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10 July 2009
[Federal Register: July 10, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 131)]
[Notices]
[Page 33232-33235]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10jy09-46]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
National Nuclear Security Administration
Record of Decision: Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for
the Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos,
NM
AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration, U.S. Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Record of decision.
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SUMMARY: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), a
separately organized agency within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),
is issuing this Record of Decision (ROD) for the continued operation of
the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in Los Alamos, New Mexico,
pursuant to the Final Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement for the
Continued Operation of Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New
Mexico, DOE/EIS-0380 (SWEIS) (73 FR 28453, May 16, 2008). This ROD is
the second ROD based on the information and analyses contained in the
SWEIS and other factors, including comments received on the SWEIS,
costs, technical and security considerations, and the missions of NNSA.
These decision factors also include results from the analyses in the
October 24, 2008, Final Complex Transformation Supplemental
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0236-S4, 73 FR
63460) (Complex Transformation SPEIS) and its two RODs (73 FR 77644, 73
FR 77656, December 19, 2008). NNSA issued the first ROD for the
continued operation of LANL based on the SWEIS (73 FR 55833) on
September 26, 2008.
In the LANL SWEIS, NNSA analyzed three alternatives for the
continued operation of LANL: (1) No Action, (2) Reduced Operations, and
(3) Expanded Operations. NNSA identified the Expanded Operations
Alternative as its Preferred Alternative.
For this second ROD, NNSA continues to select the No Action
Alternative, announced in the 2008 ROD as its decision for continuing
the operation of LANL, and has decided to implement additional elements
of the Expanded Operations Alternative. Specific projects that will be
implemented under this ROD are: (1) Complete the environmental
remediation and closure of Technical Area 18 (TA-18) Pajarito Site; (2)
complete the environmental remediation and closure of TA-21 (also
referred to as the Delta Prime or DP Site); (3) refurbish the Plutonium
Facility Complex at TA-55; (4) construct and operate a new Radioactive
Liquid Waste Treatment Facility in TA-50 and operate a zero liquid
discharge facility in TA-52 as an auxiliary action; (5) install
additional processors and equipment to further expand the capabilities
and operation level of the Nicholas C. Metropolis Center for Modeling
and Simulation in TA-3; and (6) construct and operate a new Science and
Engineering Complex at TA-62. These projects and the changes in
operations associated with them are needed to support DOE and NNSA
missions; to maintain and improve the safety and security of existing
capabilities at LANL; and to further LANL intra-site facility
consolidation. Decisions that NNSA is announcing in this ROD will not
change the plutonium pit production throughput capability at LANL (20
plutonium pits per year), nor will they influence or be impacted by
future decisions that may be made based on the upcoming Nuclear Posture
Review.\1\
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\1\ The Nuclear Posture Review is a congressionally mandated
comprehensive review of U.S. nuclear deterrence policy and strategy
that the Secretary of Defense will conduct in consultation with the
Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of State. The requirement for
this review can be found in the National Defense Appropriations Act
for 2008, Public Law 110-181.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of the SWEIS, the 2008
SWEIS ROD or this ROD, or to receive further information about other
issues regarding the Los Alamos Site Office's National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) compliance program, contact: Mr. George J. Rael,
Assistant Manager Environmental Operations, NEPA Compliance Officer,
U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration,
Los Alamos Site Office, 3747 West Jemez Road, Los Alamos, NM
[[Page 33233]]
87544. Mr. Rael may be contacted by telephone at (505) 665-5658, or by
e-mail at LASO.SWEIS@doeal.gov. For information on the DOE NEPA
process, contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA
Policy and Compliance (GC-20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-4600, or
leave a message at (800) 472-2756. Additional information regarding DOE
NEPA activities and access to many DOE NEPA documents, including those
referenced in this ROD, are available on the Internet through the DOE
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NEPA Web site at http://www.gc.energy.gov/nepa/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
NNSA prepared this ROD pursuant to the regulations of the Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts
1500-1508) and DOE's NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021).
