Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Conveyance and Transfer of Certain Land Tracts Administered by the Department of Energy and Located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the

Conveyance and Transfer of Certain Land Tracts Administered by the

Department of Energy and Located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los

Alamos and Santa Fe Counties, 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 Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Conveyance and

Transfer (CT) of Certain Land Tracts Administered by the Department of

Energy and Located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos and

Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico (CT EIS), DOE/EIS-0293, for public review

and comment. The CT EIS provides DOE and its stakeholders an analysis

of the environmental impacts that could result from DOE's conveyance or

transfer of up to approximately 4,800 acres of land located in north-

central New Mexico to either the Incorporated County of Los Alamos or

to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the San Ildefonso

Pueblo.

DATES: Written comments on the Draft CT EIS are invited from the public

and may be submitted through the end of the comment period, which is

April 12, 1999 (see ADDRESSES section for more details). Comments must

be postmarked by April 12, 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 CT EIS. Public hearings on

the Draft CT EIS will be held as follows:

March 24, 1999 (Wednesday), 2 pm-5 pm and 6 pm-9 pm, Cities of Gold

Hotel, Pojoaque, New Mexico.

March 25, 1999 (Thursday), 2 pm-5 pm and 6 pm-9 pm, Fuller Lodge, Los

Alamos, New Mexico.

[[Page 9484]]

The hearings will provide opportunities for information exchange

and discussion among DOE and the public, as well as opportunities for

the public to present oral or written comments. For more information on

the public hearing call (800) 791-2280.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted in writing or orally to DOE by

contacting: Ms. Elizabeth Withers, CT EIS Document Manager, U.S. DOE,

Los Alamos Area Office, 528 35th Street, Los Alamos, NM 87544; by

leaving a message at (800) 791-2280; by faxing (505) 665-4872; or by

electronic mail at [email protected]. Oral and written comments may also

be submitted at the public hearings described above in the DATES

section. Requests for copies of the Draft CT EIS or other matters

regarding this environmental review should be addressed to Ms. Withers

at the address above. The Draft CT EIS will be available under the NEPA

Analysis 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, 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 CT EIS 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).

DOE proposes to dispose of land that is not needed to support DOE's

national security mission and that can be environmentally remediated or

restored before November 26, 2007, by either conveyance to the

Incorporated County of Los Alamos, or by transfer to the Secretary of

the Interior, in trust for the San Ildefonso Pueblo, in accordance with

section 632 of Public Law 105-119, enacted on November 26, 1997.

Criteria established by Public Law 105-119 for determining if land is

suitable for conveyance or transfer includes the requirement that the

land be suitable for use by the named recipients for the purposes of

environmental, historic or cultural preservation, economic

diversification purposes, or community self-sufficiency purposes.

The DOE has analyzed two alternatives: (1) The No Action

Alternative and (2) the Conveyance and Transfer of Each Tract

Alternative (the Proposed Action). Under the No Action Alternative, DOE

would continue its historical use of each of the land tracts identified

as potentially being suitable for conveyance and transfer. Under the

Conveyance and Transfer of Each Tract Alternative, the conveyance or

transfer of each tract identified as suitable is considered, either in

whole or in part, to either Los Alamos County or their designee, or the

Secretary of the Interior in trust for the San Ildefonso Pueblo. DOE's

Preferred Alternative is a subset of the Proposed Action Alternative,

namely to convey or transfer several of the tracts of land entirely and

several tracts in part (portions without potential contamination issues

or mission support concerns). Environmental restoration activities

would continue under current or future plans for the tracts that

require such action and will include coordination with the State of New

Mexico and public involvement.

The Draft CT EIS compares the environmental impacts that could be

expected to occur from continuing to use the subject tracts of land as

currently planned for the next 10 years with the direct consequences

expected from conveying or transferring suitable tracts, in whole or in

part, to the recipients named in Public Law 105-119, together with the

indirect consequences expected from the subsequent development and use

of the tracts by the receiving parties. A wetland/floodplains

assessment is included as an appendix to the EIS. A range of cost

estimates for clean up of each tract is provided in a separate

Environmental Restoration Report prepared to support the CT EIS and can

be obtained by contacting Ms. Elizabeth Withers as indicated in the

ADDRESSES section above.

DOE has distributed copies of the Draft CT EIS to appropriate

Congressional members and committees, the State of New Mexico, American

Indian tribal and pueblo governments, local county governments, other

Federal agencies, and other interested parties. After the public

comment period, which ends April 12, 1999, DOE will consider the

comments received, revise the Draft CT EIS, and issue a Final CT EIS.

DOE will consider the Final CT EIS, along with other considerations

such as economic and technical considerations, in deciding the action

it will take regarding the conveyance and transfer of the subject

tracts.

Issued in Washington, DC, on February 22, 1999.

John C. Ordaz,

Program Manager, CT EIS, Defense Programs.

[FR Doc. 99-4844 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P