Record of Decision: Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Record of Decision: Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada

Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing this Record of

Decision on the management and operation of the Nevada Test Site and

other DOE sites in the State of Nevada. This Record of Decision is

based on the information and analysis contained in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site

Locations in the State of Nevada, DOE/EIS-0243, and other factors,

including the mission responsibilities of the Department, and comments

received on the draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement. DOE has

decided to implement a combination of three alternatives analyzed:

Expanded Use; No Action (i.e., status quo); and Alternate Use of

Withdrawn Lands. Most activities will be pursued at levels described by

the Expanded Use Alternative. However, low-level and mixed low-level

waste management activities will be conducted at levels described by

the No Action Alternative, pending decisions by DOE under the Waste

Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, DOE/EIS-0200,

now in preparation. Also, DOE will initiate certain public education

activities analyzed under the Alternate Use of Withdrawn Lands

Alternative. This decision will result in the continuation of the

multipurpose, multi-program use of the Nevada Test Site, under which

DOE will pursue a further diversification of interagency, private

industry, and public-education uses while meeting its Defense Program,

Waste Management, and Environmental Restoration mission requirements at

the Nevada Test Site and other Nevada sites, including the Tonopah Test

Range, the Project Shoal Site, the Central Nevada Test Area, and on the

Nellis Air Force Range Complex.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the Final

Environmental Impact Statement or to receive a copy of the

Environmental Impact Statement or other information related to this

Record of Decision, contact: Bob G. Golden, National Environmental

Policy Act Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada

Operations Office, P.O. Box 98518, Las Vegas, NV 89193, (702) 295-2353.

For information on the DOE National Environmental Policy Act

process, contact: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy

and Assistance, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,

SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at (800)

472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

DOE prepared this Record of Decision pursuant to the regulations of

the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the National

Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and DOE's National

Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021).

This Record of Decision is based on DOE's Final Environmental Impact

Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State

of Nevada (DOE/EIS-0243). The Nevada Test Site occupies approximately

3,496 square kilometers (1,350 square miles) in southern Nevada and is

located approximately 105 kilometers (65 miles) northwest of Las Vegas.

The DOE also manages several other sites in Nevada, including the

Tonopah Test Range, Central Nevada Test Area, and Project Shoal Area

located southeast of Fallon, Nevada.

Historically, the primary mission of the Nevada Test Site was to

conduct nuclear weapons tests. Since the moratorium on testing began in

October 1992, this mission has changed to maintaining a readiness to

conduct tests if so directed by the President (under the ``supreme

national interest'' withdrawal provision in the Comprehensive Test Ban

Treaty) and participating in the Department's science-based stockpile

stewardship program by serving as a site for various

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activities including subcritical experiments (i.e., explosively driven

experiments with special nuclear material in which there is no self-

sustaining nuclear reaction). In addition to stockpile stewardship, the

Nevada Test Site continues to host a number of national defense-related

programs. Other changing mission priorities include an increase in

environmental restoration efforts at the Nevada Test Site, Tonopah Test

Range, Project Shoal Site, Central Nevada Test Area, and Nellis Air

Force Range Complex and a concurrent need for waste management

activities.

The DOE is currently engaged in several other National

Environmental Policy Act processes that include the Nevada Test Site as

an alternate location for the action under consideration. These other

National Environmental Policy Act reviews include programmatic

environmental impact statements for Waste Management, Stockpile

Stewardship and Management, Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable

Fissile Materials, and the Continued Operation of the Pantex Plant.

Inasmuch as these other Environmental Impact Statements identify

potential new activities for the Nevada Test Site, the impacts of these

activities are analyzed under the Expanded Use Alternative in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site. However, the

nature of the decisions in this Record of Decision with regard to these

programmatic proposals is simply to reserve land and infrastructure at

the Nevada Test Site pending completion of these programmatic reviews

and their corresponding decision documents.

Alternatives Considered

DOE analyzed four use alternatives for the Nevada Test Site. A land

use map containing site and zone categories was developed for each

alternative. As part of each alternative, DOE activities at off-site

locations were also addressed. The four use alternatives are as

follows:

Alternative 1--Continue Current Operations (No Action)

Under this alternative, DOE activities and operations in five

mission programs--Defense, Waste Management, Environmental Restoration,

Nondefense Research and Development, and Work for Others-- would

continue in the same manner and degree as they have during the past 3

to 5 years. Under the Defense Program, two scenarios were examined. The

first was limited to maintaining a readiness to resume underground

nuclear testing, in accordance with Presidential direction, and

emphasized the execution of science-based stockpile stewardship

experiments and operations such as subcritical experiments. The second

scenario also included one or more underground nuclear tests on Pahute

Mesa or Yucca Flat as a result of an end to the moratorium on weapons

testing, or an invocation of the ``supreme national interest''

provision of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Although no new

initiatives or projects would be pursued or added under Alternative 1,

present Waste Management programs and activities would continue at the

Nevada Test Site. Environmental Restoration Program activities at the

Nevada Test Site and off-site locations would continue in the form of

characterization and remediation of contaminated areas or facilities.

The DOE would continue to support ongoing Nondefense Research and

Development Program operations but no new program initiatives would be

pursued. Under the Work for Others Program, DOE would continue to host

the projects and activities of other federal agencies at activity

levels not exceeding those of the past 3 to 5 years.

Alternative 2--Discontinue Operations

This alternative is defined as the discontinuation of the DOE

Nevada Operations Office and interagency programs and operations at the

Nevada Test Site and at off-site locations. Site support activities

would be limited to environmental monitoring and security functions

necessary for human health and security. All facilities would be placed

in cold standby after operations have ceased. DOE would not maintain a

state of readiness for nuclear weapons testing and there would be an

overall discontinuation of other defense-related activities at the

Nevada Test Site. Only minimum low-level and mixed waste disposal

capability would be maintained under the Waste Management Program until

Nevada Test Site waste-generating activities were completely shut down,

at which time the waste disposal facilities would be closed. Currently

inventoried Environmental Restoration Program sites would be

discontinued and abandoned as is. All Nondefense Research and

Development Program initiatives would be discontinued at the Nevada

Test Site, including siting of the Solar Enterprise Zone. The Work for

Others Program would cease and DOE would no longer host the projects

and activities of other federal agencies.

Alternative 3--Expanded Use

The Expanded Use Alternative incorporates all the activities and

operations under the Continue Current Operations Alternative, and

increases some of those ongoing programs. This level of operation

includes potential activities related to the programmatic decisions

that may be made as a result of other DOE Environmental Impact

Statements currently in progress. This alternative was developed in

coordination with these other Programmatic Environmental Impact

Statements. The analysis for this alternative bounds the maximum

potential impact that could occur at the Nevada Test Site as a result

of decisions made on the other DOE Environmental Impact Statements. The

Defense Program activities at both the Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah

Test Range would expand, primarily in the areas of stockpile

stewardship and management, materials disposition, and nuclear

emergency response. Waste Management activities would increase for low-

level waste and mixed waste for wastes generated by DOE research and

environmental cleanup and restoration programs within the State of

Nevada and waste from other DOE and Department of Defense sites. The

Environmental Restoration Program would continue, albeit potentially at

an accelerated rate, at the Nevada Test Site and all off-site

locations. The Nondefense Research and Development Program would

continue to support ongoing program operations and pursue new

initiatives, such as constructing and operating a solar power

production facility and an Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project at

the Nevada Test Site. Under the Work for Others Program, military use

of airspace over the Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah Test Range would

increase; use of certain lands on the test site by the military for

training, research, and development would also increase.

Alternative 4--Alternate Use of Withdrawn Lands

All defense-related activities and most activities under the Work

for Others Program would cease at the Nevada Test Site, with the

exception that military use of air space over the Nevada Test Site

could increase. Under the Waste Management Program, only radioactive

wastes from DOE sites in Nevada would be accepted at the Nevada Test

Site. The Environmental Restoration Program would continue at current

levels or accelerate at the Nevada Test Site and all off-site

locations. Parts of the Nevada Test Site could be returned to public

domain, and other parts of the test site would be available for public

education and recreation. Similar to the Expanded Use Alternative, an

expanded Solar

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Enterprise Zone would be pursued that would include at least one of

three sites in southern Nevada in addition to the two sites at the

Nevada Test Site. Defense Program activities at the Tonopah Test Range

associated with stewardship of the Nation's stockpile of nuclear

weapons would continue.

