Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Sandia

National Laboratories/New Mexico

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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

the Draft Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement (SWEIS) for Sandia

National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM), DOE/EIS-0281, for public

review and comment. DOE proposes to continue operating SNL/NM, located

in central New Mexico. DOE has identified and assessed three

alternatives for the operation of SNL/NM: (1) No Action, (2) Expanded

Operations, and (3) Reduced Operations.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft SWEIS are invited from the public

during the comment period, which ends June 15, 1999 (see ADDRESSES

section for more details). Comments must be postmarked by June 15,

1999, to ensure consideration; late comments will be considered to the

extent practicable. The DOE will use the comments received to help

prepare the Final SWEIS. Public hearings on the Draft SWEIS are

scheduled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for:

Wednesday, May 19, 1999, at the University of New Mexico Continuing

Education Center, 1634 University Blvd., NE. The Education Center is

located just north of the intersection of University and Indian School

Road. There will be two sessions from 1-5 p.m. and from 6-9 p.m.

Thursday, May 20, 1999, at Manzano High School, 12200 Lomas Blvd.,

NE. The school is located on the south side

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of Lomas Blvd. between Juan Tabo and Tramway. There will be two

sessions from 3-5 p.m. and from 6-9 p.m.

Saturday, May 22, 1999, at the South Broadway Cultural Center, 1025

Broadway, SE. The Cultural Center is located on Broadway, 3 blocks

north of the intersection with Avenida Cesar Chavez. There will be only

one session from 1-4:30 p.m.

The hearings will provide opportunities for information exchange

and discussion among DOE, SNL/NM, and the public, as well as for

submitting prepared statements. Public hearing locations and times will

also be announced in local media closer to the meeting dates. For more

information call (888) 635-7305.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing to DOE by contacting:

Julianne Levings, SNL/NM SWEIS Project Manager, U.S. DOE, Albuquerque

Operations Office, EISPO, PO Box 5400, Albuquerque, NM 87185-5400.

Ms. Levings may also be contacted by telephone (888) 635-7305, fax

(505) 845-6392, or via e-mail at [email protected]. Oral and

written comments may also be provided at the public hearings listed in

the DATES section. Requests for copies of the Draft SWEIS or other

matters regarding this environmental review should be addressed to Ms.

Levings at the address above. Summaries of the Draft SWEIS are

available in Spanish. The Draft SWEIS is also available in full under

the NEPA Analyses Module of the DOE NEPA Web Site at http://

tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the DOE

NEPA process, please contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, EH-42, Director,

Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, Department of Energy, 1000

Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20585.

Ms. Borgstrom may be contacted by calling (202) 586-4600 or by

leaving a message at (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft SWEIS was prepared pursuant to the

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

seq.], the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations [40 CFR

part 1500], and the DOE NEPA regulations [10 CFR part 1021].

The Department proposes to continue operating the SNL/NM, which is

located in central New Mexico. DOE has identified and assessed three

alternatives for the operation of SNL/NM: (1) No Action, (2) Expanded

Operations, and (3) Reduced Operations. In the No Action Alternative,

DOE would continue the status quo; that is, operating at planned levels

as reflected in current DOE management plans. In the Expanded

Operations Alternative, DOE would increase activity at SNL/NM to the

highest reasonable level that could be supported by current facilities

and the potential expansion/construction of new facilities specifically

addressed in the SWEIS. Under the Reduced Operations Alternative,

activities would be reduced to the minimum level of operations needed

to maintain SNL/NM facilities and equipment in an operational readiness

mode. DOE does not currently have a preferred alternative, but will

identify in the Final SWEIS a preferred alternative, which could be a

combination of the alternatives analyzed.

The Draft SWEIS identifies the expected environmental impacts from

facility operations for each alternative, and presents comparisons of

these impacts among the three alternatives. For each alternative,

impacts are presented for resource areas (e.g., land use, geology and

soils, and water) and topic areas (e.g., waste generation,

transportation, and environmental justice).

The Notice of Intent for the preparation of the Draft SWEIS (62 FR

29332, May 30, 1997) announced that the United States Air Force (USAF)

would act as a cooperating agency because of the interdependence

between Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB) and the DOE when planning for

SNL/NM. The USAF has participated in planning meetings; provided data

projections for KAFB facilities; and reviewed analytical methodologies,

analyses, and preliminary drafts of the SWEIS.

DOE has distributed copies of the summary of the Draft SWEIS to

appropriate Congressional members and committees, and copies of the

Draft SWEIS to the State of New Mexico, American Indian Tribal

governments, local county governments, other Federal agencies, and

interested parties who have requested copies. The Draft EIS is also

available for public review and copying at the following four

locations:

University of New Mexico Zimmerman Library, Government Document

Collection, Albuquerque, NM.

Albuquerque Technical Vocational Institute (TVI), Joseph Montoya

Campus Library, 4700 Morris, NE, Albuquerque, NM.

TVI Main Campus Library, 525 Buena Vista Dr., SE, Albuquerque, NM.

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

Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC.

After the 60-day public comment period, which ends June 15, 1999,

the Department will consider and respond to the comments received,

revise the Draft SWEIS as appropriate, and issue a Final SWEIS. The

Department will consider the analyses in the Final SWEIS, along with

other information, in making a decision on the appropriate level of

operations for SNL/NM.

Signed in Washington, DC, this 20th of April 1999, for the

United States Department of Energy.

Victor H. Reis,

Assistant Secretary for Defense Programs.

[FR Doc. 99-10515 Filed 4-26-99; 8:45 am]

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