Notice of Availability of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center, 74160-74162 [E8-28806]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / Notices
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[FR Doc. E8–28770 Filed 12–4–08; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Availability of the Revised
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for Decommissioning and/or LongTerm Stewardship at the West Valley
Demonstration Project and Western
New York Nuclear Service Center
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) announces the availability
of the Revised Draft Environmental
Impact Statement for Decommissioning
and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the
West Valley Demonstration Project and
Western New York Nuclear Service
Center (DOE/EIS–0226–D [Revised])
(referred to as the ‘‘Draft
Decommissioning and/or Long-Term
Stewardship EIS’’ or ‘‘Draft EIS’’). This
Draft EIS revises the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
Completion of the West Valley
Demonstration Project and Closure or
Long-Term Management of Facilities at
the Western New York Nuclear Service
Center (DOE/EIS–0226–D) issued for
public comment in January 1996
(referred to as the ‘‘1996 Cleanup and
Closure Draft EIS’’).
This Draft EIS was prepared in
accordance with the Council on
Environmental Quality’s National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Implementing Regulations (40 CFR parts
1500–1508) and the DOE NEPA
Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part
1021). DOE and the New York State
Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA) are joint lead
agencies for preparing the Draft EIS,
while the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and the New York State
Department of Environmental
Conservation (NYSDEC) are cooperating
agencies. NYSDEC and the New York
State Department of Health (NYSDOH)
are involved agencies under the New
York State Environmental Quality
Review Act (SEQRA).
This Draft EIS analyzes alternatives
for decommissioning the site and/or
long-term stewardship, as well as a No
Action Alternative as required by NEPA
and SEQRA. The Proposed Action is the
completion of the West Valley
Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the
decommissioning and/or long-term
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / Notices
management or stewardship of the
Western New York Nuclear Service
Center (WNYNSC). This includes the
decontamination and decommissioning
of the waste storage tanks and facilities
used in the solidification of high-level
radioactive waste, and any material and
hardware used in connection with the
WVDP. DOE needs to determine the
manner in which facilities, materials,
and hardware for which the Department
is responsible will be managed or
decommissioned in accordance with
applicable Federal and State
requirements. NYSERDA needs to
determine what material or structures
for which it is responsible will remain
on site, and what institutional controls,
engineered barriers, or stewardship
provisions would be needed.
For the Proposed Action, the three
action alternatives evaluated in the Draft
EIS are Sitewide Removal, Sitewide
Close-In-Place, and Phased
Decisionmaking. A No Action
Alternative is also evaluated in
accordance with NEPA, which would
continue management and oversight of
the WNYNSC under the conditions that
will exist at the Starting Point of this
EIS in 2011.
dwashington3 on PROD1PC60 with NOTICES
DATES: The public is invited to comment
on the Draft EIS, and all comments
received which are postmarked no later
than the end of the public comment
period, June 8, 2009, will be addressed
in preparing the Final EIS. Comments
postmarked after this date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
Public hearings on the Draft EIS will be
held at the following dates and locations
in New York: Tuesday, March 31, 2009,
Seneca Nation of Indians, William
Seneca Building, 12837 Rte. 438, Irving,
NY; Wednesday, April 1, 2009, Ashford
Office Complex, 9030 Route 219, West
Valley, NY; and Thursday, April 2,
2009, Clarion Hotel—McKinley’s
Banquet and Conference Center, S–3950
McKinley Parkway, Blasdell, NY.
Information regarding these dates, times
and locations will be announced via
other means such as local press
announcements. Oral and written
comments will be accepted at the public
hearings.
ADDRESSES: Copies of this Draft EIS are
available for review at the Concord
Public Library, 18 Chapel Street,
Springville, NY 14141, (716) 592–7742,
the Ashford Office Complex Reading
Room, 9030 Route 219, West Valley, NY
14171, (716) 942–4555 and the U.S.
Department of Energy, FOIA Reading
Room, 1E–190, Forrestal Bldg., 1000
Independence Ave., SW., Washington,
DC 20585, 202–586–3142.
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This Draft EIS is also available at
https://www.westvalleyeis.com.
Oral and written comments on the
Draft EIS will be accepted at the public
hearings, or written comments may be
mailed to Catherine Bohan, EIS
Document Manager, West Valley
Demonstration Project, U.S. Department
of Energy, P.O. Box 2368, Germantown,
MD 20874. Comments or requests for
information may also be submitted via
e-mail at https://www.westvalleyeis.com
or by faxing toll-free to 866–306–9094.