Preferred Alternative

The DOE Preferred Alternative identified in the Final Environmental

Impact Statement was Alternative 3, Expanded Use, plus the public

education activities from Alternative 4. The Expanded Use Alternative

represents a continuation of the multipurpose, multi-program use of the

site and further represents a continuation and diversification of the

DOE Nevada Operations Office and interagency programs and operations at

the Nevada Test Site. The Expanded Use Alternative includes support for

ongoing DOE Nevada Operations Office program categories defined in the

Continue Current Operations Alternative, and also provides for

increased use of the Nevada Test Site and its related resources and

capabilities. This alternative would also make the Nevada Test Site

more available to both public and private institutions for purposes of

demonstrating new technologies. Public education activities from

Alternative 4 include establishing educational tour routes on the

Nevada Test Site and promoting the concept of creating a nuclear era

museum that would highlight the Nevada Test Site testing activities.

Tours would allow the public to see firsthand some of the history and

impacts of past nuclear testing. These activities would be an important

contribution to public understanding of the Nation's nuclear testing

and Cold War Era history.

Environmentally Preferable Alternative

The Council on Environmental Quality, in its response to comments

on 40 CFR 1505.2, defined the ``environmentally preferable

alternative'' as the alternative that best promotes the national

environmental policy. The Final Environmental Impact Statement analysis

shows that potential environmental impacts on the Nevada Test Site and

off-site locations in Nevada from each of the use alternatives

considered would be small.

After considering impacts to each resource area by program, the DOE

has identified Alternative 1, under the ``maintaining readiness''

scenario, as the environmentally preferable alternative. Alternative 2

was identified as having the fewest direct impacts to the physical

environment and to worker and public health and safety because all

operations would cease. However, the indirect impacts of not restoring

contaminated areas could be significant over the long term. In

addition, Alternative 2 results in the most significant impacts to the

regional economy from the loss of jobs and income and also removes the

Nevada Test Site from national programs requiring a remote testing

facility. Alternative 1 was identified as having fewer adverse impacts

than Alternatives 3 and 4, both of which include development of new

projects such as a solar power generation facility. Alternatives 2 and

4 would also result in longer-term impacts from the environmental

burden and risks associated with untreated, stored, and buried wastes.

Although DOE is adopting a portion of Alternative 1 as an interim

measure (see Decisions section below), DOE is not selecting Alternative

1 in total as a long range approach for management of the Nevada Test

Site because that Alternative does not allow for expansion of the

multipurpose, multi-program uses of the site.

Environmental Impacts of Alternatives

DOE weighed environmental impacts as one factor in its decision

making. DOE analyzed the potential impacts that might occur to land

resources, air quality, noise, water resources, soils, biological

resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, and human health for the

four alternatives. DOE considered the impacts that might occur from use

of special nuclear materials, facility accidents, and the

transportation of radioactive materials. DOE considered the impacts of

projects and activities associated with the five program categories for

each alternative, the irreversible or irretrievable commitments of

resources, and the relationship between short-term uses of the

environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term

productivity.

Alternatives 1 and 3 both include a scenario under which one or

more underground nuclear tests would be conducted if directed by the

President. Impacts from conducting underground tests remain the largest

unavoidable adverse effects of management of the Nevada Test Site.

Existing drill holes would be used for potential underground nuclear

tests. The construction of new facilities would have a minor, localized

impact to the physical environment of the site and would not lead to

significant off-site impacts. Geologic media contaminated by past

underground nuclear testing would remain contaminated and unavailable

for use at any site where underground nuclear testing has been

conducted. Contaminated groundwater that could not be remediated would

be unavailable for use.

The impacts of conducting subcritical experiments would be much

less than those for underground nuclear testing since no self-

sustaining nuclear reactions occur and much less radioactivity is

deposited to the geologic environment. Subcritical experiments in

support of stockpile stewardship programs would have the unavoidable

adverse impacts of introducing additional radioactivity in the

subsurface environment.

The incremental environmental impacts over baseline conditions from

waste management activities under Alternatives 1 and 3 would be

negligible. Under Alternative 3, some new facilities would create a

slight increase beyond the impacts under Alternative 1. Under

Alternatives 2 and 4, little change in impact would be seen over

present conditions because most of the required land clearing, waste

transportation, and geologic disturbance has already occurred.

Low-level waste at the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site is

disposed of in subsidence craters formed from past underground nuclear

tests. The craters that are and would continue to be used at the Area 3

Radioactive Waste Management Site represent the unavoidable adverse

impact that resulted from past underground nuclear tests. Use of the

craters for waste disposal is a beneficial use of lands that have been

significantly and unavoidably impacted by past actions. Expansion of

waste management activities under Alternative 3 would occur in an area

that has been previously disturbed and designated for radioactive waste

management. Recent hydrological data support the current conceptual

hydrogeologic model that no groundwater pathway exists beneath the Area

3 disposal craters.

Waste Management Program operations in Area 5 are more diverse and

include facilities for hazardous and mixed waste management in addition

to low-level waste management facilities. After 30 years of waste

disposal operations, the DOE has not detected any contamination in

groundwater monitoring wells near the Area 5 Radioactive Waste

Management Site. No impact to groundwater from waste management

operations in Area 5 would be expected to occur. Expansion of waste

management activities under Alternative 3 would occur in an area that

has been previously disturbed and

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designated for radioactive waste management.

The long-term effects of waste disposal operations have been

evaluated as a part of the performance assessment process. Preliminary

results of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site Performance

Assessment indicate that the risk of potential exposure to the public

from waste disposal activities through surface water is not

significant. Based on results of field studies, the groundwater pathway

and air pathways are not considered credible transport mechanisms.

Impacts from vehicle transportation of materials to and from the

Nevada Test Site have been analyzed, including Defense Program nuclear

material and waste management activities related to radioactive wastes

and hazardous materials. The majority of the postulated injuries and

fatalities in this analysis would be a result of traffic accidents and

not a result of exposure to the transported material or waste. The

results of the transportation risk analysis show that the human health

risks from the transportation of material or waste are low under any

alternative, and are not significant contributors to the total risk

from all operations under these alternatives.

Approximately 7,500 acres of land would be disturbed during the

environmental restoration activities under Alternatives 1, 3, and 4.

Under Alternative 2, environmental restoration activities would cease.

This would result in a condition of noncompliance with environmental

requirements and limit the future use of the land. At the Nevada Test

Site, surface disturbance associated with any remediation,

construction, and new testing programs would cause unavoidable impacts

on habitat. At the Nellis Air Force Range Complex, surface disturbance

associated with any remediation programs would cause unavoidable

impacts on habitat.

The most significant impact from the Nondefense Research and

Development Program would occur under Alternatives 3 and 4 and would

result from the siting and construction of the Solar Enterprise Zone

facilities. The Solar Power Production Facility could result in up to

2,400 acres of new land disturbance.

In general, human health risks under each of the alternatives are

expected to be dominated by occupational injuries to workers engaged in

activities such as construction, maintenance, and excavation.

Historically, actual injury and fatality rates at the Nevada Test Site

have been lower than the average U.S. industrial rates used in the

analysis. Occupational injury and fatality risks are reduced by strict

adherence to DOE and Occupational Safety and Health Administration

safety standards, practices, and procedures.

Under Alternatives 1 and 3, the maximum reasonably foreseeable

radiological accident involves a non-nuclear explosion in an Area 27

nuclear weapons storage magazine. The accident has a probability of

1 x 10-7 per year and could result in injuries or deaths to nearby

workers due to the physical impacts of the explosion or delayed

radiation health effects. Radiation exposure from the accident could

result in 13 latent cancer fatalities in the worker population at the

next nearest facility, and from 3 to 55 latent cancer fatalities in the

off-site population within 50 miles.

The maximum reasonably foreseeable chemical accident involves an

airplane crash into the Spill Test Facility. The accident has a

probability of 1 x 10-7 per year and could result in injuries or

deaths to nearby workers due to the physical impacts of the crash or

toxic effects of chemicals. Workers at the next nearest facility could

experience non-life threatening health effects from exposure to

airborne chemicals. The off-site population within 50 miles could

experience up to 3 latent cancers if this accident were to occur.

