[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 241 (Friday, December 13, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65551-65563]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-31652]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Record of Decision: Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada
Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Record of Decision.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is issuing this Record of
Decision on the management and operation of the Nevada Test Site and
other DOE sites in the State of Nevada. This Record of Decision is
based on the information and analysis contained in the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site
Locations in the State of Nevada, DOE/EIS-0243, and other factors,
including the mission responsibilities of the Department, and comments
received on the draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement. DOE has
decided to implement a combination of three alternatives analyzed:
Expanded Use; No Action (i.e., status quo); and Alternate Use of
Withdrawn Lands. Most activities will be pursued at levels described by
the Expanded Use Alternative. However, low-level and mixed low-level
waste management activities will be conducted at levels described by
the No Action Alternative, pending decisions by DOE under the Waste
Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, DOE/EIS-0200,
now in preparation. Also, DOE will initiate certain public education
activities analyzed under the Alternate Use of Withdrawn Lands
Alternative. This decision will result in the continuation of the
multipurpose, multi-program use of the Nevada Test Site, under which
DOE will pursue a further diversification of interagency, private
industry, and public-education uses while meeting its Defense Program,
Waste Management, and Environmental Restoration mission requirements at
the Nevada Test Site and other Nevada sites, including the Tonopah Test
Range, the Project Shoal Site, the Central Nevada Test Area, and on the
Nellis Air Force Range Complex.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the Final
Environmental Impact Statement or to receive a copy of the
Environmental Impact Statement or other information related to this
Record of Decision, contact: Bob G. Golden, National Environmental
Policy Act Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada
Operations Office, P.O. Box 98518, Las Vegas, NV 89193, (702) 295-2353.
For information on the DOE National Environmental Policy Act
process, contact: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy
and Assistance, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at (800)
472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
DOE prepared this Record of Decision pursuant to the regulations of
the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and DOE's National
Environmental Policy Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021).
This Record of Decision is based on DOE's Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Nevada Test Site and Off-Site Locations in the State
of Nevada (DOE/EIS-0243). The Nevada Test Site occupies approximately
3,496 square kilometers (1,350 square miles) in southern Nevada and is
located approximately 105 kilometers (65 miles) northwest of Las Vegas.
The DOE also manages several other sites in Nevada, including the
Tonopah Test Range, Central Nevada Test Area, and Project Shoal Area
located southeast of Fallon, Nevada.
Historically, the primary mission of the Nevada Test Site was to
conduct nuclear weapons tests. Since the moratorium on testing began in
October 1992, this mission has changed to maintaining a readiness to
conduct tests if so directed by the President (under the ``supreme
national interest'' withdrawal provision in the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty) and participating in the Department's science-based stockpile
stewardship program by serving as a site for various
[[Page 65552]]
activities including subcritical experiments (i.e., explosively driven
experiments with special nuclear material in which there is no self-
sustaining nuclear reaction). In addition to stockpile stewardship, the
Nevada Test Site continues to host a number of national defense-related
programs. Other changing mission priorities include an increase in
environmental restoration efforts at the Nevada Test Site, Tonopah Test
Range, Project Shoal Site, Central Nevada Test Area, and Nellis Air
Force Range Complex and a concurrent need for waste management
activities.
The DOE is currently engaged in several other National
Environmental Policy Act processes that include the Nevada Test Site as
an alternate location for the action under consideration. These other
National Environmental Policy Act reviews include programmatic
environmental impact statements for Waste Management, Stockpile
Stewardship and Management, Storage and Disposition of Weapons-Usable
Fissile Materials, and the Continued Operation of the Pantex Plant.
Inasmuch as these other Environmental Impact Statements identify
potential new activities for the Nevada Test Site, the impacts of these
activities are analyzed under the Expanded Use Alternative in the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for the Nevada Test Site. However, the
nature of the decisions in this Record of Decision with regard to these
programmatic proposals is simply to reserve land and infrastructure at
the Nevada Test Site pending completion of these programmatic reviews
and their corresponding decision documents.
Alternatives Considered
DOE analyzed four use alternatives for the Nevada Test Site. A land
use map containing site and zone categories was developed for each
alternative. As part of each alternative, DOE activities at off-site
locations were also addressed. The four use alternatives are as
follows:
Alternative 1--Continue Current Operations (No Action)
Under this alternative, DOE activities and operations in five
mission programs--Defense, Waste Management, Environmental Restoration,
Nondefense Research and Development, and Work for Others-- would
continue in the same manner and degree as they have during the past 3
to 5 years. Under the Defense Program, two scenarios were examined. The
first was limited to maintaining a readiness to resume underground
nuclear testing, in accordance with Presidential direction, and
emphasized the execution of science-based stockpile stewardship
experiments and operations such as subcritical experiments. The second
scenario also included one or more underground nuclear tests on Pahute
Mesa or Yucca Flat as a result of an end to the moratorium on weapons
testing, or an invocation of the ``supreme national interest''
provision of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Although no new
initiatives or projects would be pursued or added under Alternative 1,
present Waste Management programs and activities would continue at the
Nevada Test Site. Environmental Restoration Program activities at the
Nevada Test Site and off-site locations would continue in the form of
characterization and remediation of contaminated areas or facilities.
The DOE would continue to support ongoing Nondefense Research and
Development Program operations but no new program initiatives would be
pursued. Under the Work for Others Program, DOE would continue to host
the projects and activities of other federal agencies at activity
levels not exceeding those of the past 3 to 5 years.
Alternative 2--Discontinue Operations
This alternative is defined as the discontinuation of the DOE
Nevada Operations Office and interagency programs and operations at the
Nevada Test Site and at off-site locations. Site support activities
would be limited to environmental monitoring and security functions
necessary for human health and security. All facilities would be placed
in cold standby after operations have ceased. DOE would not maintain a
state of readiness for nuclear weapons testing and there would be an
overall discontinuation of other defense-related activities at the
Nevada Test Site. Only minimum low-level and mixed waste disposal
capability would be maintained under the Waste Management Program until
Nevada Test Site waste-generating activities were completely shut down,
at which time the waste disposal facilities would be closed. Currently
inventoried Environmental Restoration Program sites would be
discontinued and abandoned as is. All Nondefense Research and
Development Program initiatives would be discontinued at the Nevada
Test Site, including siting of the Solar Enterprise Zone. The Work for
Others Program would cease and DOE would no longer host the projects
and activities of other federal agencies.
Alternative 3--Expanded Use
The Expanded Use Alternative incorporates all the activities and
operations under the Continue Current Operations Alternative, and
increases some of those ongoing programs. This level of operation
includes potential activities related to the programmatic decisions
that may be made as a result of other DOE Environmental Impact
Statements currently in progress. This alternative was developed in
coordination with these other Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statements. The analysis for this alternative bounds the maximum
potential impact that could occur at the Nevada Test Site as a result
of decisions made on the other DOE Environmental Impact Statements. The
Defense Program activities at both the Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah
Test Range would expand, primarily in the areas of stockpile
stewardship and management, materials disposition, and nuclear
emergency response. Waste Management activities would increase for low-
level waste and mixed waste for wastes generated by DOE research and
environmental cleanup and restoration programs within the State of
Nevada and waste from other DOE and Department of Defense sites. The
Environmental Restoration Program would continue, albeit potentially at
an accelerated rate, at the Nevada Test Site and all off-site
locations. The Nondefense Research and Development Program would
continue to support ongoing program operations and pursue new
initiatives, such as constructing and operating a solar power
production facility and an Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project at
the Nevada Test Site. Under the Work for Others Program, military use
of airspace over the Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah Test Range would
increase; use of certain lands on the test site by the military for
training, research, and development would also increase.
Alternative 4--Alternate Use of Withdrawn Lands
All defense-related activities and most activities under the Work
for Others Program would cease at the Nevada Test Site, with the
exception that military use of air space over the Nevada Test Site
could increase. Under the Waste Management Program, only radioactive
wastes from DOE sites in Nevada would be accepted at the Nevada Test
Site. The Environmental Restoration Program would continue at current
levels or accelerate at the Nevada Test Site and all off-site
locations. Parts of the Nevada Test Site could be returned to public
domain, and other parts of the test site would be available for public
education and recreation. Similar to the Expanded Use Alternative, an
expanded Solar
[[Page 65553]]
Enterprise Zone would be pursued that would include at least one of
three sites in southern Nevada in addition to the two sites at the
Nevada Test Site. Defense Program activities at the Tonopah Test Range
associated with stewardship of the Nation's stockpile of nuclear
weapons would continue.
