Department of Energy 


National Nuclear Security Administration 


Finding of No Significant Impact 


for the 


Construction and Operation of a New Office Building 


and Related Structures within TA-3 


at 


Los Alamos National Laboratory, 


Los Alamos, New Mexico 


U. S. Department of Energy 


National Nuclear Security Administration 


Los Alamos Area Office 


528 35th Street 


Los Alamos, NM 87544 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. 


NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECUIRTY ADMINISTRATION 


FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT INIPACT 


Construction and Operation of a New Office Building and Related Structures 

withinTA-3 at Los Alarnos National Laboratory, 

Los Alamos. New Mexico 

FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: The Environmental Assessment (EA) for 

Construction and Operation of a New Office Building and Related Structures within 

TA-3 at L os Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DOE/EA- 7 375) 

(attached) provides sufficient evidence and analysis to determine that a Finding Of 

No Significant Impact (FONSI) is appropriate for the Proposed Action. The EA 

documents the evidence and analysis in the following chapters: 1. Purpose and 

Need for Agency Action; 2. Description of the Proposed Action and Alternatives; 

and 3. Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences. Analyses 

performed in the EA conclude that potential adverse effects of the Proposed Action, 

under normal conditions, would be minimal. No short-term or long-term adverse 

effects are expected to occur to air quality, visual resources, water quality, soil 

erosion, waste management, human health, socioeconomics, or utilities and 

infrastructure. Only cultural resources would be affected long-term through the 

demolition of the existing Administration Building (Building 3-43), which has been 

identified as a historical building eligible for listing on the National Register of 

~istoric Places. Mitigations to resolve this adverse effect would be negotiated with 

the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) and a treatment plan 

would be established. Mitigations could include a variety of elements, including 

archival of large format photographs, architectural blueprints, preparation of a set of 

"as-built" drawings, preparation of a detailed report on the building's history and 

interviews with past and present workers. Additional elements may be added 

during the negotiations with the SHPO and from comments provided by the 

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (such as virtual tours of the structure 

posted on the internet system or construction and display of a scale model of the 

structure at another site such as the proposed new office building or its related 

lecture hall). A Memorandum of Agreement for the resolution of adverse effects 

would be executed for the implementation of the treatment plan for the property. 

Constructio'n and Operation of a New Office Building and Related Structures 

1 
Beneficial effects to a variety of resources including visual resources, human health, 

socioeconomics, and parking space availability within TA-3 are expected. 

~n~ineerin~ and administrative controls or considerations that serve to lessen any 

potential for adverse environmental effects have been incorporated as integral 

features of the Proposed Action. Examples of these types of features include: the 

recycling and reuse of materials (such as cooper wiring and pipe, glass, concrete 

and asphalt) resulting from the demolition of Building 3-43 at LANL or off-site so 

that no disposal of these materials as wastes is required; the use of building 

materials produced from reclaimed and recycled materials (such as finish materials 

and carpeting), the use of low-flow lavatory fixtures and energy-efficient lighting 

fixtures and equipment to reduce water and electricity consumption; and the use of 

reused and recycled materials in landscaping, along with captured precipitation and 

the planting of native species. 

The Environmental Assessment (EA) has analyzed the potential environmental 

consequences of one additional alternative besides the Proposed Action, namely, 

the No Action alternative. The No Action alternative would result in slow 

deterioration of the existing Administration Building (Building 3-43) through benign 

neglect. The building would be vacated and funding would not be available at the 

current level to provide for continued upkeep and support. While the building 

would not be demolished outright, it would result in an adverse effect on a historic 

structure and the eventual loss of the structure. No waste would be generated 

under the No Action alternative in the short term, and no additional parking would 

become available at TA-3 in the long term. 

The EA considered the cumulative effects of the Proposed Action with past, 

present and reasonably foreseeable future actions, regardless of what agency or 

person undertakes them. Several new office and laboratory structures are being 

built at TA-3 at LANL. Parking space availability will change beneficially as a result 

of the Proposed Action and the completion of the other construction activities by 

nearly 800 additional parking spaces. Other cumulative effects include beneficial 

effects to the overall visual quality within TA-3, to worker health; adverse effects 

include noise generation heard primarily by the involved and nearby workers for a 

long period of time as construction projects phase in and out; and the increase in 

risk of construction worker injuries with additional construction and demolition 

activities. Other activities at or nearby to TA-3 over the next 10 years include: 

potential construction actions taken by the Incorporated County of Los Alamos on 

tracts of land conveyed to them by the DOE; reconstruction of housing units lost 

Construction and Operation of a New Office Building and elated Structures 

2 
during the May 2000 Cerro Grande Fire within Los Alamos townsite on privately 

held lands; the implementation of wildfire hazard reduction activities, including 

forest thinning actions, on LANL and neighboring properties; some minor 

construction and demolition actions scattered over LANL; the generation of large 

amounts of waste by LANL through decontamination and demolition of buildings 

and environmental restoration efforts; and the gradual demolition of structures and 

buildings of the Cold War period at LANL and nearby. 

