Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the Continued Operation of the Pantex Plant and Associated Storage of Nuclear Weapon Components

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement for the

Continued Operation of the Pantex Plant and Associated Storage of

Nuclear Weapon Components

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (the Department) announces its

intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement, pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et

seq.), in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality

Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR

parts 1500-1508) and the Department's implementing procedures (10 CFR

part 1021). The purpose of this Notice is to invite public

participation in the process and to encourage public dialogue on

alternatives that should be considered. This Environmental Impact

Statement will address the potential environmental impacts concerning

the continued operation of the Pantex Plant, including near- to mid-

term foreseeable activities and the nuclear component storage

activities at other Department sites associated with nuclear weapon

disassembly at the Pantex Plant, over the next 5 to 10 years. The

Secretary of Energy committed to preparing this Environmental Impact

Statement in a letter to the Governor of Texas and also in the Finding

of No Significant Impact (59 FR 3674, January 26, 1994) for the

Environmental Assessment for Interim Storage of Plutonium Components at

Pantex (DOE/EA-0812, January 1994).

The Pantex Plant, near Amarillo, Texas, is the site at which the

Department fulfills its responsibilities regarding the disassembly of

nuclear weapons, certain maintenance and monitoring activities of the

nuclear weapons stockpile, modification and assembly of nuclear

weapons, and production of high explosive components for nuclear

weapons. The Department also conducts certain quality evaluation of

weapons, quality assurance testing of weapon components, and research

and development activities supporting nuclear weapons at the Pantex

Plant. The Department's responsibilities are mandated by statute,

Presidential direction, and Congressional authorization and

appropriation. Currently, most of the work taking place at the Pantex

Plant is the disassembly of nuclear weapons. The nuclear components

resulting from the disassembly of the weapons are either stored at the

Pantex Plant; stored or processed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory

in Los Alamos, New Mexico; or stored or processed at the Oak Ridge

Reservation near Knoxville, Tennessee. Tritium pressure vessels are

processed and the tritium is recycled at the Savannah River Site near

Aiken, South Carolina.

In order to meet the Department's continuing responsibilities

regarding the nuclear weapons stockpile, the Department proposes to

continue the current operations of the Pantex Plant, continue the

current nuclear component storage activities at the various Department

sites, and implement projects and facility upgrades at Pantex

consistent with current responsibilities over the next 5 to 10 years.

Other alternatives being considered for discussion in this

Environmental Impact Statement include the relocation of some of the

Pantex Plant operations and relocation of current storage activities to

other Department or Federal sites, as well as the ``No Action''

alternative required by NEPA. In addition, an alternative discussing

the shutdown of operations at the Pantex Plant will be considered in

evaluating baseline conditions.

This Notice of Intent reflects commitments made to the State of

Texas and stakeholders during the public participation efforts

conducted for the Environmental Assessment for Interim Storage. The

Department will shortly announce other NEPA analyses that might affect

the scope of this Environmental Impact Statement or how commitments

will be addressed. If this occurs, updates on the proposed scope of

this Environmental Impact Statement will be published and the public

will be given the opportunity to discuss and comment on any changes

during the scoping process.

DATES: The Department invites the general public, other government

agencies, and all other interested parties to comment on the

appropriate scope and content of this Environmental Impact Statement

for the continued operation of the Pantex Plant and associated storage

of nuclear components to ensure that the full range of significant

environmental issues and alternatives related to this proposal are

addressed. The public scoping period will continue until June 30, 1994.

All comments and suggestions received or postmarked by that date,

whether written, oral, submitted directly to the Department, or

presented during the scoping meetings, will be given equal

consideration in defining the scope of this Environmental Impact

Statement and the issues to be discussed. Comments received or

postmarked after June 30, 1994 will be considered to the extent

practicable. In addition, the Department is committed to providing

opportunities for the involvement of interested individuals and groups

in this and other Department planning activities outside of the formal

scoping process of this Environmental Impact Statement.

