[Federal Register: May 18, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 95)] [Notices] [Page 26954-26955] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr18my99-50] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Withdrawal of Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Transfer of Certain Operations From the Department of Energy (DOE) Mound Site AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of withdrawal. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: On October 2, 1998, DOE announced its intent to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the proposed transfer of the Heat Source/Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (HS/RTG) operations at the Mound Site near Miamisburg, Ohio, to an alternative DOE site. The Mound Site was to be cleaned up and eventually turned into an industrial park. However, after additional studies, the Secretary of Energy announced on March 22, 1999, that DOE has now decided to cancel the proposal to transfer these operations. Therefore, DOE is withdrawing its Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. The decision not to pursue the proposed transfer of the HS/RTG operations from the Mound Site does not affect DOE's ongoing NEPA review of the proposed production of plutonium-238 for use in advanced radioisotope power systems for future space missions. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general and technical information associated with the HS/RTG assembly and test operations at the Mound Site, please contact: Timothy A. Frazier, U.S. Department of Energy, P.O. Box 66, Miamisburg, OH 45343-0066. Telephone: (937) 865-3748; facsimile (937) 865-4219; electronic mail: Tim.Frazier@OHIO.DOE.GOV. For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH- 42, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585-0119. Telephone: (202) 586-4600 or leave a message on (800) 472-2756. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Mound Site, located in Miamisburg, Ohio, was established in 1946 as part of the Atomic Energy Commission. For the past 35 years, DOE (or its predecessor) has been developing HS/RTGs at the Mound Site and supplying them to user agencies. Until the early 1990s, the Mound Site also manufactured critical nuclear weapons components. The site is currently being environmentally restored under a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liabilities Act (CERCLA) Sec. 120 Agreement. DOE and its site restoration contractor had planned to complete the environmental restoration and exit the site, including the HS/RTG operations, by February 2003. DOE believed that leaving the HS/RTG operations at Mound by itself may not have been feasible for various programmatic reasons or cost effective. On October 2, 1998, the DOE published in the Federal Register a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS in compliance with the NEPA for the proposed transfer of the HS/RTG operations at the Mound Site to an alternative DOE site. Six public scoping meetings were held in November 1998 in the vicinity of the Mound Site and the following alternative locations: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN; Pantex Plant, near Amarillo, TX; Hanford Site, Richland, WA; Nevada Test Site, near Las Vegas, NV; and Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID. The Draft EIS was in the initial stage of preparation. DOE has decided to withdraw the proposal to transfer the HS/RTG assembly and test operations from the Mound Site. The decision to withdraw the proposal is based on a detailed cost analysis of alternate site proposals and several additional reviews by various departmental elements to determine the reasonableness and acceptability of maintaining the HS/RTG assembly and test operations at the Mound Site. The cost analysis indicated that the Department would not realize cost savings by transferring the HS/RTG assembly and test operations from the Mound Site. The review by various [[Page 26955]] departmental elements determined that maintaining the program at the Mound Site for the long-term was reasonable and that the Department could continue to ensure high levels of health and safety, materials protection, and other program requirements. These reviews, along with public comments received during the EIS scoping process, have effectively negated the need for the proposed action. Therefore, no EIS is required, and DOE hereby withdraws its notice of intent to prepare an EIS. Issued in Washington, D.C., this 11th day of May 1999. Earl J. Wahlquist, Associate Director for Space and Defense Power Systems, Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Technology. [FR Doc. 99-12498 Filed 5-17-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450-01-P