Decisions presented in this second ROD are based on information and
analysis contained in the SWEIS (including a classified appendix that
assesses the potential environmental impacts of a representative set of
credible intentional destructive acts that include terrorism scenarios)
(73 FR 28453, May 16, 2008), comments received on the Final SWEIS;
NNSA's two December 19, 2008, RODs resulting from information and
analysis contained in the Complex Transformation SPEIS (73 FR 77644, 73
FR 77656); and other factors, including costs, technical and security
considerations, and the missions of NNSA.
LANL is a multidisciplinary, multipurpose research institution in
north-central New Mexico, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north-
northeast of Albuquerque, and about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest
of Santa Fe. LANL occupies about 25,600 acres (10,360 hectares), or
approximately 40 square miles (104 square kilometers). About 2,000
structures with approximately 8.6 million square feet under roof serve
to house LANL operations and activities, with about half the square
footage used as laboratory or production space, and the remaining half
used for administrative, storage, service, and other purposes.
LANL is one of three national security laboratories within NNSA's
Nuclear Security Enterprise. The main role of LANL in the fulfillment
of NNSA and DOE missions is scientific and technological work that
supports nuclear materials handling and processing, and weapons
component fabrication; stockpile management; materials and
manufacturing technologies; nonproliferation programs; and waste
management activities. LANL plays a key role in providing stewardship
for the nation's nuclear stockpile that includes manufacturing some
nuclear weapons components, such as plutonium pits. In addition to
weapons component manufacturing, LANL performs weapons component
testing, stockpile assurance, component replacement, surveillance, and
maintenance. Research and development activities at LANL include high
explosives processing, chemical research, nuclear physics research,
materials science research, systems analysis and engineering, human
genome mapping, biotechnology applications, and remote sensing
technologies. Work at LANL is also conducted for other Federal agencies
such as the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, as well as
for universities, institutions, and private entities.
The alternatives evaluated in the SWEIS span a range of potential
operations from minimum levels that would maintain essential mission
support capabilities (Reduced Operations Alternative), through the
highest reasonably foreseeable levels that could be supported by
current facilities or new facilities (Expanded Operations Alternative).
The No Action Alternative analyzed in the SWEIS is essentially a
continuation of current operations based on previous NEPA analyses and
decisions, including the 1999 LANL SWEIS (DOE/EIS-0238, January 1999)
and its ROD (64 FR 50797, September 20, 1999). The Reduced Operations
and Expanded Operations Alternatives analyzed in the SWEIS are
reductions or expansions of the level of operations for the No Action
Alternative. As a matter of convenience, actions associated with
implementing the March 2005 LANL Compliance Order on Consent (Consent
Order) with the State of New Mexico \2\ are only analyzed in the
Expanded Operations Alternative. However, NNSA stated in the SWEIS that
DOE intends to implement actions necessary to comply with the Consent
Order, regardless of decisions it makes on other actions analyzed in
the LANL SWEIS.
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\2\ The March 2005 LANL Compliance Order on Consent was issued
pursuant to the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Act and entered into by
the State of New Mexico, the Department of Energy and its Management
and Operating Contractor to address requirements concerning certain
groundwater contaminants toxic pollutants and explosive compounds.
The Consent Order may be viewed at http://www.lanl.gov/environment/
compliance/consent_order.shtml.
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The 2008 SWEIS ROD announced NNSA's decision to continue to
implement the No Action Alternative with certain elements of the
Expanded Operations Alternative. These specific elements were: (1)
Continuing to implement actions necessary to comply with the Consent
Order, which requires investigation and remediation of environmental
contamination at LANL; (2) broadening the types and quantities of
radioactive sealed sources for isotopes of Cobalt, Iridium, Californium
and Radium, (Co-60, Ir-192, Cf-252, Ra-226), that LANL will manage and
store prior to disposal; (3) expanding the capabilities and operational
level of the Nicholas C. Metropolis Center for Modeling and Simulation
to support the Roadrunner super computing platform; (4) performing
research regarding beryllium detection and mitigation measures; (5)
retrieving and disposing of about 3,100 cubic yards of contact-handled
and 130 cubic yards of remote-handled legacy transuranic (TRU) waste
from below-ground storage; (6) planning, design, construction, and
operation of the Waste Management Facilities Transition projects to
facilitate actions required by the Consent Order; (7) repairing and
replacing mission critical cooling system components for buildings in
Technical Area-55 (TA-55); and (8) completing final design of a new
Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, and designing and
constructing the zero liquid discharge facility auxiliary component of
the new treatment facility.
