Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Conveyance and Transfer of Certain Land Tracts Located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos and Santa Fe Counties, NM

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for

the Proposed Conveyance and Transfer of Certain Land Tracts Located at

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos and Santa Fe Counties, NM

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to

prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to assess the potential

environmental impacts of conveying and transferring certain land tracts

located within the Incorporated Counties of Los Alamos and Santa Fe and

at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in north central New Mexico.

This EIS for the proposed Conveyance and Transfer of Certain Land

Tracts (Conveyance and Transfer EIS) will evaluate the action mandated

by Congress to convey fee title to lands allocated for conveyance to

Los Alamos County (County) and transfer to the Secretary of the

Interior, in trust for the San Ildefonso Pueblo (Pueblo),

administrative jurisdiction of parcels of land to be determined by

agreement pursuant to Section 632 of the Departments of Commerce,

Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations

Act, 1998, Public Law 105-119. The EIS will analyze the potential

impacts of up to

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three uses of land for the individual tracts: (1) Historic, cultural,

or environmental preservation purposes, (2) economic diversification

purposes, or (3) community self-sufficiency purposes. The EIS will also

analyze any connected actions regarding the relocation of existing site

tenants and the No Action Alternative of retaining the land tracts in

their current state with the continuance of the existing uses of land.

DOE invites individuals, organizations, and agencies to present oral or

written comments concerning the scope of the EIS, including the

environmental issues and alternatives that the EIS should address.

DATES: The public scoping period starts with the publication of this

Notice in the Federal Register and will continue until June 30, 1998.

DOE will consider all comments received or postmarked by that date in

defining the scope of this EIS. Comments received or postmarked after

that date will be considered to the extent practicable. Public scoping

meetings are scheduled to be held as follows:

May 19, 1998, 2:00-5:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m., U.S. Department of

Energy, Los Alamos Area Office, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, New

Mexico.

May 20, 1998, 2:00-5:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m., Double Tree Hotel,

3347 Cerrillos Road; Santa Fe, New Mexico.

May 21, 1998, 2:00-5:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m., Northern New Mexico

Community Center, 921 Paseo de Onate; Espanola, New Mexico.

The DOE will publish additional notices on the date, times, and

location of the scoping meetings in local newspapers in advance of the

scheduled meetings. Any necessary changes will be announced in the

local media.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions concerning the scope of the

Conveyance and Transfer EIS or requests for more information on the EIS

and public scoping process should be directed to: Ms. Elizabeth

Withers, EIS Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Los Alamos

Area Office, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87544, facsimile

at (505) 667-4872, or E-mail at [email protected].

In addition to providing oral comments at the public scoping

meetings, all interested parties are invited to record their comments,

ask questions concerning the EIS, or request to be placed on the EIS

mailing or document distribution list by leaving a message on the EIS

Hotline at (toll free) 1-800-791-2280. The Hotline will have

instructions on how to record comments and requests.

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

please contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and

Assistance (EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue

SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at 1-800-

472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is located in north-central

New Mexico, 60 miles north-northeast of Albuquerque, 25 miles northwest

of Santa Fe, and 20 miles southwest of Espanola in Los Alamos and Santa

Fe Counties. It is located between the Jemez Mountains to the west and

the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Rio Grande to the east. LANL

occupies an area of approximately 27,832 acres or approximately 43

square miles and is operated for DOE by a contractor, the University of

California. It is a multidisciplinary, multipurpose institution engaged

in theoretical and experimental research and development. LANL has

mission responsibilities in national security, energy resources,

environmental quality, and science.

Section 632 of the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the

Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, Public Law

(P.L.) 105-119, enacted November 26, 1997, established certain actions

and reports to be completed by the DOE. It requires that the Secretary

of Energy (Secretary) take certain actions with respect to the

conveyance of certain suitable tracts of land at or in the vicinity of

LANL, which are under the jurisdiction or administrative control of the

Secretary, to the Incorporated County of Los Alamos, or their designee

in fee title, and that administrative jurisdiction over certain other

of these tracts be transferred to the Secretary of the Interior in

trust for the Pueblo of San Ildefonso. The legislation provides that

the purpose of these conveyances and transfers is to fulfill the

obligations of the United States with respect to LANL under sections 91

and 94 of the Atomic Energy Community Act of 1955 (42 U.S.C. 2391,

2394). Upon completion of these conveyances and transfers, the

legislation also directs that the Secretary shall make no further

payments with respect to LANL under sections 91 or 94 of the Atomic

Energy Community Act of 1955.

The Secretary is required to undertake the preliminary

identification of parcels of land under the jurisdiction or

administrative control of the Secretary or in the vicinity of LANL for

conveyance or transfer. The criteria established in Public Law 105-119

for land to be considered as being suitable for conveyance or transfer

is that it is: (1) not required to meet the national security mission

of the DOE or will not be required for that purpose before the end of a

10-year period beginning on the date of enactment of the law; (2)

likely to be conveyable or transferable, as the case may be, not later

than the end of such period; and (3) suitable for use either for

historic, cultural, or environmental preservation purposes, for

economic diversification purposes, or for community self-sufficiency

purposes.

