Final EIS for Decommissioning And/Or Long-Term Stewardship at The
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SECTION 1 OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS 1.0 OVERVIEW OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PROCESS This section of the Comment Response Document (CRD) describes the public comment process for the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (Revised Draft EIS), as well as the procedures used to respond to those comments. Section 1.1 describes the public comment process and the ways in which comments Comment Document – A communication in on the Revised Draft EIS were received. This section also identifies the the form of a transcript or written comment comment period and the locations and dates of the public hearings on from a public hearing, a letter, or an the Revised Draft EIS. Section 1.2 describes the public hearing format. electronic communication (e-mail, fax) that Section 1.3 explains the organization of this document, including how contains comments from a sovereign the comments were identified and addressed. This section also includes nation, government agency, organization, or member of the public regarding the indices of organizations and public officials that commented on the Revised Draft EIS. Revised Draft EIS. Section 1.4 summarizes the major changes made to the EIS including those that resulted from the public comment process. Comment – A statement or question Section 1.5 summarizes the steps the Department of Energy (DOE) and regarding the Revised Draft EIS content the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority that conveys approval or disapproval of (NYSERDA) will take after publication of the Final EIS. proposed actions, recommends changes in the Final EIS, raises a concern or issue, or 1.1 Public Comment Process seeks additional information. DOE and NYSERDA prepared the Revised Draft EIS in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) to examine the environmental impacts associated with three alternatives for the decommissioning and long-term stewardship of the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) and the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC), and the No Action Alternative. An important part of the NEPA process is solicitation of public comments on a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) and consideration of those comments in preparing a final EIS. DOE issued the Revised Draft EIS in November 2008 for review and comment by other Federal agencies, the State of New York, American Indian Tribal Governments, local governments, and the public. Copies of the Revised Draft EIS were distributed to those organizations and government officials who were known to have an interest in WVDP and WNYNSC, as well as those organizations and individuals who requested a copy. Copies were also made available on the Internet and in regional DOE public document reading rooms and public libraries. DOE and NYSERDA solicited comments on the Revised Draft EIS during a 9-month public comment period, which began on December 5, 2008 when DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency published Notices of Availability in the Federal Register (73 FR 74160; 73 FR 74170). A Notice of Completion of the Revised Draft EIS and Public Hearings was also published on December 10, 2008 in the New York State Environmental Notice Bulletin in accordance with SEQR requirements. DOE’s December 5, 2008 Notice of Availability announced a 6-month public comment period (required by the 1987 Stipulation of Compromise Settlement between the Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes and Radioactive Waste Campaign and DOE), through June 8, 2009. In response to stakeholder requests, the public comment period was extended another 90 days, until September 8, 2009. During the public comment period, DOE and NYSERDA jointly held four public hearings to provide interested members of the public with opportunities to learn more about the content of the Revised Draft EIS from exhibits, factsheets, and other materials; to hear DOE and NYSERDA representatives present the results of the EIS analyses; to ask clarifying questions; and to provide oral or written comments. A website (http://www.westvalleyeis.com) was established to further inform the public about the Revised Draft EIS, how 1-1 Final Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center to submit comments, the public hearings, and other pertinent information. Comment submission mechanisms and public hearing dates, times, and locations were announced in the Federal Register and New York State Environmental Notice Bulletin notices, in local newspapers, and on the website. Members of the public who expressed interest and are on the DOE and NYSERDA mailing list for the Revised Draft EIS were notified by U.S. mail regarding hearing dates, times, and locations. Public hearings were held in Albany, Irving (on the Seneca Nation of Indians Reservation), Ashford, and Buffalo, New York on March 30 and 31, and April 1 and 2, 2009, respectively. The December 5, 2008 Federal Register notice announced the times and locations for three public hearings. However, in response to stakeholder requests, another meeting was added in Albany, and the Buffalo meeting was moved from the original Blasdell location to a more central downtown Buffalo location. These changes to the hearing schedule were announced in the Federal Register on March 17, 2009 (74 FR 11364), and advertised in local newspapers. A court reporter recorded the oral comments made at each hearing and prepared a transcript for each. In response to public concerns about some of the alternatives in the Revised Draft EIS, especially after the August 9 and 10, 2009, heavy rainfall events, the DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management and the President of NYSERDA initiated planning for a videoconference to discuss those concerns. The videoconference was held on September 4, 2009, with participation by the Assistant Secretary and the President of NYSERDA and various stakeholders. This ‘meeting’ was also transcribed by a court reporter and the comments are included in the Comment Response Document. In addition, Federal, state and local governmental agencies; American Indian Tribal Governments, and the general public were encouraged to submit comments by U.S. mail, e-mail, a toll-free fax line, and the DOE website. DOE and NYSERDA received approximately 420 submittals containing approximately 1,900 comments addressing a wide range of issues. Table 1–1 lists the numbers of submittals received by method of submission. Table 1–1 Comment Submission Method Method Number of Submittals Hearings (written and oral) 60 U.S. Mail 113 E-mail 43 Website 117 Toll-Free Fax Line 87 Total 420 DOE and NYSERDA considered all comments, including those received after the comment period ended, in its evaluation of the accuracy and adequacy of the Revised Draft EIS to determine whether corrections, clarifications, or other revisions were required. Spoken and written comments were considered equally. Upon receipt, all written comment documents were date-stamped and assigned a document number for tracking during the comment response process. Each message left on the website and each speaker at the public hearings was assigned a document number. All comment documents were then processed through the comment analysis and response sequence. The text of each comment document was delineated into individual, sequentially numbered comments. The comments were re-evaluated throughout the course of the response process as new information became available. Comments were reviewed and responded to by policy experts, subject matter experts, and NEPA specialists, as appropriate. The originally submitted comment documents and public hearing comments are preserved as part of the Administrative Record. Figure 1–1 illustrates the process used to collect, track, and respond to the comments. 1-2 Section 1 Overview of the Public Comment Process Figure 1–1 Comment Response Process 1-3 Final Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center The comments and DOE/NYSERDA responses have been compiled in a side-by-side format, with each delineated comment receiving a separate response. Each was scanned as it was received. All comments and responses are numbered with a comment identification number to facilitate matching a comment with its response. Topics of broad public interest or concern that may require a more detailed response were characterized as major issues and addressed in Section 2 of this CRD. The comment response process was integral to preparation of the Final EIS because it was used to focus revision efforts and to ensure consistency throughout the final document. For example, comments were evaluated to determine whether the analyses presented in the Draft EIS should be modified or augmented; whether information presented in the Draft EIS was incorrect or out of date; and whether additional or revised text would clarify or facilitate better understanding of certain issues. Vertical bars alongside the text in the Final EIS indicate where such changes were made. 1.2 Public Hearing Format The public hearings were organized to encourage public comments on the Revised Draft EIS and to provide members of the public information about the NEPA process and the proposed actions. A court reporter was present at each hearing to record and prepare a transcript of the comments spoken publicly at the hearing. These transcripts are included in Section 3 of this CRD. Written comments were also collected at the hearings. Comment forms were available at the hearings for anyone wishing to use them. At each of the public hearings, there were poster displays staffed by DOE and NYSERDA subject matter experts. Members of the public were invited to view the displays and ask questions of the subject matter experts either before or after the formal hearings were conducted.