Please mark all envelopes, faxes and email: ‘‘Draft Decommissioning and/or
Long-Term Stewardship EIS
Comments.’’ All comments received or
postmarked during the comment period
will be considered during preparation of
the Final EIS. Late comments will be
considered to the extent practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information regarding the WVDP or this
Draft EIS, contact Catherine Bohan at
the above address. The following Web
sites may also be accessed for additional
information on the Draft EIS or the West
Valley Site: https://
www.westvalleyeis.com or https://
www.wv.doe.gov.
For general information on DOE’s
NEPA process contact: Carol Borgstrom,
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and
Compliance (GC–20), U.S. Department
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20585; e-mail
AskNEPA@hq.doe.gov; telephone 202–
586–4600; or leave a message at 800–
472–2756. The Draft EIS will also be
accessible through the Department’s
NEPA Web site at https://
www.gc.energy.gov./NEPA.
For general questions and information
about NYSERDA, contact Paul Bembia,
Program Director, West Valley Site
Management Program, New York State
Energy Research and Development
Authority, Ashford Office Complex,
9030 Route 219, West Valley, NY 14171;
telephone 716–942–9960, extension
4900; fax 716–942–9961; or e-mail
pjb@nyserda.org.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
WNYNSC is located south of Buffalo,
NY, owned by NYSERDA, on behalf of
New York State, and was the site of a
commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing
facility. Spent fuel reprocessing
operations conducted from 1966 to 1972
resulted in the generation of 2,500,000
liters (660,000 gallons) of high-level
radioactive waste, which were stored in
two underground tanks. WVDP was
authorized by Congress in 1980 to
demonstrate the solidification of the
high-level radioactive waste remaining
in the underground tanks at the
WNYNSC site. Through a Cooperative
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74161
Agreement between DOE and
NYSERDA, DOE assumed control, but
not ownership, of the project premises
portion of the site (the area in which the
WVDP is located) in order to conduct
the WVDP. Solidification of the highlevel radioactive waste was completed
in 2002, and the solidified high-level
radioactive waste is currently stored at
the site and will ultimately be
transported to an appropriate Federal
repository for permanent disposal.
A Draft EIS for cleanup and closure of
the WNYNSC was issued for public
comment in 1996 (1996 Cleanup and
Closure Draft EIS), but a Preferred
Alternative was not identified, and a
Final EIS was not issued. Instead, DOE
and NYSERDA believed it was
important to defer selection of a
Preferred Alternative until more studies
and analyses were completed and the
NRC policy statement, including
decommissioning criteria for the WVDP,
were issued. Since that time, additional
data have been collected on structural
geology, local fractures, and seismicity.
Designs for potential engineering
approaches for decommissioning have
been evaluated. Disposal area and
facility inventory reports have been
updated; improved methods for
analyzing erosion and groundwater flow
and transport have been developed and
refined; a citizen task force has been
consulted on the nature of a Preferred
Alternative; and workshops to refine
methods for long-term performance
assessment have been conducted.
Assumptions and design features for
specific alternatives were reviewed and
revised.
This Draft Decommissioning and/or
Long-Term Stewardship revises the
1996 clean-up and closure EIS, and was
prepared in accordance with the
Council on Environmental Quality’s
National Environmental Policy Act
NEPA Implementing Regulations (40
CFR Parts 1500–1508) and DOE NEPA
Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part
1021). DOE and NYSERDA are joint lead
agencies for preparing the Draft EIS,
while NRC, EPA and NYSDEC are
cooperating agencies. NYSDEC and
NYSDOH are involved agencies under
SEQRA. DOE needs to determine what
material or structures for which it is
responsible will remain on site, and
what institutional controls, engineered
barriers, or stewardship provisions
would be needed. NYSERDA needs to
determine the manner in which
facilities and property for which
NYSERDA is responsible, including the
State-licensed Disposal Area, will be
managed or decommissioned, in
accordance with applicable Federal and
State requirements. To this end,
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74162
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 235 / Friday, December 5, 2008 / Notices
NYSERDA needs to determine what
material or structures for which it is
responsible will remain on site, and
what institutional controls, engineered
barriers, or stewardship provisions
would be needed.
