Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Phase, Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement; Notice of Availability and Public Hearings

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Phase, Draft Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement; Notice of Availability and Public

Hearings

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE or Department) announces the

availability for public review and comment of the draft supplemental

environmental impact statement (SEIS-II) for the proposed disposal of

transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

(WIPP) near Carlsbad, NM, and the schedule for public hearings on that

document.

DATES: DOE invites all interested parties to submit comments on the

draft SEIS-II during a comment period ending on January 28, 1997.

Written comments must be postmarked by January 28, 1997 to ensure

consideration. Comments postmarked after that date will be considered

to the extent practicable.

DOE will also hold several public hearings to receive public

comments and suggestions on the draft SEIS-II. Public hearings will be

held on the dates and at the locations given below.

[[Page 60691]]

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Albuquerque, NM............. January 6, 1997..... Albuquerque

Convention Center,

401 2nd Street

N.W., Albuquerque,

NM 87103, (505) 768-

4575.

January 7, 1997.....

Santa Fe, NM................ January 8, 1997..... Sweeney Convention

Center, 201 West

Marcy, Santa Fe, NM

87501, (505) 986-

6901.

January 9, 1997.....

January 10, 1997....

Richland, WA................ January 15, 1997.... Red Lion Inn

Richland, 802

George Washington

Way, Richland, WA

99352, (509) 946-

7611.

Carlsbad, NM................ January 13, 1997.... Pecos River Village,

711 N. Muscatel,

Carlsbad, NM 88220,

(505) 887-6516.

Denver, CO.................. January, 13 1997.... Arvada Center for

Arts and

Humanities, 6901

Wadsworth

Boulevard, Denver,

CO 80003, (303) 431-

3080.

Boise, ID................... January 15, 1997.... Red Lion Inn

Riverside, 2900

Chinden Boulevard,

Boise, ID 83714,

(208) 946-7611.

Oak Ridge, TN............... January 21, 1997.... American Museum of

Science and Energy,

300 South Tulane

Avenue, Oak Ridge,

TN 37830, (423) 576-

3200.

N. Augusta, SC.............. January 23, 1997.... North Augusta

Community Center,

495 Brookside

Drive, North

Augusta, SC 29841,

(803) 441-4290.

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Public hearings are planned for morning (only in Albuquerque and on

January 9th and 10th in Santa Fe), afternoon, and evening sessions. The

length of sessions held at each location may be adjusted as

preregistration demand warrants. The planned hours for hearings are:

9:00 AM to 12 noon for the morning sessions, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM for the

afternoon sessions, and 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM for the evening sessions.

Call the WIPP Information line at 1-800-336-9477 at least a week before

the hearing to register in advance to speak at a particular public

hearing. Persons who have not registered in advance may register to

comment when they arrive at the hearing to the extent time is

available. For additional information about the format for the hearings

and speaker registration see the Public Hearing subheading under

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the draft SEIS II should be directed to:

Harold Johnson, NEPA Compliance Officer, Attn: SEIS Comments, P.O. Box

9800, Albuquerque, NM 87119.

Comments submitted by electronic mail should be sent to

[email protected] Faxed comments should be directed to Harold

Johnson at 1-505-224-8030. Oral comments will be accepted only at the

public hearings.

Copies of the draft SEIS II are also available for reference at the

public reading rooms set forth below. The reading rooms also contain

reference documents.

New Mexico State Library 325 Don Gaspar Santa Fe, NM 87503

Carlsbad Public Library 101 S. Halagueno St. Carlsbad, NM 88220

Zimmerman Library Government Publications Department University of

New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131

Pannell Library New Mexico Junior College 5317 Lovington Highway

Hobbs, NM 88240

WIPP Public Reading Room National Atomic Museum U.S. Department of

Energy Albuquerque Operations Office P.O. Box 5400 Albuquerque, NM

87115

Martin Speare Memorial Library New Mexico Institute of Mining and

Technology Campus Station Soccorro, NM 87801

Raton Public Library Public Reading Room 244 Cook Ave. Raton, NM

87740

New Mexico State University Library P.O. Box 30001 Las Cruces, NM

88003

Los Alamos National Laboratory Community Reading Room P.O. Box 1663,

MS A-117 Los Alamos, NM 87545

DOE Public Reading Room--Oakland 1301 Clay St., Room 700N Oakland,

CA 94612

DOE Public Reading Room--Nevada 2621 Losee Rd. North Las Vegas, NV

89030

Flagstaff--Coconino County Public Library 300 West Aspen Flagstaff,

AZ 86001

The Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency

c/o Levon Benally Jr.