Public Scoping Meetings

Public scoping meetings are scheduled to be held at the following

times and locations:

Amarillo Civic Center, 400 South Buchanan, Amarillo, Texas

Date: Tuesday, June 7, 1994

Time: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Los Alamos High School, 1300 Diamond Drive, Los Alamos, New Mexico

Date: Thursday, June 9, 1994

Time: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Holiday Inn, 325 East Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, Nevada

Date: Tuesday, June 14, 1994

Time: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Aiken Conference Center, 214 Park Avenue, Southwest, Aiken, South

Carolina

Date: Tuesday, June 14, 1994

Time: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Pollard Auditorium, 210 Badger Avenue, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Date: Thursday, June 16, 1994

Time: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Holiday Inn Capital, 550 ``C'' Street, Washington, DC

Date: Tuesday, June 21, 1994

Time: 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Oral and written comments may be presented at the public scoping

meetings. The Department will publish additional notices on the dates

and locations of the scoping meetings in local newspapers well in

advance of the scheduled meetings. If it becomes necessary to change

any of the dates, times, or locations of the meetings, the changes will

be announced in the local media and in the Federal Register, if

appropriate.

Oral Comments

All interested parties are invited to record their comments or

suggestions concerning this Environmental Impact Statement or their

request to be placed on the distribution list by calling the Pantex

Plant Environmental Impact Statement Hotline at 1-800-788-0306. The

Hotline will give instructions on how to record your comments.

Written Comments

Written comments or suggestions to assist the Department in

identifying significant environmental issues and the appropriate scope

of the Pantex Plant Environmental Impact Statement, questions

concerning the Pantex Plant or the other Department sites involved,

requests for speaking times, requests to be placed on the Pantex Plant

Environmental Impact Statement mailing list, requests for copies of the

Environmental Impact Statement Implementation Plan, and requests to be

placed on the Environmental Impact Statement distribution list should

be directed to: Mr. David E. Rosson, Jr., U.S. Department of Energy,

Albuquerque Operations Office, P.O. Box 5400, Albuquerque, New Mexico

87185-5400.

As an alternative, written comments and requests can be submitted

using the Pantex Plant Environmental Impact Statement Faxline at 1-800-

822-5499. Envelopes and facsimiles should be marked: ``Pantex Plant

Environmental Impact Statement.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on DOE's NEPA process,

please contact: Ms. Carol Borgstrom, Director, U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of NEPA Oversight (EH-25), 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW., Washington, DC 20585, 202-586-4600 or 1-800-472-2756.

ADDRESSES: Copies of all written comments, transcripts of all oral

comments, and copies of the Environmental Impact Statement

Implementation Plan will be prepared and retained by the Department for

inspection by the public at the following locations:

U.S. Department of Energy Public Reading Room, Reference Department,

Lynn Library and Learning Center, Amarillo College, 2201 South

Washington, 4th Floor, Amarillo, Texas 79109, 806-371-5400

U.S. Department of Energy Public Reading Room, Carson County Public

Library, 401 Main Street, P.O. Box 339, Panhandle, Texas 79068, 806-

537-3742

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Community Reading Room, Museum Parke

Office Complex, 1450 Central Avenue, Suite 101, Los Alamos, New

Mexico 87544, 505-665-2127 or 1-800-543-2342

Oak Ridge Public Reading Room, 55 Jefferson Avenue, Oak Ridge,

Tennessee 37830, 615-576-0887

U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office Public Reading

Room, 2753 S. Highland Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89109, 702-295-1274

U.S. Department of Energy, Public Document Room, 2nd Floor,

University Library, University of South Carolina, Aiken Campus, 171

University Parkway, Aiken, South Carolina 29801, 803-648-6851

U.S. Department of Energy, National Atomic Museum Public Reading

Room, Kirtland Air Force Base, Building 20358, Wyoming Boulevard,

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87115, 505-845-6670/4378

U. S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Reading Room,

room 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,

Washington, DC 20825 202-586-6020

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Historically, the Department's national security mission has

included the assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons as mandated by

statute, Presidential direction, and Congressional authorization and

appropriation. The Department has carried out this mission at the

Pantex Plant, located in the Panhandle of Texas in Carson County near

Amarillo. Assembled weapons are transported and transferred to the

Department of Defense for deployment and retired weapons are returned

to the Pantex Plant for disassembly. The Pantex Plant is owned by the

Department and currently operated under contract with the Department by

the Mason & Hanger-Silas Mason Co., Inc.