The Consolidated Group of Tribes and Organizations has identified

impacts to American Indian groups with traditional ties to the Nevada

Test Site and surrounding areas. Impacts include continued reduced

access to culturally significant areas, the potential for unauthorized

artifact collection, and the potential for culturally inappropriate

environmental restoration techniques. Because of the expansion of

activities under Alternative 3, potential impacts would be greater than

those listed under Alternative 1.

Comments on the Final Environmental Impact Statement

The DOE distributed approximately 1500 copies of the Final

Environmental Impact Statement to Congressional members and committees,

the State of Nevada, various American Indian tribes and organizations,

local governments, other federal agencies, and the general public.

Comments from the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of

Nevada were received during the 30-day period following the filing of

the Final Environmental Impact Statement with the Environmental

Protection Agency.

The Environmental Protection Agency found that the Final

Environmental Impact Statement was generally responsive to its prior

comments. However, the Environmental Protection Agency recommended five

areas be addressed in the Record of Decision:

Subsequent National Environmental Policy Act Documentation: The

Environmental Protection Agency recommended that future tiered National

Environmental Policy Act documents (including Environmental

Assessments) be circulated for review and comment to all affected or

interested parties and agencies, including federal, state, and local

governments, tribal governments, and citizens to afford these agencies

and individuals a full opportunity to participate in subsequent

National Environmental Policy Act reviews.

The DOE will ensure that future tiered National Environmental

Policy Act documents (including Environmental Assessments) are

circulated for review and comment to all affected and interested

parties in order to afford a full opportunity for them to participate

in subsequent National Environmental Policy Act processes. Moreover,

DOE will continue to implement DOE orders, guidance, and regulations

regarding the National Environmental Policy Act in conjunction with

internal public participation plans.

Use of Undisturbed Habitat for Future Tiered Projects: The

Environmental Protection Agency also recommended future developments be

sited in already-disturbed areas unless other overriding factors

require placing such facilities in undisturbed areas.

DOE will develop and implement a Resource Management Plan for the

Nevada Test Site that incorporates the goal that when possible; new

facilities will be sited in, or as close as possible to, previously

disturbed lands in order to preserve and protect undisturbed land.

Pollution Prevention: The Environmental Protection Agency comments

also recommended that future proposals and projects at the Nevada Test

Site and off-site locations in Nevada be designed, constructed, and

operated with pollution prevention opportunities being a prime

consideration.

Implementation of DOE orders, guidance, and regulations regarding

pollution prevention have been and will continue to be a prime

consideration in the evaluation of future proposals and projects at the

Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in Nevada.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls: The Environmental Protection Agency

requested that clarification of the status of polychlorinated biphenyls

in capacitors located in Area 27 be included in the Record of Decision,

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along with a commitment to notify the Environmental Protection Agency

of the status.

These capacitors are in service and included in the active

inventory and are managed in accordance with 40 CFR Part 761. In the

event that a decision is made that changes the status of the

capacitors, the Environmental Protection Agency will be notified as

required under applicable regulations.

Native American Concerns: The Environmental Protection Agency

commended the DOE for specifically reflecting Native American concerns

and considerations, and recommended the DOE continue to seek active

Native American participation in future projects and proposals at the

Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in Nevada.

DOE will continue to incorporate the Department's American Indian

policy into its ongoing and long-term planning and management

processes. Development and operation of programs that expand the use of

the Nevada Test Site will be conducted within DOE's government-to-

government relationship with tribal governments. DOE will consult with

tribal governments concerning activities under these programs that may

affect natural, cultural, traditional, and/or religious resources

important to American Indians.

The State of Nevada comments identified five issues and made the

following specific recommendations:

Assessment of the Nevada Test Site Land Withdrawal and its

Relationship to the Environmental Impact Statement No Action

Alternative: The State of Nevada expressed the view that disposal of

radioactive waste at the Nevada Test Site from off-site generators

cannot be considered a continuation of current or past activities, and

thus cannot be characterized as part of the No Action Alternative.

Further, the State of Nevada asserted that DOE does not have the

authority under existing land withdrawals that comprise the Nevada Test

Site to support continuation of the radioactive waste disposal program

at the Nevada Test Site.

DOE believes that the characterization of No Action as the

continuation of past and current activities is proper and is consistent

with guidance provided by the Council on Environmental Quality. In the

case of ongoing activities, ``. . . the `no action' alternative may be

thought of in terms of continuing with the present course of action

until that action is changed.'' ( ``Forty Most Asked Questions,'' 46

CFR 18026, 18027, March 23, 1981.) For comparison purposes, Alternative

2 of the Environmental Impact Statement evaluated cessation of waste

management activities.

As recognized by the State of Nevada in its comments, the

radioactive waste disposal program began at the Nevada Test Site in the

early 1960s as an activity related to testing of nuclear weapons, which

is directly related to the land use designated in Public Land Order

805, dated February 12, 1952, reserving lands for the use of the U.S.

Atomic Energy Commission. Since that time, DOE has disposed of

radioactive waste in pits, trenches, landfills, and boreholes. The

Nevada Test Site presently serves as a disposal site for low-level

waste generated by DOE approved generators. In 1983, the Bureau of Land

Management reviewed the land withdrawals for the Nevada Test Site

pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Land Policy and Management

Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-579). The Bureau of Land Management

concluded that the lands were still being used for the purposes for

which they were withdrawn. The withdrawal review also acknowledged the

pursuit of other activities as described in the 1977 Nevada Test Site

Environmental Impact Statement and did not find that they were

inconsistent with the withdrawals. Although this formal determination

by the Bureau of Land Management remains in effect, the Department is

reviewing this issue in light of comments made during the preparation

of the Environmental Impact Statement. To date, DOE's review confirms

that its use of the Nevada Test Site continues to be consistent with

the existing land withdrawals. However, in view of the comments

submitted by the State and Department of Interior, and in view of the

combination of activities selected, DOE commits to continue to consult

with the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management as to

whether the four major land withdrawals that comprise the Nevada Test

Site need to be updated. As DOE has selected the No Action Alternative

for management of low-level and mixed low-level wastes pending

programmatic decisions regarding where the Department should manage

these wastes, there will be no immediate changes in DOE's ongoing use

of the lands for disposal of radioactive wastes.

DOE Compliance with Programmatic Decisions Concerning the Disposal

of Off-Site Generated Low-Level and Mixed Low-Level Radioactive Waste

at the Nevada Test Site as Provided for Under the National

Environmental Policy Act Regulations: The State of Nevada expressed the

view that DOE must complete its ongoing programmatic review for siting

low-level and mixed low-level waste treatment and disposal facilities

before making specific decisions that affect the Nevada Test Site, and

that DOE must also recognize certain conditions for consideration of a

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part B permit for new mixed

waste disposal units for off-site generated waste at the Nevada Test

Site.

As discussed in the Decisions section below, DOE will continue low-

level and mixed low-level waste operations as described by the No

Action Alternative until the programmatic review is completed. Once

that review is completed, DOE will reexamine the low-level and mixed

low-level waste activities at the Nevada Test Site to determine whether

the status quo needs to be modified as a result of programmatic

decisions. A new Record of Decision will be issued if appropriate. Any

decisions to increase low-level and mixed low-level waste activities

beyond the status quo would be implemented in full compliance with

applicable laws and regulations.

Compliance with DOE Disposal Site(s) Performance Assessment Process

as per DOE Order 5820.2A: Citing DOE Order 5820.2A, the State of Nevada

expressed the view that receipt of radioactive waste and mixed

radioactive wastes for disposal at the Nevada Test Site should be

suspended until the performance assessment process is completed for all

past, present, and future waste types.

DOE Order 5820.2A does not require that existing waste disposal

operations cease until a performance assessment is prepared. DOE has

prepared and continues to maintain a performance assessment for the

Area 5 low-level Radioactive Waste Management Site at the Nevada Test

Site. A performance assessment for the Area 3 Radioactive Waste

Management Site is in process in conjunction with composite analyses

for both the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site and the Area 3

Radioactive Waste Management Site. A composite analysis is a planning

tool used to reach interim decisions, pending implementation of a

comprehensive approach through 10 CFR Part 834, regarding whether

current low-level waste disposal activities will result in the need for

future corrective or remedial actions to ensure protection of the

public and the environment. However, as documented in the Environmental

Impact Statement, DOE believes that sufficient information exists to

demonstrate that waste can be disposed of at both sites in a safe

manner.

