1 October 2010

[Federal Register: October 1, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 190)]
[Notices]               
[Page 60745-60747]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01oc10-59]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration

 
Notice of Intent To Prepare a 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: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security 
Administration (NNSA).

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Council on Environmental Quality's implementing 
regulations for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (40 CFR 
1502.9[c][1] and [2]) and DOE's NEPA implementing regulations (10 CFR 
1021.314) require the preparation of a supplement to an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) when there are substantial changes to a proposal 
or when there are significant new circumstances or information relevant 
to environmental concerns. DOE may also prepare a supplemental EIS at 
any time to further the purposes of NEPA. Pursuant to these provisions, 
the NNSA, a semi-autonomous agency within the DOE, intends to prepare a 
supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to assess the 
potential environmental impacts of the construction and operation of 
the nuclear facility portion of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research 
Building Replacement Project (CMRR-NF) at Los Alamos National 
Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, New Mexico.
    The CMRR Project, including the CMRR-NF, was the subject of NNSA's 
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Chemistry and Metallurgy 
Research Building Replacement Project at Los Alamos National 
Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DOE/EIS-0350; the CMRR EIS) issued 
in November 2003, and a February 2004 Record of Decision (ROD) (69 FR 
6967). Over time, due in large part to detailed site geotechnical 
investigations, some aspects of the CMRR-NF Project have changed from 
what was foreseen when the CMRR EIS was prepared. The potential 
environmental impacts of these proposed changes will be analyzed in the 
CMRR-NF SEIS.

DATES: NNSA invites stakeholders and members of the public to submit 
comments and suggestions on the scope of the SEIS during the SEIS 
scoping period, which starts with the publication of this Notice and 
will continue for 30 days until November 1, 2010. NNSA will consider 
all comments received or postmarked by that date in defining the scope 
of this SEIS. Comments received or postmarked after that date will be 
considered to the extent practicable. Two public scoping meetings will 
be held to provide the public with an opportunity to present comments, 
ask questions, and discuss concerns regarding the SEIS with NNSA 
officials. Public scoping meetings will be held on October 19, 2010, at 
the White Rock Town Hall, 139 Longview Drive, White Rock, New Mexico 
and October 20, 2010, at the Cities of Gold Casino Hotel, Pojoaque, New 
Mexico. Both meetings will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. The NNSA 
will publish additional notices regarding the scoping meetings in local 
newspapers in advance of the scheduled meetings. Any necessary changes 
will be announced in the local media.
    Any agency, state, pueblo, tribe, or unit of local government that 
desires to be designated a cooperating agency should contact Mr. John 
Tegtmeier at the address listed below by the closing date of the 
scoping period.

[[Page 60746]]


ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions concerning the scope of the 
CMRR-NF SEIS or requests for more information on the SEIS and public 
scoping process should be directed to: Mr. John Tegtmeier, CMRR-NF SEIS 
Document Manager, 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; facsimile at 505-667-
5948; or e-mail at: NEPALASO@doeal.gov. Mr. Tegtmeier may also be 
reached by telephone at 505-665-0113.
    In addition to providing comments at the public scoping meetings, 
all interested parties are invited to record their comments, ask 
questions concerning the EIS, or request to be placed on the EIS 
mailing or document distribution list by leaving a message on the SEIS 
Hotline at (toll free) 1-877-427-9439. The Hotline will provide 
instructions on how to record comments and requests.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the NNSA 
NEPA process, please contact: Ms. Mary Martin (NA-56), NNSA NEPA 
Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, or telephone 202-586-9438. 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, telephone 202-586-4600, or leave a message at 1-
800-472-2756. Additional information about the DOE NEPA process, an 
electronic archive of DOE NEPA documents, including those referenced in 
this announcement, and other NEPA resources are provided at http://
nepa.energy.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 25,600 acres [10,360 hectares] or 
approximately 40 square miles and is operated for NNSA by a contractor, 
Los Alamos National Security, LLC. It is a multidisciplinary, 
multipurpose institution engaged in theoretical and experimental 
research and development. LANL has been assigned science, research and 
development, and production mission support activities that are 
critical to the accomplishment of the NNSA's national security 
objectives as reflected in the Stockpile Stewardship and Management 
Programmatic EIS (DOE/EIS-0236) and the Complex Transformation 
Supplemental Programmatic EIS (DOE/EIS-0236-S4). LANL's main 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 capabilities needed to execute the NNSA mission activities 
require facilities at LANL that can be used to handle actinides and 
other radioactive materials in a safe and secure manner. (The actinides 
are any of a series of 14 chemical elements with atomic numbers ranging 
from 89 (actinium) through 103 (lawrencium)). Of primary importance are 
the facilities located within the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research 
(CMR) Building and the Plutonium Facility (located at Technical Areas 
(TAs) 3 and 55, respectively), which are used for processing, 
characterizing, and storage of special nuclear material. (Special 
nuclear material is defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as 
plutonium, uranium-233, or uranium enriched in the isotopes uranium-233 
or uranium-235). Most of the LANL mission support functions previously 
listed require analytical chemistry, material characterization, and 
actinide research and development support capabilities that currently 
exist within the CMR Building and are not available elsewhere. Other 
unique capabilities are located at the adjacent Plutonium Facility. 
Work is sometimes moved between the CMR Building and the Plutonium 
Facility to make use of the full suite of capabilities that these two 
facilities provide. CMR Building operations and capabilities are 
currently restricted in scope due to safety and security constraints; 
it cannot be operated to the full extent needed to meet NNSA 
operational requirements.
    The CMR building contains about 550,000 square feet (about 51,100 
square meters) of floor space on two floors divided between a main 
corridor and seven wings. It was constructed in the early 1950s. DOE 
maintained and upgraded the building over time to provide for continued 
safe operations. However, beginning in 1997 and 1998, a series of 
operational, safety, and seismic issues surfaced regarding the long-
term viability of the CMR Building. In January 1999, the NNSA approved 
a strategy for managing operational risks at the CMR Building. The 
strategy included implementing operational restrictions to ensure safe 
operations. These restrictions are impacting the assigned mission 
activities conducted at the CMR Building. This strategy also committed 
NNSA to develop plans to relocate the CMR capabilities elsewhere at 
LANL to maintain support of national security and other NNSA missions. 
The CMRR EIS was prepared and issued in 2003, followed by a ROD in 
2004.
    The CMRR EIS analyzed four action alternatives: (1) The 
construction and operation of a new CMRR facility at TA-55; (2) the 
construction of a new CMRR facility at a ``greenfield'' location within 
TA-6; (3) a ``hybrid'' alternative maintaining administrative offices 
and support functions at the existing CMR building with a new Hazard 
Category 2 laboratory facility built at TA-55; and, (4) a ``hybrid'' 
alternative with the laboratory facility being constructed at TA-6. The 
CMRR EIS also analyzed a no action alternative where the existing CMR 
building would continue to be kept in service. In the 2004 ROD, NNSA 
announced its decision to implement the preferred alternative 
(alternative 1): To construct a new CMRR facility which would include a 
single above-ground, consolidated nuclear material-capable, Hazard 
Category 2 laboratory building (construction option 3) with a separate, 
adjacent administrative office and support functions building, now 
referred to as the CMRR Radiological Laboratory/Utility/Office Building 
(CMRR RLUOB). Upon completion, the CMRR Facility would replace the CMR 
Building, operations would be moved to the new CMRR Facility, and the 
vacated CMR Building would undergo decommissioning, decontamination, 
and demolition. (While the CMRR RLUOB has been constructed in TA-55 at 
LANL, the installation of laboratory equipment has not been completed 
and operations have not begun). Since 2004, the planning process for 
the construction and operation of the CMRR-NF has continued to progress 
and take into consideration newly gathered site-specific data and 
safety and security requirements.
    Purpose and Need: The NNSA's purpose and need for proposing the 
construction and operation of the CMRR-NF have not changed since the 
CMRR EIS was prepared and issued in 2003. NNSA needs to provide the 
physical means for accommodating the CMR Building's functional, 
mission-critical nuclear capabilities, and to

[[Page 60747]]

consolidate activities for safer and more efficient operations. In the 
2003 CMRR EIS, NNSA analyzed the potential environmental impacts 
associated with the proposed relocation of LANL analytical chemistry 
(AC) and materials characterization (MC), and associated research and 
development capabilities that currently exist primarily at the existing 
CMR building, to a newly constructed facility, and operation of the new 
facility for the next 50 years. In the May 2008, Final Site-Wide 
Environmental Impact Statement for Continued Operation of Los Alamos 
National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DOE/EIS-0380), the CMRR 
was considered and its potential environmental impacts analyzed as a 
part of the No Action Alternative and each of the action alternatives 
for continued operation of LANL.
    The potential environmental impacts associated with the 
construction and operation of the CMRR-NF were also analyzed within 
certain alternatives in the Complex Transformation SPEIS (DOE/EIS-0236-
S4) as part of the proposal to reconfigure and streamline NNSA's 
nuclear security enterprise. NNSA issued two RODs based on the Complex 
Transformation SPEIS analysis in December 2008. In the SPEIS ROD for 
operations involving plutonium, uranium, and the assembly and 
disassembly of nuclear weapons (73 FR 77644), NNSA announced its 
decision to retain plutonium manufacturing and research and development 
at LANL, and in support of these activities, to proceed with 
construction and operation of the CMRR-NF at LANL as essential to its 
ability to meet national security requirements regarding the nation's 
nuclear deterrent.