Over the years, activities at the Pantex Plant have included four

major types of operations: (1) Fabrication of conventional high

explosives, (2) assembly of nuclear weapons from these high explosives

and prefabricated weapons components received from off-site suppliers,

(3) maintenance, modification, and quality assurance testing of nuclear

weapons already in the military stockpile, and (4) disassembly of

nuclear weapons. The Pantex Plant has conducted these activities in a

safe and responsible fashion for more than 40 years. In the past, the

Pantex Plant's primary activity was the assembly of nuclear weapons.

Currently, the Pantex Plant's primary activity is the disassembly of

nuclear weapons, although all of the historical missions are being or

may still be performed.

After the weapons have been disassembled, the disposition of the

associated components depends on their characteristics, the facilities

that the Department has available, and any future need for these

components. Nuclear components, those containing significant amounts of

tritium or Special Nuclear Material (enriched uranium or plutonium),

are either retained by the Department at the Pantex Plant or sent to

facilities at other Department sites. The major nuclear components and

their respective destinations are as follows:

(a) Plutonium components (pits), which are assemblies containing

encapsulated weapons grade plutonium (the major constituent being the

fissile plutonium isotope Pu-239), are currently retained at the Pantex

Plant;

(b) Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators, which are components

containing an encapsulated plutonium heat source (the major constituent

being the nonfissile isotope Pu-238), are shipped to the Los Alamos

National Laboratory where the heat source is removed and either stored

or de-encapsulated and may be shipped offsite for additional

processing;

(c) Secondaries, which contain enriched uranium, are sent to the

Oak Ridge Reservation for storage; and

(d) Reservoirs, which are tritium-containing pressure vessels, are

sent to the Savannah River Site where the tritium is purified and

reused in the enduring stockpile.

Non-nuclear components are recycled, salvaged, or disposed of at

the Pantex Plant or at other sites. These components include high

explosives, electronics, and structural parts (some of which contain

depleted uranium). Some disposition of these parts is handled through

commercial firms.

The Department recently completed the Environmental Assessment for

Interim Storage of Plutonium Components at Pantex. The Department

evaluated the proposed interim storage of up to 20,000 pits. In

response to comments received from State and local officials and other

stakeholders, the Department decided to store no more than 12,000 pits

at Pantex until a site-wide Environmental Impact Statement (i.e., this

Environmental Impact Statement) covering all current and proposed

facilities and activities at Pantex is completed. Additionally, this

Environmental Impact Statement will address the environmental impacts

at other sites which may result from the storage of highly enriched

uranium, tritium, and weapons components resulting from the

dismantlement of nuclear weapons. A Record of Decision for this

Environmental Impact Statement will be issued by November 15, 1996. The

Department is preparing to initiate separate NEPA documentation that

will address the long-term disposition of the materials and components

covered in this Environmental Impact Statement, as well as other

materials.

Preliminary Identification of Alternatives and Issues

A preliminary set of alternatives and issues for evaluation in the

Environmental Impact Statement has been identified below. The final set

of alternatives and issues to be considered in the Environmental Impact

Statement will reflect consideration of the public input received

during the scoping period.

Proposed Action

The proposed action is to meet the Department's responsibilities

over the next 5 to 10 years by continuing to operate the Pantex Plant

with its current missions, and by continuing to store nuclear

components at the Department sites currently used for that purpose.

Continuing operations include production of high explosives, weapon

components, assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons, modification

and maintenance of the nuclear weapon stockpile, quality assurance

testing of weapon components, evaluation and surveillance of nuclear

weapons, and research and development activities supporting nuclear

weapons. In addition, the proposed action also involves implementing

those facility upgrades, modifications, replacement facilities, and new

proposed projects that are foreseeable over the next 5 to 10 years,

pursuant to the missions at Pantex as established by Congress and the

President. This alternative would involve storing, on an interim basis,

up to 20,000 pits at the Pantex Plant. The proposed action at the

Pantex Plant would include the establishment of a new research center,

the potential for new mixed-waste treatment facilities, environmental

cleanup and restoration activities, cooperative agreements with Texas

Technical University, and activities associated with the technology

transfer program. The proposed action would also include all routine

activities such as infrastructure and building maintenance, operations

and equipment relocations and consolidations, modifications to

buildings, general landscaping, site characterization, transportation

of materials, and similar support activities.

The proposed action will also consider and analyze to the extent

practicable any environmental issues or impacts that may arise from the

implementation of decisions by Congress and the President to allow

third-party inspection at the Pantex Plant as part of any

implementation of national nonproliferation policy.

