[Federal Register: November 3, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 212)]
[Notices]               
[Page 59292]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03no98-47]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

 
Notice of Wetlands and Floodplain Involvement for Siting, 
Construction, and Operation of the Spallation Neutron Source

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Wetland and Floodplain Involvement.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to site, 
construct, and operate a Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The proposed 
SNS facility would consist of a proton accelerator system; a spallation 
target; and appropriate experimental areas, laboratories, offices, and 
support facilities to allow ongoing and expanded programs of neutron 
research. DOE has identified four alternative sites for this project: 
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (the preferred 
alternative); Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois; Los 
Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Brookhaven 
National Laboratory, Upton, New York.
    The proposed sites at ORNL and ANL include small wetlands. In 
addition, a portion of the site at ANL lies within a 100-year 
floodplain. In accordance with DOE regulations for floodplain and 
wetlands environmental review (10 CFR part 1022), DOE will prepare a 
wetland/floodplain assessment and will perform this proposed action in 
a manner so as to avoid or minimize potential harm to or within the 
affected wetlands and floodplain. This assessment will address 
potential mitigation measures and practicable siting alternatives and 
will be included in the EIS. The Statement of Findings will be 
incorporated in the Final EIS.

DATES: Within the next few months, a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) for the Spallation Neutron Source will be issued for 
public comment for a period of at least 45 days. Comments in response 
to this Notice may be submitted to the address below at any time 
through the end of the DEIS public comment period.

ADDRESSES: Please direct comments to: David K. Wilfert, U.S. Department 
of Energy, Oak Ridge Operations Office, 200 Administration Road, 146/
FEDC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, telephone: (800) 927-9964, facsimile: 
(423) 576-4542, or e-mail NSNSEIS@ornl.gov.
    For general NEPA information, please contact Carol Borgstrom, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585, telephone: (202) 586-
4600.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information associated 
with the Spallation Neutron Source, please contact: Jeffrey C. Hoy, SNS 
Program Manager, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Office of Energy 
Research, U.S. Department of Energy, ER-13, Germantown, MD 20874-1290, 
telephone: (301) 903-4924. Further information on this proposed action 
and wetlands assessment can be obtained from David K. Wilfert at the 
above address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed SNS facility would consist of a 
proton accelerator system, a spallation source to produce neutron 
pulses, and appropriate experimental areas, laboratories, offices, and 
support facilities to allow ongoing and expanded programs of neutron 
research. DOE proposes to construct and operate the SNS at one of four 
alternative sites in the United States. The preferred alternative being 
evaluated in the EIS is to construct the SNS at the Oak Ridge National 
Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Other alternative locations 
for the SNS included in the EIS are Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), 
Argonne, Illinois; Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, 
New Mexico; and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, New York.
    Construction of the SNS at the proposed ORNL site would involve the 
taking of two small palustrine emergent wetlands on the Chestnut Ridge 
construction site. These two wetlands have a combined area of 0.05 
hectares (0.12 acres). One of these small wetlands is an emergent 
wetland in an isolated depression. It is adjacent to another small 
wetland that lies immediately adjacent to Chestnut Ridge Road near 
where it crosses White Oak Creek. The depression does not appear to 
have a surface outlet to the swale or to nearby White Oak Creek. 
Upgrades needed to Chestnut Ridge Road and the laying of a gas pipeline 
would encroach on these areas and result in the loss of the 0.05 
hectares of wetlands. A third wetland with an area of 0.65 hectares 
(1.6 acres) could receive increased runoff and siltation during 
construction activities. Appropriate runoff mitigation measures would 
be employed to minimize any effects to this wetland.
    As proposed, construction of the SNS at the ANL alternative site 
would involve the loss of a 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) of palustrine 
emergent wetlands that would lie within the proposed SNS facility 
footprint at ANL. In accordance with Section 404 of the Federal Clean 
Water Act, a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would be 
sought for construction in these wetlands and for possible plans to 
mitigate the losses as necessary, should the SNS be built at the ANL 
site.
    In accordance with DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain 
and wetlands environmental review requirements (10 CFR part 1022), DOE 
will prepare a floodplain and wetlands assessment for this proposed DOE 
action. The assessment and a floodplain statement of findings will be 
included in the environmental impact statement being prepared for the 
proposed project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 22d day of October, 1998.
Martha A. Krebs,
Director, Office of Energy Research.
[FR Doc. 98-29438 Filed 11-2-98; 8:45 am]
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