Preferred Alternative
The DOE Preferred Alternative identified in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement was Alternative 3, Expanded Use, plus the public
education activities from Alternative 4. The Expanded Use Alternative
represents a continuation of the multipurpose, multi-program use of the
site and further represents a continuation and diversification of the
DOE Nevada Operations Office and interagency programs and operations at
the Nevada Test Site. The Expanded Use Alternative includes support for
ongoing DOE Nevada Operations Office program categories defined in the
Continue Current Operations Alternative, and also provides for
increased use of the Nevada Test Site and its related resources and
capabilities. This alternative would also make the Nevada Test Site
more available to both public and private institutions for purposes of
demonstrating new technologies. Public education activities from
Alternative 4 include establishing educational tour routes on the
Nevada Test Site and promoting the concept of creating a nuclear era
museum that would highlight the Nevada Test Site testing activities.
Tours would allow the public to see firsthand some of the history and
impacts of past nuclear testing. These activities would be an important
contribution to public understanding of the Nation's nuclear testing
and Cold War Era history.
Environmentally Preferable Alternative
The Council on Environmental Quality, in its response to comments
on 40 CFR 1505.2, defined the ``environmentally preferable
alternative'' as the alternative that best promotes the national
environmental policy. The Final Environmental Impact Statement analysis
shows that potential environmental impacts on the Nevada Test Site and
off-site locations in Nevada from each of the use alternatives
considered would be small.
After considering impacts to each resource area by program, the DOE
has identified Alternative 1, under the ``maintaining readiness''
scenario, as the environmentally preferable alternative. Alternative 2
was identified as having the fewest direct impacts to the physical
environment and to worker and public health and safety because all
operations would cease. However, the indirect impacts of not restoring
contaminated areas could be significant over the long term. In
addition, Alternative 2 results in the most significant impacts to the
regional economy from the loss of jobs and income and also removes the
Nevada Test Site from national programs requiring a remote testing
facility. Alternative 1 was identified as having fewer adverse impacts
than Alternatives 3 and 4, both of which include development of new
projects such as a solar power generation facility. Alternatives 2 and
4 would also result in longer-term impacts from the environmental
burden and risks associated with untreated, stored, and buried wastes.
Although DOE is adopting a portion of Alternative 1 as an interim
measure (see Decisions section below), DOE is not selecting Alternative
1 in total as a long range approach for management of the Nevada Test
Site because that Alternative does not allow for expansion of the
multipurpose, multi-program uses of the site.
Environmental Impacts of Alternatives
DOE weighed environmental impacts as one factor in its decision
making. DOE analyzed the potential impacts that might occur to land
resources, air quality, noise, water resources, soils, biological
resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, and human health for the
four alternatives. DOE considered the impacts that might occur from use
of special nuclear materials, facility accidents, and the
transportation of radioactive materials. DOE considered the impacts of
projects and activities associated with the five program categories for
each alternative, the irreversible or irretrievable commitments of
resources, and the relationship between short-term uses of the
environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term
productivity.
Alternatives 1 and 3 both include a scenario under which one or
more underground nuclear tests would be conducted if directed by the
President. Impacts from conducting underground tests remain the largest
unavoidable adverse effects of management of the Nevada Test Site.
Existing drill holes would be used for potential underground nuclear
tests. The construction of new facilities would have a minor, localized
impact to the physical environment of the site and would not lead to
significant off-site impacts. Geologic media contaminated by past
underground nuclear testing would remain contaminated and unavailable
for use at any site where underground nuclear testing has been
conducted. Contaminated groundwater that could not be remediated would
be unavailable for use.
The impacts of conducting subcritical experiments would be much
less than those for underground nuclear testing since no self-
sustaining nuclear reactions occur and much less radioactivity is
deposited to the geologic environment. Subcritical experiments in
support of stockpile stewardship programs would have the unavoidable
adverse impacts of introducing additional radioactivity in the
subsurface environment.
The incremental environmental impacts over baseline conditions from
waste management activities under Alternatives 1 and 3 would be
negligible. Under Alternative 3, some new facilities would create a
slight increase beyond the impacts under Alternative 1. Under
Alternatives 2 and 4, little change in impact would be seen over
present conditions because most of the required land clearing, waste
transportation, and geologic disturbance has already occurred.
Low-level waste at the Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site is
disposed of in subsidence craters formed from past underground nuclear
tests. The craters that are and would continue to be used at the Area 3
Radioactive Waste Management Site represent the unavoidable adverse
impact that resulted from past underground nuclear tests. Use of the
craters for waste disposal is a beneficial use of lands that have been
significantly and unavoidably impacted by past actions. Expansion of
waste management activities under Alternative 3 would occur in an area
that has been previously disturbed and designated for radioactive waste
management. Recent hydrological data support the current conceptual
hydrogeologic model that no groundwater pathway exists beneath the Area
3 disposal craters.
Waste Management Program operations in Area 5 are more diverse and
include facilities for hazardous and mixed waste management in addition
to low-level waste management facilities. After 30 years of waste
disposal operations, the DOE has not detected any contamination in
groundwater monitoring wells near the Area 5 Radioactive Waste
Management Site. No impact to groundwater from waste management
operations in Area 5 would be expected to occur. Expansion of waste
management activities under Alternative 3 would occur in an area that
has been previously disturbed and
[[Page 65554]]
designated for radioactive waste management.
The long-term effects of waste disposal operations have been
evaluated as a part of the performance assessment process. Preliminary
results of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site Performance
Assessment indicate that the risk of potential exposure to the public
from waste disposal activities through surface water is not
significant. Based on results of field studies, the groundwater pathway
and air pathways are not considered credible transport mechanisms.
Impacts from vehicle transportation of materials to and from the
Nevada Test Site have been analyzed, including Defense Program nuclear
material and waste management activities related to radioactive wastes
and hazardous materials. The majority of the postulated injuries and
fatalities in this analysis would be a result of traffic accidents and
not a result of exposure to the transported material or waste. The
results of the transportation risk analysis show that the human health
risks from the transportation of material or waste are low under any
alternative, and are not significant contributors to the total risk
from all operations under these alternatives.
Approximately 7,500 acres of land would be disturbed during the
environmental restoration activities under Alternatives 1, 3, and 4.
Under Alternative 2, environmental restoration activities would cease.
This would result in a condition of noncompliance with environmental
requirements and limit the future use of the land. At the Nevada Test
Site, surface disturbance associated with any remediation,
construction, and new testing programs would cause unavoidable impacts
on habitat. At the Nellis Air Force Range Complex, surface disturbance
associated with any remediation programs would cause unavoidable
impacts on habitat.
The most significant impact from the Nondefense Research and
Development Program would occur under Alternatives 3 and 4 and would
result from the siting and construction of the Solar Enterprise Zone
facilities. The Solar Power Production Facility could result in up to
2,400 acres of new land disturbance.
In general, human health risks under each of the alternatives are
expected to be dominated by occupational injuries to workers engaged in
activities such as construction, maintenance, and excavation.
Historically, actual injury and fatality rates at the Nevada Test Site
have been lower than the average U.S. industrial rates used in the
analysis. Occupational injury and fatality risks are reduced by strict
adherence to DOE and Occupational Safety and Health Administration
safety standards, practices, and procedures.
Under Alternatives 1 and 3, the maximum reasonably foreseeable
radiological accident involves a non-nuclear explosion in an Area 27
nuclear weapons storage magazine. The accident has a probability of
1 x 10-7 per year and could result in injuries or deaths to nearby
workers due to the physical impacts of the explosion or delayed
radiation health effects. Radiation exposure from the accident could
result in 13 latent cancer fatalities in the worker population at the
next nearest facility, and from 3 to 55 latent cancer fatalities in the
off-site population within 50 miles.
The maximum reasonably foreseeable chemical accident involves an
airplane crash into the Spill Test Facility. The accident has a
probability of 1 x 10-7 per year and could result in injuries or
deaths to nearby workers due to the physical impacts of the crash or
toxic effects of chemicals. Workers at the next nearest facility could
experience non-life threatening health effects from exposure to
airborne chemicals. The off-site population within 50 miles could
experience up to 3 latent cancers if this accident were to occur.
