Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 14 / Monday, January 23, 2012 / Notices 3257 

would continue to use diesel fuel to 

power the 242–A Evaporator and would 

use diesel fuel to power the WTP, as 

currently planned. 

Because all reasonable alternative 

pipeline routing alignments involve 

crossing the Columbia River, portions of 

the proposed action may affect 

floodplains and wetlands. This NOI 

serves as a notice of proposed 

floodplain or wetland action in 

accordance with DOE floodplain and 

wetland environmental review 

requirements (10 CFR part 1022). As 

appropriate and in accordance with 10 

CFR part 1022, the NGP Draft EIS will 

include a floodplain and wetland 

assessment, and a floodplain statement 

of findings will be included in the Final 

EIS or may be issued separately (10 CFR 

1022.14(c)). 

National Historic Preservation Act 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (NHPA) requires 

Federal agencies to take into account the 

effects of their undertakings on historic 

properties. Federal agencies are 

encouraged to coordinate compliance 

with Section 106 of the NHPA with any 

steps taken to meet the requirements of 

NEPA. DOE plans to use the NEPA 

process and documentation required for 

the preparation of this EIS to satisfy 

applicable requirements of NHPA 

Section 106. As specified in the 

regulations issued by the Advisory 

Council on Historic Preservation 

(ACHP) to implement the Section 106 

process (36 CFR part 800, 800.8), DOE 

will use the NEPA process in lieu of the 

procedures set forth in §§ 800.3 through 

800.6. DOE specifically invites the 

ACHP, the State of Washington Historic 

Preservation Officer (SHPO), Hanford 

Area Tribal Nations, and members of the 

public to participate in this NEPA 

process for the purpose of ensuring the 

standards in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(1) through 

800.8(c)(5) are met, including 

identifying mitigation actions that may 

be appropriate to address potential 

adverse effects that may result from 

implementing the Proposed Action. 

Preliminary Identification of 

Environmental Issues 

DOE proposes to analyze potential 

short-term health and environmental 

impacts, such as those from 

construction, and potential long-term 

health and environmental impacts of 

operating and maintaining the pipeline 

over a period assumed to be 100 years 

for the purposes of analysis, once 

service commences. DOE will analyze 

potential issues and impacts at a level 

of detail commensurate with their 

importance. Potential impact areas to be 

evaluated include, but are not limited 

to, the following: 

• Potential effects on public health 

and workers from exposures to 

hazardous materials during 

construction, operations, and 

transportation under routine and 

credible accident scenarios. 

• Potential impacts on surface water 

and groundwater, floodplains, and 

wetlands, and on water use and quality. 

• Potential impacts on air quality. 

• Potential noise impacts. 

• Potential impacts on plants and 

animals and their habitat, including 

species that are Federal- or state-listed 

as threatened or endangered, or of 

special concern. 

• Potential impacts on geology and 

soil characteristics. 

• Potential impacts on historic and 

cultural resources including places, 

viewshed, archeological, and Native 

American or other culturally important 

sites. 

• Socioeconomic impacts, either 

beneficial or adverse, on potentially 

affected communities. 

• Environmental justice, particularly 

whether the proposed action or 

alternatives have disproportionately 

high and adverse effects on minority 

and low-income populations. 

• Potential impacts on land-use 

plans, policies and controls, and visual 

resources. 

• Pollution prevention and waste 

management practices and activities. 

• Unavoidable adverse impacts and 

irreversible and irretrievable 

commitments of resources. 

• Potential cumulative environmental 

effects of past, present and reasonably 

foreseeable actions. 

• Potential impacts of reasonably 

foreseeable accidents and potential 

impacts from intentionally destructive 

acts, including sabotage or terrorism. 

• Potential natural disasters: floods, 

hurricanes, tornadoes, and seismic 

events. 

• Status of compliance with all 

applicable Federal, state and local 

statutes and regulations, and required 

Federal and state environmental 

permits, consultations and notifications. 

Invitation for Public Comment 

DOE invites Federal agencies; State, 

Tribal, and local governments; 

organizations; and the general public to 

comment on the scope of the EIS, 

including identification of alternatives 

and specific issues to be addressed. 

DOE also invites comments on the 

potential adverse effects that may result 

from the Proposed Action with respect 

to historic resources governed by NHPA, 

along with suggested actions DOE might 

take to mitigate any such adverse 

effects. DOE will coordinate with 

appropriate Federal, State, and local 

agencies and potentially affected Native 

American tribes during the preparation 

of the EIS. While there are no 

designated cooperating agencies at this 

time, DOE plans to invite Federal, State, 

and local government agencies with 

jurisdiction by law or special expertise 

to participate as cooperating agencies in 

preparing the EIS. 

DOE will consider all comments 

received during a 30-day public scoping 

period beginning January 23, 2012 and 

ending on February 22, 2012. DOE will 

consider comments received after that 

date to the extent practicable. 