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Implementation of the Nevada Test Site Resource Management Plan and

Clean-up Standards at Off-site Locations: The State of Nevada

recommended that the Record of Decision contain a stipulation that the

Resource Management Plan process will be completed in a specified time

period, and commit to establishing a stakeholder advisory group to

address Nevada Test Site development conflicts anticipated to arise in

the future.

In the Decisions section below, the DOE commits to Resource

Management and Comprehensive Land-Use Planning and development of a

Resource Management Plan for the Nevada Test Site over the next two

years. The Resource Management Plan will establish a process for

managing resources to ensure long-term diversity and productivity of

affected ecosystems and sustainable use of land and facilities on the

Nevada Test Site. Interested parties will have opportunities to provide

input into the selection of goals developed to guide management of

resource issues on the Nevada Test Site and to assist in the

development of management actions needed to achieve those goals.

Methods of ensuring interested party input such as establishment of a

stakeholder advisory group will be evaluated and selected as the plan

evolves.

Special Case Waste, Waste Classified as Greater-Than-Class-C, and/

or Waste requiring Greater Confinement Disposal: The State of Nevada

comments on the Final Nevada Test Site Environmental Impact Statement

recommended that the Record of Decision stipulate that DOE will comply

with the National Environmental Policy Act for disposal of radioactive

waste that is not suitable for shallow land burial.

DOE will prepare appropriate further documentation to comply with

the National Environmental Policy Act before making decisions regarding

Special Case Waste, Greater-than-Class-C, or wastes requiring Greater

Confinement Disposal. In any case, DOE will ensure that all wastes

disposed of at the Nevada Test Site meet waste acceptance criteria that

will protect human health and the environment.

Other Decision Factors

As a result of changing mission priorities, the DOE has a need to

focus on new national security, energy, and environmental issues

challenging the Nation and to define the role of the Nevada Test Site

to help meet these new challenges. The policy considerations outlined

below are factors in the decision process for continued and future

management of the Nevada Test Site.

It is DOE policy to manage all of its lands and facilities as

valuable national resources. DOE stewardship will be based on the

principles of ecosystem management and sustainable development. This

policy requires each site to integrate mission, economic, ecologic,

social, and cultural factors into a comprehensive plan that guides

land- and facility-use decisions with stakeholder involvement. This

will result in land and facility uses that support the Department's

critical missions, stimulate the economy, and protect the environment.

On September 24, 1996, President Clinton signed a Comprehensive

Test Ban Treaty. It is the intention of the President to seek

ratification of this Treaty as soon as possible. President Clinton has

also established specific safeguards that define the conditions under

which the United States has entered into the Comprehensive Test Ban

Treaty. These safeguards are as follows:

The conduct of a science-based stockpile stewardship

program to ensure a high level of confidence in the safety and

reliability of nuclear weapons in the active stockpile, including the

conduct of a broad range of effective and continuing experimental

programs.

The maintenance of modern nuclear laboratory facilities

and programs in theoretical and exploratory nuclear technology that

would attract, retain, and ensure the continued application of our

human scientific resources to those programs upon which continued

progress in nuclear technology depends.

The maintenance of the basic capability to resume nuclear

test activities prohibited by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty should

the United States cease to be bound to adhere to such a treaty.

The continuation of a comprehensive research and

development program to improve treaty-monitoring capabilities and

operations.

The continuing development of a broad range of

intelligence gathering and analytical capabilities and operations to

ensure accurate and comprehensive information on worldwide nuclear

arsenals, nuclear weapons development programs, and related nuclear

programs.

The understanding that if the President of the United

States is informed by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of

Energy, advised by the Nuclear Weapons Council, the Directors of DOE's

nuclear weapons laboratories, and the Commander of the U.S. Strategic

Command, that a high level of confidence in the safety and reliability

of a nuclear weapon type that the two Secretaries consider to be

critical to our nuclear deterrent could no longer be certified, the

President, in consultation with Congress, would be prepared to withdraw

from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty under the ``supreme national

interest'' clause in order to conduct whatever testing might be

required.

The Nevada Test Site has both a demonstrated and a potential role

in implementing several of these safeguard elements. For example, the

Nevada Test Site's role in the implementation of the first of these

safeguards is to participate in full partnership, for a common purpose,

with the scientific and academic communities, business and industry,

and stakeholders to advance the Nevada Test Site as a valued national

resource. The Nevada Test Site provides the modern nuclear laboratory

platform for theoretical and exploratory nuclear technology that can

attract and retain the human scientific resources required for

continued progress in nuclear technology development. With the end of

nuclear testing, the DOE is enhancing its capability to perform

science-based stockpile stewardship activities consistent with the

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Uncertainty in the behavior of aging

stockpiled weapons will continue to increase with time and in the

absence of testing. To ensure continued confidence in the safety and

reliability of the United States' nuclear weapons stockpile, the DOE

must enhance its capability to perform activities consistent with the

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty such as dynamic experiments (including

subcritical experiments) and other hydrodynamic experiments to assess

the condition and behavior of nuclear weapons in the enduring

stockpile. As an additional contingency, the DOE must maintain the

basic capability to conduct underground nuclear testing activities

should the need arise, in accordance with Presidential direction. The

experimental program at the Nevada Test Site includes aspects that

support both the Department's stockpile stewardship mission and its

nuclear test readiness mission. Defense Program activities have been

declining steadily in recent years resulting in the need to diversify

user support at the Nevada Test Site. Diversification of users will

offset infrastructure maintenance costs for Defense Programs necessary

to allow the best use of limited stockpile stewardship resources and

support the

[[Page 65557]]

successful execution of the stewardship mission at the Nevada Test

Site.

The Nevada Test Site, through its Work for Others Program, has

supported improved treaty-monitoring capabilities. Chemical explosions

at the Nevada Test Site have been used to develop and calibrate seismic

and hydrodynamic detection and analysis techniques. Sensitive isotope

analysis techniques, derived from nuclear chemistry applications to

tests, are being developed for treaty monitoring and intelligence

analysis. Development is being advanced by analysis of underground test

residue and environmental studies at the Nevada Test Site.

Environmental restoration and waste management have been part of

Nevada Test Site operations since the beginning of the Nation's nuclear

testing program. Low-level waste has been generated through the weapons

development, testing, and production activities at DOE facilities as

well as the environmental cleanup and restoration programs. As DOE

missions have changed, there is an increasing volume of waste generated

through the environmental restoration activities. This waste must be

disposed of in accordance with applicable regulations and DOE orders.

Thus, the DOE has a need to continue providing practical, cost-

effective, and environmentally sound means of low-level waste disposal.

The potential expansion of the waste disposal mission at the Nevada

Test Site is dependent on the pending decisions from the Waste

Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (e.g.,

centralized or regionalized waste management alternatives).

Through September 23, 1992, there were 928 nuclear tests conducted

on the Nevada Test Site; no nuclear weapons tests explosions have been

conducted since that date. Defense research and weapons-test

verification activities were also conducted at the Project Shoal Area

and the Central Nevada Test Area. From 1957 to 1963, several safety

tests were conducted at sites at the Nevada Test Site, the Nellis Air

Force Range Complex, and the Tonopah Test Range to test the safety of

nuclear weapons in accident situations. Because these tests were not

contained and used special nuclear materials and chemical explosives,

they resulted in the release of radioactive materials and surface

contamination. It is DOE policy to develop site remediation goals and

cleanup levels for the Nevada Test Site and off-site test areas based

on future land use and management goals for the protection of

environmental resources. The DOE is working in cooperation with other

agencies to define remediation and cleanup levels to ensure that the

disposition of withdrawn lands is consistent with the controlling

agencies' existing land-use or resource management plans.

In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993,

Congress included a section that encouraged DOE to minimize the social

economic impacts on workers and communities affected by the downsizing

of defense-related facilities. This requirement, Section 3161 of the

Act, provided for various activities to mitigate the downsizing impact

both for individual workers and communities near DOE sites. One of the

methods DOE has used to implement this Congressional direction is to

establish local Community Reuse Organizations to assist economic

development efforts. The purpose for this is to provide employment

opportunities for former workers and therefore minimize the economic

impact on local communities. Section 3161 of the Act authorized DOE to

pursue a workforce restructuring plan and initiate private sector

economic development at DOE facilities in this effort.