The Consolidated Group of Tribes and Organizations has identified
impacts to American Indian groups with traditional ties to the Nevada
Test Site and surrounding areas. Impacts include continued reduced
access to culturally significant areas, the potential for unauthorized
artifact collection, and the potential for culturally inappropriate
environmental restoration techniques. Because of the expansion of
activities under Alternative 3, potential impacts would be greater than
those listed under Alternative 1.
Comments on the Final Environmental Impact Statement
The DOE distributed approximately 1500 copies of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement to Congressional members and committees,
the State of Nevada, various American Indian tribes and organizations,
local governments, other federal agencies, and the general public.
Comments from the Environmental Protection Agency and the State of
Nevada were received during the 30-day period following the filing of
the Final Environmental Impact Statement with the Environmental
Protection Agency.
The Environmental Protection Agency found that the Final
Environmental Impact Statement was generally responsive to its prior
comments. However, the Environmental Protection Agency recommended five
areas be addressed in the Record of Decision:
Subsequent National Environmental Policy Act Documentation: The
Environmental Protection Agency recommended that future tiered National
Environmental Policy Act documents (including Environmental
Assessments) be circulated for review and comment to all affected or
interested parties and agencies, including federal, state, and local
governments, tribal governments, and citizens to afford these agencies
and individuals a full opportunity to participate in subsequent
National Environmental Policy Act reviews.
The DOE will ensure that future tiered National Environmental
Policy Act documents (including Environmental Assessments) are
circulated for review and comment to all affected and interested
parties in order to afford a full opportunity for them to participate
in subsequent National Environmental Policy Act processes. Moreover,
DOE will continue to implement DOE orders, guidance, and regulations
regarding the National Environmental Policy Act in conjunction with
internal public participation plans.
Use of Undisturbed Habitat for Future Tiered Projects: The
Environmental Protection Agency also recommended future developments be
sited in already-disturbed areas unless other overriding factors
require placing such facilities in undisturbed areas.
DOE will develop and implement a Resource Management Plan for the
Nevada Test Site that incorporates the goal that when possible; new
facilities will be sited in, or as close as possible to, previously
disturbed lands in order to preserve and protect undisturbed land.
Pollution Prevention: The Environmental Protection Agency comments
also recommended that future proposals and projects at the Nevada Test
Site and off-site locations in Nevada be designed, constructed, and
operated with pollution prevention opportunities being a prime
consideration.
Implementation of DOE orders, guidance, and regulations regarding
pollution prevention have been and will continue to be a prime
consideration in the evaluation of future proposals and projects at the
Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in Nevada.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls: The Environmental Protection Agency
requested that clarification of the status of polychlorinated biphenyls
in capacitors located in Area 27 be included in the Record of Decision,
[[Page 65555]]
along with a commitment to notify the Environmental Protection Agency
of the status.
These capacitors are in service and included in the active
inventory and are managed in accordance with 40 CFR Part 761. In the
event that a decision is made that changes the status of the
capacitors, the Environmental Protection Agency will be notified as
required under applicable regulations.
Native American Concerns: The Environmental Protection Agency
commended the DOE for specifically reflecting Native American concerns
and considerations, and recommended the DOE continue to seek active
Native American participation in future projects and proposals at the
Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in Nevada.
DOE will continue to incorporate the Department's American Indian
policy into its ongoing and long-term planning and management
processes. Development and operation of programs that expand the use of
the Nevada Test Site will be conducted within DOE's government-to-
government relationship with tribal governments. DOE will consult with
tribal governments concerning activities under these programs that may
affect natural, cultural, traditional, and/or religious resources
important to American Indians.
The State of Nevada comments identified five issues and made the
following specific recommendations:
Assessment of the Nevada Test Site Land Withdrawal and its
Relationship to the Environmental Impact Statement No Action
Alternative: The State of Nevada expressed the view that disposal of
radioactive waste at the Nevada Test Site from off-site generators
cannot be considered a continuation of current or past activities, and
thus cannot be characterized as part of the No Action Alternative.
Further, the State of Nevada asserted that DOE does not have the
authority under existing land withdrawals that comprise the Nevada Test
Site to support continuation of the radioactive waste disposal program
at the Nevada Test Site.
DOE believes that the characterization of No Action as the
continuation of past and current activities is proper and is consistent
with guidance provided by the Council on Environmental Quality. In the
case of ongoing activities, ``. . . the `no action' alternative may be
thought of in terms of continuing with the present course of action
until that action is changed.'' ( ``Forty Most Asked Questions,'' 46
CFR 18026, 18027, March 23, 1981.) For comparison purposes, Alternative
2 of the Environmental Impact Statement evaluated cessation of waste
management activities.
As recognized by the State of Nevada in its comments, the
radioactive waste disposal program began at the Nevada Test Site in the
early 1960s as an activity related to testing of nuclear weapons, which
is directly related to the land use designated in Public Land Order
805, dated February 12, 1952, reserving lands for the use of the U.S.
Atomic Energy Commission. Since that time, DOE has disposed of
radioactive waste in pits, trenches, landfills, and boreholes. The
Nevada Test Site presently serves as a disposal site for low-level
waste generated by DOE approved generators. In 1983, the Bureau of Land
Management reviewed the land withdrawals for the Nevada Test Site
pursuant to the requirements of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-579). The Bureau of Land Management
concluded that the lands were still being used for the purposes for
which they were withdrawn. The withdrawal review also acknowledged the
pursuit of other activities as described in the 1977 Nevada Test Site
Environmental Impact Statement and did not find that they were
inconsistent with the withdrawals. Although this formal determination
by the Bureau of Land Management remains in effect, the Department is
reviewing this issue in light of comments made during the preparation
of the Environmental Impact Statement. To date, DOE's review confirms
that its use of the Nevada Test Site continues to be consistent with
the existing land withdrawals. However, in view of the comments
submitted by the State and Department of Interior, and in view of the
combination of activities selected, DOE commits to continue to consult
with the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management as to
whether the four major land withdrawals that comprise the Nevada Test
Site need to be updated. As DOE has selected the No Action Alternative
for management of low-level and mixed low-level wastes pending
programmatic decisions regarding where the Department should manage
these wastes, there will be no immediate changes in DOE's ongoing use
of the lands for disposal of radioactive wastes.
DOE Compliance with Programmatic Decisions Concerning the Disposal
of Off-Site Generated Low-Level and Mixed Low-Level Radioactive Waste
at the Nevada Test Site as Provided for Under the National
Environmental Policy Act Regulations: The State of Nevada expressed the
view that DOE must complete its ongoing programmatic review for siting
low-level and mixed low-level waste treatment and disposal facilities
before making specific decisions that affect the Nevada Test Site, and
that DOE must also recognize certain conditions for consideration of a
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Part B permit for new mixed
waste disposal units for off-site generated waste at the Nevada Test
Site.
As discussed in the Decisions section below, DOE will continue low-
level and mixed low-level waste operations as described by the No
Action Alternative until the programmatic review is completed. Once
that review is completed, DOE will reexamine the low-level and mixed
low-level waste activities at the Nevada Test Site to determine whether
the status quo needs to be modified as a result of programmatic
decisions. A new Record of Decision will be issued if appropriate. Any
decisions to increase low-level and mixed low-level waste activities
beyond the status quo would be implemented in full compliance with
applicable laws and regulations.
Compliance with DOE Disposal Site(s) Performance Assessment Process
as per DOE Order 5820.2A: Citing DOE Order 5820.2A, the State of Nevada
expressed the view that receipt of radioactive waste and mixed
radioactive wastes for disposal at the Nevada Test Site should be
suspended until the performance assessment process is completed for all
past, present, and future waste types.
DOE Order 5820.2A does not require that existing waste disposal
operations cease until a performance assessment is prepared. DOE has
prepared and continues to maintain a performance assessment for the
Area 5 low-level Radioactive Waste Management Site at the Nevada Test
Site. A performance assessment for the Area 3 Radioactive Waste
Management Site is in process in conjunction with composite analyses
for both the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site and the Area 3
Radioactive Waste Management Site. A composite analysis is a planning
tool used to reach interim decisions, pending implementation of a
comprehensive approach through 10 CFR Part 834, regarding whether
current low-level waste disposal activities will result in the need for
future corrective or remedial actions to ensure protection of the
public and the environment. However, as documented in the Environmental
Impact Statement, DOE believes that sufficient information exists to
demonstrate that waste can be disposed of at both sites in a safe
manner.
