Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site Tank Waste Remediation System, Richland, Washington

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Hanford Site Tank

Waste Remediation System, Richland, Washington

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy and Washington State Department of

Ecology.

ACTION: Notice of availability (NOA).

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with the

Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), announces the

availability of the draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the

Hanford Site Tank Waste Remediation System (TWRS). The draft EIS

addresses DOE's proposed strategies and reasonable alternatives for

management and disposal of radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste

currently or projected to be stored in 177 underground storage tanks

and in approximately 60 active and inactive miscellaneous underground

storage tanks that were associated with Hanford's tank farm operations.

The EIS also addresses the management and disposal of approximately

1,930 radioactive cesium and strontium capsules currently on loan or

stored at the Hanford Site, if the capsules are determined to have no

further beneficial use. The Hanford Site is located near Richland,

Washington. Ecology and DOE signed a Memorandum of Understanding on

February 15, 1994 to co-prepare this EIS.

DATES: DOE and Ecology invite all interested parties to submit written

comments concerning the draft EIS during a comment period ending May

28, 1996. Written comments should be postmarked by May 28, 1996.

Comments

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postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent

practicable.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the draft EIS, further information on

the draft EIS, and written comments should be directed to: Ms. Carolyn

Haass, DOE TWRS EIS National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Document

Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office, P.O.

Box 1249, Richland, WA 99352. Requests for copies of the Draft EIS also

can be made via the Internet at: [email protected] or by calling

Ecology's Hanford Information Line at 1-800-321-2008. Addresses of DOE

Public Reading Rooms and Information Repositories where the draft EIS

and reference documents will be available for public review are listed

in this notice under ``Supplementary Information.''

Information on the DOE NEPA process may be requested from Ms. 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. Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by telephone at: (202) 586-

4600 or by leaving a message at 1-800-472-2756.

The public is also invited to attend public hearings in which oral

comments will be received on the draft EIS. Oral and written comments

will be considered equally in preparation of the final EIS. DOE and the

Washington State Department of Ecology will also conduct workshops and

meetings in Washington or Oregon on the EIS for organizations during

the public comment period. Oral and written comments will be received

at public hearings to be held on the dates and at the locations listed

below:

May 2, 1996, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Columbia Basin College, 2600 North

20th Avenue, Hawk Union Building, West Dining Room, Pasco, Washington

May 7, 1996, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Cavalier Room, Sheraton National

Hotel, 900 Orme Street, Arlington, Virginia,

May 9, 1996, 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., Multnomah Room, Red Lion Hotel at

Lloyd Center, 1000 Northeast Multnomah Drive, Portland, Oregon.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

DOE issued a Notice of Intent to prepare the Hanford Tank Waste

Remediation System EIS on January 23, 1994 (59 FR 4052). Thereafter,

DOE and Ecology held five public scoping meetings in five locations in

Washington and Oregon to obtain public comment on the scope of the EIS.

The document number for this draft EIS is DOE/EIS-0189-D. The draft

EIS was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); the Council on Environmental

Quality regulations implementing NEPA, 40 Code of Federal Regulations

(CFR) Parts 1500-1508; and the DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures, 10 CFR

Part 1021.

Copies of the draft TWRS EIS have been distributed to Federal,

State, and local officials, Tribal Nations, as well as agencies,

organizations, and individuals who may be interested or affected. The

draft EIS and supporting technical reports also are available for

public review in DOE reading rooms and designated information

repository locations identified in this notice.

Public scoping comments were assessed and considered both

individually and collectively by DOE and Ecology. Some comments

resulted in modifications to the initial scope of the EIS as described

in the Notice of Intent. Scoping comments and DOE and Ecology responses

to those comments can be found in the Implementation Plan for the TWRS

EIS, issued December, 1995 (DOE/RL-94-88). The Implementation Plan is

available by contacting the persons listed in the ADDRESSES section of

this notice or in the DOE reading rooms and information repositories

identified in this notice.

Alternatives Considered

Tank waste alternatives discussed in the EIS are:

No Action--perform minimum activities required for safe

and secure management of Hanford's tank wastes with the current tank

farm configuration;

Long-Term Management--perform minimum activities required

for safe and secure management of Hanford's tank waste, including

upgrades to tank farms with the current single-shell tank farm

configuration and the replacement of the double-shell tanks twice

during a 100-year period;

In Situ Fill and Cap--retrieve and evaporate liquid waste

from the single-shell and double-shell tanks, then fill all tanks with

gravel and cover the tank farms with an earthen surface barrier,

disposing of all tank waste onsite;

In Situ Vitrification--retrieve and evaporate liquid waste

from the single-shell and double-shell tanks, then vitrify all of the

tank waste in place and cover the tank farms with an earthen surface

barrier, disposing of all tank waste onsite;

Ex Situ No Separations--retrieve all tank farm waste

practicable (assumed to be 99 percent), then either vitrify or calcine

the waste and package the treated waste form for onsite storage and

eventual offsite disposal at a high-level waste geologic repository;

Ex Situ Intermediate Separations--retrieve all tank farm

waste (99 percent) and separate the high-level and low-activity waste

streams using sludge washing and ion exchange, then vitrify the waste

streams in separate facilities and package the treated waste forms for

onsite disposal of immobilized low-activity waste and offsite disposal

of the immobilized high-level waste at a geologic repository;

Ex Situ Extensive Separations--retrieve all tank farm

waste (99 percent) and separate into high-level and low-activity waste

streams using sludge wash, ion exchange, caustic leach and acid

dissolution, then vitrify the waste streams in separate facilities and

package the treated waste forms for onsite disposal of the immobilized

low-activity waste and offsite disposal of the immobilized high-level

waste at a geologic repository;