NNSA has previously announced its determination that the Expanded
Operations Alternative is both its Preferred Alternative and the
Environmentally Preferred Alternative. Considering the many aspects of
the alternatives analyzed in the SWEIS, and looking out over the long
term, NNSA believes that the implementation of changes analyzed in the
Expanded Operations Alternative would allow it to best achieve both its
mission and environmental responsibilities. Under this alternative,
NNSA would be better positioned to minimize the use of electricity and
water; streamline operations through consolidation; replace older
laboratory and production facilities with new buildings that
incorporate modern safety, security, and energy efficiency standards
improving NNSA's ability to protect human health; reduce the
``footprint'' of LANL as a whole; and allow some areas to return to a
natural state.
NNSA published as Volume 3 of the SWEIS all comments received on
the
[[Page 33234]]
Draft SWEIS together with NNSA's responses, and discussions of how
comments resulted in changes to the document. The 2008 SWEIS ROD
included a detailed discussion of the comments received on the Final
SWEIS, and will not be repeated here. In response to the concern raised
by several of the commenters that proceeding with an increase in
plutonium pit production at this time would be premature, NNSA agrees
that making decisions at this time on future plutonium pit production
levels is premature, and will delay making any decisions in this area
until after the completion of the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review.
Decisions that NNSA is announcing in this ROD will not change the 20
plutonium pits per year level of plutonium pit production throughput
capability established in the 1999 LANL SWEIS ROD.
On December 19, 2008, NNSA issued two RODs based in part on the
Complex Transformation SPEIS for the continued transformation of the
nuclear weapons complex. One ROD addressed the implementation of
programmatic alternatives involving plutonium, uranium, and the
assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons (73 FR 77644). The other
announced the implementation of project-specific alternatives involving
tritium research and development, flight test operations, and major
environmental test facilities (73 FR 77656). NNSA's programmatic
decision to retain and consolidate plutonium pit manufacturing and
research and development work at LANL means that special nuclear
materials and work performed with plutonium will be consolidated from
some of the other NNSA sites to LANL. This decision supports the
transformation of the nuclear weapons complex into a smaller, more
efficient nuclear security enterprise that can respond to changing
national security challenges and ensure the long-term safety, security,
and reliability of the nuclear weapons stockpile. Two of NNSA's
project-specific decisions also directly affect LANL operations: (1)
The consolidation of tritium research and operations at the Savannah
River Site, which reduces tritium operations at LANL; and (2) the
consolidation of major environmental test facilities at Sandia National
Laboratories/New Mexico, which closes four facilities at LANL.
Basis for Decision
In this second ROD, NNSA is announcing its decision to continue to
implement the No Action Alternative with the addition of elements from
the Expanded Operations Alternative of the SWEIS. NNSA has also decided
that it will now implement additional elements from the Expanded
Operations Alternative that complement the actions taken under the 2008
SWEIS ROD. These additional elements collectively include increases in
the operation of some existing facilities and the implementation of a
limited number of additional new facility projects needed to support
ongoing stockpile stewardship and environmental closure and remediation
programs; to enhance nuclear safety and security; and to provide modern
features for the protection of workers and the environment. NNSA will
continue to undertake intra-site consolidation of operations and
activities to reduce the physical ``footprint'' of LANL and improve
efficiency and address the LANL Land Transfer requirements of Public
Law 105-119. NNSA also will continue to coordinate with the DOE's
Office of Environmental Management to execute environmental closure and
remediation actions including major material disposal area (MDA)
remediation, canyon cleanups and all activities necessary to meet
Consent Order requirements, the LANL Federal Facility Compliance
Agreement, and DOE commitments regarding the use of resources provided
through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (Pub.
L. 111-5).
Environmental Impacts Associated With Decisions
In making the decisions announced in this ROD, NNSA considered the
potential impacts for normal operations (those operations without
accidents or intentional destructive acts) as well as impacts analyzed
in the SWEIS from potential accidents and intentional destructive acts,
including credible terrorism scenarios, on workers and surrounding
populations, as it did in developing the 2008 ROD. NNSA also evaluated
the potential impacts associated with 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. These analyses and results are described in the Summary
and Chapters 4 and 5 of the SWEIS. Additional project specific analyses
are included in the Appendices to the SWEIS.
Decisions
Operations at LANL provide a wide range of scientific and
technological capabilities for NNSA's National Nuclear Security
Enterprise (Nuclear Weapons Complex). NNSA's decisions are based on its
current and anticipated mission responsibilities and its need to
continue to operate LANL in a manner that allows NNSA to efficiently
and effectively fulfill its mission responsibilities in an
environmentally protective and fiscally prudent manner. The need for
the decisions identified in this ROD exists regardless of any future
decisions that may be made about the level of plutonium pit production
at LANL. National security policies and related laws require NNSA to
maintain the Nation's nuclear weapons stockpile, as well as its core
competencies in nuclear weapons. The nuclear facilities at LANL are
essential to NNSA's ability to execute this core program and to support
NNSA's aggressive and far-reaching nuclear non-proliferation efforts.
The changes in operations and new projects announced in this ROD are
needed to fulfill NNSA and DOE mission responsibilities and meet
various requirements that have arisen since 1999, and are consistent
with recent decisions regarding the nuclear weapons complex
transformation.
Consistent with the decisions announced in the first ROD under the
SWEIS, NNSA and DOE's Office of Environmental Management will continue
to implement actions required by the March 2005 Consent Order along
with other activities needed for environmental cleanup at LANL:
(1) Analytical chemistry sample processing, waste management
activities such as waste characterization operations and waste
processing, storage and transportation actions, as well as waste
disposal at appropriate waste disposal facilities located both on-site
and off-site; (2) the clearing of site vegetation; (3) decontamination,
decommissioning and demolition (DD&D) of structures and buildings with
priority to those that must be removed to reach buried contamination;
(4) exhumation of buried contamination; (5) exhumation and
transportation of soil and rock from on-site borrow pits; (6)
construction of roads to reach sites with heavy equipment, lay-down
areas for equipment and materials and waste storage and staging, and
parking sites to meet the needs of vehicles involved in transporting
wastes, equipment and materials; and (7) delineation and fencing of
clean-up sites.
Environmental cleanup projects that will be undertaken and
completed under this ROD include:
Completing the remediation and closure of TA-18 Pajarito
Site. This would include relocating remaining operations to existing
facilities within LANL, performing the DD&D of existing
[[Page 33235]]
site structures and completing remediation of the TA-18 canyon-bottom
site.
Completing the remediation and closure of TA-21 Delta
Prime (DP) Site with an emphasis on DD&D and environmental remediation
of MDAs. This would include the DD&D of the TA-21 buildings. Those
structures that cover or could interfere with activities to investigate
and remediate MDAs and other potential release sites under the Consent
Order would be given priority. Both DP West and DP East facilities will
undergo DD&D and thorough characterization, decontamination, and
demolition, with waste disposal dependent on facility characterization
information. The underlying waste sites can then be properly
investigated, considered for corrective actions that may be required
under the Consent Order and remediated as appropriate.
The NNSA has also decided to implement the additional projects
specified in this ROD that involve the design, construction and
operation of new replacement buildings, and the renovation of certain
existing facilities. This decision includes the implementation of all
associated actions needed to facilitate construction or renovation
projects, including those related to the transfer of operations, and
those necessary for the DD&D of spaces vacated by moving existing
facilities. These projects are part of the vision that NNSA has
established for the future Nuclear Security Enterprise.