[[Page 65556]]
Implementation of the Nevada Test Site Resource Management Plan and
Clean-up Standards at Off-site Locations: The State of Nevada
recommended that the Record of Decision contain a stipulation that the
Resource Management Plan process will be completed in a specified time
period, and commit to establishing a stakeholder advisory group to
address Nevada Test Site development conflicts anticipated to arise in
the future.
In the Decisions section below, the DOE commits to Resource
Management and Comprehensive Land-Use Planning and development of a
Resource Management Plan for the Nevada Test Site over the next two
years. The Resource Management Plan will establish a process for
managing resources to ensure long-term diversity and productivity of
affected ecosystems and sustainable use of land and facilities on the
Nevada Test Site. Interested parties will have opportunities to provide
input into the selection of goals developed to guide management of
resource issues on the Nevada Test Site and to assist in the
development of management actions needed to achieve those goals.
Methods of ensuring interested party input such as establishment of a
stakeholder advisory group will be evaluated and selected as the plan
evolves.
Special Case Waste, Waste Classified as Greater-Than-Class-C, and/
or Waste requiring Greater Confinement Disposal: The State of Nevada
comments on the Final Nevada Test Site Environmental Impact Statement
recommended that the Record of Decision stipulate that DOE will comply
with the National Environmental Policy Act for disposal of radioactive
waste that is not suitable for shallow land burial.
DOE will prepare appropriate further documentation to comply with
the National Environmental Policy Act before making decisions regarding
Special Case Waste, Greater-than-Class-C, or wastes requiring Greater
Confinement Disposal. In any case, DOE will ensure that all wastes
disposed of at the Nevada Test Site meet waste acceptance criteria that
will protect human health and the environment.
Other Decision Factors
As a result of changing mission priorities, the DOE has a need to
focus on new national security, energy, and environmental issues
challenging the Nation and to define the role of the Nevada Test Site
to help meet these new challenges. The policy considerations outlined
below are factors in the decision process for continued and future
management of the Nevada Test Site.
It is DOE policy to manage all of its lands and facilities as
valuable national resources. DOE stewardship will be based on the
principles of ecosystem management and sustainable development. This
policy requires each site to integrate mission, economic, ecologic,
social, and cultural factors into a comprehensive plan that guides
land- and facility-use decisions with stakeholder involvement. This
will result in land and facility uses that support the Department's
critical missions, stimulate the economy, and protect the environment.
On September 24, 1996, President Clinton signed a Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty. It is the intention of the President to seek
ratification of this Treaty as soon as possible. President Clinton has
also established specific safeguards that define the conditions under
which the United States has entered into the Comprehensive Test Ban
Treaty. These safeguards are as follows:
The conduct of a science-based stockpile stewardship
program to ensure a high level of confidence in the safety and
reliability of nuclear weapons in the active stockpile, including the
conduct of a broad range of effective and continuing experimental
programs.
The maintenance of modern nuclear laboratory facilities
and programs in theoretical and exploratory nuclear technology that
would attract, retain, and ensure the continued application of our
human scientific resources to those programs upon which continued
progress in nuclear technology depends.
The maintenance of the basic capability to resume nuclear
test activities prohibited by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty should
the United States cease to be bound to adhere to such a treaty.
The continuation of a comprehensive research and
development program to improve treaty-monitoring capabilities and
operations.
The continuing development of a broad range of
intelligence gathering and analytical capabilities and operations to
ensure accurate and comprehensive information on worldwide nuclear
arsenals, nuclear weapons development programs, and related nuclear
programs.
The understanding that if the President of the United
States is informed by the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of
Energy, advised by the Nuclear Weapons Council, the Directors of DOE's
nuclear weapons laboratories, and the Commander of the U.S. Strategic
Command, that a high level of confidence in the safety and reliability
of a nuclear weapon type that the two Secretaries consider to be
critical to our nuclear deterrent could no longer be certified, the
President, in consultation with Congress, would be prepared to withdraw
from the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty under the ``supreme national
interest'' clause in order to conduct whatever testing might be
required.
The Nevada Test Site has both a demonstrated and a potential role
in implementing several of these safeguard elements. For example, the
Nevada Test Site's role in the implementation of the first of these
safeguards is to participate in full partnership, for a common purpose,
with the scientific and academic communities, business and industry,
and stakeholders to advance the Nevada Test Site as a valued national
resource. The Nevada Test Site provides the modern nuclear laboratory
platform for theoretical and exploratory nuclear technology that can
attract and retain the human scientific resources required for
continued progress in nuclear technology development. With the end of
nuclear testing, the DOE is enhancing its capability to perform
science-based stockpile stewardship activities consistent with the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Uncertainty in the behavior of aging
stockpiled weapons will continue to increase with time and in the
absence of testing. To ensure continued confidence in the safety and
reliability of the United States' nuclear weapons stockpile, the DOE
must enhance its capability to perform activities consistent with the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty such as dynamic experiments (including
subcritical experiments) and other hydrodynamic experiments to assess
the condition and behavior of nuclear weapons in the enduring
stockpile. As an additional contingency, the DOE must maintain the
basic capability to conduct underground nuclear testing activities
should the need arise, in accordance with Presidential direction. The
experimental program at the Nevada Test Site includes aspects that
support both the Department's stockpile stewardship mission and its
nuclear test readiness mission. Defense Program activities have been
declining steadily in recent years resulting in the need to diversify
user support at the Nevada Test Site. Diversification of users will
offset infrastructure maintenance costs for Defense Programs necessary
to allow the best use of limited stockpile stewardship resources and
support the
[[Page 65557]]
successful execution of the stewardship mission at the Nevada Test
Site.
The Nevada Test Site, through its Work for Others Program, has
supported improved treaty-monitoring capabilities. Chemical explosions
at the Nevada Test Site have been used to develop and calibrate seismic
and hydrodynamic detection and analysis techniques. Sensitive isotope
analysis techniques, derived from nuclear chemistry applications to
tests, are being developed for treaty monitoring and intelligence
analysis. Development is being advanced by analysis of underground test
residue and environmental studies at the Nevada Test Site.
Environmental restoration and waste management have been part of
Nevada Test Site operations since the beginning of the Nation's nuclear
testing program. Low-level waste has been generated through the weapons
development, testing, and production activities at DOE facilities as
well as the environmental cleanup and restoration programs. As DOE
missions have changed, there is an increasing volume of waste generated
through the environmental restoration activities. This waste must be
disposed of in accordance with applicable regulations and DOE orders.
Thus, the DOE has a need to continue providing practical, cost-
effective, and environmentally sound means of low-level waste disposal.
The potential expansion of the waste disposal mission at the Nevada
Test Site is dependent on the pending decisions from the Waste
Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (e.g.,
centralized or regionalized waste management alternatives).
Through September 23, 1992, there were 928 nuclear tests conducted
on the Nevada Test Site; no nuclear weapons tests explosions have been
conducted since that date. Defense research and weapons-test
verification activities were also conducted at the Project Shoal Area
and the Central Nevada Test Area. From 1957 to 1963, several safety
tests were conducted at sites at the Nevada Test Site, the Nellis Air
Force Range Complex, and the Tonopah Test Range to test the safety of
nuclear weapons in accident situations. Because these tests were not
contained and used special nuclear materials and chemical explosives,
they resulted in the release of radioactive materials and surface
contamination. It is DOE policy to develop site remediation goals and
cleanup levels for the Nevada Test Site and off-site test areas based
on future land use and management goals for the protection of
environmental resources. The DOE is working in cooperation with other
agencies to define remediation and cleanup levels to ensure that the
disposition of withdrawn lands is consistent with the controlling
agencies' existing land-use or resource management plans.
In the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1993,
Congress included a section that encouraged DOE to minimize the social
economic impacts on workers and communities affected by the downsizing
of defense-related facilities. This requirement, Section 3161 of the
Act, provided for various activities to mitigate the downsizing impact
both for individual workers and communities near DOE sites. One of the
methods DOE has used to implement this Congressional direction is to
establish local Community Reuse Organizations to assist economic
development efforts. The purpose for this is to provide employment
opportunities for former workers and therefore minimize the economic
impact on local communities. Section 3161 of the Act authorized DOE to
pursue a workforce restructuring plan and initiate private sector
economic development at DOE facilities in this effort.
