[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 19, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58112-58114]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23099]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for
the Proposed Conveyance of Land at the Hanford Site, Richland, WA and
Notice of Potential Floodplain and Wetland Involvement
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) NEPA implementing regulations, DOE is
announcing its intention to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA;
DOE/EA-1915) to assess the potential environmental effects of conveying
approximately 1,641 acres of Hanford Site land to a local economic
development organization. Conveyance of the land could include title
transfer, lease, easement, license, or a combination of these realty
actions. The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC), a DOE designated
Community Reuse Organization (CRO) and 501(c)(6) nonprofit corporation,
submitted a proposal to DOE in May 2011 (amended October 2011)
requesting the transfer of approximately 1,641 acres of land located in
the southeastern corner of the Hanford Site near the City of Richland
in Benton County, Washington for economic development purposes. DOE
anticipates that there may be continuing mission needs, such as
security and safety buffer zones on some of the requested lands, making
them less suitable for conveyance. Therefore, the lands that will be
addressed in the EA analysis will include the acreage requested by
TRIDEC and approximately 2,772 additional acres adjacent to the
requested lands. The EA will evaluate the potential environmental
impacts of conveying approximately 1,641 acres of the total 4,413 acres
included in the analysis area. The acreage being considered in the EA
analysis is part of approximately 59 square miles of Hanford Site lands
previously designated by DOE for industrial uses under the Hanford
Comprehensive Land-Use Plan (CLUP), based on analyses presented in the
Hanford Comprehensive Land-Use Plan Environmental Impact Statement
(HCP-EIS) [DOE/EIS-0222; September 1999; Record of Decision (ROD) (64
FR 61615; November 12, 1999)]. The HCP-EIS recognized the potential for
future conveyance of some industrial-designated lands to the local
community for economic development. The CLUP was reaffirmed in a
Supplement Analysis to the HCP-EIS (DOE/EIS-0222-SA-01; June 2008) and
amended ROD (73 FR 55824; September 26, 2008).
The EA will analyze the reasonably foreseeable environmental
effects associated with the probable future uses of lands in the
analysis area, based upon industry targets described in the TRIDEC
proposal, including warehousing and distribution; research and
development; technology manufacturing; food processing and agriculture;
and ``back office'' (i.e., business services). The proposed action may
affect floodplains and wetlands, so this Notice of Intent also serves
as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action in accordance with
DOE floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements.
DATES: DOE invites public comment on the scope of this Hanford Site
Land Conveyance EA during a 30-day public scoping period beginning
September 19, 2012 and ending on October 19, 2012. DOE will consider
all comments received or postmarked by the end of the scoping period to
define the scope of this EA. Comments received or postmarked after the
end date will be considered to the extent practicable. A public scoping
meeting is scheduled for October 10, 2012.
ADDRESSES: The public scoping meeting will be held from 5:30 p.m. to
8:30 p.m. at the Richland Public Library in Richland, Washington. DOE
will issue stakeholder and media notifications and publish an
additional notice on the date, time and location of the scoping meeting
in the local newspaper before the scheduled meeting. DOE will notify
stakeholders and the media of any changes concerning the scoping
meeting.
Scoping comments may be submitted by regular mail and addressed as
follows: Ms. Paula Call, NEPA Document Manager, U.S. Department of
Energy, Richland Operations Office, P.O. Box 550, MSIN A2-15, Richland,
WA 99352.
Scoping comments may also be submitted by email to
[email protected].
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on DOE's proposed
action, contact Ms. Call by mail or email as noted above in ADDRESSES,
or at 509-376-2048.
For general information concerning DOE's 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 20585-0119, Telephone: 202-586-4600, Fax: 202-586-7031,
Voice mail message: 1-800-472-2756, Email: [email protected].
Additional information regarding DOE's NEPA activities is available
on the DOE NEPA Web site at http://energy.gov/nepa.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Situated along the Columbia River in southeastern Washington, DOE's
586-square-mile Hanford Site is undergoing extensive efforts to clean
up contamination resulting from past nuclear defense research and
development activities dating back to World War II. DOE has real
property conveyance authority under a number of different laws
including the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA). Section 161(g) of the
AEA authorizes DOE to convey real property by sale or lease to another
party.