Decisions

The Final Environmental Impact Statement identified Alternative 3,

Expanded Use, plus the public education activities of Alternative 4,

Alternative Use of Withdrawn Lands, as DOE's Preferred Alternative.

Today DOE is deciding to implement a variation of this Preferred

Alternative. As discussed below, DOE is deciding as an interim measure,

to continue to conduct low-level and mixed low-level waste management

activities in the same manner as it has in the past as represented by

the No Action Alternative pending programmatic decisions. DOE is

deciding to conduct all other activities consistent with the Preferred

Alternative. The following discussion describes the major actions to be

taken. This discussion is not intended to be exhaustive. Additional

actions necessary to implement the major actions described may also be

taken in support of the missions of the Nevada Test Site.

Resource Management and Comprehensive Land-Use Planning

As part of this comprehensive planning responsibility, DOE will

develop a Resource Management Plan for the Nevada Test Site over the

next two years. The Resource Management Plan will identify the site

resources that will be considered when making land-use decisions. It

will define the goals for each of those resources, and establish the

criteria for evaluating activities against those goals. The goals will

be used to identify actions needed for wise resource use and sound

ecosystem management. DOE will follow the framework published as Volume

2 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for development of the

Resource Management Plan.

The DOE Nevada Operations Office will use the Resource Management

Plan as a part of the comprehensive land-use planning process, along

with the National Environmental Policy Act process to evaluate and

select the best alternative sites for future proposed activities at the

Nevada Test Site. The Resource Management Plan will also document a

process for monitoring the impacts of activities. Results of such

monitoring will be used to review and update the Resource Management

Plan.

As has been its practice in the past, DOE remains committed to

ensuring that its implementation of all the decisions made in this ROD

complies with federal law and land withdrawal policies. In this regard,

DOE commits to continuing its informal consultation with BLM as to

whether the four major land withdrawals that comprise the NTS need to

be updated.

Defense Program

Defense Program activities at the Nevada Test Site will emphasize

stockpile stewardship experiments and operations to maintain confidence

in the safety and reliability of the stockpile without underground

nuclear testing. These stockpile stewardship activities will include

exercises, operations, experiments (including subcritical experiments

involving special nuclear material), and other hydrodynamic tests.

Appropriate transparency measures will be used to ensure that

activities conducted at the Nevada Test Site are clearly consistent

with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The DOE will continue to

maintain nuclear test readiness at the Nevada Test Site but would

conduct an underground nuclear test only if so directed by the

President under the ``supreme national interest'' provision of the

Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Any such underground tests would only be

conducted within the designated Nuclear Test Zone on the Nevada Test

Site.

Over the next ten years, the DOE plans to conduct a wide variety of

experiments within the appropriately zoned areas of the Nevada Test

Site. This includes dynamic experiments with very small to very large

quantities of high explosives, subcritical

[[Page 65558]]

experiments, dynamic experiments to generate electrical pulses, and

other experiment types. An upper limit estimate of the number of these

activities has been made in order to assess their maximum reasonable

potential environmental impact. While near-term planning indicates that

only about four high explosive driven subcritical experiments will

likely be conducted per year in the U1a complex, an upper-limit

estimate total for all the defense related experiments that may be

conducted at the Nevada Test Site is over 100 per year. The U1a complex

(formerly known as the Lyner complex) and the Big Explosives Experiment

Facility will be the principal sites for many of these experiments and

tests. Dynamic experiments involving special nuclear material will be

conducted only where containment is assured. The experiments planned at

the Big Explosives Experiment Facility will include large high-

explosive charges and potentially hazardous materials, such as

beryllium, depleted uranium, deuterium, and tritium. Explosive charges

of up to 32,000 kg (70,000 lb) in conjunction with some of the

materials previously mentioned are contemplated as part of this

activity. Existing facilities including the Device Assembly Facility

and Area 27 will be used to prepare the explosives, special nuclear

material, and other material required for these experiments.

The DOE will also reserve land and infrastructure on the Nevada

Test Site to support the current test readiness and national security

missions and to support future defense program activities. In addition

to the Nuclear Test and Nuclear and High Explosive Test Zones which are

available for compatible defense and nondefense activities, the DOE

will also establish a Defense Industrial Zone around critical assembly

areas. This zone will be dedicated solely to defense related activities

and is an area in which various future stockpile stewardship and

management facilities could be sited.

In addition to the stockpile stewardship mission at the Nevada Test

Site, the DOE Nevada Operations Office will also continue to maintain

the capability to locate, retrieve, and destroy damaged nuclear

weapons.

The primary mission of DOE Defense Program activities at the

Tonopah Test Range is to ensure that the Nation's nuclear weapons

systems meet the highest standards of safety and reliability. The DOE

will continue to conduct stockpile stewardship activities and assess

the surety conditions of existing systems at the Tonopah Test Range.

In support of the ongoing programmatic analyses for Stockpile

Stewardship and Management, Storage and Disposition, and Continued

Operations of the Pantex Plant, the DOE will reserve land and

infrastructure on the Nevada Test Site for the National Ignition

Facility, nuclear weapons assembly/disassembly operations, and for

long-term storage and disposition of weapons-usable fissile materials

pending these programmatic decisions.

DOE will continue to conduct training and drills on the Nevada Test

Site to exercise the technical disciplines of the Nation's Nuclear

Emergency Search Team. This includes the construction of simulated

nuclear assemblies (similar in construction to those used for nuclear

explosive devices), and the conduct of high explosive experiments to

investigate and baseline potential deployment scenarios. Additional

training and drills will also be conducted on the Nevada Test Site for

the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center.

The DOE will continue to use the Nevada Test Site for the

development of remote sensing, analytical, and display technology for

detection of nuclear radiation in support of the Aerial Measuring

System mission. The DOE Nevada Operations Office will continue to

provide field response resources in support of nuclear weapons

accidents, exercises, and training in support of Accident Response and

the Radiological Assistance Programs.

Work for Others Program

The DOE Nevada Operations Office Work for Others Program will

continue to be an important aspect of Nevada Test Site related

activities. These ongoing activities primarily involve the Department

of Defense, the Defense Special Weapons Agency, and other federal

agencies. The primary focus of these activities are centered around

treaty verification, nonproliferation, counterproliferation,

demilitarization, and defense related research and development.

The Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah Test Range have been and will

continue to be impacted by the implementation of current and future

arms control treaties. DOE will continue to conduct those activities at

the Nevada Test Site necessary for treaty verification and to develop

verification technologies.

The DOE will continue to conduct research and development

activities at the Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah Test Range to

support the United States' nonproliferation goals and objectives. The

HAZMAT Spill Center provides unique capability in the development of

chemical effluent remote sensors and will continue to be used

periodically for this type of research and development.

Counterproliferation refers to the Department of Defense efforts to

combat the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Facilities for developing, producing, and storing weapons of mass

destruction are likely to be located underground. Counterproliferation

research and development is directed toward the detection, monitoring,

and neutralization of buried targets.

The various tunnels and bunkers at the Nevada Test Site provide an

ideal testing environment for counterproliferation research and

development experiments. Experiments that use a variety of remote

imagery and sensory applications in conjunction with Nevada Test Site

bunkers and tunnels will be conducted to develop techniques and methods

to detect, characterize, and monitor buried objects. Such experiments

involve both land-based and airborne operations. Experiments designed

to develop techniques for destroying or neutralizing weapons of mass

destruction and buried objects, such as bunkers and tunnels, will also

be performed. These experiments involve the surface and below ground

detonation of conventional explosives in the immediate vicinity of the

Nevada Test Site and Tonopah Test Range bunkers and tunnels.

The demilitarization activity proposed for the Nevada Test Site is

a demonstration of potential technologies used to destroy obsolete

conventional munitions, pyrotechnics, and solid rocket motors. The DOE

will demonstrate technologies which can be used to assist with the

demilitarization efforts of other federal agencies at the Nevada Test

Site. These technologies will be tested in designated Research, Test,

and Experiment Zones around the existing underground tunnels and

facilities of Area 25 and would include destruction, recovery, reuse,

and recycling technologies. This offers a unique opportunity to

demonstrate environmentally sound methods involving conventional

weapons destruction. These systems provide for the containment and

treatment of residual debris.

