National Nuclear Security Administration; Amended Record of Decision: Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, 40352-40354 [2011-17161]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 131 / Friday, July 8, 2011 / Notices
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Dated: June 30, 2011.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011–17134 Filed 7–7–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security
Administration; Amended Record of
Decision: Site-Wide Environmental
Impact Statement for the Continued
Operation of Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
National Nuclear Security
Administration, U.S. Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Amended Record of Decision.
AGENCY:
The National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA), a
semi-autonomous agency within the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is
amending its September 26, 2008
Record of Decision (ROD) issued
pursuant to the Site-Wide
Environmental Impact Statement for the
Continued Operation of Los Alamos
National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New
Mexico (LANL SWEIS; DOE/EIS–0380).
That ROD announced NNSA’s decision,
among other things, to continue and
expand support for the Global Threat
Reduction Initiative (GTRI) Off-Site
Source Recovery Project (OSRP). These
activities include the recovery, storage,
and disposal of certain high-activity
sealed sources to minimize risks to
national security and public health and
safety. The LANL SWEIS and
subsequent ROD did not address
shipment of sealed sources through the
global commons and the use of a
commercial facility in managing these
sealed sources as part of the GTRI
program’s recovery of sealed sources. In
April, 2011, NNSA prepared a
Supplement Analysis for the Transport
and Storage of High-Activity Sealed
Sources from Uruguay and Other
Locations (DOE/EIS–0380–SA–02) to
analyze the potential impacts of these
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 131 / Friday, July 8, 2011 / Notices
actions. Based on the LANL SWEIS and
the Supplement Analysis, NNSA is
amending the ROD for the LANL SWEIS
to announce its decision that these
actions can be expected to take place as
part of the ongoing GTRI program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information about the GTRI
OSRP, contact: Ms. Abigail Cuthbertson;
phone: 202–586–2391; email:
Abigail.Cuthbertson@nnsa.doe.gov.
For general information concerning
the DOE NEPA process, contact: Ms.
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of
NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC–54),
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585; (202) 586–4600;
leave a message at (800) 472–2756; or
send an e-mail to ask
NEPA@hq.energy.gov. Additional
information regarding DOE NEPA
activities and access to many DOE
NEPA documents, including those
referenced in this ROD, are available on
the Internet through the DOE NEPA
Web site at https://nepa.energy.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Background
The GTRI mission includes the effort
to reduce and protect vulnerable nuclear
and radiological materials located at
civilian sites worldwide. Part of the
GTRI mission is implemented through
OSRP, an ongoing effort (since 1979)
that involves the recovery, storage, and,
when appropriate, disposition of
disused (excess, unwanted) radiological
sources that present national security or
public health and safety concerns. GTRI
OSRP recovers sealed sources
domestically and, in coordination with
the U.S. Department of State and the
International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), from foreign countries.
Some of the sources recovered
through OSRP are high-activity beta/
gamma sealed sources used in medical
devices (e.g., teletherapy units) and for
research. These contain cobalt-60,
cesium-137, radium-226, or strontium90. OSRP may recover sources from
approximately 20 locations annually.
Most would be recovered from locations
within the United States; others would
come from locations in foreign
countries, such as Uruguay.
The specific actions analyzed in DOE/
EIS–0380–SA–02 include packaging the
sealed sources (sometimes with a part of
the larger device within which they are
contained), transporting the packages to
a secure storage facility with the
capability to safely handle the sources,
then transporting the sealed sources to
their country of origin or disposing of
the sealed sources as low-level
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radioactive waste at the Nevada
National Security Site (NNSS) in
southern Nevada if the sources meet the
NNSS waste acceptance criteria. DOE
accepts ownership of the sealed sources
prior to transport or, for sources
recovered from foreign countries, upon
arrival in the United States.