The Secretary of Energy has completed the preliminary

identification of such parcels of land considered to be suitable and a

report to Congress on this action was submitted in April 1998. The

report, entitled Land Transfer, A Preliminary Identification of Parcels

of Land in Los Alamos, New Mexico for Conveyance or Transfer,

summarizes, for each of nine parcels identified for potential

conveyance or transfer, the tract's location, size, boundaries,

historical DOE use, existing use, functional support of LANL's mission,

urban infrastructure present, known environmental and cultural issues

associated with the tracts, economic potential, and estimated DOE

preparation costs prior to transfer. The report includes maps of

parcels with pertinent physical features (such as roads, topography,

buildings, fences and major utility corridors). The total acreage of

the tracts being considered for transfer is about 4,646 acres (roughly

equal to about 16 percent of the DOE-controlled land in the LANL area).

About 3,000 acres are located within Santa Fe County and about 1,646

acres are located within Los Alamos County. The nine parcels identified

in the report are as follows:

1. The Technical Area (TA) 21 Tract consists of approximately 243.8

acres and is located east of the Los Alamos Townsite. This occupied

site is remote from the main LANL area. Relocation of operations and

site workers would need to take place.

2. The DP Road (North, South and West) Tract consists of 49.8

acres. It is generally undeveloped except for the West section where

the LANL Archives are currently located.

3. The DOE Los Alamos Area Office Site Tract consists of 12.9

acres. It is also within the Los Alamos Townsite

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and is readily usable. Relocation of site employees would need to take

place.

4. The Airport Tract consists of 198 acres. Located east of the Los

Alamos Townsite, it is close to the East Gate Business park.

5. The White Rock Site Tract consists of 98.7 acres. It is

undeveloped except for utility lines and a water pump station.

6. Rendija Canyon Site Tract consists of 908.7 acres. The canyon is

undeveloped except for the shooting range that serves the local

community and is currently under lease from the DOE to the community.

7. The White Rock Y Site Tract consists of 435.1 acres. It is

undeveloped and is associated with the major transportation routes

connecting Los Alamos with northern New Mexico.

8. Two miscellaneous sites, Site 22 and The Manhattan Monument

Site, consist of 0.27 acres. Site 22 is a small, Townsite parcel

located on the edge of the mesa overlooking Los Alamos Canyon. The

Manhattan site is a small, rectangular site located within Los Alamos

County land and adjacent to Ashley Pond where most of the first

Laboratory work was conducted.

9. The TA-74 Site Tract consists of 2,698.4 acres. It is a large,

remote site located east of the Los Alamos Townsite. This parcel was

restored to the public domain by Presidential Proclamation 3539 on May

27, 1963. Because it is public domain land, additional legislative

action may be required to transfer it out of Federal government

control.

A copy of the report may be obtained from Mr. Dennis Martinez, U.S.

Department of Energy, Los Alamos Area Office, 528 35th Street, Los

Alamos, New Mexico, 87544, telephone (505) 667-6146, or E-mail at

[email protected].

The Role of the Conveyance and Transfer EIS in the DOE NEPA

Compliance Strategy

The Conveyance and Transfer EIS will be prepared pursuant to the

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

seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) NEPA regulations

(40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR Part

1021). The purpose of this EIS is to provide DOE decisionmakers and

stakeholders with information on the projected environmental impacts

that would result from the proposed conveyance and transfer of certain

land tracts to the County and to the Pueblo respectively, as prescribed

by Congress in P.L. 105-119, for the following future uses: (1)

historic, cultural, or environmental preservation, (2) economic

diversification, or (3) community self-sufficiency. Specific future

land uses associated with each broad use category will be established

through consultation with the recipient parties.

The EIS will provide an analysis of any reasonable alternatives

identified through public scoping. The EIS will provide a baseline for

DOE to use as a basis of comparison for environmental effects of

proposed future changes in programs and activities, and could be a

tiering (reference) document for future NEPA analysis of agency plans,

functions, programs, and resource utilization.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

The proposed action is to convey and transfer land that is not

required to meet the national security mission of DOE or will not be

required for that purpose within the next 10 years. An alternative

under consideration is the Conveyance and Transfer of All Tracts

Alternative, which would be to convey and transfer to the County and/or

the Pueblo all of the land identified. Another alternative, the Partial

Conveyance and Transfer of Tracts Alternative, would involve the

conveyance and transfer of most of the tracts with the retention by DOE

of any land that cannot be cleaned up within the next 10 years. As

information is obtained through the analysis process, the Partial

Conveyance and Transfer of Tracts Alternative may be refined and

analyzed thoroughly or it may be eliminated from detailed analysis.

Each alternative would analyze the impacts of up to three potential

uses of land depending on information on the intended use provided by

the County and Pueblo. The following future uses could be analyzed for

each land tract: (1) historic, cultural, or environmental preservation

purposes, (2) economic diversification purposes, or (3) community self-

sufficiency purposes. Follow-on actions involving the relocation of

current tenants will be analyzed to the extent that the information is

available. As required by the CEQ NEPA regulations, a No Action

alternative will also be evaluated. The No Action alternative would be

to continue the current use of the land tracts without the conveyance

or transfer of any of the tracts to the identified parties.