Large-scale demilitarization activities at the Nevada Test Site

designed to reduce significant portions of an obsolete munition would

be subject to additional National Environmental

[[Page 65559]]

Policy Act review and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.

Other defense related research and development activities include

tests and training exercises employing weaponry, such as small arms,

artillery, guns, aircraft, armored vehicles, demolitions, rockets,

bazookas, and air-dropped armaments, as well as a variety of electronic

imagery and sensory technologies, including, but not limited to,

infrared lasers and radar. It is expected that these types of

experiments and tests would take place in appropriately zoned areas of

the Nevada Test Site and would be compatible with surrounding land use.

Defense related activities are generally conducted in the Reserved

Zones as well as in the Research, Test, and Experiment Zones.

Waste Management Program

The draft Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact

Statement, DOE/EIS-0200, was issued for public comment in August 1995,

and the Department anticipates that the final statement will be issued

in the near future. That programmatic environmental impact statement

analyzes alternative strategies to maximize efficiency for the

Department's national Waste Management Program, and it will support the

Department's complex-wide waste management decisions. Those decisions

may require changes to the Waste Management Program at the Nevada Test

Site in the future. Therefore, DOE is deciding today, that in the

interim, pending those programmatic decisions, DOE will maintain the

current level of low-level and mixed low-level waste management

activity as described in the No Action Alternative in the Nevada Test

Site Environmental Impact Statement. The activities include the

planning, coordination, waste transportation, storage,

characterization, and disposal and waste minimization and pollution

prevention programs. Waste management activities other than for low

level and mixed low-level waste do not involve issues that would be

affected by decisions based on the Waste Management Programmatic

Environmental Impact Statement. Therefore, DOE is deciding to implement

Expanded Use for those other activities.

Low-Level Waste: Disposal of low-level waste will continue for

waste streams from current on-site and off-site waste generators. This

represents the No Action Alternative of disposal capability for

currently approved waste generators. Approval of other waste generators

for disposal is pending future programmatic decisions. The DOE will

continue to expand and create new disposal cells as necessary within

the designated Radioactive Waste Management Zones.

The Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site will continue to be

developed for the disposal of low-level waste. The Area 3 Radioactive

Waste Management Site support facilities will be maintained to serve

operations and radiation safety personnel needs, as necessary.

The Nevada Test Site will continue to manage a variety of low-level

wastes from approved generators that include classified waste, waste

inappropriate for shallow land disposal, and waste which is considered

by some sites as special case waste. All such wastes disposed of at the

Nevada Test Site will comply with the site's waste acceptance criteria.

Mixed Waste: The DOE will continue to manage mixed waste which is

currently on site or which may be generated by DOE at the Nevada Test

Site. Storage of mixed waste will continue under a Mutual Consent

Agreement with the State of Nevada.

Currently, the DOE is storing all Nevada Test Site low-level mixed

waste in the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site. Included in this

waste type is Cotter Concentrate, a sludge-like residue resulting from

uranium ore processing constituting approximately 88 percent of all

low-level mixed waste stored at the Nevada Test Site. The treatment and

disposal options for the current low-level mixed waste inventory are

identified in the Nevada Test Site Site Treatment Plan and Federal

Facility Compliance Act Consent Order effective March 27, 1996.

However, the preferred treatment option for the Cotter Concentrate

waste stream, treatment or reclamation at an off-site facility, differs

from the solidification option currently presented in the Nevada Test

Site Site Treatment Plan and Federal Facility Compliance Act Consent

Order, which will be updated to reflect the preferred treatment option.

DOE will construct a treatment facility for the solidification of

Cotter Concentrate in accordance with the Nevada Test Site Site

Treatment Plan and Federal Facility Compliance Act Consent Order if the

preferred treatment option cannot be implemented.

Transuranic Waste: The DOE will continue storing onsite transuranic

and transuranic mixed waste pending the development of DOE disposal

facilities. In addition, the DOE will construct and operate at the

Nevada Test Site a waste examination facility for characterization and

certification of transuranic and transuranic mixed waste for off-site

disposal, presumably at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad,

New Mexico. The construction of characterization and certification

facilities at the Nevada Test Site is required for compliance with the

Site Treatment Plan developed under the Federal Facility Compliance Act

and Consent Order negotiated with the State of Nevada and is included

in this decision. The DOE will continue to store classified and other

transuranic waste that does not meet the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's

waste acceptance criteria, until a disposal option is determined.

Hazardous and Toxic Substances Control Act Waste: The DOE will

continue to store polychlorinated biphenyl waste pending off-site

disposal and will expand the storage capacity for hazardous waste

pending off-site disposal. Treatment of explosive waste at the

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit will continue to occur at the Nevada

Test Site per the conditions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery

Act Part B permit. The DOE will seek to increase the capacity of the

hazardous waste storage unit to address the additional needs of DOE

Nevada Operations Office Programs, if necessary. The Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act Part B permit application would be

modified to address the additional storage capacity.

Solid Waste: The DOE will continue to provide disposal capability

for solid waste generated on-site. Providing disposal capabilities for

adjacent rural counties will be evaluated.

Closure: The DOE will continue to pursue the development and

implementation of approved closure plans and designs for the waste

units that are inactive, already full, and those that become full in

the future. Waste management closure activities will be conducted at

both the Area 3 and the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites, as

necessary.

Site Improvements: The DOE will construct certain site improvements

as part of its continuing Waste Management Program. DOE will construct

an equipment maintenance building and flood protection dike and channel

at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site to support current

operations. In order to provide improved access to the Area 5

Radioactive Waste Management Site, DOE proposed in the Nevada Test Site

Environmental Impact Statement to either upgrade the 5-01 Road or the

5-07 Road. At this time, DOE has identified a third option that would

consist of extending the Cane Springs Road eastward from the Mercury

highway to intersect with the 5-01 Road

[[Page 65560]]

just south of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site. Inasmuch as

this alternative was not included in the analysis performed for the

Nevada Test Site Environmental Impact Statement, DOE will conduct an

appropriate National Environmental Policy Act analysis before making

any decision concerning implementation of the Cane Springs Road

Extension or any of the other road improvement options.

Transportation of Materials and Waste

DOE will comply with U.S. Department of Transportation regulations

regarding the transportation of radioactive materials. Radioactive

materials shipped on the Nation's highways and roads are subject to the

regulations administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of

Transportation. These regulations set standards for packaging and

transporting materials and requirements for labeling, documenting,

loading and unloading, and handling. Compliance with the standards

ensures that package handlers, transporters, and the public do not

receive dose rates in excess of recognized safe limits. The regulations

also specify that drivers receive training to ensure they are qualified

to transport radioactive materials and that motor carriers follow

routes which are selected to minimize radiological risk.

The DOE will use Environmental Protection Agency protective action

guides and actions that are designed to limit doses and impacts in the

event of a transportation accident involving radioactive material. The

DOE use of these guides and actions will minimize the impacts of

transportation accidents involving radioactive material.

Environmental Restoration Program

DOE will continue its Environmental Restoration Program activities

of characterization and selected remediation of contaminated areas or

facilities identified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent

Order. Environmental Restoration is not considered a land use, but an

activity necessary for environmental protection, reuse, or disposition

of land and facilities.

Clean-up priorities and clean-up levels are subject to negotiation

with regulators and involved stakeholders. The assessment and

remediation of the Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in Nevada

have been divided into several subproject categories:

Off-Site Corrective Action Units (including Project Shoal

Area and Central Nevada Test Area)

Soils Media Corrective Action Units (including sites on

the Tonopah Test Range and Nellis Air Force Range Complex)

Underground Test Areas Corrective Action Units

Industrial Sites Corrective Action Units (includes Defense

Nuclear Agency sites and Decontamination and Decommissioning projects)

DOE's priority for approaching environmental restoration work will

be to characterize and remediate the surface and shallow subsurface at

the Project Shoal and Central Nevada Test Area sites. The deep

subsurface at these sites will be characterized and modeled. Next in

priority will be to characterize and remediate the contaminated sites

on the Tonopah Test Range and the Nellis Air Force Range Complex.