Basis for Decision
In addition, DOE/EIS–0380–SA–02
activities associated with the recovery of
high-activity sealed sources are
analyzed in the Site-Wide
Environmental Impact Statement for the
Continued Operation of Los Alamos
National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New
Mexico (DOE/EIS–0380). NNSA
published a ROD based on the LANL
SWEIS announcing its decision, among
other things, to continue and expand
support for GTRI OSRP activities (73 FR
55833; September 26, 2008). The
disposal of low-level radioactive waste,
including sealed sources, is analyzed in
the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Nevada Test Site and
Off-Site Locations in the State of
Nevada (DOE/EIS–0243). This EIS
resulted in a ROD stating that NNSS is
available to DOE sites for disposal of
low-level radioactive waste that meets
the NNSS waste acceptance criteria (61
FR 65551, December 13, 1996). Certain
sealed sources meeting NNSS low-level
waste acceptance criteria have been
disposed of at the NNSS.
Environmental Impacts Associated
With the Decision
In the Supplement Analysis, NNSA
analyzes potential impacts associated
with actions involving high activity
sealed sources including transporting
sealed sources by commercial cargo
aircraft and by truck; handling such as
loading and offloading associated with
transportation; storage; opening and
repackaging containers to inspect sealed
sources; and intentional destructive
acts. Estimates of potential impacts are
comparable to those for similar
activities analyzed in the LANL SWEIS
and other DOE NEPA documents. The
dose estimates and associated risks are
small. For example, the highest dose
estimate in the Supplement Analysis
associated with incident-free
commercial truck transport of sealed
sources is approximately 78 millirem to
an individual crewmember, which
equates to a fatal cancer risk of
approximately 1 chance in 25,000.
For air transport of sealed sources,
which was not analyzed in the LANL
SWEIS, the Supplement Analysis
estimates potential impacts associated
with incident-free operations and
accidents. For a 12-hour flight
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40353
transporting three containers with
sealed sources, the estimated dose to a
crew of four is 0.0065 person-rem,
which equates to a chance of one in
approximately 250,000 of a latent cancer
fatality among the crew. For other
transportation scenarios, this estimate
would vary according to factors such as
flight time and the number of containers
of sealed sources. However, the
variability would not change the overall
conclusion that potential impacts are
small and similar to those estimated for
transportation of radioactive material in
other DOE NEPA documents.
The air transport accident analysis
assumed a low probability crash from a
landing stall and subsequent fire. For
purposes of analysis, NNSA assumed
failure of all transport packages, though
this is a very unlikely scenario. If such
an accident were to occur, the
Supplement Analysis estimates a
chance of a latent cancer fatality of
about one in 100,000 among the
population surrounding the accident
location (approximately five million
people within 50 miles). When the
probability of the accident (4.5 x 10¥6)
is considered, the risk of a latent cancer
fatality is about one chance in 20
billion.
Amended Decision
Consistent with the decisions
announced in the ROD issued pursuant
to the LANL SWEIS (73 FR 55833;
September 26, 2008), NNSA will
continue implementing the GTRI OSRP
program, including the recovery, storage
and disposition of high-activity beta/
gamma sealed sources. This program
includes the recovery of sealed sources
from foreign countries, and NNSA has
decided that transport of high-activity
sealed sources through the global
commons via commercial cargo aircraft
may be utilized as part of the ongoing
GTRI OSRP program.
Mitigation Measures
NNSA will use all practicable means
to avoid or minimize environmental
harm when implementing the actions
described in this ROD. NNSA operates
pursuant to a number of Federal laws
including environmental laws, DOE
Orders, and Federal, State, and local
controls, and agreements. Also, the
commercial storage and transportation
activities associated with the recovery of
high-activity sealed sources are
regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (and states granted certain
authorities by the Commission) and the
Department of Transportation. Many of
these requirements mandate actions that
may serve to mitigate potential adverse
environmental impacts.
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40354
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 131 / Friday, July 8, 2011 / Notices
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 27,
2011.
Thomas P. D’Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011–17161 Filed 7–7–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
[DOE/EIS–0462]
Notice of Cancellation of
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Crowned Ridge Wind
Energy Center Project, Codington and
Grant Counties, SD
Western Area Power
Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Cancellation of
Environmental Impact Statement.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE), Western Area Power
Administration (Western) is issuing this
notice to advise the public that it is
cancelling the preparation of an
environmental impact statement (EIS)
under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) on an
interconnection request by NextEra
Energy Resources (NextEra).
DATES: This cancellation is effective on
July 8, 2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
additional information on the
cancellation of this EIS process, contact
Matt Marsh, NEPA Document Manager,
Upper Great Plains Regional Office,
Western Area Power Administration,
P.O. Box 35800, Billings, MT 59107–
5800, e-mail MMarsh@wapa.gov,
telephone (800) 358–3415. For general
information on DOE’s NEPA review
process, contact Carol M. Borgstrom,
Director of NEPA Policy and
Compliance, GC–54, Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585–0119,
telephone (202) 586–4600 or (800) 472–
2756, facsimile (202) 586–7031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NextEra
proposed to design, construct, operate,
and maintain a 150-megawatt Crowned
Ridge Wind Energy Center Project
(Project) in Codington and Grant
counties, South Dakota, and
interconnect that Project with Western’s
transmission system. NextEra’s
interconnection request caused Western
to initiate a NEPA review of its action
to allow the interconnection. Western
published a Notice of Intent for the EIS
in the Federal Register on November 30,
2010 (75 FR 74040), and started the EIS
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SUMMARY:
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17:52 Jul 07, 2011
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process. A public scoping meeting was
held subsequent to the Notice of Intent,
but a Draft EIS was not produced
because NextEra decided to suspend
further action on its proposed Project.
NextEra notified Western of the
decision, and Western is now
terminating the NEPA review process on
its interconnection decision and
NextEra’s proposed Project. NextEra
could decide to reinitiate the proposed
Project at some future date. In that event
Western would issue a new Notice of
Intent, and would start an entirely new
NEPA process.
The Assistant Secretary, Environment,
Safety and Health granted approval
authority to Western’s Administrator for
EISs related to integrating major new
sources of generation in a October 4,
1999, memorandum. Under the
authority granted by that memorandum,
I have terminated the NEPA process for
NextEra’s proposed Crowned Ridge
Wind Energy Center Project with the
publication of this notice.
Dated: June 29, 2011.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011–17157 Filed 7–7–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[ER–FRL–8997–8]
Environmental Impacts Statements;
Notice of Availability
Responsible Agency: Office of Federal
Activities, General Information (202)
564–1399 or https://www.epa.gov/
compliance/nepa/
Weekly receipt of Environmental Impact
Statements
Filed 06/27/2011 Through 07/01/2011
Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9.
Notice
In accordance with Section 309(a) of
the Clean Air Act, EPA is required to
make its comments on EISs issued by
other Federal agencies public.
Historically, EPA met this mandate by
publishing weekly notices of availability
of EPA comments, which includes a
brief summary of EPA’s comment
letters, in the Federal Register. Since
February 2008, EPA has included its
comment letters on EISs on its Web site
at: https://www.epa.gov/compliance/
nepa/eisdata.html. Including the entire
EIS comment letters on the Web site
satisfies the Section 309(a) requirement
to make EPA’s comments on EISs
available to the public. Accordingly, on
March 31, 2010, EPA discontinued the
PO 00000
Frm 00033
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publication of the notice of availability
of EPA comments in the Federal
Register.
EIS No. 20110210, Final EIS, USFS, NM,
McKinley County Easement—Forest
Roads 191 and 191D, Implementation,
Cibola National Forest, McKinley
County, NM, Review Period Ends:
08/08/2011, Contact: Keith Baker
505–346–3820.
EIS No. 20110211, Draft EIS, USFS, AK,
Ketchikan—Misty Fiords Outfitter
and Guide Management Plan,
Authorizes Outfitter and Guide
Operations through the Issuance of
Special-Use-Permits, Tongass
National Forest, Ketchikan-Misty
Ranger District, Ketchikan, AK,
Comment Period Ends: 08/22/2011,
Contact: Susan Jennings 907–723–
0477.
EIS No. 20110212, Draft EIS, BLM, CA,
Ocotillo Express Wind Energy Project,
Proposing to Develop a 465–Megawatt
Wind Energy Facility,
Implementation, Imperial County, CA,
Comment Period Ends: 10/05/2011,
Contact: Cedric Perry 951–697–5388.
EIS No. 20110213, Final EIS, FAA, RI,
Theodore Francis Green Airport
Improvement Program, Proposing
Improvements to Enhance Safety and
the Efficiency of the Airport and the
New England Regional Airport
System, City of Warwick, Kent
County, RI, Review Period Ends: 08/
08/2011, Contact: Richard Doucette
781–238–7613.
EIS No. 20110214, Draft Supplement,
USFS, ND, North Billings County
Allotment Management Plan
Revisions, Updated Information,
Proposes to Continue to Permit
Livestock Grazing on 43 Allotments,
Medora Ranger District, Dakota Prairie
Grasslands, Billings County, ND,
Comment Period Ends: 08/22/2011,
Contact: Nickole Dahl 701–227–7800.
EIS No. 20110215, Final EIS, FHWA, WI,
Wisconsin Highway Project, Mobility
Motorized and Nonmotorized Travel
Enhancements, Updated Information
on New Alternatives, and Evaluates a
Staged Improvement, US18/151
(Verona Road) and the US 12/14
(Beltine) Corridors, Dane County, WI,
Review Period Ends: 08/08/2011,
Contact: George R. Poirier 608–829–
7500.
EIS No. 20110216, Final EIS, FHWA,
UT, Hyde Park/North Logan Corridor
Project, Proposed 200 East
Transportation Corridor between
North Logan City and Hyde Park,
Funding, Right-of-Way Acquisitions
and US Army COE Section 404
Permit, Cache County, UT, Review
Period Ends: 08/08/2011, Contact:
Paul C. Ziman 801–955–3525.
E:\FR\FM\08JYN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 131 (Friday, July 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 40352-40354]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-17161]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration; Amended Record of
Decision: Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the Continued
Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Amended Record of Decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a semi-
autonomous agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is
amending its September 26, 2008 Record of Decision (ROD) issued
pursuant to the Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the
Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New
Mexico (LANL SWEIS; DOE/EIS-0380). That ROD announced NNSA's decision,
among other things, to continue and expand support for the Global
Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) Off-Site Source Recovery Project
(OSRP). These activities include the recovery, storage, and disposal of
certain high-activity sealed sources to minimize risks to national
security and public health and safety. The LANL SWEIS and subsequent
ROD did not address shipment of sealed sources through the global
commons and the use of a commercial facility in managing these sealed
sources as part of the GTRI program's recovery of sealed sources. In
April, 2011, NNSA prepared a Supplement Analysis for the Transport and
Storage of High-Activity Sealed Sources from Uruguay and Other
Locations (DOE/EIS-0380-SA-02) to analyze the potential impacts of
these
[[Page 40353]]
actions. Based on the LANL SWEIS and the Supplement Analysis, NNSA is
amending the ROD for the LANL SWEIS to announce its decision that these
actions can be expected to take place as part of the ongoing GTRI
program.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the GTRI
OSRP, contact: Ms. Abigail Cuthbertson; phone: 202-586-2391; email:
Abigail.Cuthbertson@nnsa.doe.gov.
For general information concerning the DOE NEPA process, contact:
Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
(GC-54), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585; (202) 586-4600; leave a message at (800) 472-
2756; or send an e-mail to ask NEPA@hq.energy.gov. Additional
information regarding DOE NEPA activities and access to many DOE NEPA
documents, including those referenced in this ROD, are available on the
Internet through the DOE NEPA Web site at https://nepa.energy.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The GTRI mission includes the effort to reduce and protect
vulnerable nuclear and radiological materials located at civilian sites
worldwide. Part of the GTRI mission is implemented through OSRP, an
ongoing effort (since 1979) that involves the recovery, storage, and,
when appropriate, disposition of disused (excess, unwanted)
radiological sources that present national security or public health
and safety concerns. GTRI OSRP recovers sealed sources domestically
and, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State and the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), from foreign countries.
Some of the sources recovered through OSRP are high-activity beta/
gamma sealed sources used in medical devices (e.g., teletherapy units)
and for research. These contain cobalt-60, cesium-137, radium-226, or
strontium-90. OSRP may recover sources from approximately 20 locations
annually. Most would be recovered from locations within the United
States; others would come from locations in foreign countries, such as
Uruguay.
The specific actions analyzed in DOE/EIS-0380-SA-02 include
packaging the sealed sources (sometimes with a part of the larger
device within which they are contained), transporting the packages to a
secure storage facility with the capability to safely handle the
sources, then transporting the sealed sources to their country of
origin or disposing of the sealed sources as low-level radioactive
waste at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in southern Nevada if
the sources meet the NNSS waste acceptance criteria. DOE accepts
ownership of the sealed sources prior to transport or, for sources
recovered from foreign countries, upon arrival in the United States.
Basis for Decision
In addition, DOE/EIS-0380-SA-02 activities associated with the
recovery of high-activity sealed sources are analyzed in the Site-Wide
Environmental Impact Statement for the Continued Operation of Los
Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DOE/EIS-0380). NNSA
published a ROD based on the LANL SWEIS announcing its decision, among
other things, to continue and expand support for GTRI OSRP activities
(73 FR 55833; September 26, 2008). The disposal of low-level
radioactive waste, including sealed sources, is analyzed in the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site
Locations in the State of Nevada (DOE/EIS-0243). This EIS resulted in a
ROD stating that NNSS is available to DOE sites for disposal of low-
level radioactive waste that meets the NNSS waste acceptance criteria
(61 FR 65551, December 13, 1996). Certain sealed sources meeting NNSS
low-level waste acceptance criteria have been disposed of at the NNSS.
Environmental Impacts Associated With the Decision
In the Supplement Analysis, NNSA analyzes potential impacts
associated with actions involving high activity sealed sources
including transporting sealed sources by commercial cargo aircraft and
by truck; handling such as loading and offloading associated with
transportation; storage; opening and repackaging containers to inspect
sealed sources; and intentional destructive acts. Estimates of
potential impacts are comparable to those for similar activities
analyzed in the LANL SWEIS and other DOE NEPA documents. The dose
estimates and associated risks are small. For example, the highest dose
estimate in the Supplement Analysis associated with incident-free
commercial truck transport of sealed sources is approximately 78
millirem to an individual crewmember, which equates to a fatal cancer
risk of approximately 1 chance in 25,000.
For air transport of sealed sources, which was not analyzed in the
LANL SWEIS, the Supplement Analysis estimates potential impacts
associated with incident-free operations and accidents. For a 12-hour
flight transporting three containers with sealed sources, the estimated
dose to a crew of four is 0.0065 person-rem, which equates to a chance
of one in approximately 250,000 of a latent cancer fatality among the
crew. For other transportation scenarios, this estimate would vary
according to factors such as flight time and the number of containers
of sealed sources. However, the variability would not change the
overall conclusion that potential impacts are small and similar to
those estimated for transportation of radioactive material in other DOE
NEPA documents.
The air transport accident analysis assumed a low probability crash
from a landing stall and subsequent fire. For purposes of analysis,
NNSA assumed failure of all transport packages, though this is a very
unlikely scenario. If such an accident were to occur, the Supplement
Analysis estimates a chance of a latent cancer fatality of about one in
100,000 among the population surrounding the accident location
(approximately five million people within 50 miles). When the
probability of the accident (4.5 x 10-6) is considered, the
risk of a latent cancer fatality is about one chance in 20 billion.
Amended Decision
Consistent with the decisions announced in the ROD issued pursuant
to the LANL SWEIS (73 FR 55833; September 26, 2008), NNSA will continue
implementing the GTRI OSRP program, including the recovery, storage and
disposition of high-activity beta/gamma sealed sources. This program
includes the recovery of sealed sources from foreign countries, and
NNSA has decided that transport of high-activity sealed sources through
the global commons via commercial cargo aircraft may be utilized as
part of the ongoing GTRI OSRP program.
Mitigation Measures
NNSA will use all practicable means to avoid or minimize
environmental harm when implementing the actions described in this ROD.
NNSA operates pursuant to a number of Federal laws including
environmental laws, DOE Orders, and Federal, State, and local controls,
and agreements. Also, the commercial storage and transportation
activities associated with the recovery of high-activity sealed sources
are regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (and states granted
certain authorities by the Commission) and the Department of
Transportation. Many of these requirements mandate actions that may
serve to mitigate potential adverse environmental impacts.
[[Page 40354]]
Issued in Washington, DC, on June 27, 2011.
Thomas P. D'Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-17161 Filed 7-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
