2094 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 4 / Friday, January 6, 1995 / Notices

Records of Decision for Operable Units

5 and 3, respectively.

• Continued access controls and

maintenance and monitoring of the

stored wastes inventories.

• Institutional controls of the

Operable Unit 4 area such as deed and

land use restrictions.

• Potential additional treatment of

stored Operable Unit 4 soil and debris

using Operable Unit 3 and 5 waste

treatment systems.

• Pumping and treatment as required

of any contaminated perched

groundwater encountered during

remedial activities.

• Disposal of Operable Unit 4

contaminated debris and soils

consistent with the Records of Decision

for Operable Units 3 and 5, respectively.

The remedy specifies off-site disposal

of vitrified contents of Silos 1, 2 and 3

at the NTS. At the time of the signing

of this ROD, The Department of

Energy—Nevada Operations Office

(DOE–NV) is in the process of preparing

a site-wide environmental impact

statement (EIS) under NEPA for the

NTS. Shipments of Operable Unit 4

vitrified waste are not proposed to begin

until after the planned completion of

the EIS for the NTS.

The planned date of completion of the

EIS for the NTS is December 1995, at

which time a Record of Decision is

expected to be issued. Shipments of

low-level waste generated from the

remediation of Operable Unit 4 are not

proposed to begin until mid-1997,

which should be after the planned

completion of the NTS site-wide EIS.

Given these timeframes, DOE does not

anticipate the NTS EIS schedule will

negatively impact the Operable Unit 4

remediation schedule discussed in the

ROD.

The containerized vitrified product

will require interim storage at the FEMP

prior to its transportation to the NTS for

disposal. The purpose of this interim

storage is two-fold; first, the vitrified

product will require verification

sampling in order to certify that each

production lot has met specific

performance and waste disposal criteria;

and second, to provide the Fernald

waste shipping program a buffer staging

area where the material can be safely

managed prior to its shipment to NTS in

accordance with DOE as low as

reasonably achievable (ALARA)

principles, ARARs identified and

included in the Operable Unit 4 ROD,

as well as in a manner protective of

human health and the environment. It

has been anticipated that the interim

storage area will be needed to

accommodate the interim handling of

approximately 90 days of vitrification

production.

The decision regarding the final

disposition of the remaining Operable

Unit 4 contaminated soil and debris will

be placed in abeyance, until completion

of the Records of Decision for Operable

Units 3 and 5 remedial actions, in order

to take full advantage of planned and in

progress waste minimization treatment

processes by these operable units.

Further, this strategy enables the

integration of disposal decisions for

contaminated soils and debris on a sitewide basis.

In the unlikely event unforeseen

circumstances preclude the integration

of Operable Unit 4 soil and debris into

the Operable Unit 3 and/or Operable

Unit 5 treatment and disposal decisions,

the disposal decision for Operable Unit

4 contaminated soils and debris will be

documented in a ROD amendment for

Operable Unit 4 in accordance with

Section 117(c) of CERCLA and United

States Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) guidance. The ROD amendment

will provide the public and the EPA

further opportunity to review and

comment on the final disposal option

for Operable Unit 4 soils and debris. A

ROD amendment to the Operable Unit 4

ROD will not be necessary in the event

the Operable Unit 3 remedy for debris

and the Operable Unit 5 remedy for

contaminated soils can be feasibly

implemented for Operable Unit 4.

In reaching the decision to implement

this remedial alternative, DOE evaluated

other alternatives for each subunit, in

addition to no action. The other

alternatives are: (a) Subunit A—Silos 1

and 2 Contents: (1) Removal, Cement

Stabilization, Off-Site Disposal at

Nevada Test Site; (b) Subunit B—Silo 3

Contents: (1) Removal, Vitrification, OnProperty Disposal; (2) Removal, Cement

Stabilization, On-Property Disposal; (3)

Removal, Cement Stabilization, Off-Site

Disposal at Nevada Test Site; (c)

Subunit C—Silos 1, 2, 3, and 4

Structures, Soils, and Debris: (1)

Demolition, Removal, Off-Site Disposal

at Nevada Test Site; (2) Demolition,

Removal, Off-Site Disposal at Permitted

Commercial Facility.

A description of the alternatives is

provided in the Decision Summary of

the ROD, hereby incorporated by

reference for DOE’s NEPA ROD, and is

available in the Administrative Record.

CERCLA’s nine criteria set forth in 40

CFR Part 300, the National Oil and

Hazardous Substances Pollution

Contingency Plan were used to evaluate

the alternatives. The selected remedy

represents the best balance among the

alternatives with respect to these criteria

and is the environmentally preferable

alternative.

The preferred alternative for Operable

Unit 4 provides the best performance

when compared with the other

alternatives, with respect to the

evaluation criteria. This remedy will

achieve substantial risk reduction by

removing the sources of contamination,

treating the material which poses the

highest risk, shipping the treated

residues off-site for disposal, managing

the remaining contaminated soils and

debris consistent with the site-wide

strategy. The selected treatment

alternative both reduces the mobility of

the hazardous constituents and results

in significant reduction in the volume of

materials requiring disposal. The

selected remedy also provides the

highest degree of long-term

protectiveness for human health and the

environment.

Statutory Determinations

The selected remedy is protective of

human health and the environment,

complies with Federal and State

requirements that are legally applicable

or relevant and appropriate to the

remedial action, and is cost effective.

This remedy utilizes permanent

solutions and alternative treatment (or

resource recovery) technologies to the

maximum extent practicable, and

satisfies the statutory preference for

remedies that employ treatment, and

also reduce toxicity, mobility, or volume

as a principal element. This remedy will

result in contaminated debris and soil

being dispositioned by Operable Units 3

and 5, respectively. Because this remedy

will result in hazardous substances (i.e.,

contaminated soil and debris) remaining

on site, above health-based levels, a

review will be conducted every five

years after commencement of remedial

action to ensure that the remedy

continues to provide adequate

protection of human health and the

environment.

All practical means to avoid or

minimize environmental harm from

implementation of the selected remedy

have been adopted. During excavation

activities, sediment controls will be

implemented to eliminate potential

surface water runoff and sediment

deposition to Paddys Run. Final site

layout and design will include all

practicable means (e.g., sound

engineering practices and proper

construction practices) to minimize

environmental impacts.

[FR Doc. 95–345 Filed 1–5–95; 8:45 am]

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