The DOE will characterize sites on the Nevada Test Site beginning

at the south end and progressing northward. Areas with minimum

contamination will be the first priority for characterization and

remediation. These areas can be readily remediated and released for

other uses. The next priority will be to characterize and remediate

selected sites within Areas 23 and 25 which will facilitate reuse in

the future. Lowest in priority are those contaminated sites which are

in areas designated for potential future weapons testing.

Site-Specific Remedial Actions

Off-Site Corrective Action Units

For the Shoal Project Site and Central Nevada Test Area, DOE will

remediate the surface facilities locations. The remedial strategy for

the subsurface will be to characterize groundwater flow and zones of

contamination, to model the potential for contaminant migration from

the source cavities, and to assess health risks. Tritium migration will

be the major focus, since tritium is the most mobile of the radioactive

contaminants. Other radionuclides will be evaluated, provided tritium

migration indicates the need for their inclusion in the source

evaluation. Subsurface contaminants in and around the nuclear test

cavities will not be remediated since cost-effective groundwater

strategies have not yet been demonstrated for effectively removing or

stabilizing radioactive contaminants. Institutional control of the deep

subsurface will be maintained and long-term subsurface monitoring and

surveillance of the sites is planned for at least 50 years.

Soils Media Corrective Action Unit

The first soil sites that DOE will characterize and remediate are

those that are located off the Nevada Test Site proper and those which

straddle the boundary of the Nevada Test Site. Soils activities will

aim toward remedial actions, including interim actions, designed to

clean up the Clean Slates 1, 2, and 3 sites on Tonopah Test Range; the

Small Boy Site east of Frenchman Flat; Schooner and Area 13 sites on

Nellis Air Force Range Complex; and to obtain closure of the Double

Tracks site on Nellis Air Force Range Complex which was the object of a

voluntary interim Corrective Action in early 1996. These remedial

actions will be conducted in accordance with the Federal Facility

Agreement and Consent Order.

Cleanup standards will be negotiated. Characterization and

remediation will utilize the Kiwi system, which is a sensor system

mounted on a four-wheeler and able to provide fine resolution. ``Hot

spot'' materials located in limited selected areas will be removed.

More extensive areas of surface contamination will require the use of

mechanical excavation. Size separators or other physical processes may

be used to obtain volume reduction of mechanically removed materials.

Subsurface remedies will range from excavation to containment in place.

For the long term, it is assumed that some areas of the Nevada Test

Site will remain under institutional control.

Remedial actions will be based on several factors including

applicable regulatory standards and negotiated cleanup levels.

Negotiated cleanup levels will be based on applicable regulatory

standards, assessment of the risk posed by the contamination, current

and anticipated land uses, resource management considerations, costs,

feasibility, and other factors.

Underground Test Areas Corrective Action Unit

DOE's activities in the Underground Test Areas will continue to

focus on investigation of the effects of underground nuclear testing on

groundwater and the surrounding media. Because cost-effective

subsurface remediation technologies have not yet been demonstrated,

subsurface contaminants in and around nuclear shot cavities will not be

remediated. DOE would reevaluate possible corrective actions in the

event that such technologies are developed in the future.

Fate and transport modeling will continue to determine the extent

of contamination and potential for health risk to the public. DOE will

monitor existing wells and new wells will be drilled, if necessary, to

support computer modeling to assess contaminant migration potential,

[[Page 65561]]

particularly beyond Nevada Test Site boundaries. Monitoring and

surveillance will be conducted for at least 50 years.

Industrial Sites Corrective Action Units

DOE will prioritize remediation of the industrial sites according

to the highest potential for future use. Areas of the Nevada Test Site

slated for potential future testing activities will be characterized,

but not remediated, except in areas identified where potential for

health risk exists as a result of direct exposure, inhalation, and/or

resuspension of contaminants. For decontamination and decommissioning

activities, facilities will be prioritized based on potential re-use.

The Area 25 Engine Maintenance and Disassembly Facility will be

decontaminated for potential re-use.

The sites scheduled for assessment include:

Nevada Test Site, Area 2; U-2bu Subsidence Crater

Nevada Test Site, Area 23; Building 650 Leach Field

Nevada Test Site, Area 23; Pesticide Storage

Tonopah Test Range, Septic Waste Systems 2 and 6

The sites scheduled for remediation include:

Nevada Test Site, Area 2; Bitcutter Shop

Nevada Test Site, Area 2; Photograph Development System

Nevada Test Site, Areas 4, 7, & 12; Housekeeping Sites

Nevada Test Site, Area 6; Steam Cleaning Effluent Ponds

Nevada Test Site, Area 6; Decon Pond Facility

Nevada Test Site, Area 12; Steam Cleaning Effluent

Tonopah Test Range, Closed Ordnance Disposal Pits; Bomblet

Pit and Five Points Landfill

Tonopah Test Range, Buried DU Artillery Round #1

Tonopah Test Range, Roller Coaster Lagoons and Trench

Tonopah Test Range, Underground Storage Tank Sites, Second

Gas Station

Tonopah Test Range, Cactus Spring Waste Trenches

Nondefense Research and Development Program

The DOE will continue to support ongoing program operations and

pursue diversification of use to include nondefense and private use. In

defining land use zones on the Nevada Test Site, the DOE will allow for

compatible nondefense research and development activities to be

conducted in all land use zones on the Nevada Test Site with the

exception of the Defense Industrial Zone. These new initiatives will

include the construction and operation of a solar power production

facility and siting an Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project at the

Nevada Test Site. Private uses, for example, could include activities

such as the Kistler Aerospace Corporation proposal identified during

the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Kistler's comments expressed interest in developing a commercial

satellite delivery system as a future activity in this program area. To

the extent that future National Environmental Policy Act review is

required in connection with the satellite delivery aspects of this

project, such review would occur in conjunction with the Federal

Aviation Administration licensing process.

In this program area the DOE will continue to support the Solar

Enterprise Zone concept for Southern Nevada which includes locating up

to 1000 megawatts of solar power generation among the evaluated sites.

In addition to two locations at the Nevada Test Site, three other sites

in southern Nevada are being considered by the Corporation for Solar

Technology and Renewable Resources: Eldorado Valley, Dry Lake Valley,

and Coyote Spring Valley. As part of this support, initially the DOE

will cooperate in the construction and operation of a 100 megawatt or

less solar power production facility in Area 22. This facility, when

operational, will enhance the Nevada Test Site power infrastructure in

support of the primary science-based stockpile stewardship mission.

Additionally, the DOE will reserve land and infrastructure in Area 25

for potential future solar power development.

The DOE is planning an Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project

which will test and evaluate various blends of fuels for both fixed

base and transportation vehicles applications. The DOE currently has 16

vehicles at the Nevada Test Site converted to operate on either natural

gas or gasoline. The DOE will pursue additional funding for the

Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project to construct a refueling

facility and to further convert a portion of the remaining vehicle

fleet.

The DOE will expand the capability of the existing Spill Test

Facility into a multi-use facility that will be known as the HAZMAT

Spill Center. The following five crucial research and development needs

of government and industry have been identified in this proposed

expansion of capability at the HAZMAT Spill Center:

Remote Sensing: The HAZMAT Spill Center will be used as a chemical

release test bed for remote sensor development and testing for effluent

analysis and for stand-off hazardous materials identification.

Source Term Definition/Dispersion Modeling: Data sets will be

generated during tests at the HAZMAT Spill Center that will allow for

validation of computer model source term assumptions and dispersion

estimates. These data sets will also be utilized to enhance, improve,

and develop new computer models utilized in emergency response to

HAZMAT incidents.

Mitigation Techniques: Material releases will be used at the HAZMAT

Spill Center to allow research and demonstration of mitigation

technologies. The data collected during these tests will also be used

to develop computer-based mitigation models.

HAZMAT Training: Training of emergency response team members using

hazardous materials will be conducted. This allows the participants to

gain confidence in emergency response equipment and procedures for

incident response.

HAZMAT Testing: Personal protective equipment will be field tested,

under a variety of conditions, using mannequins and test chemicals.

This testing capability will also be utilized in the development and

field testing of industrial hygiene sensors.

