[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 83 (Friday, April 29, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24018-24020]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-10406]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement for the Nuclear Facility Portion of the Chemistry and
Metallurgy Research Building Replacement Project at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.
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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces
the availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Nuclear Facility Portion of the Chemistry and
Metallurgy Research Building Replacement Project at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (Draft CMRR-NF SEIS) (DOE/EIS-0350-
S1), and the dates and locations for public hearings to receive
comments on the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS. The Draft CMRR-NF SEIS analyzes the
potential environmental impacts of alternatives for constructing and
operating the nuclear facility (NF) portion of the Chemistry and
Metallurgy Research Building Replacement (CMRR) Project. The CMRR
Project was first analyzed in the 2003 Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Building
Replacement Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM
(the CMRR EIS) (DOE/EIS-0350), and NNSA issued a Record of Decision for
the CMRR Project in February 2004 (68 FR 6420) announcing its decision
to construct and operate a two building CMRR facility within Technical
Area-55 (TA-55) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in order to
meet its need to sustain mission-critical specialized nuclear chemistry
and metallurgy capabilities at LANL in a safe, secure and
environmentally sound manner. Since that time, NNSA has constructed one
of the two buildings for the CMRR Project (the Radiological Laboratory/
Utility/Office Building, also called the RLUOB), and has engaged in
project planning and design processes for the second building, the
CMRR-NF. The planning and design processes for the CMRR-NF have
identified the need for various changes to the original design for the
structure and additional project elements not envisioned in the 2003
NEPA analyses. These proposed changes, identified subsequent to the
ROD, are the subject of the CMRR-NF SEIS analyses.
The Draft CMRR-NF SEIS considers a No Action Alternative (the 2004
CMRR-NF), and two action alternatives (the Modified CMRR-NF
Alternative, and the Continued Use of CMR Building Alternative). Under
the No Action Alternative, NNSA analyzes construction and operation of
the CMRR-NF as it was originally envisioned in 2004, although it has
been determined that the structural design in this alternative would
not meet current nuclear facility design safety requirements. Thus,
this alternative no longer meets NNSA's purpose and need.
[[Page 24019]]
The Modified CMRR-NF Alternative incorporates currently identified
construction and operational requirements for the CMRR-NF, and meets
NNSA's purpose and need. The Continued Use of CMR Building Alternative
analyzes continued use of the CMR Building for as long as it may be
safe to do so, together with the RLUOB, although this alternative would
not fully meet NNSA's purpose and need. The Modified CMRR Alternative
is NNSA's preferred alternative.
DATES: NNSA invites stakeholders and members of the public to submit
comments on the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS during the public comment period,
which starts with the publication of the Environmental Protection
Agency's Notice of Availability in the Federal Register and extends for
45 days until June 13, 2011. NNSA will consider comments received after
this date to the extent practicable as it prepares the Final CMRR-NF
SEIS.
NNSA will hold three public hearings on the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS at
the following dates, times, and locations:
Tuesday, May 24, 2011, at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Holiday Inn
Express, 60 Entrada Drive, Los Alamos, NM.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Santa Claran
Hotel, 464 N. Riverside Drive, Espa[ntilde]ola, NM.
Thursday, May 26, 2011, at 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Santa Fe
Community College, Jemez Rooms, 6401 Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, NM.
The first half hour of each hearing will be conducted as an open
house-style session with subject matter experts available to discuss
the project and answer questions; the remainder of the hearing will be
devoted to receiving oral and written comments.
ADDRESSES: The Draft CMRR-NF SEIS and its reference material are
available for review on the NNSA NEPA Web site at: http://nnsa.energy.gov/nepa/cmrrseis. Copies of the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS are
also available for review at: the Los Alamos National Laboratory,
Oppenheimer Study Center, Building TA3-207, West Jemez Road, Los
Alamos, New Mexico; the Office of the Northern New Mexico Citizens
Advisory Board, 1660 Old Pecos Trail, Suite B, Santa Fe, New Mexico;
and the Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New
Mexico. The Draft CMRR-NF SEIS or its Summary may be obtained upon
request by leaving a message on the Los Alamos Site Office (LASO) CMRR-
NF SEIS Hotline at (toll free) 1-877-427-9439; or by writing to: U.S.
Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Los
Alamos Site Office, 3747 West Jemez Road, TA-3 Building 1410, Los
Alamos, New Mexico, 87544, Attn: Mr. John Tegtmeier, CMRR-NF SEIS
Document Manager; or by facsimile ((505) 667-5948); or by e-mail at:
[email protected].