Decisions
The Final Environmental Impact Statement identified Alternative 3,
Expanded Use, plus the public education activities of Alternative 4,
Alternative Use of Withdrawn Lands, as DOE's Preferred Alternative.
Today DOE is deciding to implement a variation of this Preferred
Alternative. As discussed below, DOE is deciding as an interim measure,
to continue to conduct low-level and mixed low-level waste management
activities in the same manner as it has in the past as represented by
the No Action Alternative pending programmatic decisions. DOE is
deciding to conduct all other activities consistent with the Preferred
Alternative. The following discussion describes the major actions to be
taken. This discussion is not intended to be exhaustive. Additional
actions necessary to implement the major actions described may also be
taken in support of the missions of the Nevada Test Site.
Resource Management and Comprehensive Land-Use Planning
As part of this comprehensive planning responsibility, DOE will
develop a Resource Management Plan for the Nevada Test Site over the
next two years. The Resource Management Plan will identify the site
resources that will be considered when making land-use decisions. It
will define the goals for each of those resources, and establish the
criteria for evaluating activities against those goals. The goals will
be used to identify actions needed for wise resource use and sound
ecosystem management. DOE will follow the framework published as Volume
2 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for development of the
Resource Management Plan.
The DOE Nevada Operations Office will use the Resource Management
Plan as a part of the comprehensive land-use planning process, along
with the National Environmental Policy Act process to evaluate and
select the best alternative sites for future proposed activities at the
Nevada Test Site. The Resource Management Plan will also document a
process for monitoring the impacts of activities. Results of such
monitoring will be used to review and update the Resource Management
Plan.
As has been its practice in the past, DOE remains committed to
ensuring that its implementation of all the decisions made in this ROD
complies with federal law and land withdrawal policies. In this regard,
DOE commits to continuing its informal consultation with BLM as to
whether the four major land withdrawals that comprise the NTS need to
be updated.
Defense Program
Defense Program activities at the Nevada Test Site will emphasize
stockpile stewardship experiments and operations to maintain confidence
in the safety and reliability of the stockpile without underground
nuclear testing. These stockpile stewardship activities will include
exercises, operations, experiments (including subcritical experiments
involving special nuclear material), and other hydrodynamic tests.
Appropriate transparency measures will be used to ensure that
activities conducted at the Nevada Test Site are clearly consistent
with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The DOE will continue to
maintain nuclear test readiness at the Nevada Test Site but would
conduct an underground nuclear test only if so directed by the
President under the ``supreme national interest'' provision of the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Any such underground tests would only be
conducted within the designated Nuclear Test Zone on the Nevada Test
Site.
Over the next ten years, the DOE plans to conduct a wide variety of
experiments within the appropriately zoned areas of the Nevada Test
Site. This includes dynamic experiments with very small to very large
quantities of high explosives, subcritical
[[Page 65558]]
experiments, dynamic experiments to generate electrical pulses, and
other experiment types. An upper limit estimate of the number of these
activities has been made in order to assess their maximum reasonable
potential environmental impact. While near-term planning indicates that
only about four high explosive driven subcritical experiments will
likely be conducted per year in the U1a complex, an upper-limit
estimate total for all the defense related experiments that may be
conducted at the Nevada Test Site is over 100 per year. The U1a complex
(formerly known as the Lyner complex) and the Big Explosives Experiment
Facility will be the principal sites for many of these experiments and
tests. Dynamic experiments involving special nuclear material will be
conducted only where containment is assured. The experiments planned at
the Big Explosives Experiment Facility will include large high-
explosive charges and potentially hazardous materials, such as
beryllium, depleted uranium, deuterium, and tritium. Explosive charges
of up to 32,000 kg (70,000 lb) in conjunction with some of the
materials previously mentioned are contemplated as part of this
activity. Existing facilities including the Device Assembly Facility
and Area 27 will be used to prepare the explosives, special nuclear
material, and other material required for these experiments.
The DOE will also reserve land and infrastructure on the Nevada
Test Site to support the current test readiness and national security
missions and to support future defense program activities. In addition
to the Nuclear Test and Nuclear and High Explosive Test Zones which are
available for compatible defense and nondefense activities, the DOE
will also establish a Defense Industrial Zone around critical assembly
areas. This zone will be dedicated solely to defense related activities
and is an area in which various future stockpile stewardship and
management facilities could be sited.
In addition to the stockpile stewardship mission at the Nevada Test
Site, the DOE Nevada Operations Office will also continue to maintain
the capability to locate, retrieve, and destroy damaged nuclear
weapons.
The primary mission of DOE Defense Program activities at the
Tonopah Test Range is to ensure that the Nation's nuclear weapons
systems meet the highest standards of safety and reliability. The DOE
will continue to conduct stockpile stewardship activities and assess
the surety conditions of existing systems at the Tonopah Test Range.
In support of the ongoing programmatic analyses for Stockpile
Stewardship and Management, Storage and Disposition, and Continued
Operations of the Pantex Plant, the DOE will reserve land and
infrastructure on the Nevada Test Site for the National Ignition
Facility, nuclear weapons assembly/disassembly operations, and for
long-term storage and disposition of weapons-usable fissile materials
pending these programmatic decisions.
DOE will continue to conduct training and drills on the Nevada Test
Site to exercise the technical disciplines of the Nation's Nuclear
Emergency Search Team. This includes the construction of simulated
nuclear assemblies (similar in construction to those used for nuclear
explosive devices), and the conduct of high explosive experiments to
investigate and baseline potential deployment scenarios. Additional
training and drills will also be conducted on the Nevada Test Site for
the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center.
The DOE will continue to use the Nevada Test Site for the
development of remote sensing, analytical, and display technology for
detection of nuclear radiation in support of the Aerial Measuring
System mission. The DOE Nevada Operations Office will continue to
provide field response resources in support of nuclear weapons
accidents, exercises, and training in support of Accident Response and
the Radiological Assistance Programs.
Work for Others Program
The DOE Nevada Operations Office Work for Others Program will
continue to be an important aspect of Nevada Test Site related
activities. These ongoing activities primarily involve the Department
of Defense, the Defense Special Weapons Agency, and other federal
agencies. The primary focus of these activities are centered around
treaty verification, nonproliferation, counterproliferation,
demilitarization, and defense related research and development.
The Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah Test Range have been and will
continue to be impacted by the implementation of current and future
arms control treaties. DOE will continue to conduct those activities at
the Nevada Test Site necessary for treaty verification and to develop
verification technologies.
The DOE will continue to conduct research and development
activities at the Nevada Test Site and the Tonopah Test Range to
support the United States' nonproliferation goals and objectives. The
HAZMAT Spill Center provides unique capability in the development of
chemical effluent remote sensors and will continue to be used
periodically for this type of research and development.
Counterproliferation refers to the Department of Defense efforts to
combat the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Facilities for developing, producing, and storing weapons of mass
destruction are likely to be located underground. Counterproliferation
research and development is directed toward the detection, monitoring,
and neutralization of buried targets.
The various tunnels and bunkers at the Nevada Test Site provide an
ideal testing environment for counterproliferation research and
development experiments. Experiments that use a variety of remote
imagery and sensory applications in conjunction with Nevada Test Site
bunkers and tunnels will be conducted to develop techniques and methods
to detect, characterize, and monitor buried objects. Such experiments
involve both land-based and airborne operations. Experiments designed
to develop techniques for destroying or neutralizing weapons of mass
destruction and buried objects, such as bunkers and tunnels, will also
be performed. These experiments involve the surface and below ground
detonation of conventional explosives in the immediate vicinity of the
Nevada Test Site and Tonopah Test Range bunkers and tunnels.
The demilitarization activity proposed for the Nevada Test Site is
a demonstration of potential technologies used to destroy obsolete
conventional munitions, pyrotechnics, and solid rocket motors. The DOE
will demonstrate technologies which can be used to assist with the
demilitarization efforts of other federal agencies at the Nevada Test
Site. These technologies will be tested in designated Research, Test,
and Experiment Zones around the existing underground tunnels and
facilities of Area 25 and would include destruction, recovery, reuse,
and recycling technologies. This offers a unique opportunity to
demonstrate environmentally sound methods involving conventional
weapons destruction. These systems provide for the containment and
treatment of residual debris.