The DOE will continue to conduct research and technology

development and demonstration activities at the Nevada Test Site

focused on overcoming major obstacles to progress in cleaning up

contaminated DOE sites. The major remediation and waste management

areas include plume control and remediation, soil separation, tank

remediation, landfill stabilization and mixed waste characterization,

treatment, and disposal. Demonstrations include nonintrusive particle

imaging and laser-induced fluorescence systems for decontamination and

decommissioning applications.

As part of the Environmental Research Park program, the DOE will

continue under a cooperative agreement with the University of Nevada

and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to provide financial

assistance for scientific research projects. Areas of research include,

but are not limited to, habitat reclamation, hydrogeologic systems,

radionuclide transport, ecological change, waste management, monitoring

processes, remediation, and characterization, as necessary.

Alternate Uses

The DOE will promote public use of the historic resources of the

site. Public education activities include establishing

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educational tour routes on the Nevada Test Site and promoting the

creation of a museum that highlights previous Nevada Test Site testing

activities and current and future Nevada Test Site uses. Tours will

allow the public to see firsthand some of the history and impacts of

past nuclear testing, and will stimulate public involvement in

potential reuse of DOE weapons-complex sites. These activities will be

an important contribution to public understanding of the Nation's

nuclear testing history and how those historic activities have changed.

Site Support Activities

Defense Program activities at the Nevada Test Site have been

declining steadily in recent years, resulting in the need to diversify

user support. Diversification of users will offset required

infrastructure maintenance for Defense Programs, allow the best use of

limited stockpile stewardship resources, and support the successful

execution of the stewardship mission. The activities identified in the

Preferred Alternative require infrastructure construction and

maintenance and support facilities. These include the utilities,

communications, and transportation systems, as well as the existing

support facilities, both on- and off-site. Under the Preferred

Alternative, the Department will undertake landlord-related

construction and maintenance projects as circumstances dictate.

Mitigation

Volume 1, Chapter 7, of the Final Environmental Impact Statement

presents the measures under the four alternatives analyzed that would

be implemented to reduce potentially adverse impacts to the

environment. Operations integral with the agency Preferred Alternative,

Alternative 3 (Expanded Use), plus the public education activities from

Alternative 4 (Alternate Use of Withdrawn Land), are strictly

controlled through Nevada Test Site management activities that

incorporate routine mitigation measures. The DOE has orders, guidance,

regulations, and Nevada Test Site Standing Operating Procedures for the

conduct of operations. As these orders, regulations, and standing

operating procedures have been developed, they incorporated

environmental impact mitigation actions required for most program

operations. Further, DOE's compliance programs require self-

assessments, external oversight, and audits to ensure adherence to

regulations. Individually and collectively, these measures avoid,

reduce, or eliminate potentially adverse environmental impacts from

activities at the Nevada Test Site.

Throughout the environmental impact analysis process, in

conjunction with consultations with affected American Indian tribes and

federal and state agencies and using input received from the public,

DOE identified actions within the five mission programs that require

measures that, under existing operational requirements, would be

routinely implemented to protect soils, water, wildlife, vegetation,

cultural resources, and public and occupational health and safety. In

addition, selected actions within a program area were identified that

require additional mitigation measures to address either impacts from

the action itself or stakeholder concerns. Routine measures identified

through the Environmental Impact Statement analyses identified in

Volume 1, Chapter 7, represent all practicable means to avoid or

minimize adverse impacts of DOE programs in Nevada on sensitive

environmental resources and other areas of concern which may result

from the Preferred Alternative. Those additional mitigation measures

beyond day-to-day routine physical and administrative controls needed

for implementation of the Preferred Alternative are described in the

following sections. Implementation of specific mitigation measures will

be addressed in detail in a Mitigation Action Plan. DOE will prepare a

Mitigation Action Plan to describe how mitigation impacts from the

transportation of materials from the Waste Management Program will be

implemented. The Mitigation Action Plan will provide a general approach

for addressing groundwater impacts, and specific details for mitigation

of groundwater will be provided before the initiation of individual

major projects.

Transportation

Transportation of materials in support of the Waste Management

Program results in potential impacts and concerns that will be

addressed or mitigated through the following DOE actions:

Conduct a comprehensive study of the potential social and

cultural effects on affected Native American tribes from the transport

of low-level radioactive waste and low-level mixed waste to the Nevada

Test Site.

Allow shipments of low-level radioactive waste and low-

level mixed waste that arrive at the Nevada Test Site during off-hours

to park in a secure area inside the gate.

Provide information to stakeholders concerning waste

shipments.

Meet with the Transportation Protocol Working Group

regularly to discuss low-level waste and low-level mixed waste

transportation issues. Respond to transportation concerns between

meetings by phone calls, faxes, or personal meetings.

In coordination with local emergency-response agencies,

determine needs concerning emergency-response actions involving

transportation of low-level waste and low-level mixed waste and assist

in the fulfillment of those needs as far as practicable.

Distribute surplus federal equipment to local agencies to

the extent possible under current regulations concerning federal

surplus disposition.

Prepare an annual report that includes, at a minimum,

identification of carriers, sources and destination of each shipment,

the number and volume of shipments, highway and rail routes used,

incidents/accidents data, and an evaluation of each shipping campaign.

Groundwater Hydrology

In order to avoid adverse impacts to groundwater availability from

development and operations associated with the five mission programs,

DOE would, as necessary, implement appropriate well-field design and

placement, move points of diversion farther away from potentially

affected areas, import water from adjacent areas, adjust the production

of water from well fields, drill new water supply wells, and carefully

manage recharge and discharge areas.

Conclusion

DOE has attempted to balance environmental impacts, stakeholder

concerns, and national policy in its decisions regarding the management

and use of the Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in the State of

Nevada. The analysis contained in the Environmental Impact Statement is

both programmatic and site specific in detail. It is programmatic from

the broad multi-use facility management perspective, and site specific

in the detailed project and program activity analysis. The impacts

identified in the Environmental Impact Statement were based on

conservative estimates and assumptions. In this regard, the DOE has

attempted to bound the impacts of the alternatives defined in the

Environmental Impact Statement. The Expanded Use Alternative was

defined to include potential activities related to the programmatic

decisions that may be made as a result of other DOE Environmental

Impact Statements

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currently in progress. Consequently, the analysis for this alternative

bounds the maximum potential impacts that could occur at the Nevada

Test Site as a result of decisions made from the other DOE

Environmental Impact Statements. This Environmental Impact Statement

and the analyses it contains can be used to support these future

programmatic decisions.

The decisions made in this Record of Decision are defined

consistent with the conservative descriptions contained in the

Environmental Impact Statement. In the application of these decisions

it should be noted that some of the proposals will continue to evolve

over time. In this regard, proposed new activities such as constructing

and operating a 1000-megawatt Solar Power Production Facility at the

Nevada Test Site were analyzed in the Environmental Impact Statement;

however, the current proposal for a solar power production facility at

the Nevada Test Site is less than this original power estimate and

would initially serve only the Nevada Test Site. The true impact of

this proposal with respect to ground clearing and water use impacts

would likewise be less than those identified. DOE also estimated

conservatively the number of science-based stockpile stewardship tests

and experiments to be conducted over a ten year period at the Nevada

Test Site. Actual schedules and data needs will dictate the number of

stockpile stewardship experiments and tests conducted in a given year.

This number could be less than that identified, and consequently the

actual impacts would also be less. DOE also analyzed the potential

impacts of a generic large heavy industrial facility under the Expanded

Use Alternative in order to identify maximum potential impact at the

site under the concept of expanded use. DOE may at some future time

consider siting a defense, nondefense, or private industrial facility

at Nevada Test Site. Once such a proposal becomes more defined,

additional National Environmental Policy Act analysis, as appropriate,

would tier from this programmatic heavy industrial facility analysis.

In accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental

Policy Act, its implementing procedures and regulations, and DOE's

National Environmental Policy Act regulations, I have considered the

information contained within the Final Environmental Impact Statement,

including the classified Appendix and public comments received in

response to the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement. Being

fully apprised of the environmental consequences of the alternatives

and other decision factors described above, I have decided to continue

and expand the use of the Nevada Test Site and its resources as

described. This will enhance the DOE's ability to meet its primary

national security mission responsibility in Nevada and create an

environment that fosters technological innovation in both the public

and private sectors.

Issued at Washington, DC, December 9, 1996.

Hazel R. O'Leary,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96-31652 Filed 12-12-96; 8:45 am]

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