At the public scoping meeting, DOE 

will provide an overview of the 

proposed action followed by a short, 

informal question-and-answer period to 

clarify the information presented. 

Thereafter, the public will have an 

opportunity to present oral and written 

comments on the proposed EIS scope; 

oral comments will be documented by 

a court reporter. DOE will consider all 

public scoping comments in preparing 

the Draft NGP EIS. 

Issued at Washington, DC, on January 17, 

2012. 

David Huizenga, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2012–1139 Filed 1–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Transfer of Land Tracts Located at Los 

Alamos National Laboratory, New 

Mexico 

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security 

Administration, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Amended Record of Decision. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy’s National Nuclear Security 

Administration (DOE/NNSA) is issuing 

this Amended Record of Decision (ROD) 

for the Environmental Impact Statement 

for the Conveyance and Transfer of 

Certain Land Tracts Administered by 

the Department of Energy and Located 

at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los 

Alamos and Santa Fe Counties, New 

Mexico, DOE/EIS–0293 (Conveyance 

and Transfer EIS) to address the 

remaining acreage of Los Alamos 

National Laboratory’s (LANL’s) 

Technical Area 21 (TA–21) Tract (about 

245 acres) and the remaining acreage of 

the Airport Tract (about 55 acres). DOE/ 

NNSA has determined that it is no 

longer necessary to retain these lands 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
3258 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 14 / Monday, January 23, 2012 / Notices 

and will make them available for 

conveyance and transfer. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

copies of the Conveyance and Transfer 

EIS, the 2000 Record of Decision (ROD), 

and/or the two previous amended RODs 

(discussed in later paragraphs), or to 

receive further information 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 

87544. Mr. Rael may be contacted by 

telephone at (505) 665–5658. For 

information on the DOE NEPA process, 

contact: Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, 

Director, Office of NEPA Policy and 

Compliance (GC–54), 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 are 

available on the Internet through the 

DOE NEPA Web site at: http:// 

www.gc.energy.gov/nepa/. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

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. The 

small communities of Los Alamos 

townsite, White Rock, Pajarito Acres, 

the Royal Crest Mobile Home Park, and 

San Ildefonso Pueblo are located in the 

immediate vicinity of LANL. LANL 

occupies an area of approximately 

23,040 acres (9324 hectares), or 

approximately 36 square miles (93 

square kilometers). 

Legal Requirements for Action 

On November 26, 1997, Congress 

passed Public Law 105–119, the 

Departments of Commerce, Justice, and 

State, the Judiciary, and Related 

Agencies Appropriations Act, Fiscal 

Year 1998 (‘‘the Act’’). Section 632 of 

the Act (42 U.S.C. 2391) directs the 

Secretary of Energy (the Secretary) to 

convey to the Incorporated County of 

Los Alamos, New Mexico, or to the 

designee of the County, and transfer to 

the Department of the Interior, in trust 

for the San Ildefonso Pueblo, parcels of 

land under the jurisdictional 

administrative control of the Secretary 

at or in the vicinity of LANL. Such 

parcels, or tracts, of land must meet 

suitability criteria established by the 

Act. The purpose for these conveyances 

and transfers is to fulfill the obligations 

of the United States with respect to Los 

Alamos, New Mexico, under sections 91 

and 94 of the Atomic Energy 

Community Act of 1955 (AECA) (42 

U.S.C. 2391, 2394). Upon the 

completion of the conveyance or 

transfer, the Secretary of Energy shall 

make no further financial assistance 

payments with respect to LANL under 

the AECA. 

The Act set forth the criteria, 

processes, and dates by which tracts 

would be selected, titles to the tracts 

reviewed, environmental issues 

evaluated, and decisions made as to the 

allocation of the tracts between the two 

recipients. DOE’s responsibilities under 

the Act include identifying potentially 

suitable tracts of land according to 

criteria set forth in the law (Land 

Transfer Report, April 1998); 

conducting a title search on each tract 

of land (Title Report, September 1998); 

identifying any environmental 

restoration and remediation that would 

be needed for each tract of land 

(Environmental Restoration Report, 

August 1999); conducting National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) review of the proposed 

conveyance or transfer of the land tracts 

(the Conveyance and Transfer EIS, 

October 1999, distributed in January 

2000); reporting to Congress on the 

results of the Environmental Restoration 

Report review and the final Conveyance 

and Transfer EIS (Combined Data 

Report, January 2000); and preparing a 

plan for conveying or transferring land 

according to the allocation agreement of 

parcels for Congress (Conveyance and 

Transfer Plan, April 2000). 

Additionally, the disposition of each 

tract, or portion of a tract, would be 

subject to DOE’s completion of any 

necessary environmental restoration or 

remediation required. 