Questions or Comments concerning the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS can be
submitted to the NNSA Los Alamos Site Office at the same postal and
electronic addresses given above. Additionally, the LASO CMRR-NF SEIS
Hotline will have instructions on how to record comments. Please mark
all envelopes, faxes and e-mail: ``Draft CMRR-NF SEIS Comments''.
For general information about the DOE NEPA process, please contact:
Ms. Carol 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, or leave a message at 1-800-472-
2756. Additional information regarding DOE NEPA activities and access
to many of DOE's NEPA documents are available on the Internet through
the DOE NEPA Web site at http://nepa.energy.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NNSA has prepared the Draft CMRR SEIS in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations that implement the
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and DOE
regulations implementing NEPA (10 CFR 1021). These regulations require
the preparation of a supplement to an environmental impact statement
(EIS) when there are substantial changes to a proposal or when there or
significant new circumstances or information relevant to environmental
concerns. An agency may also supplement an EIS to further the purposes
of NEPA.
Background. LANL is located in north-central New Mexico, 60 miles
north-northeast of Albuquerque, 25 miles northwest of Santa Fe, and 20
miles southwest of Espa[ntilde]ola in Los Alamos and Santa Fe Counties.
It is located between the Jemez Mountains to the west and the Sangre de
Cristo Mountains and Rio Grande to the east. LANL occupies an area of
about 40 square miles (104 square kilometers). It is a
multidisciplinary, multipurpose institution engaged in theoretical and
experimental research and development. LANL performs scientific
research and development, and production mission support activities
that are critical to the accomplishment of the NNSA's national security
objectives as reflected in previous NEPA decisions based on the
Stockpile Stewardship and Management Programmatic EIS (DOE/EIS-0236)
and the Complex Transformation Supplemental Programmatic EIS (SPEIS)
(DOE/EIS-0236-S4). LANL's role in NNSA mission objectives includes a
wide range of scientific and technological capabilities that support
nuclear materials handling, processing and fabrication; stockpile
management; materials and manufacturing technologies; nonproliferation
programs; research and development support for national defense and
homeland security programs; and DOE waste management activities.
The CMR facility, located in TA-3 at LANL, houses unique analytical
chemistry (AC) and material characterization (MC) support capabilities
needed to execute NNSA mission activities. However, CMR is nearly 60
years old. A 1998 seismic study identified two small parallel faults
beneath the northernmost portion of the CMR Building. The presence of
these faults has given rise to operational and safety concerns related
to the structural integrity of the building should a seismic event
affecting LANL take place. CMR Building operations and capabilities are
currently restricted in scope due to both safety and security
constraints; it cannot be operated to the full extent needed to meet
NNSA operational requirements. In the late 1990s, NNSA began to develop
plans to relocate the CMR Building capabilities elsewhere at LANL to
ensure its ability to provide AC and MC support for national security
and other NNSA missions. The CMRR EIS was prepared and issued in 2003,
followed by a ROD in 2004.
The RLUOB portion of the CMRR project has been completely planned
and constructed at TA-55 over the past 7 years. During this same time
period, project planning and design for the CMRR-NF has progressed. The
CMRR-NF planning process has identified several project requirements
that were not envisioned when the CMRR EIS was prepared and issued in
2003. Various facility modifications to address current DOE and NNSA
nuclear facility design requirements and sustainable design principals
have been identified by NNSA. Several ancillary and support project
requirements in addition to those previously analyzed in the CMRR EIS
have also been identified. The modifications to the proposed CMRR-NF
structural design would allow the building to be operated to the full
extent needed to meet NNSA objectives for the CMRR Facility.
NNSA conducted a public scoping process that began with the
publication
[[Page 24020]]
of a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register on October 1, 2010,
in which NNSA announced its intention to prepare the CMRR-NF SEIS and
invited public comment on the scope of the NEPA analysis. The NOI also
announced the schedule for public scoping meetings that were held on
October 19, 2010, and on October 20, 2010, in White Rock and Pojoaque,
New Mexico, respectively. In addition to the public meetings, the
public was encouraged to provide comments via mail, e-mail, and fax.
All scoping comments received were considered by NNSA in preparing the
Draft CMRR SEIS.
Alternatives. The Draft CMRR-NF SEIS analyzes the following three
alternatives:
No Action Alternative. The No Action Alternative (also referred to
as the 2004 CMRR-NF) reflects the CMRR-NF as it was described and
analyzed in the 2003 CMRR EIS and selected in the 2004 ROD (69 FR 6967)
and the 2008 Complex Transformation SPEIS ROD (73 FR 77656).