This Draft EIS is intended to support
DOE and NYSERDA decisions regarding
the Proposed Action, which is the
completion of the WVDP and the
decommissioning and/or long-term
management or stewardship of the
WNYNSC. This would include the
disposition of the high-level radioactive
waste storage tanks, the former spent
fuel reprocessing plant, the North
Plateau Groundwater Plume, the Cesium
Prong, the NRC-licensed Disposal Area
(NDA), and the State-licensed Disposal
Area (SDA). The three action
alternatives evaluated for the Proposed
Action are as follows:
Sitewide Removal: Under this
alternative, all site facilities as outlined
in this Draft EIS would be removed; all
environmental media would be
decontaminated; and all radioactive,
hazardous, and mixed waste would be
characterized, packaged as necessary,
and shipped off site for disposal.
Completion of these activities would
allow unrestricted use of the site (i.e.,
the site could be made available for any
public or private use). This alternative
includes temporary onsite storage of
vitrified high-level radioactive waste
canisters pending the availability of a
Federal repository.
Sitewide Close-In-Place: Under this
alternative, most facilities would be
closed in place. Residual radioactivity
in facilities with larger inventories of
long-lived radionuclides would be
isolated by specially designed closure
structures and engineered barriers.
Major facilities and sources of
contamination, such as the Waste Tank
Farm and burial grounds, would be
managed at their current locations. This
would allow large areas of the site to be
released for unrestricted use. The
license for remaining portions of the
WNYNSC could be terminated under
restricted conditions, or those portions
could remain under long-term NRC
license or permit. Facilities that are
closed in-place, and any buffer areas
around them, would require long-term
stewardship.
Phased Decisionmaking: Under this
alternative, decommissioning would be
completed in two phases. This
alternative involves near-term removal
actions where there is agency consensus
and characterization studies to facilitate
decisionmaking for the remaining
facilities or areas.
Phase 1 would include removal of the
Main Plant Process Building, the source
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of the North Plateau Groundwater
Plume, and the lagoons on the WVDP
premises. All facilities and the lagoons
would be removed, except for the
permeable treatment wall (an in-situ
groundwater mitigation technology).
Phase 1 decisions would also include
removal of a number of other facilities
on the WVDP premises. No
decommissioning or long-term
management activities would be
conducted for the Waste Tank Farm and
its support facilities, the construction
and demolition debris landfill, the nonsource area of the North Plateau
Groundwater Plume, or the NDA. The
SDA would continue under active
management, consistent with its permit
and license requirements. Phase 1
activities would make use of proven
technologies and available waste
disposal sites to reduce the potential
near-term health and safety risks from
residual radioactivity and hazardous
contaminants at the site. Phase 1 would
also include an ongoing assessment
period during which DOE and
NYSERDA would conduct additional
studies, evaluations, and
characterization of site contamination.
The studies and evaluations would be
conducted to clarify and possibly
reduce technical uncertainties related to
the decision on final decommissioning
and long-term management of the site,
particularly uncertainties associated
with the long-term performance models,
the performance of engineered barriers
and other technologies for in-place
containment, the viability and cost of
technology for exhuming buried waste,
and the availability of waste disposal
sites. In consultation with NYSERDA
and the cooperating and involved
agencies on this Draft EIS, DOE would
determine whether the new information
warrants a new or supplemental EIS.
NYSERDA also would assess the results
of site-specific studies and other
information during Phase 1 to determine
the need for additional SEQRA
documentation.
According to the approach
determined most appropriate during the
additional Phase 1 studies and
evaluations, Phase 2 would complete
decommissioning or long-term
management decisionmaking. Under the
Phased Decisionmaking Alternative, the
Phase 2 decision would be made within
30 years.
No Action Alternative: Under this
alternative, no actions toward
decommissioning would be taken. This
alternative would involve the continued
management and oversight of all
facilities located on the WNYNSC
property as of the Starting Point for this
EIS in 2011. The No Action Alternative
PO 00000
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does not meet the Purpose and Need for
agency action, but analysis of the No
Action Alternative is required under
NEPA and SEQRA as a basis of
comparison.
Preferred Alternative: The Phased
Decisionmaking Alternative is DOE’s
and NYSERDA’s Preferred Alternative.
Combination Alternatives: DOE and
NYSERDA recognize that, after
consideration of public comments, some
combination of alternatives analyzed in
the Draft EIS may be identified as the
best way to meet agency goals and
protect human health and safety and the
environment. If a specific combination
alternative is identified as preferred
between the Draft and Final EISs, DOE
would present the combination
alternative and its potential impacts in
the Final EIS. If a combination
alternative is ultimately selected for
implementation, the Record of Decision
and Findings Statement (under SEQRA)
would explain the reasons DOE and
NYSERDA made that decision.
