About the SEIS for the West Valley Site

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  • About the SEIS for the West Valley Site

    The SEIS for the West Valley Site will evaluate the potential environmental impacts associated with the completion of the decommissioning of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC) and the State-Licensed Disposal Area (SDA).

    This includes the decontamination and decommissioning of the facilities remaining at the West Valley Site after completion of Phase 1 decommissioning. The remaining facilities for Phase 2 include the Waste Tank Farm, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-Licensed Disposal Area (NDA), SDA, non-source area of the North Plateau Groundwater Plume, Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill, Cesium Prong, balance of the WNYNSC property, and contaminated stream sediments.

    The SEIS for the West Valley Site will evaluate several alternatives, including a No Action Alternative, Sitewide Close-in-Place, Sitewide Removal, and hybrid alternatives that could contain elements of any or all of the other alternatives. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) plan to identify a preferred alternative in the Draft SEIS.

  • Why is the SEIS for the West Valley Site needed?

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) have determined that the preparation of a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) would further the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by including new information and changes since issuance of the 2010 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), and is consistent with the commitment in the 2010 Record of Decision and NYSERDA Findings Statement to providing robust and meaningful opportunities for public participation during decommissioning. Preparation of the SEIS for the West Valley Site would also further the purposes of the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR), the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Act, the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, and other applicable Federal and state requirements.

    Phase 2 decisions will be informed by the Phase 1 and other scientific studies being performed at the West Valley Site, a long-term Probabilistic Performance Assessment, and an SEIS that will incorporate the above analyses as part of the evaluation of the potential environmental impacts of the range of reasonable Phase 2 alternatives proposed for the West Valley Site. The SEIS will ‘‘tier’’ (Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1502.20) from the 2010 FEIS, and, where appropriate, information and analyses from the 2010 FEIS will be summarized and incorporated by reference in the SEIS. The SEIS will contain new information and analyses to ensure its adequacy for Phase 2 decisionmaking.

    Purpose and Need

    DOE is required by the WVDP Act to decontaminate and decommission the tanks and facilities used in the solidification of the high-level waste, and any material and hardware used in connection with the WVDP, in accordance with such requirements as the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) may prescribe. NRC has prescribed its License Termination Rule (10 CFR Part 20, Subpart E) as the decommissioning criteria for the WVDP. Therefore, DOE needs to determine the manner that facilities, materials, and hardware for which the Department is responsible are managed or decommissioned, in accordance with NRC’s License Termination Rule and applicable Federal and state requirements. To this end, DOE needs to determine what, if any, material or structures for which it is responsible that were not addressed in Phase 1 (i.e., Phase 2 facilities) will remain on site, and what, if any, institutional controls, engineered barriers, or stewardship provisions would be needed. That is, DOE needs to determine what it needs to do to complete the WVDP and return the Project Premises to NYSERDA.

    NYSERDA needs to determine the manner that Phase 2 facilities and property for which NYSERDA is responsible, including the State-Licensed Disposal Area, will be managed or decommissioned, in accordance with applicable Federal and state requirements. To this end, NYSERDA needs to determine what, if any, material or structures for which it is responsible will remain on site, and what, if any, institutional controls, engineered barriers, or stewardship provisions would be needed. It is NYSERDA’s intent to pursue termination of the existing 10 CFR Part 50 license for the WNYNSC upon DOE’s completion of decontamination and decommissioning under the WVDP Act in accordance with criteria prescribed by NRC. NYSERDA plans to use the analysis of alternatives in the SEIS for the West Valley Site to support any necessary NRC or New York State Department of Environmental Conservation license or permit application.

    National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)

    Federal laws and regulations require the Federal government to evaluate the impacts of its actions on the environment and to consider alternative courses of action. NEPA specifies when an environmental impact statement (EIS) must be prepared. NEPA requires that an EIS be prepared for major Federal actions with the potential for significant impact on the quality of the human environment. Under NEPA, the “environment” includes both the physical environment (e.g., air, water, ecology) and the human environment (e.g., health and safety, transportation, cultural resources).

