Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the National Ignition Facility Project Specific Analysis Portion of the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the

National Ignition Facility Project Specific Analysis Portion of the

Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic Environmental Impact

Statement

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and opportunity for public comment.

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

the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the

National Ignition Facility(NIF) Project Specific Analysis portion

(Volume III, Appendix I) of the Stockpile Stewardship and Management

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SSM PEIS) DOE/EIS-0236-S1

for public review and comment.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft NIF SEIS are invited from the

public during the comment period which ends December 20, 1999. Comments

must be postmarked by December 20, 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 SEIS.

ADDRESSES: To submit comments in writing to DOE and for additional

information contact: Richard Scott, Document Manager, U.S. Department

of Energy, L-293, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550. Mr. Scott may also

be contacted by telephone (925) 423-3022, facsimile (925) 424-3755, or

toll-free: (877) 388-4930. Comments may also be sent to the e-mail

address [email protected].

Requests for copies of the Draft NIF SEIS should be addressed to

the DOE Oakland Operations Office, Energy Information Center, 1st floor

in the North Tower of the Federal Building at 1301 Clay Street in

Oakland, CA, (510) 637-1762. The Draft NIF SEIS is available under the

NEPA Analysis

[[Page 60431]]

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, Director, Office

of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH-42, U.S. 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 NIF SEIS was prepared pursuant to

a Joint Stipulation and Order approved and entered as an order of the

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on October 27, 1997,

in partial settlement of the lawsuit, Natural Resources Defense Council

[NRDC] v. Richardson, Civ. No. 97-936 (SS) (D.D.C.). In that Joint

Stipulation and Order, DOE agreed to prepare an SEIS evaluating the

reasonably foreseeable significant adverse environmental impacts of

continuing to construct and of operating NIF at Lawrence Livermore

National Laboratory (LLNL) with respect to any potential or confirmed

contamination in the area by hazardous, toxic, and/or radioactive

materials.

Availability of Draft SEIS

DOE has distributed copies of the Draft NIF SEIS to appropriate

Congressional members and committees, the State of California, local

governments, other federal agencies, and other interested parties. The

Draft NIF SEIS is also available for public review and copying at the

following locations: DOE Oakland Operations Office, Energy Information

Center, 1st floor in the North Tower of the Federal Building at 1301

Clay Street in Oakland, CA, (510) 637-1762; Lawrence Livermore National

Laboratory, East Gate Visitors Center on Greenville Road in Livermore

CA, (925) 424-4026; and DOE's Freedom of Information Reading Room, Rm.

1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC, (202) 586-3142.

DOE will hold several public meetings to discuss the Draft NIF

SEIS, as well as for submitting prepared statements on the Draft NIF

SEIS: Wednesday, December 1, 1999, at 2:00 p.m. at the U.S. Department

of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 6E-069, Washington, DC;

and Wednesday, December 8, 1999, at 3:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at LLNL,

7000 East Avenue, Building 312, South Cafeteria Multi-Purpose Room,

(located off East Avenue at the intersection of South Gate Drive),

Livermore CA.

After the public comment period, which ends December 20, 1999, the

Department will consider and respond to the comments received, revise

the Draft NIF SEIS as appropriate, and issue a Final NIF SEIS. The

Department will consider the analyses in the Final NIF SEIS in making a

final Record of Decision.

Issued in Washington, DC on October 25, 1999.

Jonathan S. Ventura,

Acting Executive Assistant, Office of Defense Programs.

[FR Doc. 99-29016 Filed 11-4-99; 8:45 am]

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