Following the end of the public
comment period, DOE will consider and
respond to the comments received, and
issue the Final Decommissioning and/or
Long-Term Stewardship EIS, including
a Comment Response Document. DOE
will issue a Record of Decision no
sooner than 30 days after EPA issues a
Notice of Availability of the final EIS in
the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, November 25,
2008.
Ines R. Triay,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental
Management.
[FR Doc. E8–28806 Filed 12–4–08; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Proposed Phase 1 Decommissioning
Plan for the West Valley Demonstration
Project, West Valley, NY
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE) announces the availability
of the proposed Phase 1
Decommissioning Plan for the West
Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) at
the Western New York Nuclear Service
Center in West Valley, New York
(WNYNSC). The proposed Phase 1
Decommissioning Plan is consistent
with DOE’s preferred alternative in the
Revised Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Decommissioning
and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the
West Valley Demonstration Project and
Western New York Nuclear Service
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 235 (Friday, December 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74160-74162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28806]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Availability of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West
Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service
Center
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability
of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning
and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project
and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D [Revised])
(referred to as the ``Draft Decommissioning and/or Long-Term
Stewardship EIS'' or ``Draft EIS''). This Draft EIS revises the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for Completion of the West Valley
Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term Management of Facilities
at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D) issued
for public comment in January 1996 (referred to as the ``1996 Cleanup
and Closure Draft EIS'').
This Draft EIS was prepared in accordance with the Council on
Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
Implementing Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and the DOE NEPA
Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021). DOE and the New York State
Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are joint lead
agencies for preparing the Draft EIS, while the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)
are cooperating agencies. NYSDEC and the New York State Department of
Health (NYSDOH) are involved agencies under the New York State
Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA).
This Draft EIS analyzes alternatives for decommissioning the site
and/or long-term stewardship, as well as a No Action Alternative as
required by NEPA and SEQRA. The Proposed Action is the completion of
the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the decommissioning
and/or long-term
[[Page 74161]]
management or stewardship of the Western New York Nuclear Service
Center (WNYNSC). This includes the decontamination and decommissioning
of the waste storage tanks and facilities used in the solidification of
high-level radioactive waste, and any material and hardware used in
connection with the WVDP. DOE needs to determine the manner in which
facilities, materials, and hardware for which the Department is
responsible will be managed or decommissioned in accordance with
applicable Federal and State requirements. NYSERDA needs to determine
what material or structures for which it is responsible will remain on
site, and what institutional controls, engineered barriers, or
stewardship provisions would be needed.
For the Proposed Action, the three action alternatives evaluated in
the Draft EIS are Sitewide Removal, Sitewide Close-In-Place, and Phased
Decisionmaking. A No Action Alternative is also evaluated in accordance
with NEPA, which would continue management and oversight of the WNYNSC
under the conditions that will exist at the Starting Point of this EIS
in 2011.
DATES: The public is invited to comment on the Draft EIS, and all
comments received which are postmarked no later than the end of the
public comment period, June 8, 2009, will be addressed in preparing the
Final EIS. Comments postmarked after this date will be considered to
the extent practicable. Public hearings on the Draft EIS will be held
at the following dates and locations in New York: Tuesday, March 31,
2009, Seneca Nation of Indians, William Seneca Building, 12837 Rte.
438, Irving, NY; Wednesday, April 1, 2009, Ashford Office Complex, 9030
Route 219, West Valley, NY; and Thursday, April 2, 2009, Clarion
Hotel--McKinley's Banquet and Conference Center, S-3950 McKinley
Parkway, Blasdell, NY. Information regarding these dates, times and
locations will be announced via other means such as local press
announcements. Oral and written comments will be accepted at the public
hearings.
ADDRESSES: Copies of this Draft EIS are available for review at the
Concord Public Library, 18 Chapel Street, Springville, NY 14141, (716)
592-7742, the Ashford Office Complex Reading Room, 9030 Route 219, West
Valley, NY 14171, (716) 942-4555 and the U.S. Department of Energy,
FOIA Reading Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Bldg., 1000 Independence Ave.,
SW., Washington, DC 20585, 202-586-3142.
This Draft EIS is also available at https://www.westvalleyeis.com.
Oral and written comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted at the
public hearings, or written comments may be mailed to Catherine Bohan,
EIS Document Manager, West Valley Demonstration Project, U.S.