DOE may hold harmless and indemnify a person or entity to whom real
property is conveyed against liability for pre-existing contamination
that may have resulted from DOE (or predecessor agency) activities at
the site. Such indemnification is consistent with the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
Section 120(h)(3)(A)(ii)(II); EPA's ``Policy Towards Landowners and
Transferees of Federal Facilities'' (EPA, 1997); and DOE regulation 10
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 770, Transfer of Real Property
at Defense Nuclear Facilities for Economic Development.
Significant progress has been made in cleanup of the Hanford Site,
particularly as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(111th Congress: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).
Accordingly, there is heightened focus in the local community on the
need to transition away from an economy focused largely on DOE and
Hanford activities to one based on private sector or other non-DOE
Federal agencies. As the designated CRO for the Hanford Site, TRIDEC's
charter is to promote these economic development goals. Beginning in
1996, and continuing in 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2005, TRIDEC commissioned
studies to develop strategies and target industries that would be most
appropriate for future economic development. TRIDEC also engaged in
marketing and recruitment activities during this time period.
Industries that were targeted in these studies and recruitment efforts
included warehousing and distribution; research and development;
technology manufacturing; food processing and agriculture; and ``back
office'' (i.e., business services).
In February 2011, the Secretary of Energy established a DOE-wide
Task Force on an Asset Revitalization Initiative (ARI), to initiate a
comprehensive review of DOE assets and possible disposition paths. DOE
submitted its report to Congress on the progress of this Initiative in
August 2011 (Asset Revitalization Initiative Report to Congress,
Department of Energy, August 2011). Also in 2011, TRIDEC submitted a
request to DOE for title transfer of approximately 1,641 acres of
undeveloped land located near the southeastern boundary of the Hanford
Site, pursuant to 10 CFR part 770. TRIDEC's proposal states its intent
to work with the City of Richland, the Port of Benton, and Benton
County to establish the property as an Industrial Development and
Energy Park. The proposal states that TRIDEC may subsequently transfer
ownership either to a private user or to one of its public agency
partners, such as the City of Richland.
Purpose and Need for Agency Action
TRIDEC, the recognized CRO for the Hanford Site, has requested
transfer of 1,641 acres of Hanford lands for economic development.
Consistent with the Hanford CLUP which designates the subject lands for
industrial use, and the HCP-EIS which recognized the potential for
future conveyance of industrial-designated lands to the local community
for economic development, DOE will consider the TRIDEC request for the
transfer of 1,641 acres of Hanford lands to support local economic
development.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
In response to the TRIDEC proposal, DOE proposes to convey
approximately 1,641 acres of Hanford land to the CRO for the purposes
of facilitating local economic development and assisting the local
community in the transition away from an economy focused largely on DOE
and Hanford-related funding. Conveyance of the land could include title
transfer, lease, easement, license, or a combination of these realty
actions. It is important to note that at this time, no specific end
users or development proposals have been identified or proposed. In
addition to reasonable alternatives that may be identified during
public scoping, the EA will analyze two alternatives: the No Action
Alternative and the Proposed Action Alternative. Under the No Action
Alternative, DOE would retain ownership and management of the land.
Under the Proposed Action Alternative, DOE would convey
approximately 1,641 acres of undeveloped land in response to the CRO's
land transfer request. The CRO plans to use, market, lease, sell, or
otherwise develop the land to conduct industrial development and
commercial activities that are consistent with local zoning and
comprehensive land use plans. These lands are generally bounded by Horn
Rapids Road and Highway 240 to the south; Route 10 to the west; and
Stevens Drive or Route 4 South to the east and north, and are located
near the northeast boundary of the City of Richland. The TRIDEC request
includes two parcels: (1) A 1,341-acre parcel located northwest of the
intersection of Horn Rapids Road and Stevens Drive, with the west and
north boundaries adjacent to the Hanford Firing Range and an active
borrow pit; and (2) a 300-acre parcel located \1/2\-mile north of the
1,341-acre parcel, separated from the 1,341-acre parcel by the active
borrow pit. DOE anticipates that there may be continuing mission needs,
such as security and human health and safety buffer zones, on portions
of the lands requested by TRIDEC. Therefore, the EA analysis will
consider for conveyance the parcels requested by TRIDEC as well as the
adjacent 2,772-acre parcel roughly bounded by the 1,341-acre parcel to
the south, the Hanford Firing Range to the west, the Hanford Railroad
and Route 4 South to the east, and a straight line extending from the
northeastern tip of the Hanford Firing Range to the Hanford Railroad to
the north. The EA will evaluate whether to convey approximately 1,641
acres of the total 4,413 acres included in the analysis area.
