Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 59 / Tuesday, March 28, 1995 / Notices 15905

testimony should be mailed to the

Advisory Committee office. Space is

limited and you are encouraged to

register early if you plan to attend. To

register, please fax your name, title,

affiliation, complete address, telephone

number, and fax number to the

Advisory Committee staff office at (202)

401–3467. If you are unable to fax,

please mail your registration

information or contact the Advisory

Committee staff office at (202) 708–

7439. Also, you may register through

INTERNET at Hope—Gray@DOED.gov.

The registration deadline is Thursday,

April 6, 1995.

Records are kept of all Committee

proceedings, and are available for public

inspection at the Office of the Advisory

Committee on Student Financial

Assistance, 1280 Maryland Avenue SW.,

Suite 601, Washington, DC from the

hours of 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., weekdays,

except Federal holidays.

Dated: March 22, 1995.

Brian K. Fitzgerald,

Staff Director, Advisory Committee on

Student Financial Assistance.

[FR Doc. 95–7528 Filed 3–27–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Efficiency and

Renewable Energy

National Electric and Magnetic Fields

Advisory Committee; Reestablishment

Pursuant to section 14(a)(2)(a) of the

Federal Advisory Committee Act and in

accordance with title 41 of the Code of

Federal Regulations, Section 101–

6.1015, and following consultation with

the Committee Management Secretariat,

General Services Administration, notice

is hereby given that the National

Electric and Magnetic Fields Advisory

Committee has been reestablished for a

2-year period. The Committee will

provide advice to the Secretary of

Energy and the Director of the National

Institute of Environmental Health

Sciences.

The reestablishment of the National

Electric and Magnetic Fields Advisory

Committee has been determined to be

essential to the conduct of the

Department’s business and to be in the

public interest in connection with the

performance of duties imposed upon the

Department of Energy by law. The

Committee will operate in accordance

with the provisions of the Federal

Advisory Committee Act, the

Department of Energy Organization Act

(Public Law 95–91), and rules and

regulations issued in implementation of

those Acts.

Further information regarding this

Advisory Committee can be obtained

from Rachel Murphy Samuel at (202)

586–3279.

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 20,

1995.

JoAnn Whitman,

Deputy Advisory Committee Management

Officer.

[FR Doc. 95–7604 Filed 3–27–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–M

Preparation of an Environmental

Impact Statement for the Management

of Spent Nuclear Fuel From the KBasins at the Hanford Site, Richland,

WA

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of

Energy (DOE) announces its intent to

prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the

Council on Environmental Quality

NEPA regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500–

1508) and the DOE NEPA regulations

(10 CFR Part 1021) to examine

alternatives for the management of spent

nuclear fuel (SNF) currently stored in

the K-East and K-West SNF storage

basins (K-Basins) at the Hanford Site.

DOE also announces its intent to

conduct public meetings on the

proposed scope of the EIS and invites

public comment on the proposed scope,

including the issues and alternatives to

be evaluated in the EIS.

Approximately 2100 metric tons of

uranium in the form of irradiated

defense production reactor fuels are

stored in the Hanford K-Basins, 40-yearold facilities located near the Columbia

River. The K-East Basin has leaked

water in the past and may still be

leaking small quantities of water. Much

of the SNF stored there is damaged and

continues to deteriorate. The K-Basins

are not suitable for long-term SNF

storage.

In a November 1993 report entitled,

‘‘Spent Fuel Working Group Report on

Inventory and Storage of the

Department’s Spent Nuclear Fuel and

other Reactor Irradiated Nuclear

Materials and their Environmental,

Safety, and Health Vulnerabilities,’’

DOE identified K-Basins storage

problems as requiring priority attention.

Similar findings have been reached by

the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety

Board, in its recommendation 94–1, and

by DOE stakeholders.

The purpose of DOE’s action would

be to (1) prevent the potential release of

radioactive materials into the air or the

soil surrounding the K-Basins storage

area and their potential migration

through the soil column and into the

nearby Columbia River due to a failure

of the existing K-Basins, (2) reduce

occupational radiation exposure, (3)

enhance near-term safety by eliminating

the risks posed to the public and

workers by the formation of reactive

compounds during continued

deterioration of SNF in the K-Basins.

DOE proposes to take expeditious

action to reduce risks to public health

and the environment by removing SNF

from the K-Basins and, subsequently, to

take action to manage the SNF in a safe

and environmentally sound manner for

up to 40 years until ultimate disposition

decisions are made and implemented.

The EIS would evaluate a range of

implementation alternatives for the

proposed action, including alternative

SNF management locations (relocating

the SNF to a new, or modified existing

facility at the Hanford Site or other DOE

sites), alternative storage methods (wet

or dry storage), and alternative

stabilization technologies that might be

used to prepare the SNF for storage until

decisions on ultimate disposition are

made and implemented at either a

domestic or foreign facility. The EIS

would also evaluate a no action

alternative involving continued storage

of fuel in the K-Basins, including

continued maintenance, monitoring and

surveillance, and an alternative

involving continued storage in the KBasins with safety upgrades that might

include overpacking existing fuel

containers and performing life extension

upgrades for the K-Basins.

Under all of the implementation

alternatives for the proposed action,

sludge would be removed from the KEast Basin and stored, treated or

disposed of using existing waste

management systems. Water remaining

in the K-Basins after SNF and sludge

removal would be treated and disposed

of and the K-Basins would be

deactivated.

DOE also proposes to take several

interim actions to improve the safety

posture of the K-Basins and to support

the preparation of this EIS. These

include the construction of cofferdams

to mitigate the consequences of a basin

failure, characterization of the K-Basins

SNF and sludge, facility maintenance or

upgrades needed for continued safe

operations, dose reduction activities,

and removal of debris such as unused

canisters and discarded tools from the