Other Alternatives

The following is an initial list of other alternatives for analysis

in this Environmental Impact Statement. The list is tentative and is

not intended to be all-inclusive, nor does it imply any predetermined

selection of any alternative or decisions. Changes to this list may

occur as the result of public input and the scoping process.

Alternatives to the proposed action that have been preliminarily

identified include:

1. One alternative upon which the Department requests the public's

views would consist of continuing the current course of operations at

the Pantex Plant and the current component storage and recycling

activities at the various Department sites. This is commonly referred

to as a ``no action'' alternative. This alternative would not include

any new projects or general facility upgrades or modifications. Current

Pantex operations would include those projects already authorized and

funded through Fiscal Year 1995, transportation activities (both onsite

and offsite), environmental cleanup and restoration activities, and

routine maintenance. The interim storage of up to 12,000 pits at the

Pantex Plant would continue. The storage of highly enriched uranium

components at the Oak Ridge Reservation, and the recycling of tritium-

containing components at the Savannah River Site and Radioisotopic

Thermoelectric Generators at Los Alamos would also continue. No Action

would result in curtailing dismantlement or the relocation of pits

above 12,000 to another site for interim storage.

2. A second alternative upon which the Department requests the

public's views would discuss those activities that could be relocated

or performed somewhere other than at the Pantex Plant and the current

storage locations. This alternative will discuss the transfer of some

or all of pit storage activities from the Pantex Plant and relocation

of the other nuclear component storage from other sites. Discussion of

alternate locations for some Pantex Plant operations will include the

Nevada Test Site. Discussion of alternate locations for nuclear

component storage will include certain Department sites and other

Federal facilities, including those currently owned and operated by the

Department of Defense. This alternative will analyze and consider, to

the extent practical, any environmental issues or impacts that may

arise from the implementation of decisions by Congress and the

President to allow third-party inspection at the Pantex Plant as part

of any implementation of national nonproliferation policy.

Department of Defense Sites as Storage Alternatives

The Department of Energy solicits comments on the inclusion of

Department of Defense sites as possible alternatives for the storage of

nuclear components resulting from weapons disassembly. Through the

public comment process on the Environmental Assessment for Interim

Storage, a number of questions were raised in regard to the possibility

of using Department of Defense sites as interim storage locations.

Since the fact that nuclear weapons exist at a specific Department of

Defense site is classified by the Department of Defense, the

Environmental Assessment analyzed three generic sites: an active

nuclear weapons storage facility, an inactive nuclear weapons storage

facility, and an active conventional weapons storage facility. The use

of Department of Defense sites was not considered as a viable

alternative to the interim storage of plutonium components at the

Pantex Plant under the Environmental Assessment for Interim Storage

because it was not timely (per the immediate need), would cost more,

and offered no environmental benefit.

The Department of Energy is again considering Department of Defense

sites as alternatives for near to mid-term storage of nuclear

components at Department of Energy sites. Preliminary meetings have

been held with Department of Defense staff to discuss the process for

identifying facilities that are now or will be in excess to the

Department of Defense needs that could be made available to the

Department of Energy or those facilities where a joint tenant agreement

could permit the Department to occupy a part of a larger facility.

Based on the result of a facility review and preliminary assessment

process, the degree of additional analysis, which may include

additional scoping meetings at specific locations, and consideration of

the Department of Defense facility alternatives will be determined.

However, due to the same concerns regarding the classification of

information about specific Department of Defense sites, the Department

may be required to use the generic site method described above to

discuss Department of Defense alternatives. The Department solicits

comments on how to conduct the analysis of alternative Department of

Defense storage sites so that maximum public participation is possible.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

The issues listed below have been tentatively identified for

analysis in this Environmental Impact Statement as being applicable to

the operation of the Pantex Plant and the storage of nuclear

components. The list is tentative and should be considered as

illustrative to facilitate public comment on the scope of this

Environmental Impact Statement. It is not intended to be all-inclusive,

nor does it imply any predetermination of potential impacts. The

Department invites suggestions for the addition or deletion of items on

this list. Identified issues include:

--Potential effects on the public and workers from releases of

radiological and hazardous materials during normal operations and from

reasonably postulated accidents, including aircraft crashes;

