 37830, Phone: (865) 241-4780.

Texas

Amarillo Central Library, 413 E. 4th, Amarillo, TX 79101, Phone: (806)
378-3054.
Amarillo North Branch Library, 1500 NE 24th, Amarillo, TX 79107, Phone:
(806) 381-7931.

Washington, DC

U.S. Department of Energy, Public Reading Room, 1000 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, Phone: (202) 586-3142.
    Background. The national security of the United States requires
NNSA to maintain a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear weapons stockpile
and core competencies in nuclear weapons. The Nation's national
security requirements are established by the President and funded by
the Congress, which have assigned to NNSA the responsibility of
maintaining a nuclear arsenal and a complex of nuclear facilities
capable of supporting this highly technical mission. The Draft Complex
Transformation SPEIS is a Supplement to the 1996 Stockpile Stewardship
and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, which
analyzed programmatic alternatives for the weapons complex in the
absence of nuclear testing. NNSA maintains the safety, security, and
reliability of nuclear weapons through the Stockpile Stewardship
Program. This program currently involves integrated activities at three
NNSA national laboratories, four industrial plants, and a nuclear
weapons test site. The effects of old facilities, aging weapons, and
evolving national security requirements have led NNSA to propose
further changes to the Complex in order to create a smaller and more
responsive, efficient, and secure infrastructure, especially with
regards to special nuclear materials (SNM).\1\
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    \1\ As defined in Section 11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
SNM is: (1) Plutonium, uranium enriched in the isotope 233 or in the
isotope 235; or (2) any material artificially enriched by any of the
foregoing and any other material which the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission determines to be special nuclear material.
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    Today's Complex consists of eight major sites located in seven
states, and the Tonopah Test Range (TTR). It enables NNSA to design,
develop, manufacture, and maintain nuclear weapons; certify their
safety, security, and reliability; conduct surveillance on them; store
Category I/II \2\ quantities of SNM; and dismantle and disposition
retired weapons. The major sites within the Complex are the Y-12
National Security Complex (Y-12), Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Savannah River
Site (SRS), Aiken, South Carolina; Pantex Plant (Pantex), Amarillo,
Texas; Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, New Mexico;
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, California;
Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, New Mexico, and other
locations; Nevada Test Site (NTS), 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas,
Nevada; and the Kansas City Plant (KCP), Kansas City, Missouri.
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    \2\ Special nuclear materials are grouped into Security
Categories I, II, III, and IV based on the type, attractiveness
level, and quantity of the materials. Categories I and II require
the highest level of security.
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    NNSA conducted a public scoping process that began with the
publication of a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on
October 19, 2006 (71 FR 61731), in which NNSA announced it intended to
prepare a SPEIS and invited public comment on the scope of the
environmental review. In the NOI, NNSA's proposed action was referred
to as Complex 2030. NNSA now believes that the term Complex
Transformation better reflects the proposed action and alternatives
evaluated because NNSA anticipates that it would be able to accomplish
much of the proposed transformation in the next decade (i.e., well
before 2030). The NOI also announced the schedule for public scoping
meetings that were held in November and December 2006, near sites that
might be affected by continued transformation of the Complex and in
Washington, DC. In addition to the meetings, the public was encouraged
to provide comments via mail, e-mail, and fax. More than 33,000 comment
documents were received from individuals, interested groups, Federal,
state, and local officials, and Tribes during the scoping period. All
comments received during the 90-day public scoping period were
considered by NNSA in preparing the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS.
All late comments received were also reviewed and, in general,
determined to be similar to comments submitted within the 90-day
period. NNSA's development and analysis of alternatives for the SPEIS
reflect consideration of these comments.
    The Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS analyzes two proposed
actions. The first proposed action would restructure SNM facilities
(facilities that use plutonium and highly enriched uranium to produce
components for the nuclear weapons stockpile). The second

[[Page 2025]]