Consistent with the CLUP analyses of reasonably foreseeable
environmental effects associated with the probable future use of the
lands, DOE intends to base its analyses in the EA on the previous
TRIDEC target industry studies and TRIDEC's intent to market the land
as an Industrial Development and Energy Park including:
(i) Warehousing&Distribution--such as manufactured parts/materials
distribution, food/agricultural;
[[Page 58114]]
(ii) Research and Development--such as scientific research,
software, data security, computation, energy, environmental, or
biotechnology;
(iii) Technology Manufacturing--such as defense manufacturing,
sensor manufacturing, or medical devices;
(iv) Food/Agriculture--such as wine, food processing, or
agricultural products;
(v) ``Back Office'' (i.e. business services)--such as call centers,
administrative processing, or data processing.
DOE's analysis of the Proposed Action Alternative will also assume
that future uses would be developed in accordance with local zoning and
current City of Richland (2008) and Benton County (2006) comprehensive
land use plans that were developed to comply with the Washington State
Growth Management Act. In order to identify environmental effects that
could result from implementation of the proposed action, DOE intends to
use analytical assumptions in the EA that would tend to maximize
estimates of reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts associated
with footprint, infrastructure, utilities, emissions, construction of
buildings, projected workforce and traffic, water usage, and similar
requirements.
Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues
Issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA include the
reasonably foreseeable effects associated with: land use; ecological
resources; cultural and historic resources; geology and soils; water
resources; climate and air quality; noise; transportation; accidents
and intentional destructive acts; socioeconomics; environmental
justice; visual resources; waste management; infrastructure; and human
health and safety. The proposed action may affect floodplains and
wetlands. This NOI serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland
action in accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland environmental
review requirements (10 CFR part 1022). The EA will include an
assessment of potential impacts to floodplains and wetlands, and if
required, a statement of findings following DOE regulations for
compliance with floodplain and wetlands environmental review (10 CFR
part 1022). The analyses will identify the environmental effects that
are reasonably foreseeable to the local region as well as to ongoing
DOE missions and activities at the Hanford Site. The analysis will also
consider cumulative environmental effects. The EA will also explore
potential mitigation measures that could result in imposing deed
restrictions aimed at precluding or minimizing environmental
consequences.
National Historic Preservation Act
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)
requires Federal agencies to take into account the effects of their
undertakings on historic properties. Federal agencies are encouraged to
coordinate compliance with Section 106 of the NHPA with any steps taken
to meet the requirements of NEPA. In the interest of being
comprehensive and less duplicative, DOE plans to coordinate the NEPA
review and Section 106 compliance processes for the preparation of this
EA to the greatest extent possible.
Scoping Process
DOE has established a 30-day scoping period during which Federal
agencies, State, Tribal and local governments, special interest groups,
concerned citizens and any other interested parties are invited to
comment on the scope of the EA, including specific issues that should
be addressed in the EA. In keeping with DOE's plans to coordinate the
NEPA and NHPA Section 106 requirements, DOE also invites comments
regarding the identification of historic properties governed by the
NHPA, and any potential adverse effects that may result from the
proposed action, along with suggested actions DOE might take to
mitigate any such adverse effects. A public meeting will be held during
the scoping period. At the public meeting, DOE will provide an overview
of the proposed action, an informal question-and-answer period to
clarify the information presented, and an opportunity for individuals
to provide formal written or oral statements. DOE will consider all
comments received during the scoping period in preparing the draft EA.
If at any time during preparation of the EA DOE determines that an
environmental impact statement (EIS) is needed, DOE will issue a
revised Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS in the Federal
Register. In that case, the current scoping process will serve as the
scoping process that normally would follow an NOI to prepare an EIS.
Accordingly, DOE will consider any comments on the scope of the EA
received during this scoping process in preparing the EIS.
Issued in Richland, WA on September 12, 2012.
Matt McCormick,
Manager, Richland Operations Office.
[FR Doc. 2012-23099 Filed 9-18-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P