--Potential effects of natural disasters including floods, tornadoes,

and seismic events;

--Potential effect on air and water quality and other environmental

consequences of normal operations and potential accidents;

--Potential cumulative effects of operations at the Pantex Plant and

the storage activities at other sites, including relevant impacts from

transportation activities, environmental restoration, present

operations, and reasonably foreseeable activities at the sites;

--Potential socioeconomic impacts on surrounding communities, including

demographics, economic base, labor pool, housing, transportation,

utilities, public services/facilities, and education;

--Potential impacts on environmental justice;

--Potential effects on endangered species, economically and

recreationally important species, floodplains, wetlands, and historic

and archaeological resources, including paleontological sites and

Native American resources;

--Potential effects on future decontamination and decommissioning

decisions;

--Potential impacts from energy requirements and conservation

alternatives;

--Effects on near and long-term waste management practices and

activities, including pollution prevention, waste minimization, and

waste stream characterization;

--Potential effects on agricultural lands and practices;

--Potential impacts of noise levels to the ambient environment and

sensitive receptors;

--Potential impacts to scenic and visual resources;

--Potential impacts on land use plans, policies, and controls;

--Unavoidable adverse environmental impacts;

--Short-term uses of the environment versus long-term productivity; and

--Potential irretrievable and irreversible commitment of resources.

Related Documentation

Background information regarding the operation of the Pantex Plant

is available in the public reading rooms listed above. The Department

will prepare transcripts of the oral comments received during the

scoping meetings. The records of all comments, both oral and written,

received during the scoping period will be made available for public

review in the reading rooms listed earlier. All additional background

documents and references developed during the Environmental Impact

Statement process will also be made available in the reading rooms. The

following is a list of forthcoming NEPA documentation related to this

Environmental Impact Statement that have the potential for affecting

its scope:

(a) Reconfiguration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement--On

July 23, 1993, the Department published a revised Notice of Intent to

prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for

reconfiguration of its nuclear weapons complex due to nuclear weapons

stockpile reductions. The Department will soon issue an update to its

revised Notice of Intent which will reflect recent budget and stockpile

reduction decisions;

(b) Fissile Materials Storage and Disposition Programmatic

Environmental Impact Statement--A draft Notice of Intent has been

provided to stakeholders for review and comment. In the near future,

the Department plans to publish a Notice of Intent in the Federal

Register for a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to address

long-term storage of all fissile nuclear materials and disposition of

surplus fissile nuclear materials; and

(c) Proposed Interim Storage of Highly Enriched Uranium above the

Maximum Historical Storage Level at the Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge,

Tennessee. This Environmental Assessment addresses proposed storage of

highly enriched uranium above the maximum historical storage level at

the Y-12 Plant. The draft Environmental Assessment has been reviewed by

the State and by stakeholders, and is being revised.

Public Meeting Registration and Format

Oral and written comments may be presented at the public scoping

meetings. Persons desiring to speak at any of these meetings should

register by calling the Pantex Plant Environmental Impact Statement

Hotline by 3 p.m. two working days in advance of the scoping meeting;

writing to Mr. Rosson at the Albuquerque Operations Office address; or

submitting written requests using the Pantex Plant Environmental Impact

Statement Faxline. Persons wishing to speak that have not registered in

advance may register at the entrance of the meeting room. Individuals

speaking on behalf of an organization should identify the organization

represented.

In order to solicit individual viewpoints and facilitate

interactive communication between participants and representatives of

the Department, separate meeting rooms will be established concurrent

with the formal scoping meetings for questions and informal discussions

regarding the issues in this Environmental Impact Statement.

Subsequent Document Preparation

After the completion of the public scoping process, the Department

will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement Implementation Plan (the

Plan) and make it available to the public upon request and place it in

the public reading rooms. The Plan will record the results of the

scoping process and define the alternatives and issues that the

Department will evaluate in this Environmental Impact Statement. The

Department intends to complete the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

in November 1995 and will announce its availability in the Federal

Register. The Department will solicit comments from the public,

organizations, and other agencies on the Draft Environmental Impact

Statement, and will consider all comments in its preparation of the

Final Environmental Impact Statement.

Issued in Washington, DC, on May 18, 1994.

Tara O'Toole,

Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health.

[FR Doc. 94-12644 Filed 5-20-94; 8:45 am]

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