P.O. Box 339

Window Rock, AZ

DOE Public Reading Room--Richland

Washington State University Tri-Cities

100 Sprout Rd., Room 130 West

Richland, WA 99352

Oregon State Library

250 Winter St.

Salem, OR 97310

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) Reading Room

1776 Science Center Dr.

Idaho Falls, ID 83402

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory--Boise Office

816 West Bannock Suite 306

Boise, ID 83702

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory--Pocatello Office

1651 AT Ricken Dr.

Pocatello, ID 83201

Idaho National Engineering Laboratory--Twin Falls Office

233 2nd St. North, Suite B

Twin Falls, ID 83301

University of Idaho Library

Government Document Department (University of Idaho Campus)

Rayburn Street

Moscow, ID 83843

Shoshone-Bannock Library

Human Resources Center

Bannock and Pima

Fort Hall, ID 83203

Moscow Environmental Restoration Information Office

530 South Ashbury, Suite 2

Moscow, ID 83843

Pocatello Public Library

113 South Garfield

Pocatello, ID 83201

Idaho State University Library

741 South 7th Ave., Box 8089

Pocatello, ID 83209

Twin Falls Public Library

434 2nd St. East

Twin Falls, ID 83301

Wyoming State Library

Supreme Court Building

2301 Capitol Ave.

Cheyenne, WY 82002

DOE Rocky Flats Public Reading Room

Front Range Community College Library

3645 West 112th Ave.

Westminster, CO 80030

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Records Center

999 18th St., 5th Floor

Denver, CO 80220

Information Center

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

[[Page 60692]]

4300 Cherry Creek Dr. South, Building A

Denver, CO 80222-1530

Citizens Advisory Board

9035 N. Wadsworth Pkwy., Suite 2250

Westminster, CO 80021

Standley Lake Library

8485 Kipling St.

Arvada, CO 80005

Texas State Library

Information Services Division

1201 Brazos St.

Austin, TX 78701

Oklahoma Dept. of Libraries

200 N.E. 18th St.

Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Arkansas State Library

One Capitol Mall

Little Rock, AR 72201

Kansas State Library

State Capitol Building

Topeka, KS 66612

Missouri State Library

600 West Main

Jefferson City, MO 65102

Indiana State Library

140 North Senate Ave.

Indianapolis, IN 46204

DOE Public Reading Room--Chicago

9800 South Cass Ave.

Building 201

Argonne, IL 60439

DOE CERCLA Public Reading Room

Miamisburg Senior Adult Center

305 Central Ave.

Miamisburg, OH 45342

Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Technical Information Center

P.O. Box 62

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

DOE Public Reading Room--Oak Ridge

55 Jefferson Cir.

Oak Ridge, TN 37830

DOE Public Reading Room--Savannah River

USC--Aiken Library

171 University Pkwy.

Aiken, SC 29801

Mobile Public Library

701 Government St.

Mobile, AL 36602

Atlanta--Fulton Public Library

One Margaret Mitchell Square N.W.

Atlanta, GA 30303

Mississippi State Law Library

450 High St.

Jackson, MS 39215

Louisiana State Library

760 North Third St.

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

DOE/Forrestal Building

Freedom of Information Reading Room

1000 Independence Ave., S.W.

Washington, DC 20585

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board

625 Indiana Ave., N.W., Suite 700

Washington, DC 20004

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, to register

to speak at the public hearings, or to obtain a copy of the

environmental impact statement, call the WIPP Information line at 1-

800-336-9477 (staffed 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM mountain time; answering

machine at other times).

For further information on the DOE NEPA process, contact: Carol M.

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S.

Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20585, Telephone: 202-586-4600 or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background, Purpose and Need for Agency Action

TRU waste is waste that contains alpha particle-emitting

radionuclides with an atomic number greater than that of uranium (92),

and half lives greater than 20 years, in concentrations greater than

100 nanocuries per gram of waste. Since the mid 1940s, DOE and its

predecessor agencies have conducted research and development, nuclear

weapons production and fuel reprocessing activities that have produced

TRU waste. Continued operation of Departmental facilities,

decontamination and decommissioning of defense production facilities,

and environmental restoration activities are expected to generate

additional TRU waste in the future.

The Department needs to safely dispose of the accumulated TRU waste

and provide for disposal of the additional TRU waste to be generated.

Since TRU waste emits alpha radiation for a long period of time and

some TRU waste contains hazardous constituents that could be harmful if

taken into the body, the waste must be isolated from means of

environmental transport (primarily air and water) for a long time

period for safe disposal. To this end, the Department has constructed

the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The draft SEIS II examines the environmental impacts of the

proposed action: disposal at WIPP of the volume of defense TRU waste

allowed by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (i.e., by burying it 2,100 feet

deep in a salt deposit), after treatment to meet planning basis WIPP

waste acceptance criteria. Three action alternatives examine the

impacts of disposal of DOE TRU waste at WIPP, with three alternative

treatments (planning basis WIPP waste acceptance criteria, shred and

grout treatment to reduce gas generation, and thermal treatment to meet

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Land Disposal Restrictions). The

non-thermal treatment alternatives do not include disposal of TRU waste

commingled with polychlorinated biphenyls. If the Department were to

decide that shred and grout or thermal treatment would be the minimal

treatment required for disposal at WIPP, the planning basis waste

acceptance criteria would be revised appropriately. Two no-action

alternatives examine the impacts of leaving the waste at generator

sites. One no-action alternative assumes continued management of TRU

waste in existing and planned storage facilities, while the other

assumes construction of new monitored retrievable storage facilities

for TRU waste that has been thermally treated to meet Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act Land Disposal Restrictions. The proposed

action is identified as the Department's preferred alternative.

Public Hearing and Procedures

The public hearings will be conducted in an informal ``round

table'' setting. Comments will be recorded and a transcript of the

comments will be prepared. A sound system at the comment table will

enable other participants to hear commenters. For participants who want

to ask questions about the content, methodology, and results of the

draft SEIS II analysis before commenting, DOE will provide that

information in a separate room. Clarifying questions regarding the

content of the draft SEIS II may be asked as part of comments at the

public hearing, but the time needed to answer the questions will be

counted as part of the questioner's allotted speaking time. A quiet

area will be set aside where commenters can handwrite their comments or

record their comments on audiotape.

The hearing will not be an adjudicatory or evidentiary hearing and

speakers will not be cross-examined, although DOE's hearing panel

members may ask clarifying questions or respond to questions raised by

the commenter. The hearing transcripts will be available in the public

reading rooms as soon as possible after the hearings have concluded.

Participants can register in advance to present oral comments at a

particular hearing location by calling 1-800-336-9477 at least a week

before the hearing. To ensure that as many persons as possible have the

opportunity to present comments, Government representatives and

representatives of organizations (one per organization) will be allowed

10 minutes to comment and individuals will be allowed 5 minutes.

Reservations for commenting times will be accepted from any

representative of a Government or organization. Individual commenters

must make reservations on

[[Page 60693]]

their own behalf. An individual may register a group of commenters, but

such groups will be scheduled to speak last, and only to the extent

time is available after individuals have commented. Persons who have

not registered in advance may register to comment when they arrive at

the hearing to the extent time is available.

Speakers should confirm their scheduled time at the registration

desk the day of the hearing. Persons presenting oral comments at the

hearing are requested to provide DOE with written copies of their

comments at the hearing, if possible.

More details are available in the public involvement plan. To

obtain a copy of that plan call 1-800-336-9477.

Issued in Washington, D.C., this 25th day of November, 1996.

Alvin L. Alm,

Assistant Secretary, Environmental Management.

[FR Doc. 96-30460 Filed 11-27-96; 8:45 am]

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