23682 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 90 / Wednesday, May 9, 2001 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(DEIS) for the Design, Construction,

and Operation of One or More Pilot

Test Facilities for Assembled Chemical

Weapon Destruction Technologies at

One or More Sites

AGENCY: Program Manager (PM),

Assembled Chemical Weapons

Assessment (ACWA), DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA).

SUMMARY: This announces the

availability of the PM ACWA DEIS

which assesses the potential impacts of

the design, construction, operation, and

closure of one or more pilot-scale test

facilities for an assembled chemical

weapon destruction system at one or

more chemical weapons stockpile sites.

The DEIS examines the potential

environmental impacts of the following

alternatives, to include technologies that

could be incorporated into a pilot-scale

facility: (a) No action (continued storage

until destruction of the stockpile); (b)

chemical neutralization followed by

biological treatment (c) chemical

neutralization followed by supercritical

water oxidation; (d) chemical

neutralization followed by transpiring

wall supercritical water oxidation and

gas phase chemical reduction; and (e)

electrochemical oxidation.

The chemical stockpile sites are

Anniston Army Depot, Alabama; Pine

Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas; Pueblo

Chemical Depot, Colorado

(neutralization followed by transpiring

wall supercritical water oxidation, and

electrochemical oxidation are not

alternatives at Pueblo); and Blue Grass

Army Depot, Kentucky. The PM ACWA

pilot tests will not halt or delay the

operation or construction of any

baseline incineration facility currently

in progress.

DATES: The public comment period for

the DEIS will end 45 days after

publication of the NOA in the Federal

Register by the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be

forwarded to Mr. Jon Ware, Assembled

Chemical Weapons Assessment EIS,

9700 S. Cass Ave./Post Office Box 8369,

Argonne, Illinois 60439–4871, through

the ACWA website at http://

www.pmacwa.org, by email to

acwacomment@anl.gov or by fax to 630–

252–4611.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Kimberly Collins at 888–482–4312 or

via email at

kimberly.collins@horne.com, or via mail

at Horne Engineering, 2014 Tollgate

Road, Suite 208, Bel Air, Maryland

21015.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This

proposed action continues the process

that began when Congress established

the Assembled Chemical Weapons

Assessment Program through passage of

Public Law 104–208. With the National

Defense Appropriations Act for Fiscal

Year 1999, Congress directed the PM

ACWA to plan for the pilot-scale testing

of alternatives to baseline incineration

for the destruction of assembled

chemical weapons. The Department of

Army published a Notice of Intent in the

Federal Register (65 FR 20139–20140,

April 14, 2000) which provides notice

(pursuant to the National Environmental

Policy Act and implementing

regulations) it was preparing a DEIS for

follow-on tests including design,

construction and operation of one or

more pilot test facilities for assembled

chemical destruction technologies at

one or more sites.

Assembled chemical weapons

(munitions containing both chemical

agents and explosives) are stored in the

United States unitary chemical weapons

stockpile. These weapons include

cartridges, land mines, mortar rounds,

projectiles, and rockets. Unitary agents

include chemical blister agents (e.g., the

mustard agents H, HD, and HT) and

nerve agents (e.g., G (Sarin) and VX).

The PM ACWA demonstrated the

technologies considered to be viable.

However, Public Law 106–398 limited

the technologies to be considered at

Pueblo Chemical Depot to those

demonstrated prior to May 1, 2000, by

the PM ACWA. The sites considered

were selected based on the availability

of assembled chemical weapons at the

time actual testing would begin.

Public meetings will be held in

Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, and

Kentucky. The dates, times, and

locations of these meetings will be

provided at least 15 days in advance by

public notices in the news media

serving the regions where the meeting

will be located. All public comments

received will be considered and

addressed in the final EIS.

Dated: May 4, 2001.

Raymond J. Fatz,

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army

(Environment, Safety, and Occupational

Health) OASA (I&E).

[FR Doc. 01–11704 Filed 5–8–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3710–08–M

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army

Notice of Availability of the Draft

Environmental Impact Statement for

the Disposal of chemical Munitions at

the Pueblo Chemical Depot, Colorado

AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA).

SUMMARY: This announces the

availability of the Draft Environmental

Impact Statement (DEIS) which assesses

the potential environmental impacts of

the design, construction, operation and

closure of a facility to destroy the

mustard chemical agent and munitions

stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.

The proposed facility will be used to

demilitarize the chemical agent and

munitions currently stored at the Depot.

The DEIS examines the potential

environmental impacts of the following

destruction facility alternatives: (a) A

baseline incineration facility; (b) a

modified baseline incineration facility;

(c) neutralization followed by

supercritical water oxidation; (d)

neutralization followed by

biodegradation; and (e) no action (i.e.,

continued storage of chemical

munitions at Pueblo Chemical Depot).

Although the no action alternative is not

viable under Public Law 99–145

(Department of Defense Authorization

Act of 1986), it was analyzed to provide

comparison with the proposed action.

DATES: The public comment period for

the DEIS will end 45 days after

publication of the NOA in the Federal

Register by the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency.

ADDRESSES: Written comments may be

forwarded to the Program Manager for

Chemical Demilitarization, Public

Outreach and Information Office

(ATTN: Mr. Gregory Mahall), Building

E–4585, Aberdeen Proving Ground,

Maryland, 21010–4005.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.

Gregory Mahall at (410) 436–1093, by

fax at (410) 436–5122 or by email at

gregory.mahall@pmcd.apgea.army.mil

or by mail at the above listed address.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In its

Record of Decision on February 26, 1988

(53 FR 5816, February 26, 1988) for the

Final Programmatic Environmental

Impact Statement on the Chemical

Stockpile Disposal Program (CSDP), the

Department of the Army selected on-site

disposal by incineration at all eight

chemical munition storage sites within

the continental United States as the

method by which it will destroy its

lethal chemical stockpile. The

Department of the Army published a