Previous Decisions on the Conveyance 

and Transfer Actions 

In the 2000 ROD for the Conveyance 

and Transfer EIS (65 FR 14952, March 

20, 2000), DOE’s decision, consistent 

with the Preferred Alternative analyzed 

in the Conveyance and Transfer EIS, 

was to convey or transfer seven tracts in 

whole and three tracts (the Airport, TA– 

21, and White Rock Y Tracts) in part by 

November 26, 2007, the original transfer 

deadline established in the Act. Portions 

of the three partial tracts were initially 

withheld by DOE because of potential 

national security mission needs for 

retaining security, health, and safety 

buffer zones surrounding operational 

areas. For this reason, DOE’s decision at 

that time was to convey or transfer 110 

acres of the Airport Tract, 20 acres of 

the TA–21 Tract, and 125 acres of the 

White Rock Y Tract. DOE stated in the 

ROD that it would make every effort to 

minimize the portions of the tracts it 

retains and only retain essential areas 

and convey or transfer the remainder of 

the tracts before the transfer deadline. 

On June 26, 2002, NNSA issued an 

Amended ROD (67 FR 45495; July 9, 

2002) that announced NNSA’s 

determination that an 8-acre portion of 

the Airport Tract at its western end that 

had been retained to serve as a health 

and safety buffer zone was no longer 

required for that purpose and could be 

conveyed. NNSA additionally identified 

two portions of the White Rock Y Tract 

that were unlikely to be needed to serve 

as health and safety buffers and could 

be conveyed as well. These portions 

contain stretches of public roadways 

along State Road 502 and State Road 4 

and total about 74 acres. 

On July 28, 2005, NNSA issued 

another Amended ROD (70 FR 48378; 

August 17, 2005) announcing NNSA’s 

decision to convey an additional 32.3- 

acre portion of the Airport Tract based 

on its determination that this portion of 

the tract located along the south side of 

State Road 502 was no longer required 

to serve as a health and safety buffer 

area. This decision also stated that the 

remainder of the Airport Tract, about 55 

acres, would be retained until tritium 

operations ceased within the 

previously-retained approximately 245 

acres of the TA–21 Tract. 

Rationale Supporting the Conveyance 

and Transfer of Portions of Retained 

Tracts 

The original 2000 ROD for the 

Conveyance and Transfer EIS stated 

with regard to the three tracts that were 

conveyed in part, that DOE would 

continue to resolve outstanding national 

security mission support issues on the 

remaining portions of the tracts so that 

conveyance or transfer of those portions 

could occur before the end of the 2007 

deadline identified in the Act, which 

has been extended to November 26, 

2022 by the National Defense 

Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, 

(Pub. L. 111–383). DOE could include 

deed restrictions, notices, and similar 

land use controls, as deemed 

appropriate and necessary, that are 

protective of human health and safety to 

facilitate the transfer of the remaining 

portions of these tracts. 

In 2000, the TA–21 Tract housed both 

the Tritium Systems Test Assembly 

(TSTA) and the Tritium Sciences and 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 14 / Monday, January 23, 2012 / Notices 3259 

Fabrication Facility (TSFF), and both of 

these facilities were scheduled to 

continue operations past the year 2007. 

These two research facilities were 

identified as being needed for the 

national security mission and there 

were no formal plans to relocate them 

at that time. However, NNSA has 

subsequently discontinued both the 

TSTA and TSFF operations within TA– 

21. The TSFF tritium operations have 

been relocated away from LANL, and all 

other remaining TA–21 operations have 

been moved to existing facilities within 

LANL. All of the TA–21 buildings and 

structures are now undergoing or have 

undergone complete decommissioning, 

decontamination, and demolition. Total 

site environmental remediation of TA– 

21 will be undertaken, and is currently 

scheduled for completion over the next 

decade. 

In the near term, NNSA has 

determined that the remaining portion 

of the Airport Tract situated along State 

Road 502 on the Townsite Mesa top 

(about 55 acres) that had been retained 

to serve as a health and safety buffer for 

the TA–21 operations nearby is no 

longer required for that purpose. This 

partial tract can now be conveyed. 

NNSA has also determined that it will 

convey the remaining portion of the 

TA–21 Tract (about 245 acres) situated 

along DP Road on the DP Mesa top and 

east into the DP canyon area, as this 

previously retained portion of the Tract 

is no longer required for LANL 

operations. This 245-acre portion of the 

TA–21 Tract can now be conveyed on 

a partial-tract-by-partial-tract basis as 

soon as environmental restoration and 

remediation actions are completed. 

Amended Decisions 

NNSA is modifying its decisions on 

conveyance and transfer of certain land 

tracts at LANL based upon the 

conditions to transfer properties as 

outlined in the Act. 