PREDECISIONAL DRAFT REVIEW & CONINIENT: On June 29, 2001, the 

Department of Energy invited review and comment on-the predecisional draft EA 

from .the State of New Mexico; four nearby American Indian Tribes: Cochiti, 

Jemez, Santa Clara and San lldefonso (sometimes referred to as the four accord 

pueblos because each tribe has entered into an accord with the Department of 

Energy); the Acoma Pueblo and the Mescalero Apache Tribe. In addition, the 

Department of Energy made the predecisional draft EA available to the general 

public at the same time it was provided to the State and Tribes. The availability of 

the EA to the public was accomplished by placing it in the Department of Energy 

Public Reading Rooms located within the Los Alamos National Laboratory's 

Community Outreach Center and Reading Room, and in the University of New 

Mexico's Zimmerman Library in Albuquerque. A notice was placed in three local 

newspapers announcing the availability of the draft EA for review. The 

predecisional draft EA was also placed on the World Wide Web Computer Internet 

System. Additionally, over 50 local stakeholder groups and individuals that have 

identified themselves as interested parties with regards to LANL activities, were 

notified by letter of the availability of the predecisional draft EA. Copies of the EA 

were provided to all interested parties for their review upon their requests. The 

review and comment period was 21 days long and ended on July 19, 2000. No 

comments have been received on the predecisional draft EA. 

AGENCY CONSULTATIONS: No effects to Federally-listed threatened and 

endangered species or their habitat are anticipated during the implementation of the 

Proposed Action and, therefore, DOE is not required to engage in consultation with 

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service according to section 7 requirements under the 

Endangered Species Act. DOE implemented a Threatened and Endangered Species 

Habitat Management Plan (HMP) for LANL in March 1999; all project portions 

implemented under the Proposed Action would comply with the HMP. Adverse 

Construction and Operation of a New Office Building and Related Structures 

3 
effect to a historic property by demolition of that property requires the NNSA to 

take mitigative actions of a kind and sort agreed upon through consultation with the 

New Mexico SHPO. NNSA has started consultative discussion with the SHPO and 

expects to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement to implement agreed an upon 

treatment plan. 

FINDING: The United States Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security 

Administration finds that there would be no significant impact from proceeding with 

its proposal to implement the project to construct and operate a new office 

building, lecture hall and parking garage, together with the demolition of two 

buildings, at Los Alamos National Laboratory as described in the Proposed Action 

alternative. This finding is based on the EA, which analyzes the consequences of 

the relevant issues of environmental concern. The Department of Energy, National 

Nuclear Security Administration makes this Finding of No Significant Impact 

pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.], the Council on Environmental Quality (CEO) Regulations for Implementing the 

Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act [40 CFR 15001 and 

the Department of Energy National Environmental Policy Act Implementing 

Procedures [I0 CFR 102 1 I. Therefore, no environmental impact statement is 

required for this proposal. 

Signed in Los Alamos, New Mexico this 26 day of 

u
 2001. 

David A. Gurule, P.E. 

Area Manager 

Los Alamos Area Office 

Construction and Operation of a New Office Building and Related Structures 

4 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information on this proposal, this Finding Of 

No Significant Impact (FONSI), or the Department of Energy's llational Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) review program concerning proposals at Los Alamos National 

Laboratory, please contact: 

Elizabeth Withers, NEPA Compliance Officer 

Los Alamos Area Office 

U.S. Department of Energy 

528 35th Street 

Los Alamos NM 87544 

Copies of this FONSI (with the Environmental Assessment attached) will be made 

available for public review at the DOE Public Reading Room within the Los Alamos 

National Laboratory Community Relations Office, 161 9 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, 

New Mexico, 87544 at (505) 665-4400 or (800) 508-4400. Copies will also be made 

available within the DOE Public Reading Room at the Zimmerman Library, University of 

New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 871 31 at (505) 277-5441. 

Construction and Operation of a New Office Building and Related Structures 

5