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Hanford Site Land Transfer Boyd Hathaway May 2016
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Hanford Site 2
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Richland Operations Office Vision 2016-2028 3 Complete River Corridor Cleanup Groundwater Cleanup Infrastructure upgrades Infrastructure and facility operations Increase controlled tribal and public access and use Manage and operate the Manhattan Project National Historic Park in partnership with the National Park Service
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River Corridor Cleanup
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Central Plateau -- 200 Area 5
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Community Land Transfer Request May 2011, Community Reuse Organization (CRO) Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) requested transfer of 1,341 acres near Hanford Site southern boundary for economic development purposes. RL Responded Aug. 2011 October 2011, TRIDEC amended original request to add 300 acres previously requested for lease by Energy Northwest, for total request of 1,641 acres. 6
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Background – DOE Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) Designations The requested lands are designated for industrial uses under the CLUP Industrial use zones are intended to support economic development CLUP does not include site-specific environmental consequences analyses for transfer of any particular parcels of land
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Background (cont.) 8
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Community Land Transfer – Details TRIDEC requested lands under Title 10, part 770 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR part 770) - Transfer of Real Property at Defense Nuclear Facilities for Economic Development–at less than fair market value and with indemnification. Probable uses of warehousing and distribution; research and development; technology manufacturing; food processing; and “back office” (i.e. business services). Ultimately, TRIDEC planned to transfer ownership to a private entity or to one of its public agency partners (City of Richland, Port of Benton and Benton County). The land was to be transferred at less than fair market value to TRIDEC. The real property requires $43M of infrastructure improvements to make it economically viable to develop for the most southern portion of the property. The conveyance at less than fair market value would further the public policy objectives of the laws governing the downsizing of defense nuclear facilities. 11
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National Defense Authorization Act of 2015 NDAA signed into law December 19, 2014. Directed DOE to transfer all rights, title, and interest of the United States of 1,341- acre and 300-acre parcels (1,641 acres) to TRIDEC by September 30, 2015. Allowed DOE and TRIDEC to mutually agree to adjust boundaries of identified parcels. Provided conditional authority for DOE to convey property at less than fair market value. Satisfied notifications to Congress otherwise required for the land transfer. Required written notification to Congress of any terms or conditions on the land transfer and rationale. 12
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Required Regulatory Processes DOE was required to comply with Several Regulatory Processes for transferring land: National Environmental Policy Act. National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106. DOE Order 458.1, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, Section 120(h). Modifying Hanford Facility RCRA Permit legal description. Assess effect of land transfer on Radioactive Air Emissions Licenses and Air Operating Permit 10 CFR 770, Transfer of Real Property at Defense Nuclear Facilities for Economic Development. 13
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Land Transfer Project - Integrated Project Functions and Team Members 14 Richland Operations Office (RL) Federal Staff – Management (Doug Shoop, Karen Flynn, Boyd Hathaway) – Project Lead (Randy Krekel) – Procurement (Tim Corbett, Linda Jarnagin, Marcy Aplet-Zelen) – Communication ( Karen Lutz) – Real Estate (Mike Elsen) – Legal (Bob Carosino, Mark Silberstein, Pete Serrano – NHPA Archeologist (Mona Wright) – NEPA Compliance Officer (Diori Kreske) – NEPA Document Manager and Ecological Reviews (Paula Call) – Indian Affairs/Tribal Consultation (Jill Conrad) – Nuclear Safety (Ed Parson, Greg Jones) – Radiological Controls (Joe Demers) – Environmental Regulations (Stephen Weil) – Air Permit (Dale Jackson)