Potential Issues for Analysis

Issues tentatively identified for analysis in this EIS include the

socioeconomic impacts of development of the land tracts and their

subsequent use; potential impacts to protected threatened, endangered,

or sensitive species of animal or plants, or their critical habitat;

potential impacts to cultural or historic resources; potential human

health impacts to site occupants and the general public; potential

effects on air, soil, and water quality from development and cleanup of

the subject parcels and subsequent anticipated uses; potential

irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources, including the

ultimate loss of LANL lands and land occupied and used as a result of

conveyance and transfer actions; potential effects on members of the

public, including minority and low-income populations from the

development of the subject parcels and subsequent anticipated uses; and

cumulative environmental impacts related to past, present and future

development of the land and actions anticipated by neighboring land

managers.

Related NEPA Reviews

Following is a summary of recent NEPA documents that may be

considered in the preparation of this EIS and from which this EIS may

be tiered. The Conveyance and Transfer EIS will include relevant

information from each of these documents.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Draft Site-Wide

Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) (DOE/EIS-0238) (in preparation).

The Draft SWEIS analyzes four levels of operations alternatives for

LANL to meet its existing and potential future program assignments: the

No Action Alternative, the Expanded Operations Alternative, the Reduced

Operations Alternative, and the Greener Alternative. The SWEIS also

provides project specific analysis for two proposed projects: the

Expansion of TA-54/Area G Low Level Waste Disposal Area; and

Enhancement of Plutonium Pit Manufacturing. The SWEIS does not analyze

changing the size or configuration of the LANL reserve through land

conveyance or transfer.

The DP Road Tract EA (DOE/EA-1184) analyzed the proposed transfer

of 28 acres of land located along the south side of DP Road next to the

Los Alamos Townsite. The property is currently part of LANL's TA-21 and

has been used most recently as a vacant buffer area. Previous uses of

the tract include use of part of the tract as a mobile home park and

playground. Portions of the tract are now wooded with mixed saplings

and mature trees; the portion of the tract contiguous with DP Road is

covered with native grasses and broadleaf plants. Should this land

tract be transferred to the County, the County has indicated

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that its preferred use of the land tract would be to develop the

property within 5 to 10 years for its own use with the construction of

a new office building to house County employees, paved parking areas,

and new warehouses, garages, and support buildings for the transfer of

the school bus yard, equipment maintenance, and school supply

warehousing activities to the site. A maximum of about 800 employees

would be expected to occupy the site. A Finding of No Significant

Impact (FONSI) was issued on January 23, 1997, although no action has

yet taken place.

The Research Park EA (DOE/EA-1212) analyzed the proposed lease of

about 60 acres of land located next to the main administration portion

of LANL, at the edges of TA-3 and TA-62. The property is currently a

combination of wooded land and land used for parking lots. This tract

is bounded in general by Diamond Drive on the east, West Jemez Road on

the south, West Road on the west, and Los Alamos Canyon on the north.

The land would be leased to the County to establish a research park.

The term of the lease is expected to be 55 years with options for

renewal depending upon final agreements between the County and DOE. The

tract of land would be developed by the County or third parties within

5 to 10 years of the date of the lease. Research parks are professional

developments that allow a wide range of companies to work within the

same geographic location and to benefit from a well-planned environment

suited to business needs. The County recommended that the type of

research park best suited for Los Alamos would include freestanding

buildings with landscaping and a possible atrium arrangement between

related structures. About 10 buildings are planned for the research

park and about 1,500 employees would be expected to occupy the site. A

FONSI was issued on October 8, 1997, although no action has yet taken

place.

Scoping Process

The scoping process is an opportunity for the public to assist the

DOE in determining the alternatives and issues for analysis. The

purpose of the scoping meetings is to receive oral and written comments

from the public. The meetings will use a format to facilitate dialogue

between DOE and the public and will be an opportunity for individuals

to provide written or oral statements. DOE welcomes specific comments

or suggestions on the content of these alternatives, or on other

alternatives that could be considered. The above list of issues to be

considered in the EIS analysis is tentative and is intended to

facilitate public comment on the scope of this EIS. It is not intended

to be all-inclusive, nor does it imply any predetermination of

potential impacts. The Conveyance and Transfer EIS will describe the

potential environmental impacts of the alternatives, using available

data where possible and obtaining additional data where necessary.

Copies of written comments and transcripts of oral comments will be

available at the following locations: Los Alamos Outreach Center, 1350

Central Avenue, Suite 101, Los Alamos, New Mexico, 87544; and the

Albuquerque Technical-Vocational Institute (TVI), Montoya Campus

Library, 4700 Morris NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111.

Issued in Washington, D.C., this 30th day of April 1998.

Peter N. Brush,

Acting Assistant Secretary Environment, Safety and Health.

[FR Doc. 98-11990 Filed 5-5-98; 8:45 am]

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