Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization
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PNNL-6415 Rev.16 Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization D. A. Neitzel D. G. Horton A. L. Bunn G. V. Last S. D. Cannon T. M. Poston J. P. Duncan E. L. Prendergast-Kennedy R. A. Fowler S. P. Reidel B. G. Fritz A. C. Rohay D. W. Harvey M. J. Scott P. L. Hendrickson P. D. Thorne D. J. Hoitink September 2004 Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-76RL01830 DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor Battelle Memorial Institute, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Battelle Memorial Institute. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. PACIFIC NORTHWEST NATIONAL LABORATORY operated by BATTELLE for the UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY under Contract DE-AC06-76RL01830 This document was printed on recycled paper. (8/00) PNNL-6415 Rev. 16 Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization D. A. Neitzel, Editor A. L. Bunn S. D. Cannon J. P. Duncan R. A. Fowler B. G. Fritz D. W. Harvey P. L. Hendrickson D. J. Hoitink D. G. Horton G. V. Last T. M. Poston E. L. Prendergast-Kennedy S. P. Reidel A. C. Rohay M. J. Scott P. D. Thorne September 2004 Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC06-76RL01830 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland, Washington 99352 This page intentionally left blank Preface This document describes the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Site environment. It is updated each year and is intended to provide a consistent description of the Hanford Site environment for the many environmental documents being prepared by DOE contractors concerning the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). No statements of significance or environmental consequences are provided. This year’s report is the sixteenth revision of the original document published in 1988 and is (until replaced by the seventeenth revision) the only version that is relevant for use in the preparation of Hanford NEPA, State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) documents. The two chapters included in this document (Chapters 4 and 6) are numbered to correspond to the chapters where such information is typically presented in environmental impact statements (EISs) and other Hanford Site NEPA or CERCLA documentation. Chapter 4.0 (Affected Environment) describes Hanford Site climate and meteorology; geology; hydrology; ecology; cultural, archaeological, and historical resources; socioeconomics; noise; and occupational health and safety. Sources for extensive tabular data related to these topics are provided in the chapter. Most subjects are divided into a general description of the characteristics of the Hanford Site, followed by site-specific information, where available, of the 100, 200, 300, and other areas. This division allows the reader to go directly to those sections of particular interest. When specific information on each of these separate areas is not complete or available, the general Hanford Site description should be used. Chapter 6.0 (Statutory and Regulatory Requirements) describes federal and state laws and regulations, DOE directives and permits, and presidential executive orders that are applicable to the NEPA documents prepared for Hanford Site activities. Information in Chapter 6 of this document can be adapted and supplemented with specific information for a chapter covering statutory and regulatory requirements in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement (EIS). When preparing environmental assessments and EISs, authors should also be cognizant of the document titled Recommendations for the Preparation of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements published by the DOE Office of NEPA Oversight (DOE 1993a) which is currently being revised. Additional guidance on preparing DOE NEPA documents can be found at http://tis.eh.doe.gov/nepa/guidance.html. Any interested individual seeking baseline data on the Hanford Site and its past activities may also use the information contained in this document to evaluate projected activities and their impacts. For this 2004 revision, all sections of the document were reviewed by the authors and updated with the best available information through May 2004. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) staff prepared individual sections of this document, with input from other Hanford Site contractors. More detailed data are available from reference sources cited or from the authors. The following personnel are responsible for the various sections of this document and can be contacted with questions: iii Document Editor D.A. Neitzel (509) 376-0602 [email protected] Introduction A.L. Bunn (509) 376-6300 [email protected] Climate and Meteorology/ D.J. Hoitink (509) 372-6414 [email protected] Air Quality B.G. Fritz (509) 376-0535 [email protected] Geology S.P. Reidel (509) 376-9932 [email protected] A.C. Rohay (509) 376-6925 [email protected] P.D. Thorne (509) 372-4482 [email protected] Hydrology D.G. Horton (509) 376-6868 [email protected] G.V. Last (509) 376-3961 [email protected] Ecology T.M. Poston (509) 376-5678 [email protected] D.W. Harvey (509) 373-2945 [email protected] Cultural, Archaeological, (509) 376-4626 and Historical Resources E.L. Prendergast- [email protected] Kennedy R.A. Fowler (509) 372-4332 [email protected] Socioeconomics M.J. Scott (509) 372-4273 [email protected] Noise B.G. Fritz (509) 376-5678 [email protected] Occupational Safety J.P. Duncan (509) 376-7899 [email protected] Statutory and Regulatory P.L. Hendrickson (509) 372-4294 [email protected] Requirements The suggested citation for this document is Neitzel, D. A., ed. 2004. Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization. PNL-6415, Rev. 16. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington. A copy of the document is available, upon request, from Duane A. Neitzel at (509) 376-0602. The document is also available electronically at http://www.pnl.gov/nepa. iv Acknowledgments As the editor of Revision 16, I hope you find this document useful in preparing Hanford Site NEPA documents or as a useful source of information about the Hanford environment. Many people are responsible for the years of work that went into preparing this description of the Hanford Site. The authors of the individual sections took great care to accurately describe their work. PNNL, DOE, and other Hanford contractor personnel reviewed the document. Their comments and suggestions are important to preparing Revision 16. This year’s reviewers include Kathy Rhoads, Charles Brandt, Paul Dunigan, Douglas Hildebrand, Michael Galgoul, Amanda Stegen, Clifford Clark, Janelle Downs, Thomas Ferns, Regan Weeks, Barbara Williamson, Dana Ward, Bruce Bjornstad, Katherine Cort, Robert Carosino, and Theresa Gilbride. Special thanks go to Paul Dunigan and Annabelle Rodriguez with DOE for their help and support. Most importantly, I thank Joanne Duncan and Amoret Bunn for all their work in making sure Revision 16 was completed on time and presented in a way that is useful to everyone needing an up-to-date description of the Hanford environment. Joanne Duncan also maintains the electronic copy of the document throughout the year. D. A. Neitzel v This page intentionally left blank vi Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Symbols AADT Annual average daily traffic AAS Associate in applied science ACL Administrative Control Level AEA Atomic Energy Act AMH Advance Med Hanford ARAR Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements ARPA Archaeological Resources Protection Act BCAA Benton Clean Air Authority BCRFD Benton County Rural Fire Department BFCOG Benton Franklin Council of Governments BFT Benton Franklin Transit BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics BNI Bechtel National Inc. BNSF Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway BPA Bonneville Power Administration CAA Clean Air Act CBC Columbia Basin College CCP Comprehensive Conservation Plan CEQ Council on Environmental Quality CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CFR Code of Federal Regulations Corps U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CREHST Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science and Technology CWA Clean Water Act dB Decibels dBA A-weighted sound level DCG Derived concentration guides DOC U.S. Department of Commerce DOE U.S. Department of Energy DOE-ORP U.S. Department of Energy Office of River Protection DOE/RL U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations Office DOH Washington State Department of Health DOI U.S. Department of the Interior DOL U.S. Department of Labor DWS Drinking water standards E/Q Atmospheric dispersion estimates EA Environmental assessment EC Environmental concern Ecology Washington State Department of Ecology EDNA Environmental