Ex Situ/In Situ Combination--retrieve tank waste (50

percent assumed) based on the risk posed to human health or the

environment, separate the retrieved waste into high- level and low-

activity waste streams using sludge washing and ion exchange, then

vitrify the waste streams in separate facilities, and package the

treated waste forms for onsite disposal of the immobilized low-activity

waste and offsite disposal of the immobilized high-level waste at a

geologic repository, fill all tanks, including those with waste that

had not been retrieved, with gravel, cover the tanks with a barrier,

permanently disposing of the waste in-place. As a subalternative to

this alternative, DOE will examine the Ex Situ treatment of the largest

contributors to long-term risk, while limiting the volume of waste to

be treated; and

Phased Implementation--similar to the Ex Situ Intermediate

Separations alternative whereby Phase 1 consists of construction of two

commercial demonstration-scale facilities that would include one low-

activity waste separation and vitrification demonstration plant and one

low-activity and high-level waste vitrification demonstration plant

which operate for up to 10 years. These facilities could treat up to 30

percent of the tank waste by volume during the 10-year operating

period. In Phase 2, DOE would construct larger capacity separation and

vitrification plants, retrieve the remaining waste, separate

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the waste into low-activity and high-level waste streams, vitrify the

waste in separate facilities, package the waste and dispose of the low-

activity waste onsite in near-surface vaults and the high-level waste

offsite at a geologic repository.

The radioactive cesium and strontium capsules produced from

reclaimed materials in tanks are currently classified as waste by-

product. The capsules may have potential commercial or other beneficial

use. If a beneficial use cannot be found, the capsules would become

subject to management and disposal actions as high-level waste. Cesium

and strontium capsule alternatives analyzed in the EIS are: No Action--

Continue existing operations and maintenance in the Hanford Site Waste

Encapsulation and Storage Facility for 10 years; Onsite Disposal--

overpack the cesium and strontium in canisters and store onsite

indefinitely in a newly constructed dry-well storage facility; Overpack

and Ship--overpack the cesium and strontium into canisters, which would

then be overpacked into larger canisters, and disposed of offsite at a

potential geologic repository; and Vitrify with Tank Waste--remove

capsule contents and vitrify with the high-level tank waste, and

dispose of offsite at a potential geologic repository.

The draft EIS identifies and compares the potential environmental

impacts associated with these alternatives for managing and disposing

of Hanford's radioactive, hazardous and mixed tank waste and

encapsulated cesium and strontium.

Preferred Alternatives

DOE's and Ecology's preferred tank waste alternative is the Phased

Implementation alternative. DOE and Ecology do not yet have a preferred

alternative for the Hanford Site's encapsulated cesium and strontium.

Invitation to Comment

DOE has completed the general distribution of the draft TWRS EIS

and has filed it with the Environmental Protection Agency, which will

publish a Notice of Availability elsewhere in the Federal Register. The

draft TWRS EIS will also be available to the public in the DOE reading

rooms and designated information repository locations identified in

this notice. DOE plans to issue the final TWRS EIS in July 1996 and a

Record of Decision by August 1996.

Persons interested in speaking at the hearings may register at the

hearing and will be called on to speak on a first-come first-served

basis. Written comments will also be accepted at the meetings, and

speakers are encouraged to provide written versions of their oral

comments for the record. Oral and written comments will be considered

equally in preparing the final EIS.

DOE and the Washington State Department of Ecology will also

conduct workshops and meetings in Washington or Oregon on the EIS for

organizations during the public comment period. The workshops and

meetings will provide an opportunity for interested persons and the

public to learn more about the alternatives and analysis presented in

the EIS. The dates of the workshops and meetings have not been

scheduled at this time. Interested persons should call 1-800-321-2008,

to schedule a workshop before May 7, 1996.

Contents of the EIS

Summary: Summary of the alternatives and analysis presented in the EIS

Volume One: Text of the Tank Waste Remediation System EIS

Volume Two: Appendices supporting the analysis presented in Volume One

Appendix A. Waste Inventory

Appendix B. Description of Alternatives

Appendix C. Alternatives Dismissed from Analysis

Volume Three: Appendices supporting the analysis presented in Volume

One

Appendix D. Anticipated Health and Ecological Risks

Volume Four: Appendices supporting the analysis presented in Volume One

Appendix E. Accident Risks

Appendix F. Groundwater Modeling

Volume Five: Appendices supporting the analysis presented in Volume One

Appendix G. Air Quality Modeling

Appendix H. Socioeconomic Impact Modeling

Appendix I. Affected Environment

Appendix J. Consultation Letters

The Summary of the EIS is available for review for those who do not

want the entire draft EIS. When requesting copies of the draft EIS,

please indicate whether you wish to receive only the Summary (52

pages), the Summary and Volume One (620 pages), the entire draft

document and associated appendices (2,400 pages), or some combination

of these documents.

DOE Public Reading Rooms and Information Repositories

Suzzallo Library, University of Washington, Government Publications

Room, Seattle, WA 98195 (206-543-4664).

Foley Center, Gonzaga University, E. 502 Boone, Spokane, WA 99258 (509-

328-4220, Ext. 3125).

DOE Reading Room, Washington State University, Tri-Cities Campus, 100

Sprout Road, Room 130, Richland, WA 99352 (509-376-8583).

Bradford Price Millar Library, Science and Engineering Floor, Portland

State University, SW Harrison and Park, Portland, OR 97207 (503-725-

3690).

DOE Freedom of Information Reading Room, Forrestal Building, 1000

Independence Avenue SW., Washington, D.C. 20585 (202-586-6020).

Issued in Washington, D.C., this day April 9, 1996.

Stephen P. Cowan,

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Management.

[FR Doc. 96-9270 Filed 4-10-96; 12:57 pm]

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