    New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR)

    New York’s SEQR requires all state and local government agencies to consider environmental impacts equally with social and economic factors during discretionary decisionmaking. This means that agencies must assess the environmental significance of all actions they have discretion to approve, fund, or directly undertake. The SEQR environmental review process, including public involvement, is similar to that under NEPA. 

    West Valley Demonstration Project Act (WVDP Act) (Pub. L. 96-368)

    In 1980, Congress passed Public Law 96-368. The WVDP Act requires DOE to demonstrate that the liquid high-level radioactive waste from reprocessing could be safely managed by solidifying it at the WNYNSC and transporting it to a Federal repository for permanent disposal. Specifically, Section 2(a) of the WVDP Act directs DOE to take the following actions:

    1. Solidify, in a form suitable for transportation and disposal, the high-level radioactive waste at the WNYNSC;
    2. Develop containers suitable for the high-level radioactive waste’s permanent disposal;
    3. As soon as feasible, transport the solidified waste to a Federal repository for permanent disposal;
    4. Dispose of low-level radioactive waste and transuranic waste produced by the solidification of the high-level radioactive waste; and
    5. Decontaminate and decommission the tanks and other facilities used at the WNYNSC in which the high-level radioactive waste was solidified, the facilities used in the waste’s solidification, and any material and hardware used in connection with the WVDP.

    Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (as amended) (P.L. 83-703)

    The NRC license authorizes operation of a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing and radioactive waste disposal facility at the WNYNSC under 10 CFR Part 50, which implements section 104b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.

    It is NYSERDA’s intent to pursue termination of the existing 10 CFR Part 50 license for the WNYNSC upon DOE’s completion of decontamination and decommissioning under the WVDP Act in accordance with criteria prescribed by NRC. NYSERDA plans to use the analysis of alternatives in the Final SEIS for the West Valley Site to support any necessary NRC or New York State Department of Environmental Conservation license or permit applications.

  • What will be in the SEIS for the West Valley Site?

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are jointly preparing the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-S1) (SEIS for the West Valley Site). The SEIS will address the completion of the decommissioning of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the decommissioning and/or long-term management or stewardship of the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC) and State-Licensed Disposal Area (SDA).

    Summary

    DOE and NYSERDA are jointly preparing an SEIS for the West Valley Site. The West Valley Site includes the DOE WVDP, the WNYNSC, and the SDA. In 2010, DOE and NYSERDA decided to implement the Phased Decisionmaking Alternative, which was the preferred alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226). During implementation of Phase 1, a number of highly contaminated facilities at the West Valley Site are being removed. DOE and NYSERDA intend to make Phase 2 decisions on the disposition of the facilities and areas remaining after completion of Phase 1 decommissioning. The remaining facilities include the Waste Tank Farm, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-Licensed Disposal Area, non-source area of the North Plateau Groundwater Plume, Construction and Demolition Debris Landfill, Cesium Prong, contaminated stream sediments, balance of the WNYNSC property, and SDA.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NRC, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are participating as cooperating agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act. The New York State Department of Health and NYSDEC are participating as involved agencies under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act.

    What will be analyzed in the SEIS?

    The SEIS for the West Valley Site will evaluate several alternatives, including a No Action Alternative, Sitewide Close-in-Place, Sitewide Removal, and hybrid alternatives that could contain elements of any or all of the other alternatives. DOE and NYSERDA plan to identify a preferred alternative in the Draft SEIS.

    What potential environmental issues and potentially significant adverse impacts will be evaluated in the SEIS?

    DOE and NYSERDA have tentatively identified the following potential environmental issues and potentially significant adverse impacts that will be analyzed in the SEIS. The list is presented to facilitate early comment on the scope of the SEIS. It is not intended to be all-inclusive nor to predetermine the alternatives to be analyzed or their potential impacts.

