[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 14, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37948-37949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-17972]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
DOE Order and Manual on Radioactive Waste Management, and
Implementation Guide
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of a
revised DOE Order and Manual on Radioactive Waste Management (DOE O
435.1 and DOE M 435.1-1). These documents set forth the requirements
that DOE programs and contractors must follow in managing DOE
radioactive waste to provide for radiological protection from DOE
facilities, operations, and activities in accordance with the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S. C. 2011 et seq.) and other authorities. As
part of its mission, DOE generates, stores, treats, and disposes of
high-level, transuranic, low-level, and mixed low-level radioactive
wastes. Accompanying the Order and Manual is an Implementation Guide,
which discusses, in a non-prescriptive manner, acceptable methods for
meeting the requirements of the Order and Manual. In addition, DOE has
prepared a summary of the significant and most
[[Page 37949]]
frequent public comments received after the draft Order and Manual were
made available for public review on August 6, 1998, and DOE's
responses. All public comments received on the draft documents also are
available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Martin Letourneau, U.S. Department of
Energy, EM-35, 19901 Germantown Road, Germantown, MD 20874, by
telephone at 301-903-7656 or by e-mail at:
[email protected].
ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the Order and Manual and accompanying
Implementation Guide are available on the Internet at: http://
www.explorer.doe.gov: 1776/htmls/directives/html. A summary of the
public comments and DOE's responses is available through an Internet
Web Site at http://www.em.doe.gov. Copies of the public comments
received by DOE are available for viewing at the Center for
Environmental Management Information, 955 L'Enfant Plaza, North, SW,
Suite 8200, Washington, DC 20024, 1-800-736-3282, in DC 202-863-5084;
and DOE Public Reading Rooms. For locations of the DOE Reading Rooms or
other public information repositories, please contact the Center for
Environmental Management Information at above address and telephone.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOE Order and Manual on Radioactive
Waste Management (DOE O 435.1 and DOE M 435.1-1) set forth the
requirements that DOE programs and contractors must follow in managing
DOE radioactive waste to provide for radiological protection from DOE
facilities, operations, and activities. These documents replace the
previous DOE Order on Radioactive Waste Management, DOE 5820.2A. The
new Order and Manual reflect advances in radioactive waste management
practices, and changes within DOE, since the previous DOE Order was
issued in 1988.
On August 6, 1998, DOE published a Notice of Availability (NOA) of
the draft DOE Order and Manual on Radioactive Waste Management (63 FR
42012). In the NOA, DOE requested comments from the public and
interested parties on the draft Order and Manual by September 8, 1998.
Overall, approximately 250 comments were received from 18 different
entities, including states, Indian Nations, citizen groups, DOE Site-
Specific Advisory Boards, national laboratories, private individuals,
government agencies, and corporations. The focus of the comments ranged
from general Order and Manual process issues to specific technical
issues. A summary of the significant and most frequently received
public comments on DOE O 435.1, Radioactive Waste Management, and DOE's
responses is available at the above locations.
Review Under the National Environmental Policy Act
The objective of the Order, Manual, and Implementation Guide is to
continue to ensure that all DOE radioactive waste is managed in a
manner that protects worker and public health and safety, and the
environment. On July 30, 1998, DOE executed a record of categorical
exclusion for the draft of the DOE Order and Manual. On August 8, 1998,
DOE made the drafts available to the public for comment. DOE then
reviewed each of the comments it received, and revised the draft Order
and Manual where appropriate. After considering the public comments and
the changes prompted by those comments, DOE believes that the final
Order and Manual, and accompanying Guide, also qualify for a
categorical exclusion. Because the Order and Manual amend or revise the
existing Order but do not change its environmental effect, DOE has
determined that this revision fits within the class of actions eligible
for categorical exclusion found in DOE's National Environmental Policy
Act Implementing Procedures, 10 CFR Part 1021, at paragraph A5 of
Appendix A to subpart D. DOE has determined that there are no
extraordinary circumstances related to the Order and Manual that may
affect the significance of the environmental impacts of the Order and
Manual, and that the Order and Manual are not ``connected'' to other
actions with potentially significant impacts or to other proposed
actions with cumulatively significant impacts. Accordingly, neither an
environmental impact statement nor an environmental assessment is
required.
Issued in Washington, D.C. July 8, 1999.
James M. Owendoff,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 99-17972 Filed 7-13-99; 8:45 am]
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