Large-scale demilitarization activities at the Nevada Test Site
designed to reduce significant portions of an obsolete munition would
be subject to additional National Environmental
[[Page 65559]]
Policy Act review and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
Other defense related research and development activities include
tests and training exercises employing weaponry, such as small arms,
artillery, guns, aircraft, armored vehicles, demolitions, rockets,
bazookas, and air-dropped armaments, as well as a variety of electronic
imagery and sensory technologies, including, but not limited to,
infrared lasers and radar. It is expected that these types of
experiments and tests would take place in appropriately zoned areas of
the Nevada Test Site and would be compatible with surrounding land use.
Defense related activities are generally conducted in the Reserved
Zones as well as in the Research, Test, and Experiment Zones.
Waste Management Program
The draft Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement, DOE/EIS-0200, was issued for public comment in August 1995,
and the Department anticipates that the final statement will be issued
in the near future. That programmatic environmental impact statement
analyzes alternative strategies to maximize efficiency for the
Department's national Waste Management Program, and it will support the
Department's complex-wide waste management decisions. Those decisions
may require changes to the Waste Management Program at the Nevada Test
Site in the future. Therefore, DOE is deciding today, that in the
interim, pending those programmatic decisions, DOE will maintain the
current level of low-level and mixed low-level waste management
activity as described in the No Action Alternative in the Nevada Test
Site Environmental Impact Statement. The activities include the
planning, coordination, waste transportation, storage,
characterization, and disposal and waste minimization and pollution
prevention programs. Waste management activities other than for low
level and mixed low-level waste do not involve issues that would be
affected by decisions based on the Waste Management Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement. Therefore, DOE is deciding to implement
Expanded Use for those other activities.
Low-Level Waste: Disposal of low-level waste will continue for
waste streams from current on-site and off-site waste generators. This
represents the No Action Alternative of disposal capability for
currently approved waste generators. Approval of other waste generators
for disposal is pending future programmatic decisions. The DOE will
continue to expand and create new disposal cells as necessary within
the designated Radioactive Waste Management Zones.
The Area 3 Radioactive Waste Management Site will continue to be
developed for the disposal of low-level waste. The Area 3 Radioactive
Waste Management Site support facilities will be maintained to serve
operations and radiation safety personnel needs, as necessary.
The Nevada Test Site will continue to manage a variety of low-level
wastes from approved generators that include classified waste, waste
inappropriate for shallow land disposal, and waste which is considered
by some sites as special case waste. All such wastes disposed of at the
Nevada Test Site will comply with the site's waste acceptance criteria.
Mixed Waste: The DOE will continue to manage mixed waste which is
currently on site or which may be generated by DOE at the Nevada Test
Site. Storage of mixed waste will continue under a Mutual Consent
Agreement with the State of Nevada.
Currently, the DOE is storing all Nevada Test Site low-level mixed
waste in the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site. Included in this
waste type is Cotter Concentrate, a sludge-like residue resulting from
uranium ore processing constituting approximately 88 percent of all
low-level mixed waste stored at the Nevada Test Site. The treatment and
disposal options for the current low-level mixed waste inventory are
identified in the Nevada Test Site Site Treatment Plan and Federal
Facility Compliance Act Consent Order effective March 27, 1996.
However, the preferred treatment option for the Cotter Concentrate
waste stream, treatment or reclamation at an off-site facility, differs
from the solidification option currently presented in the Nevada Test
Site Site Treatment Plan and Federal Facility Compliance Act Consent
Order, which will be updated to reflect the preferred treatment option.
DOE will construct a treatment facility for the solidification of
Cotter Concentrate in accordance with the Nevada Test Site Site
Treatment Plan and Federal Facility Compliance Act Consent Order if the
preferred treatment option cannot be implemented.
Transuranic Waste: The DOE will continue storing onsite transuranic
and transuranic mixed waste pending the development of DOE disposal
facilities. In addition, the DOE will construct and operate at the
Nevada Test Site a waste examination facility for characterization and
certification of transuranic and transuranic mixed waste for off-site
disposal, presumably at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad,
New Mexico. The construction of characterization and certification
facilities at the Nevada Test Site is required for compliance with the
Site Treatment Plan developed under the Federal Facility Compliance Act
and Consent Order negotiated with the State of Nevada and is included
in this decision. The DOE will continue to store classified and other
transuranic waste that does not meet the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's
waste acceptance criteria, until a disposal option is determined.
Hazardous and Toxic Substances Control Act Waste: The DOE will
continue to store polychlorinated biphenyl waste pending off-site
disposal and will expand the storage capacity for hazardous waste
pending off-site disposal. Treatment of explosive waste at the
Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit will continue to occur at the Nevada
Test Site per the conditions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act Part B permit. The DOE will seek to increase the capacity of the
hazardous waste storage unit to address the additional needs of DOE
Nevada Operations Office Programs, if necessary. The Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act Part B permit application would be
modified to address the additional storage capacity.
Solid Waste: The DOE will continue to provide disposal capability
for solid waste generated on-site. Providing disposal capabilities for
adjacent rural counties will be evaluated.
Closure: The DOE will continue to pursue the development and
implementation of approved closure plans and designs for the waste
units that are inactive, already full, and those that become full in
the future. Waste management closure activities will be conducted at
both the Area 3 and the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Sites, as
necessary.
Site Improvements: The DOE will construct certain site improvements
as part of its continuing Waste Management Program. DOE will construct
an equipment maintenance building and flood protection dike and channel
at the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site to support current
operations. In order to provide improved access to the Area 5
Radioactive Waste Management Site, DOE proposed in the Nevada Test Site
Environmental Impact Statement to either upgrade the 5-01 Road or the
5-07 Road. At this time, DOE has identified a third option that would
consist of extending the Cane Springs Road eastward from the Mercury
highway to intersect with the 5-01 Road
[[Page 65560]]
just south of the Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Site. Inasmuch as
this alternative was not included in the analysis performed for the
Nevada Test Site Environmental Impact Statement, DOE will conduct an
appropriate National Environmental Policy Act analysis before making
any decision concerning implementation of the Cane Springs Road
Extension or any of the other road improvement options.
Transportation of Materials and Waste
DOE will comply with U.S. Department of Transportation regulations
regarding the transportation of radioactive materials. Radioactive
materials shipped on the Nation's highways and roads are subject to the
regulations administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of
Transportation. These regulations set standards for packaging and
transporting materials and requirements for labeling, documenting,
loading and unloading, and handling. Compliance with the standards
ensures that package handlers, transporters, and the public do not
receive dose rates in excess of recognized safe limits. The regulations
also specify that drivers receive training to ensure they are qualified
to transport radioactive materials and that motor carriers follow
routes which are selected to minimize radiological risk.
The DOE will use Environmental Protection Agency protective action
guides and actions that are designed to limit doses and impacts in the
event of a transportation accident involving radioactive material. The
DOE use of these guides and actions will minimize the impacts of
transportation accidents involving radioactive material.
Environmental Restoration Program
DOE will continue its Environmental Restoration Program activities
of characterization and selected remediation of contaminated areas or
facilities identified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent
Order. Environmental Restoration is not considered a land use, but an
activity necessary for environmental protection, reuse, or disposition
of land and facilities.
Clean-up priorities and clean-up levels are subject to negotiation
with regulators and involved stakeholders. The assessment and
remediation of the Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in Nevada
have been divided into several subproject categories:
Off-Site Corrective Action Units (including Project Shoal
Area and Central Nevada Test Area)
Soils Media Corrective Action Units (including sites on
the Tonopah Test Range and Nellis Air Force Range Complex)
Underground Test Areas Corrective Action Units
Industrial Sites Corrective Action Units (includes Defense
Nuclear Agency sites and Decontamination and Decommissioning projects)
DOE's priority for approaching environmental restoration work will
be to characterize and remediate the surface and shallow subsurface at
the Project Shoal and Central Nevada Test Area sites. The deep
subsurface at these sites will be characterized and modeled. Next in
priority will be to characterize and remediate the contaminated sites
on the Tonopah Test Range and the Nellis Air Force Range Complex.