NNSA's vision for the future remains a smaller, safer, more secure
and less expensive enterprise that leverages the scientific and
technical capabilities of its workforce to meet all our national
security requirements. The specific projects that NNSA has decided to
implement are:
Refurbish the Plutonium Facility Complex (PF-4) at TA-55:
This refurbishment project consists of seven subprojects that either
replace or upgrade obsolete and/or worn-out facility components/safety
systems or address regulatory-driven requirements at the PF-4 building
in TA-55. Replacement and maintenance of critical infrastructure and
safety systems is necessary to ensure the reliability of this facility
and compliance with safety and regulatory requirements.
Construct and operate a new Radioactive Liquid Waste
Treatment Facility, (RLWTF), at TA-50 together with the operation of a
zero liquid discharge facility at TA-52 as an auxiliary action: These
actions replace/restore an existing capability at LANL for processing
radioactive liquid wastes. The existing RLWTF at TA-50 is the only
facility available at LANL to treat a broad range of transuranic and
low-level radioactive liquid wastes. It is an aging facility (over 40
years old) that has exceeded its design life.
Install additional processors and equipment as necessary
to further expand the capabilities and operation level of the Nicholas
C. Metropolis Center for Modeling and Simulation at TA-3: These actions
will be undertaken to support future operations up to the level of
operations analyzed in the SWEIS as attainable through the consumption
of a maximum electric power use of 15 megawatts, and a maximum potable
water use of 51 million gallons per year. Calculations performed at the
Nicholas C. Metropolis Center support the continued certification of
the nuclear weapons stockpile without conducting underground nuclear
tests, and also support research on global energy challenges and other
scientific issues.
Construct and operate a new Science and Engineering
Complex at TA-62 (analyzed as the Science Complex Option 1 in Appendix
G of the SWEIS): This action consolidates offices and light
laboratories currently located in several outmoded structures at LANL
into a new, state-of-the-art facility of approximately 400,000 gsf. It
would support scientific research activities in both basic and applied
sciences. Execution of this project would be accompanied by DD&D of
excess structures at LANL.
The NNSA will implement changes to operational levels at existing
facilities and install new infrastructure analyzed as part of the
Expanded Operations Alternative that support decisions announced in
this ROD, the 2008 SWEIS ROD and the two SPEIS RODs. The changes to on-
going operational levels at existing facilities (and their replacement
facilities) include: (1) Changes and increases to the capabilities for
waste storage, characterization, packaging, and labeling at solid and
liquid radioactive waste and chemical waste management and treatment
facilities to support the processing and disposition of transuranic,
low-level and mixed low-level radioactive waste, and chemical waste
from site DD&D activities; and (2) the performance of site assessments,
soil remediation, and the enhancement of field capabilities to support
of environmental remediation and risk mitigation at LANL.
Mitigation Measures
As described in the SWEIS, NNSA and LANL operate pursuant to a
number of Federal laws including environmental laws, DOE Orders, and
Federal, State, and local controls, and agreements. Many of these
mandate actions that serve to mitigate potential adverse environmental
impacts. A Los Alamos Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) for the SWEIS RODs
has been issued and will be reviewed and updated as necessary to
implement this ROD. As discussed in the 2008 ROD, this MAP contains a
summary of all commitments for LANL that are either underway or will be
initiated. These commitments include such actions as continued forest
management efforts, trail management efforts, and implementation of a
variety of site sampling and monitoring measures, as well as additional
measures to reduce potable water use and pollutant emissions and
implement resource conservation initiatives.
In addition, with respect to concerns raised by the Santa Clara
Pueblo, as discussed in the 2008 ROD, NNSA will continue its efforts to
support the Pueblo and other tribal entities in matters of human health
and will participate in various intergovernmental efforts to protect
indigenous practices and locations of concern. NNSA will conduct
government-to-government consultations with the Pueblo and other tribal
entities to incorporate these matters into the MAP.
Issued at Washington, DC, this 29 day of June 2009.
Thomas P. D'Agostino,
Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-16343 Filed 7-9-09; 8:45 am]
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