This alternative also includes two additional project activities
that were not included in the 2003 CMRR EIS but were analyzed in the
2008 Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for Continued
Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
(the LANL SWEIS, DOE/EIS -0380), which analyzed the CMRR Facility as
part of on-going and future LANL operations. These additional project
elements are the transportation and storage of up to 150,000 cubic
yards (115,000 cubic meters) per year of excavated soil and spoils from
the construction site, and the installation of a new 115-kilovolt
electric substation on the existing power distribution loop in TA-50.
The 2004 CMRR-NF would have been constructed at TA-55, adjacent to the
RLUOB. It is now known, however, that the 2004 CMRR-NF design would not
be able to be constructed to meet the nuclear facility design standards
required for NNSA to safely conduct the full suite of AC and MC mission
work needed by NNSA and DOE. Under the No Action Alternative, the 2004
CMRR-NF would have been constructed as a two-storied building with one
above ground level and one below ground level, together with connecting
tunnels, material storage vaults, utility structures and trenches,
security structures, parking area(s) and a variety of other support
areas (such as material laydown areas, concrete batch plant, and
equipment storage and parking areas). The building would have comprised
about 200,000 square feet (18,600 square meters) of solid floor space,
while the total amount of laboratory workspace where mission-related AC
and MC operations would be performed would have been about 22,500
square feet (2,100 square meters) in size.
Modified CMRR-NF Alternative. The Modified CMRR-NF would be
constructed at the same TA-55 location adjacent to the RLUOB which is
identified for the No Action Alternative and would enable NNSA to
safely conduct the full suite of AC and MC mission work needed by NNSA
and DOE. The Modified CMRR-NF would be constructed with additional
structural and reinforcing concrete and steel; additional soil
excavation, soil stabilization, and foundation work would also be
necessary. The building would comprise about 344,000 square feet
(31,000 square meters) of useable floor space divided between four
stories and a partial roof level. The total amount of laboratory
workspace where mission-related AC and MC operations would be performed
would be about 22,500 square feet (2,100 square meters) in size.
Additionally, a set of dedicated fire suppression water storage tanks
would be located within the Modified CMRR-NF building. This proposed
project would differ from the 2004 CMRR-NF in that it would include
facility modifications to address DOE and NNSA nuclear facility design
standards including seismic safety, nuclear safety basis requirements,
security needs, and sustainable design principals and would also
include certain additional infrastructure enhancements and construction
support activities.
The Modified CMRR-NF Alternative includes two construction options,
the Deep Excavation Option and the Shallow Excavation Option. The two
construction options consider excavation depths that would allow NNSA
to construct the building either below or above a layer of poorly
welded volcanic tuff (ash) present at the TA-55 site. The Modified CMRR
Alternative is NNSA's preferred alternative; however, NNSA has not
identified a preferred construction option at this time.
Continued Use of CMR Building Alternative. Under this alternative,
NNSA would continue to carry out laboratory operations in the existing
CMR Building at TA-3, with radiological laboratory and administrative
support operations moving into the newly constructed RLUOB at TA-55.
The continued operation of the CMR Building over an extended period of
time would result in continued reduction of laboratory space as
operations are further consolidated, or eliminated. It may also include
further reductions in operations that could be identified as necessary
over time based on the limited ability of the CMR Building to be safely
operated and maintained in a physically prudent fashion. This
alternative would not meet NNSA's need to carry out AC and MC
operations at a level that would support the entire range of DOE and
NNSA mission needs.
Public Hearings and Invitation to Comment. NNSA will hold three
public hearings on the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS as described in this Notice
under DATES. Individuals who would like to present comments orally at
these hearings must register upon arrival at the hearing. Speaking time
will be allotted by the hearing moderator to each individual wishing to
speak so as to ensure that as many people as possible have the
opportunity to speak. NNSA representatives will be available during the
open house portion of these hearings to discuss the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS
and the analyses in it. Following the plenary session, the public will
have an opportunity to provide oral and written comments.
Following the end of the public comment period on the Draft CMRR-NF
SEIS described above, the NNSA will consider and respond to the
comments received during the comment period on the Draft CMRR-NF SEIS
in the Final CMRR-NF SEIS, and issue the Final CMRR-NF SEIS. NNSA
decision-makers will consider the environmental impact analysis
presented in the Final CMRR-NF SEIS, along with other information, in
making decisions related to CMRR-NF.
Signed in Washington, DC, on April 21, 2011.
Thomas P. D'Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-10406 Filed 4-28-11; 8:45 am]
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