    Potential Environmental Issues for Analysis

    • Issues associated with long-term site stewardship, including duration and costs of stewardship, regulatory and engineering considerations, institutional controls, and land use restrictions, including the need for buffer areas.
    • Ability of alternatives to satisfy the NRC License Termination Rule decommissioning criteria for the WVDP.
    • Ability of alternatives to meet the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act risk range.
    • Compliance with applicable Federal, state, and local requirements.
    • Identification of Derived Concentration Guideline Limits and other relevant clean-up concentrations, where appropriate.
    • The influence of, and potential interactions of, any wastes remaining at the West Valley Site after decommissioning.
    • Long-term site stability, including seismicity and erosion, based upon available data on the likelihood of future weather events.
    • Issues associated with Waste Incidental to Reprocessing.
    • Irretrievable and irreversible commitment of resources.

    Potentially Significant Adverse Impacts

    • Impacts to the general population and onsite workers from radiological and non-radiological releases from decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship activities. Transportation impacts from shipments of radioactive, hazardous, mixed, and clean waste generated during decommissioning activities.
    • Impacts to the general population and onsite workers from radiological and non-radiological releases at radiological and non-radiological waste disposal sites receiving waste generated during site decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship activities.
    • Impacts from postulated accidents.
    • Disproportionately high and adverse effects on low-income and minority populations (environmental justice).
    • Socioeconomic impacts to local communities.
    • Areas of concern to the Seneca Nation of Indians related to culturally-specific considerations.
    • Short-term and long-term land use impacts.
    • Short-term and long-term environmental impacts, including air and water quality, from decommissioning and/or long-term stewardship activities.
    • Impacts to floodplains and wetlands (the SEIS will contain an assessment of potential floodplain and wetland impacts in accordance with DOE requirements (Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1022)).
    • Impacts to groundwater quality.
    • Impacts on threatened and endangered species.

  • How is the SEIS being prepared?

    The Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the West Valley Site is being prepared following Council on Environmental Quality and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulations for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1500-1508 and 10 CFR Part 1021, respectively) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) regulations for implementing the State Environmental Quality Review Act (Title 6 New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations Part 617).

  • Who is preparing the SEIS?

    The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Office of Environmental Management and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) are jointly preparing the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the West Valley Site.

    DOE and NYSERDA invite Federal, state, and local agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise to participate in the SEIS as cooperating or involved agencies. At this time, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will participate as cooperating agencies under the National Environmental Policy Act. NYSDEC and the New York State Department of Health will also participate as involved agencies under the State Environmental Quality Review Act with respect to NYSERDA’s proposed actions.

    About DOE Office of Environmental Management

    The Office of Environmental Management within DOE is responsible for the risk reduction and cleanup of the environmental legacy of the Nation's nuclear weapons program, one of the largest, most diverse, and technically complex environmental programs in the world. In addition to its emphasis on site cleanup and closures, the office is also focusing on longer-term activities required for the completion of the cleanup program. These include:

    • Constructing and operating facilities to treat radioactive liquid tank waste into a safe, stable form to enable ultimate disposition.
    • Securing and storing nuclear material in a stable, safe configuration in secure locations to protect national security.
    • Transporting and disposing of transuranic and low-level wastes in a safe and cost-effective manner to reduce risk.

    The Office of Environmental Management is the DOE office implementing this task for the West Valley Site, with local support from the West Valley Site Office in Ashford, New York.

    About the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

    NYSERDA offers objective information and analysis, innovative programs, technical expertise, and support to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save money, use renewable energy, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. On behalf of the State of New York, NYSERDA holds title to the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC). NYSERDA’s West Valley Site Management Program addresses WNYNSC's environment management challenges by implementing sound environmental, health and safety, and technical policies, and working to ensure that DOE honors its obligations under the West Valley Demonstration Project Act for the cleanup and long-term care of the site.

    NYSERDA also manages New York State’s responsibilities at West Valley, including monitoring and maintaining the State-Licensed Disposal Area, the 15-acre shut-down disposal area. NYSERDA manages property surrounding the West Valley Demonstration Project site.