Department of Energy, P.O. Box 2368, Germantown, MD 20874. Comments or
requests for information may also be submitted via e-mail at https://
www.westvalleyeis.com or by faxing toll-free to 866-306-9094. Please
mark all envelopes, faxes and e-mail: ``Draft Decommissioning and/or
Long-Term Stewardship EIS Comments.'' All comments received or
postmarked during the comment period will be considered during
preparation of the Final EIS. Late comments will be considered to the
extent practicable.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information regarding the WVDP or
this Draft EIS, contact Catherine Bohan at the above address. The
following Web sites may also be accessed for additional information on
the Draft EIS or the West Valley Site: https://www.westvalleyeis.com or
https://www.wv.doe.gov.
For general information on DOE's NEPA process contact: Carol
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-20), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC
20585; e-mail AskNEPA@hq.doe.gov; telephone 202-586-4600; or leave a
message at 800-472-2756. The Draft EIS will also be accessible through
the Department's NEPA Web site at https://www.gc.energy.gov./NEPA.
For general questions and information about NYSERDA, contact Paul
Bembia, Program Director, West Valley Site Management Program, New York
State Energy Research and Development Authority, Ashford Office
Complex, 9030 Route 219, West Valley, NY 14171; telephone 716-942-9960,
extension 4900; fax 716-942-9961; or e-mail pjb@nyserda.org.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The WNYNSC is located south of Buffalo, NY,
owned by NYSERDA, on behalf of New York State, and was the site of a
commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. Spent fuel reprocessing
operations conducted from 1966 to 1972 resulted in the generation of
2,500,000 liters (660,000 gallons) of high-level radioactive waste,
which were stored in two underground tanks. WVDP was authorized by
Congress in 1980 to demonstrate the solidification of the high-level
radioactive waste remaining in the underground tanks at the WNYNSC
site. Through a Cooperative Agreement between DOE and NYSERDA, DOE
assumed control, but not ownership, of the project premises portion of
the site (the area in which the WVDP is located) in order to conduct
the WVDP. Solidification of the high-level radioactive waste was
completed in 2002, and the solidified high-level radioactive waste is
currently stored at the site and will ultimately be transported to an
appropriate Federal repository for permanent disposal.
A Draft EIS for cleanup and closure of the WNYNSC was issued for
public comment in 1996 (1996 Cleanup and Closure Draft EIS), but a
Preferred Alternative was not identified, and a Final EIS was not
issued. Instead, DOE and NYSERDA believed it was important to defer
selection of a Preferred Alternative until more studies and analyses
were completed and the NRC policy statement, including decommissioning
criteria for the WVDP, were issued. Since that time, additional data
have been collected on structural geology, local fractures, and
seismicity. Designs for potential engineering approaches for
decommissioning have been evaluated. Disposal area and facility
inventory reports have been updated; improved methods for analyzing
erosion and groundwater flow and transport have been developed and
refined; a citizen task force has been consulted on the nature of a
Preferred Alternative; and workshops to refine methods for long-term
performance assessment have been conducted. Assumptions and design
features for specific alternatives were reviewed and revised.
This Draft Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship revises the
1996 clean-up and closure EIS, and was prepared in accordance with the
Council on Environmental Quality's National Environmental Policy Act
NEPA Implementing Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and DOE NEPA
Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021). DOE and NYSERDA are joint
lead agencies for preparing the Draft EIS, while NRC, EPA and NYSDEC
are cooperating agencies. NYSDEC and NYSDOH are involved agencies under
SEQRA. DOE needs to determine what material or structures for which it
is responsible will remain on site, and what institutional controls,
engineered barriers, or stewardship provisions would be needed. NYSERDA
needs to determine the manner in which facilities and property for
which NYSERDA is responsible, including the State-licensed Disposal
Area, will be managed or decommissioned, in accordance with applicable
Federal and State requirements. To this end,
[[Page 74162]]
NYSERDA needs to determine what material or structures for which it is
responsible will remain on site, and what institutional controls,
engineered barriers, or stewardship provisions would be needed.