proposed action would restructure research and development (R&D) and
testing facilities. These two proposed actions differ in their
magnitude and timing. The alternatives for restructuring SNM
facilities, which would take 10 years or more, are necessarily broad
and address issues such as where to locate these facilities and whether
to construct new facilities or renovate existing ones for these
functions. As such, the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS analysis is
``programmatic'' for the proposed action of restructuring SNM
facilities. Tiered, project-specific NEPA documents would likely be
needed to inform decisions unless existing site-wide EIS's or other
NEPA documents were sufficient.
    In comparison, NNSA proposes to pursue restructuring of R&D and
testing facilities in the near-term, independent of decisions it may
make as to restructuring of SNM facilities. The proposed action to
restructure R&D and testing facilities would likely not require further
NEPA documentation to implement decisions after NNSA issues the Final
Complex Transformation SPEIS and Record of Decision.
    The alternatives for restructuring SNM facilities are: (1) No
Action; (2) Distributed Centers of Excellence; (3) Consolidated Centers
of Excellence; and (4) Capability-Based. Common to each of these are
alternatives to consolidate storage of certain SNM. The No Action
Alternative represents continuation of the status quo including
implementation of decisions already made on the basis of prior NEPA
analyses. Under the No Action Alternative, NNSA would not make major
changes to the missions assigned to NNSA sites.
    The Distributed Centers of Excellence Alternative retains the three
major SNM functions (plutonium, uranium, and weapon assembly/
disassembly) involving Category I/II quantities of SNM at up to three
sites. This alternative would create a consolidated plutonium center
for R&D, storage, processing, and manufacture of plutonium parts for
nuclear weapons. The following sites are evaluated for the consolidated
plutonium center: Los Alamos, NTS, Pantex, SRS, and Y-12. Uranium
storage and operations (including the storage and use of highly
enriched uranium) would remain at Y-12. Weapons assembly, disassembly,
and high explosive fabrication would remain at Pantex.
    The Consolidated Centers of Excellence Alternative consolidates the
three major SNM functions (plutonium, uranium, and weapon assembly/
disassembly) involving Category I/II quantities of SNM at one or two
sites. The single site option is referred to as the Consolidated
Nuclear Production Center option and the two site option is referred to
as the Consolidated Nuclear Center option. Three major facilities are
involved in this alternative: a Consolidated Plutonium Center, a
Consolidated Uranium Center, and an assembly/disassembly/high
explosives facility, which would assemble and disassemble nuclear
weapons, and fabricate high explosives. The following sites are
evaluated for these facilities: Los Alamos, NTS, Pantex, SRS, and Y-12.
    Under the Capability-Based Alternative, NNSA would maintain basic
capabilities for manufacturing components for all stockpile weapons, as
well as laboratory and experimental capabilities to support stockpile
decisions, but would reduce production capabilities at existing or
planned facilities. Under this alternative, pit production at LANL
would not be expanded beyond a capability to provide 50 pits \3\ per
year. Production capacities at Pantex, Y-12, and SRS (tritium
production) would be reduced to capability-based levels.
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    \3\ A pit is the central core of a nuclear weapon, typically
containing plutonium-239, that undergoes fission when compressed by
high explosives.
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    To consolidate Category I/II quantities of SNM, NNSA proposes to
remove Category I/II SNM from LLNL by approximately 2012, and phase-out
operations at LLNL involving Category I/II quantities of SNM.\4\ NNSA
is also proposing to transfer more than 10,000 pits currently stored at
Pantex in Zone 4 to Zone 12, enabling all Category I/II quantities of
SNM at Pantex to be consolidated into a central location, close to
assembly, modification, and disassembly operations.
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    \4\ The LLNL Site-wide EIS (DOE/EIS-0348 and DOE/EIS-0236-S3,
March 2005) assesses the environmental impacts of transporting SNM
to and from LLNL and other sites as part of the proposed action,
which NNSA decided to implement (70 FR 71491, November 29, 2005).
That analysis includes consideration of transportation actions
involving greater quantities of SNM and more shipments than are
identified in this draft SPEIS.
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    For the proposed action to restructure R&D and testing facilities,
the alternatives focus on immediate options to consolidate, relocate,
or eliminate duplicative facilities and programs and to improve
operating efficiencies. The following five functional capabilities are
evaluated for this proposed action: tritium R&D; high explosives R&D;
hydrodynamic testing; major environmental testing; and flight test
operations. The sites potentially affected by decisions regarding these
alternatives are: LANL, LLNL, SNL, NTS, Pantex, TTR, SRS, Y-12, and the
White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). The WSMR, located in south-central
New Mexico, is the largest installation in the Department of Defense.
WSMR is being considered as a location for NNSA's flight test
operations that are now conducted at TTR. Alternatives to relocate the
current non-nuclear component design and engineering work at SNL/
California also are being evaluated in this proposed action.
    While NNSA has proposed to modernize its facilities that produce
non-nuclear components in Kansas City, Missouri, this proposal is
evaluated in a separate NEPA analysis. The General Services
Administration (GSA), as the lead agency, and NNSA, as a cooperating
agency, announced the availability of a draft Environmental Assessment
on December 10, 2007 (72 FR 69690) that evaluates the potential
environmental impacts of a proposal for GSA to procure the construction
of a new facility to house NNSA's procurement and manufacturing
operations for non-nuclear components. A recent analysis demonstrates
that transferring non-nuclear operations outside of the Kansas City
area is not cost effective. Whether non-nuclear operations remain at
the current Kansas City Plant or move to a new facility in the vicinity
of Kansas City would not affect nor be affected by decisions NNSA makes
regarding alternatives evaluated in the Draft Complex Transformation
SPEIS.
    Other Federal Agency Involvement. The Department of the Air Force
and U.S. Army Garrison White Sands are cooperating agencies in the
preparation of the Draft Complex Transformation SPEIS.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2008.
Thomas P. D'Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-365 Filed 1-10-08; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P

 
 

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