[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 232 (Friday, December 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70256-70257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-26627]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Remediation of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings, Grand and San Juan
Counties, Utah, Draft Environmental Impact Statement; Notice of
Availability
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability
of the document, Remediation of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings, Grand
and San Juan Counties, Utah, Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/
EIS-0335D) for the Moab, Utah, Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action
(UMTRA) Project Site, for public comment. The draft environmental
impact statement (EIS) analyzes the potential environmental impacts
associated with alternatives for remediating contaminated soils,
tailings, and ground water at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Site (Moab
site), Grand County, Utah, and contaminated soils in adjacent public
and private properties (vicinity properties) near the Moab site. The
draft EIS also contains a Floodplain and Wetlands Assessment.
The Department prepared this draft EIS in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations that
implement the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508),
and the DOE procedures implementing NEPA (10 CFR Part 1021). The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of
availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register on November 12,
2004 (69 FR 65427), starting a public comment period ending February
18, 2005.
DOE invites the public to comment on the draft EIS and will
consider the comments in preparing the final EIS. Written comments must
be submitted by February 18, 2005, to ensure consideration. DOE will
consider comments submitted after this date to the extent practicable.
DOE will conduct four public hearings to present information and
receive comments on the draft in Moab, Blanding, White Mesa, and Green
River, Utah. DOE will also publish information about the hearings in
local Utah newspapers in advance of the hearings. DOE will accept oral
and written comments at the public hearings.
DATES: DOE invites comments on the draft EIS, which should be submitted
to Don Metzler (see ADDRESSES) by February 18, 2005. DOE will consider
comments submitted after that date to the extent practicable. DOE also
will conduct four public hearings to present information and receive
oral and written comments on the draft EIS. Information about these
hearings will also be published in local Utah newspapers in advance of
the hearings. The locations, dates, and times for these public hearings
are as follows:
1. January 25, 2005, 6 p.m., City Hall Meeting Room, 240 E. Main,
Green River, Utah.
2. January 26, 2005, 6 p.m., Archway Inn, 1551 N. Hwy 191, Moab,
Utah.
3. January 27, 2005, 10 a.m., Education Building, White Mesa, Utah.
4. January 27, 2005, 6 p.m., College of Eastern Utah Arts and
Events Center Auditorium, 639 West 100 South, Blanding, Utah.
ADDRESSES: Requests for further information on the draft EIS, copies of
the document, and comments on the draft EIS should be directed to Don
Metzler, Moab Federal Project Director, U.S. Department of Energy, 2597
B\3/4\ Road, Grand Junction, Colorado, 81503; facsimile: (970) 248-
7636; telephone (970) 248-7612 or toll free at (800) 637-4575; or e-
mailed to: [email protected]. Additional information can also be
obtained from the EIS Web site: http://www.gj.em.doe.gov/moab/. For
information or instructions on how to record comments call (800) 637-
4575.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information on the Office
of Environmental Management's (EM) NEPA process, please contact Mr. Don
Metzler, Moab Federal Project Director, at the address or phone numbers
listed above, or Steven A. Frank, Office of Environmental Management
NEPA Compliance Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; telephone (202) 586-7478.
For information regarding the DOE NEPA process, please contact:
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-
42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585, Telephone: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at
(800) 472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
[[Page 70257]]
Alternatives Considered
Remediation alternatives for the disposal of surface contamination
include on-site disposal of the mill tailings at their current location
in Moab, Utah; and three off-site disposal alternatives in Utah:
Klondike Flats, near Moab; Crescent Junction, near the town of Crescent
Junction and about 20 miles east of the town of Green River; and the
White Mesa Mill within a few miles of the towns of Blanding and White
Mesa and the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation. The draft EIS
considers three modes of transporting the mill tailings to the off-site
alternatives: truck, rail, and slurry pipeline. In addition, the draft
EIS evaluates active ground water remediation to eliminate the
potential ongoing impacts to aquatic species in the Colorado River
resulting from the discharge of contaminated ground water into the
river.
In accordance with NEPA requirements, the draft EIS also analyzes,
for comparative purposes, a No Action alternative. Under the No Action
alternative, DOE would cease the active management that DOE currently
provides of the mill tailings currently stored on-site. Discharge of
contaminated ground water into the Colorado River would continue under
the No Action alternative.
DOE has not yet identified a preferred alternative. DOE will
consider the analyses provided in the EIS as well as comments on the
document in determining its preferred alternative, which will be
identified in the final EIS.
Distribution and Availability of the Draft EIS
Copies of the draft EIS were distributed to Members of Congress,
Federal, State, and Indian tribal governments, local officials,
persons, agencies, and organizations who have expressed an interest in
the EIS process. Copies of the draft EIS may also be requested as
indicated previously in the ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT sections of this notice. The draft EIS is available
electronically on the Internet at http://www.gj.em.doe.gov/moab/, and
is also available on the DOE NEPA Web site at http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/. Copies of the draft EIS have been placed in the Grand County
Public Library, Blanding Branch Library, and the White Mesa Ute
Administrative Building, and in the DOE Public Reading Room in Grand
Junction, Colorado. Copies may also be requested by contacting DOE toll
free at 1-800-637-4575.
Addresses of Public Reading Rooms and Libraries:
Grand County Library, 25 South 100 East, Moab, Utah, (435) 259-5421.
Library hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. Saturday, Closed Sunday.
Blanding Branch Library, 25 West 300 South, Blanding, Utah, (435) 678-
2335. Library hours: Noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 2 to 6
p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
White Mesa Ute Administrative Building (off U.S. Highway 191), White
Mesa, Utah, (435) 678-3397.
Reading Room hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,
Closed weekends.
The DOE Freedom of Information Act Office and Reading Room, Room
1E-190, 1000 Independence Ave, SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-
3142.
Public Hearings: DOE will conduct four public hearings on the draft
EIS (see DATES above).
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 30, 2004.
Dr. In[eacute]s Triay,
Deputy Chief Operating Officer.
[FR Doc. 04-26627 Filed 12-2-04; 8:45 am]
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