This Draft EIS is intended to support DOE and NYSERDA decisions
regarding the Proposed Action, which is the completion of the WVDP and
the decommissioning and/or long-term management or stewardship of the
WNYNSC. This would include the disposition of the high-level
radioactive waste storage tanks, the former spent fuel reprocessing
plant, the North Plateau Groundwater Plume, the Cesium Prong, the NRC-
licensed Disposal Area (NDA), and the State-licensed Disposal Area
(SDA). The three action alternatives evaluated for the Proposed Action
are as follows:
Sitewide Removal: Under this alternative, all site facilities as
outlined in this Draft EIS would be removed; all environmental media
would be decontaminated; and all radioactive, hazardous, and mixed
waste would be characterized, packaged as necessary, and shipped off
site for disposal. Completion of these activities would allow
unrestricted use of the site (i.e., the site could be made available
for any public or private use). This alternative includes temporary
onsite storage of vitrified high-level radioactive waste canisters
pending the availability of a Federal repository.
Sitewide Close-In-Place: Under this alternative, most facilities
would be closed in place. Residual radioactivity in facilities with
larger inventories of long-lived radionuclides would be isolated by
specially designed closure structures and engineered barriers. Major
facilities and sources of contamination, such as the Waste Tank Farm
and burial grounds, would be managed at their current locations. This
would allow large areas of the site to be released for unrestricted
use. The license for remaining portions of the WNYNSC could be
terminated under restricted conditions, or those portions could remain
under long-term NRC license or permit. Facilities that are closed in-
place, and any buffer areas around them, would require long-term
stewardship.
Phased Decisionmaking: Under this alternative, decommissioning
would be completed in two phases. This alternative involves near-term
removal actions where there is agency consensus and characterization
studies to facilitate decisionmaking for the remaining facilities or
areas.
Phase 1 would include removal of the Main Plant Process Building,
the source of the North Plateau Groundwater Plume, and the lagoons on
the WVDP premises. All facilities and the lagoons would be removed,
except for the permeable treatment wall (an in-situ groundwater
mitigation technology). Phase 1 decisions would also include removal of
a number of other facilities on the WVDP premises. No decommissioning
or long-term management activities would be conducted for the Waste
Tank Farm and its support facilities, the construction and demolition
debris landfill, the non-source area of the North Plateau Groundwater
Plume, or the NDA. The SDA would continue under active management,
consistent with its permit and license requirements. Phase 1 activities
would make use of proven technologies and available waste disposal
sites to reduce the potential near-term health and safety risks from
residual radioactivity and hazardous contaminants at the site. Phase 1
would also include an ongoing assessment period during which DOE and
NYSERDA would conduct additional studies, evaluations, and
characterization of site contamination. The studies and evaluations
would be conducted to clarify and possibly reduce technical
uncertainties related to the decision on final decommissioning and
long-term management of the site, particularly uncertainties associated
with the long-term performance models, the performance of engineered
barriers and other technologies for in-place containment, the viability
and cost of technology for exhuming buried waste, and the availability
of waste disposal sites. In consultation with NYSERDA and the
cooperating and involved agencies on this Draft EIS, DOE would
determine whether the new information warrants a new or supplemental
EIS. NYSERDA also would assess the results of site-specific studies and
other information during Phase 1 to determine the need for additional
SEQRA documentation.
According to the approach determined most appropriate during the
additional Phase 1 studies and evaluations, Phase 2 would complete
decommissioning or long-term management decisionmaking. Under the
Phased Decisionmaking Alternative, the Phase 2 decision would be made
within 30 years.
No Action Alternative: Under this alternative, no actions toward
decommissioning would be taken. This alternative would involve the
continued management and oversight of all facilities located on the
WNYNSC property as of the Starting Point for this EIS in 2011. The No
Action Alternative does not meet the Purpose and Need for agency
action, but analysis of the No Action Alternative is required under
NEPA and SEQRA as a basis of comparison.
Preferred Alternative: The Phased Decisionmaking Alternative is
DOE's and NYSERDA's Preferred Alternative.
Combination Alternatives: DOE and NYSERDA recognize that, after
consideration of public comments, some combination of alternatives
analyzed in the Draft EIS may be identified as the best way to meet
agency goals and protect human health and safety and the environment.
If a specific combination alternative is identified as preferred
between the Draft and Final EISs, DOE would present the combination
alternative and its potential impacts in the Final EIS. If a
combination alternative is ultimately selected for implementation, the
Record of Decision and Findings Statement (under SEQRA) would explain
the reasons DOE and NYSERDA made that decision.
Following the end of the public comment period, DOE will consider
and respond to the comments received, and issue the Final
Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship EIS, including a Comment
Response Document. DOE will issue a Record of Decision no sooner than
30 days after EPA issues a Notice of Availability of the final EIS in
the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, November 25, 2008.
Ines R. Triay,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. E8-28806 Filed 12-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