The DOE will characterize sites on the Nevada Test Site beginning
at the south end and progressing northward. Areas with minimum
contamination will be the first priority for characterization and
remediation. These areas can be readily remediated and released for
other uses. The next priority will be to characterize and remediate
selected sites within Areas 23 and 25 which will facilitate reuse in
the future. Lowest in priority are those contaminated sites which are
in areas designated for potential future weapons testing.
Site-Specific Remedial Actions
Off-Site Corrective Action Units
For the Shoal Project Site and Central Nevada Test Area, DOE will
remediate the surface facilities locations. The remedial strategy for
the subsurface will be to characterize groundwater flow and zones of
contamination, to model the potential for contaminant migration from
the source cavities, and to assess health risks. Tritium migration will
be the major focus, since tritium is the most mobile of the radioactive
contaminants. Other radionuclides will be evaluated, provided tritium
migration indicates the need for their inclusion in the source
evaluation. Subsurface contaminants in and around the nuclear test
cavities will not be remediated since cost-effective groundwater
strategies have not yet been demonstrated for effectively removing or
stabilizing radioactive contaminants. Institutional control of the deep
subsurface will be maintained and long-term subsurface monitoring and
surveillance of the sites is planned for at least 50 years.
Soils Media Corrective Action Unit
The first soil sites that DOE will characterize and remediate are
those that are located off the Nevada Test Site proper and those which
straddle the boundary of the Nevada Test Site. Soils activities will
aim toward remedial actions, including interim actions, designed to
clean up the Clean Slates 1, 2, and 3 sites on Tonopah Test Range; the
Small Boy Site east of Frenchman Flat; Schooner and Area 13 sites on
Nellis Air Force Range Complex; and to obtain closure of the Double
Tracks site on Nellis Air Force Range Complex which was the object of a
voluntary interim Corrective Action in early 1996. These remedial
actions will be conducted in accordance with the Federal Facility
Agreement and Consent Order.
Cleanup standards will be negotiated. Characterization and
remediation will utilize the Kiwi system, which is a sensor system
mounted on a four-wheeler and able to provide fine resolution. ``Hot
spot'' materials located in limited selected areas will be removed.
More extensive areas of surface contamination will require the use of
mechanical excavation. Size separators or other physical processes may
be used to obtain volume reduction of mechanically removed materials.
Subsurface remedies will range from excavation to containment in place.
For the long term, it is assumed that some areas of the Nevada Test
Site will remain under institutional control.
Remedial actions will be based on several factors including
applicable regulatory standards and negotiated cleanup levels.
Negotiated cleanup levels will be based on applicable regulatory
standards, assessment of the risk posed by the contamination, current
and anticipated land uses, resource management considerations, costs,
feasibility, and other factors.
Underground Test Areas Corrective Action Unit
DOE's activities in the Underground Test Areas will continue to
focus on investigation of the effects of underground nuclear testing on
groundwater and the surrounding media. Because cost-effective
subsurface remediation technologies have not yet been demonstrated,
subsurface contaminants in and around nuclear shot cavities will not be
remediated. DOE would reevaluate possible corrective actions in the
event that such technologies are developed in the future.
Fate and transport modeling will continue to determine the extent
of contamination and potential for health risk to the public. DOE will
monitor existing wells and new wells will be drilled, if necessary, to
support computer modeling to assess contaminant migration potential,
[[Page 65561]]
particularly beyond Nevada Test Site boundaries. Monitoring and
surveillance will be conducted for at least 50 years.
Industrial Sites Corrective Action Units
DOE will prioritize remediation of the industrial sites according
to the highest potential for future use. Areas of the Nevada Test Site
slated for potential future testing activities will be characterized,
but not remediated, except in areas identified where potential for
health risk exists as a result of direct exposure, inhalation, and/or
resuspension of contaminants. For decontamination and decommissioning
activities, facilities will be prioritized based on potential re-use.
The Area 25 Engine Maintenance and Disassembly Facility will be
decontaminated for potential re-use.
The sites scheduled for assessment include:
Nevada Test Site, Area 2; U-2bu Subsidence Crater
Nevada Test Site, Area 23; Building 650 Leach Field
Nevada Test Site, Area 23; Pesticide Storage
Tonopah Test Range, Septic Waste Systems 2 and 6
The sites scheduled for remediation include:
Nevada Test Site, Area 2; Bitcutter Shop
Nevada Test Site, Area 2; Photograph Development System
Nevada Test Site, Areas 4, 7, & 12; Housekeeping Sites
Nevada Test Site, Area 6; Steam Cleaning Effluent Ponds
Nevada Test Site, Area 6; Decon Pond Facility
Nevada Test Site, Area 12; Steam Cleaning Effluent
Tonopah Test Range, Closed Ordnance Disposal Pits; Bomblet
Pit and Five Points Landfill
Tonopah Test Range, Buried DU Artillery Round #1
Tonopah Test Range, Roller Coaster Lagoons and Trench
Tonopah Test Range, Underground Storage Tank Sites, Second
Gas Station
Tonopah Test Range, Cactus Spring Waste Trenches
Nondefense Research and Development Program
The DOE will continue to support ongoing program operations and
pursue diversification of use to include nondefense and private use. In
defining land use zones on the Nevada Test Site, the DOE will allow for
compatible nondefense research and development activities to be
conducted in all land use zones on the Nevada Test Site with the
exception of the Defense Industrial Zone. These new initiatives will
include the construction and operation of a solar power production
facility and siting an Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project at the
Nevada Test Site. Private uses, for example, could include activities
such as the Kistler Aerospace Corporation proposal identified during
the public comment period on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Kistler's comments expressed interest in developing a commercial
satellite delivery system as a future activity in this program area. To
the extent that future National Environmental Policy Act review is
required in connection with the satellite delivery aspects of this
project, such review would occur in conjunction with the Federal
Aviation Administration licensing process.
In this program area the DOE will continue to support the Solar
Enterprise Zone concept for Southern Nevada which includes locating up
to 1000 megawatts of solar power generation among the evaluated sites.
In addition to two locations at the Nevada Test Site, three other sites
in southern Nevada are being considered by the Corporation for Solar
Technology and Renewable Resources: Eldorado Valley, Dry Lake Valley,
and Coyote Spring Valley. As part of this support, initially the DOE
will cooperate in the construction and operation of a 100 megawatt or
less solar power production facility in Area 22. This facility, when
operational, will enhance the Nevada Test Site power infrastructure in
support of the primary science-based stockpile stewardship mission.
Additionally, the DOE will reserve land and infrastructure in Area 25
for potential future solar power development.
The DOE is planning an Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project
which will test and evaluate various blends of fuels for both fixed
base and transportation vehicles applications. The DOE currently has 16
vehicles at the Nevada Test Site converted to operate on either natural
gas or gasoline. The DOE will pursue additional funding for the
Alternative Fuels Demonstration Project to construct a refueling
facility and to further convert a portion of the remaining vehicle
fleet.
The DOE will expand the capability of the existing Spill Test
Facility into a multi-use facility that will be known as the HAZMAT
Spill Center. The following five crucial research and development needs
of government and industry have been identified in this proposed
expansion of capability at the HAZMAT Spill Center:
Remote Sensing: The HAZMAT Spill Center will be used as a chemical
release test bed for remote sensor development and testing for effluent
analysis and for stand-off hazardous materials identification.
Source Term Definition/Dispersion Modeling: Data sets will be
generated during tests at the HAZMAT Spill Center that will allow for
validation of computer model source term assumptions and dispersion
estimates. These data sets will also be utilized to enhance, improve,
and develop new computer models utilized in emergency response to
HAZMAT incidents.
Mitigation Techniques: Material releases will be used at the HAZMAT
Spill Center to allow research and demonstration of mitigation
technologies. The data collected during these tests will also be used
to develop computer-based mitigation models.
HAZMAT Training: Training of emergency response team members using
hazardous materials will be conducted. This allows the participants to
gain confidence in emergency response equipment and procedures for
incident response.
HAZMAT Testing: Personal protective equipment will be field tested,
under a variety of conditions, using mannequins and test chemicals.
This testing capability will also be utilized in the development and
field testing of industrial hygiene sensors.
The DOE will continue to conduct research and technology
development and demonstration activities at the Nevada Test Site
focused on overcoming major obstacles to progress in cleaning up
contaminated DOE sites. The major remediation and waste management
areas include plume control and remediation, soil separation, tank
remediation, landfill stabilization and mixed waste characterization,
treatment, and disposal. Demonstrations include nonintrusive particle
imaging and laser-induced fluorescence systems for decontamination and
decommissioning applications.