• The Airport Tract, originally 

consisting of about 205 acres (83 

hectares), is located east of the Los 

Alamos townsite near the East Gate 

Business Park. The Los Alamos Airport 

is located on the northern part of the 

tract. In March 2000, DOE decided to 

convey or transfer part of the tract, 

approximately 110 acres along the north 

side of East Road. Portions of the tract 

were retained by DOE to sustain mission 

need and provide a health and safety 

buffer to support TA–21 activities. With 

the planned shutdown of portions of its 

tritium activities at TA–21, NNSA 

decided to convey an additional 8-acre 

portion of the Airport Tract in 2002. In 

2005, NNSA decided to convey a 32.3- 

acre portion of the Airport Tract located 

along the south side of State Road 502 

on top of Townsite Mesa. The 

subsequent closure of the TSTA and 

TSFF operations at TA–21 and 

remediation activities at TA–21 

removed the mission need and the 

requirement for a health and safety 

buffer for the Airport Tract. Therefore, 

NNSA has now decided to convey the 

remaining portions of the Airport Tract, 

about 55 acres to Los Alamos County, in 

accordance with the requirements of the 

Act. With this decision, no acreage of 

the Airport Tract remains to be 

conveyed. 

• The TA–21 Tract, originally 

consisting of about 260 acres (105 

hectares), is located east of the Los 

Alamos townsite on the eastern end of 

DP Mesa. In March 2000, DOE decided 

to convey or transfer part of the tract, 

approximately 20 acres, located in the 

northwest section of the TA–21 tract 

adjacent to the DP Road Tract. Portions 

of the TA–21 Tract were retained by 

DOE to sustain mission activities. With 

the closure of the TSTA and TSFF 

operations at TA–21 in 2002 and 2006 

respectively, and the anticipated 

completion of the remediation activities 

at TA–21, DOE no longer has a mission 

need for this site other than meeting its 

environmental compliance 

requirements. NNSA has decided to 

convey in accordance with the 

requirements of the Act, the remaining 

portions, totaling about 245 acres, of the 

TA–21 Tract. This conveyance will 

occur on a partial-tract-by-partial-tract 

basis upon completion of environmental 

remediation activities. With this 

decision, the majority of the TA–21 

Tract acreage will be conveyed. 

Issued in Washington, DC on January 17, 

2012. 

Thomas P. D’Agostino, 

Administrator, National Nuclear Security 

Administration. 

[FR Doc. 2012–1208 Filed 1–20–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

National Nuclear Security 

Administration 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Disposition of the Bannister 

Federal Complex, Kansas City, MO, 

and Notice of Wetlands Involvement 

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security 

Administration (NNSA), U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement and 

conduct a public scoping meeting, and 

notice of wetlands involvement. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), and the Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) and U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE) regulations 

implementing NEPA, the National 

Nuclear Security Administration 

(NNSA), a semi-autonomous agency 

within DOE, announces its intention to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) for the disposition of the 

Bannister Federal Complex (BFC) (BFC 

Disposition EIS; DOE/EIS–0475). 

The 300-acre BFC is owned by NNSA 

and the General Services 

Administration (GSA). NNSA owns the 

portion of the BFC known as the Kansas 

City Plant (KCP), consisting of 

approximately 122 acres and 38 

buildings. GSA owns the remainder of 

the site, consisting of approximately 175 

acres and 13 buildings. Beginning in 

2013, NNSA will relocate its operations 

from the KCP to a newly constructed 

industrial campus eight miles south of 

the BFC. Once the move is completed, 

NNSA’s real property at the BFC will be 

excess to the needs of its mission and 

will be available for disposition. GSA is 

currently analyzing its occupancy of the 

BFC and is performing a separate 

Environmental Assessment (EA) to 

evaluate a future relocation option. 

Because GSA could also decide to 

relocate its operations away from the 

BFC, it is a cooperating agency for the 

preparation of this EIS, which will 

analyze the potential environmental 

impacts for the disposition of GSA real 

property in addition to NNSA real 

property. The BFC Disposition EIS will 

analyze the potential environmental 

impacts associated with reasonably 

foreseeable potential future uses of the 

property, which could be different from 

its current uses. These potential future 

uses include industrial, warehousing, 

and commercial/office uses. NNSA also 

will assess the potential environmental 

impacts of partial and/or complete 

demolition of some BFC structures. 

Because the proposed project could 

involve actions in wetlands, the EIS will 

include a wetland assessment. 

DATES: NNSA invites comments on the 

scope of this BFC Disposition EIS. The 

public scoping period starts with the 

publication of this Notice in the Federal 

Register and will continue until 

February 22, 2012. NNSA will consider 

all comments received or postmarked by 

that date in defining the scope of this 

BFC Disposition EIS. Comments 

postmarked after that date will be 

considered to the extent practicable. A 

public scoping meeting is scheduled to 


TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES