Department of Energy May 16, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and conduct public scoping meetings under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for remediation of Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL Area IV). The SSFL, approximately 2,852 acres in the hills between Chatsworth and Simi Valley, CA, was developed as a remote site to test rocket engines and conduct nuclear research. Area IV was established at the SSFL in 1953 and occupies 290 acres of the SSFL. The DOE Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) is located on 90 acres within SSFL Area IV. DOE is preparing the EIS in part as a response to a May 2, 2007, decision by the U.S. District Court of Northern California that DOE was in violation of NEPA for its 2003 decision to issue a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), and to conduct remediation of the ETEC site, on the basis of an environmental assessment (EA) rather than an EIS. DOE recognizes the need to follow the NEPA process and will evaluate the range of reasonable alternatives for remediation of SSFL Area IV. DOE will evaluate alternatives for disposition of radiological facilities and support buildings, remediation of the affected environment, and disposal of all resulting waste at existing, approved sites. DOE will consider the cumulative impacts from exposure to chemical and radiological constituents in SSFL Area IV from future land uses. DOE invites public comment on the scope of this EIS during a scoping period that will end August 14, 2008. During this period, DOE officials will conduct public scoping meetings in the region surrounding the SSFL and in Sacramento, California, to provide the public and other stakeholders with an opportunity to comment on the scope of the EIS. DOE recognizes the value of the public's perspectives, and will inform, involve, and interact with the public during all phases of the EIS process. DOE is issuing this Notice of Intent (NOI) in order to inform and request comments and assistance from Federal and state agencies, state and local governments, Tribal Nations, natural resource trustees, the general public, and other interested parties on the appropriate scope of the EIS, alternatives, environmental issues, and the environmental impacts related to DOE's remediation activities for SSFL Area IV. DOE invites those agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise to be cooperating agencies.

This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Idaho National Laboratory. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463, as amended) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register.