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    Proposed Action: The Proposed Action is to construct the CMRR-NF at 
TA-55. Over time some aspects of the proposed CMRR-NF Project plans 
have changed. These proposed changes include, for example:
     Changes to the CMRR-NF structure required for seismic 
safety based on new information from additional geotechnical 
investigations conducted at the site. These changes involve 
incorporating additional structural steel and concrete into the 
building construction and increasing the quantity of material that must 
be excavated for the building foundation;
     Changes to the infrastructure to support the CMRR-NF 
construction activities, such as concrete batch plants, construction 
material lay-down areas and warehouses, and temporary office trailers 
and parking areas. Some of these changes involve the use of additional 
acreage. Most of these proposed changes are temporary in duration;
     Changes to the CMRR-NF structure to ensure 10 CFR part 830 
nuclear safety basis requirements are met for facility engineering 
controls to ensure protection of the public, workers, and the 
environment; and
     Changes to incorporate additional sustainable design 
principles and environmental conservation measures. These changes 
minimize the environmental impacts of construction and operation of the 
CMRR-NF.
    The potential environmental impacts of these and similar changes 
will be analyzed in the CMRR-NF SEIS.
    No Action Alternative: The No Action alternative would be the 
construction of the CMRR-NF and the ancillary and support activities as 
announced in the 2004 ROD.
    CMR Alternative 1: Do not construct a replacement facility to house 
the capabilities planned for the CMRR-NF. Continue to perform 
analytical chemistry, material characterization, and actinide research 
and development activities in the CMR Building, with no facility 
upgrades, while performing routine maintenance at the level needed to 
sustain programmatic operations for as long as feasible.
    CMR Alternative 2: Same as CMR Alternative 1, but includes making 
the extensive facility upgrades needed to sustain CMR programmatic 
operations for another 20 to 30 years.
    Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues. NNSA has 
tentatively identified the following issues for analysis in this SEIS. 
Additional issues may be identified as a result of the scoping process.
    1. Potential impacts to air, water, soil, visual resources and 
viewsheds.
    2. Potential impacts to plants and animals, and to their habitats, 
including Federally-listed threatened or endangered species and their 
critical habitats.
    3. Potential impacts from irretrievable and irreversible 
consumption of natural resources and energy, including transportation 
issues.
    4. Potential impacts to cultural resources, including historical 
and prehistorical resources and traditional cultural properties.
    5. Potential impacts to infrastructure and utilities.
    6. Potential impacts to socioeconomic conditions.
    7. Potential environmental justice impacts to minority and low-
income populations.
    8. Potential cumulative impacts from the Proposed Action and 
alternatives together with other past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable actions at LANL.
    CMRR-NF SEIS Preparation Process: The scoping process for a NEPA 
document is an opportunity for the public to assist the NNSA in 
determining the alternatives and issues for analysis. Alternatives may 
be added, deleted, or modified as a result of scoping. The purpose of 
the scoping meetings is to receive oral and written comments from the 
public. The meetings will use a format to facilitate dialogue between 
NNSA and the public and will be an opportunity for individuals to 
provide written or oral statements. NNSA welcomes specific comments or 
suggestions on the content of these alternatives, or on other 
alternatives that should be considered. The above list of issues to be 
considered in the SEIS analysis is tentative and is intended to 
facilitate public comment on the scope of the SEIS. It is not intended 
to be all-inclusive, nor does it imply any predetermination of 
potential impacts. The CMRR-NF SEIS will describe the potential 
environmental impacts of the alternatives, using available data where 
possible and obtaining additional data where necessary. Copies of 
written comments and transcripts of oral comments will be available as 
soon as practicable after the public scoping meeting on the Internet 
at: http://www.doeal.gov/laso/NEPADocuments.aspx.
    Following the scoping period announced in this Notice of Intent, 
and after consideration of comments received during scoping, NNSA will 
prepare a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Construction of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Replacement Project's 
Nuclear Facility at Technical Area-55 Within Los Alamos National 
Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DOE/EIS-0350-S1). Comments received 
on the Draft SEIS during the planned 45-day comment period will be 
considered and addressed in the Final SEIS, which NNSA anticipates 
issuing by July 2011. NNSA will issue a ROD no sooner than 30 days 
after publication by the Environmental Protection Agency of a Notice of 
Availability of the Final SEIS.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 28th day of September 2010.
Thomas P. D'Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. 2010-24681 Filed 9-30-10; 8:45 am]
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