As part of the Environmental Research Park program, the DOE will
continue under a cooperative agreement with the University of Nevada
and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to provide financial
assistance for scientific research projects. Areas of research include,
but are not limited to, habitat reclamation, hydrogeologic systems,
radionuclide transport, ecological change, waste management, monitoring
processes, remediation, and characterization, as necessary.
Alternate Uses
The DOE will promote public use of the historic resources of the
site. Public education activities include establishing
[[Page 65562]]
educational tour routes on the Nevada Test Site and promoting the
creation of a museum that highlights previous Nevada Test Site testing
activities and current and future Nevada Test Site uses. Tours will
allow the public to see firsthand some of the history and impacts of
past nuclear testing, and will stimulate public involvement in
potential reuse of DOE weapons-complex sites. These activities will be
an important contribution to public understanding of the Nation's
nuclear testing history and how those historic activities have changed.
Site Support Activities
Defense Program activities at the Nevada Test Site have been
declining steadily in recent years, resulting in the need to diversify
user support. Diversification of users will offset required
infrastructure maintenance for Defense Programs, allow the best use of
limited stockpile stewardship resources, and support the successful
execution of the stewardship mission. The activities identified in the
Preferred Alternative require infrastructure construction and
maintenance and support facilities. These include the utilities,
communications, and transportation systems, as well as the existing
support facilities, both on- and off-site. Under the Preferred
Alternative, the Department will undertake landlord-related
construction and maintenance projects as circumstances dictate.
Mitigation
Volume 1, Chapter 7, of the Final Environmental Impact Statement
presents the measures under the four alternatives analyzed that would
be implemented to reduce potentially adverse impacts to the
environment. Operations integral with the agency Preferred Alternative,
Alternative 3 (Expanded Use), plus the public education activities from
Alternative 4 (Alternate Use of Withdrawn Land), are strictly
controlled through Nevada Test Site management activities that
incorporate routine mitigation measures. The DOE has orders, guidance,
regulations, and Nevada Test Site Standing Operating Procedures for the
conduct of operations. As these orders, regulations, and standing
operating procedures have been developed, they incorporated
environmental impact mitigation actions required for most program
operations. Further, DOE's compliance programs require self-
assessments, external oversight, and audits to ensure adherence to
regulations. Individually and collectively, these measures avoid,
reduce, or eliminate potentially adverse environmental impacts from
activities at the Nevada Test Site.
Throughout the environmental impact analysis process, in
conjunction with consultations with affected American Indian tribes and
federal and state agencies and using input received from the public,
DOE identified actions within the five mission programs that require
measures that, under existing operational requirements, would be
routinely implemented to protect soils, water, wildlife, vegetation,
cultural resources, and public and occupational health and safety. In
addition, selected actions within a program area were identified that
require additional mitigation measures to address either impacts from
the action itself or stakeholder concerns. Routine measures identified
through the Environmental Impact Statement analyses identified in
Volume 1, Chapter 7, represent all practicable means to avoid or
minimize adverse impacts of DOE programs in Nevada on sensitive
environmental resources and other areas of concern which may result
from the Preferred Alternative. Those additional mitigation measures
beyond day-to-day routine physical and administrative controls needed
for implementation of the Preferred Alternative are described in the
following sections. Implementation of specific mitigation measures will
be addressed in detail in a Mitigation Action Plan. DOE will prepare a
Mitigation Action Plan to describe how mitigation impacts from the
transportation of materials from the Waste Management Program will be
implemented. The Mitigation Action Plan will provide a general approach
for addressing groundwater impacts, and specific details for mitigation
of groundwater will be provided before the initiation of individual
major projects.
Transportation
Transportation of materials in support of the Waste Management
Program results in potential impacts and concerns that will be
addressed or mitigated through the following DOE actions:
Conduct a comprehensive study of the potential social and
cultural effects on affected Native American tribes from the transport
of low-level radioactive waste and low-level mixed waste to the Nevada
Test Site.
Allow shipments of low-level radioactive waste and low-
level mixed waste that arrive at the Nevada Test Site during off-hours
to park in a secure area inside the gate.
Provide information to stakeholders concerning waste
shipments.
Meet with the Transportation Protocol Working Group
regularly to discuss low-level waste and low-level mixed waste
transportation issues. Respond to transportation concerns between
meetings by phone calls, faxes, or personal meetings.
In coordination with local emergency-response agencies,
determine needs concerning emergency-response actions involving
transportation of low-level waste and low-level mixed waste and assist
in the fulfillment of those needs as far as practicable.
Distribute surplus federal equipment to local agencies to
the extent possible under current regulations concerning federal
surplus disposition.
Prepare an annual report that includes, at a minimum,
identification of carriers, sources and destination of each shipment,
the number and volume of shipments, highway and rail routes used,
incidents/accidents data, and an evaluation of each shipping campaign.
Groundwater Hydrology
In order to avoid adverse impacts to groundwater availability from
development and operations associated with the five mission programs,
DOE would, as necessary, implement appropriate well-field design and
placement, move points of diversion farther away from potentially
affected areas, import water from adjacent areas, adjust the production
of water from well fields, drill new water supply wells, and carefully
manage recharge and discharge areas.
Conclusion
DOE has attempted to balance environmental impacts, stakeholder
concerns, and national policy in its decisions regarding the management
and use of the Nevada Test Site and off-site locations in the State of
Nevada. The analysis contained in the Environmental Impact Statement is
both programmatic and site specific in detail. It is programmatic from
the broad multi-use facility management perspective, and site specific
in the detailed project and program activity analysis. The impacts
identified in the Environmental Impact Statement were based on
conservative estimates and assumptions. In this regard, the DOE has
attempted to bound the impacts of the alternatives defined in the
Environmental Impact Statement. The Expanded Use Alternative was
defined to include potential activities related to the programmatic
decisions that may be made as a result of other DOE Environmental
Impact Statements
[[Page 65563]]
currently in progress. Consequently, the analysis for this alternative
bounds the maximum potential impacts that could occur at the Nevada
Test Site as a result of decisions made from the other DOE
Environmental Impact Statements. This Environmental Impact Statement
and the analyses it contains can be used to support these future
programmatic decisions.
The decisions made in this Record of Decision are defined
consistent with the conservative descriptions contained in the
Environmental Impact Statement. In the application of these decisions
it should be noted that some of the proposals will continue to evolve
over time. In this regard, proposed new activities such as constructing
and operating a 1000-megawatt Solar Power Production Facility at the
Nevada Test Site were analyzed in the Environmental Impact Statement;
however, the current proposal for a solar power production facility at
the Nevada Test Site is less than this original power estimate and
would initially serve only the Nevada Test Site. The true impact of
this proposal with respect to ground clearing and water use impacts
would likewise be less than those identified. DOE also estimated
conservatively the number of science-based stockpile stewardship tests
and experiments to be conducted over a ten year period at the Nevada
Test Site. Actual schedules and data needs will dictate the number of
stockpile stewardship experiments and tests conducted in a given year.
This number could be less than that identified, and consequently the
actual impacts would also be less. DOE also analyzed the potential
impacts of a generic large heavy industrial facility under the Expanded
Use Alternative in order to identify maximum potential impact at the
site under the concept of expanded use. DOE may at some future time
consider siting a defense, nondefense, or private industrial facility
at Nevada Test Site. Once such a proposal becomes more defined,
additional National Environmental Policy Act analysis, as appropriate,
would tier from this programmatic heavy industrial facility analysis.
In accordance with the provisions of the National Environmental
Policy Act, its implementing procedures and regulations, and DOE's
National Environmental Policy Act regulations, I have considered the
information contained within the Final Environmental Impact Statement,
including the classified Appendix and public comments received in
response to the Draft and Final Environmental Impact Statement. Being
fully apprised of the environmental consequences of the alternatives
and other decision factors described above, I have decided to continue
and expand the use of the Nevada Test Site and its resources as
described. This will enhance the DOE's ability to meet its primary
national security mission responsibility in Nevada and create an
environment that fosters technological innovation in both the public
and private sectors.
Issued at Washington, DC, December 9, 1996.
Hazel R. O'Leary,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-31652 Filed 12-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P