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Land Transfer Project - Integrated Project Functions and Team Members (cont.) RL Federal Staff (cont.) – RCRA Support (Tony McKarns) – 300 Area Cleanup Project Execution (Rudy Guercia) – Pacific Northwest Site Office POC (Julie Turner, Tom McDermott) – Office of River Corridor POC (Mary Burandt, Lori Huffman) RL Prime Contract Support – Mission Support Contract (coordination with other contractors, title search, real estate support, radiological release - DOE Order 458.1, CERCLA 120(h) and RCRA documentation) – Plateau Remediation Contract (as needed) – River Corridor Contractor (as needed) RL Contracts – Los Alamos Technical Associates - LATA (NEPA EA, NHPA Sec. 106 reviews) – Oak Ridge Association Universities - ORAU (radiological release Independent Verification Report) – Appraisal 15
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Land Transfer Project - Integrated Project Function and Team Members (cont.) Headquarters Personnel – Mark Gilbertson, EM-10, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Site Restoration – Robert Seifert, EM-11, Director, Office of Environmental Compliance – Linda Suttora, EM 11 – Andy Szilagyi, EM-13, Director, Office of D&D Facility Engineering – Sunil Patel, EM-13 – Carmelo Melendez, MA-50, Director, Office of Asset Management – Scott Whiteford, MA-50, Deputy Director, Office of Asset Management – David Steinau, MA-50, – Matthew Urie, GC-51, Assistant General Council Environment – Rachel Rosenthal, GC-51 – Carl Borgstrom, GC-54, Director, Office of National Environmental Policy Act Policy and Compliance – Carrie Abravanel, GC-54 – Brian Costner, GC-54 – Nisha Kumar, GC-56, Assistant General Council General Law Official Use Only – Pre-decisional Internal Working Document Not Subject to FOIA16
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Rad Clearance NEPANEPA NHPANHPA CERCLA 120(h) DeedDeed RCRA Permit Develop Authorized Limits Develop Survey Plan Perform Surveys/Sampling Perform Independent Verification Close Out Determine Presence of any Hazardous Substances Compile Documentation on Land Submit Documentation to EPA Submit Application for Legal Description Permit Modification Prepare Legal Description of Land to Transfer Determine Deed Restrictions Notify Congress of Deed Restrictions; DOE-RL & CRO Sign Deed Determine Type of NEPA Assessment, Perform Public Scoping Issue Draft NEPA Document for Public Comment Develop Mitigation Action Plan DOE-RL Issue Final NEPA Determination Investigate Presence of Historic Properties within Areas of Potential Effect Prepare Cultural Resources Report Determine Adverse Effects, Mitigation in Consultation with SHPO &ACHP Issue SHPO, ACHP, Tribes & DOE-RL Approved MOA Legal Description Permit Modification Issued Receive Concurrence from EPA/State DOE Tribal Policy Consult with Tribes about Impacts/Mitigations Memorialize Mitigation Commitments Key Regulatory Process Steps Issue SHPO, ACHP, Tribes Approved MOA
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The Land Assessed for Transfer The goal was to identify 1,641 acres of land suitable for transfer. RL recognized that there were constraints on some of the land initially requested by TRIDEC. Consequently, RL commenced its reviews on a much larger parcel of land (4,413 acres). Over time the quantity of land carried through final assessment was reduced, for a variety of reasons, to 2,474 acres. 18
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The Land Assessed for Transfer (cont.) Areas of land within the 4,413 acres were removed from consideration for transfer due to constraints and time/cost to meet the NDAA September 30, 2015 deadline: – Radiological clearance process – Borrow pit and other site operations – 325 Building nuclear authorized safety basis – Horn Rapids Landfill – Un-remediated battery site and archaeological site – Patrol Training Academy buffer area and Range 10 19
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NEPA Environmental Assessment Determined Environmental Assessment (EA) the appropriate level of review (Nov. 2011) Awarded contract to Los Alamos Technical Associates (LATA) to prepare EA and perform NHPA Sec. 106 (Sep. 2012) Published Federal Register Notice Of Intent (NOI) initiating 30-day public scoping period (Sep. 2012) Held Public Scoping Meeting (Oct. 10, 2012) Performed field studies for ecological, wildlife, and wetlands assessments (May 2013) Performed remaining assessments and communicated expensively with potentially affected nearby operations (e.g. PNSO/PNNL, LIGO, RL cleanup activities) Finalized Draft EA; issued for 30-day public comment (July 2015) Held Public Comment Meeting (July 30, 2015) Developed Mitigation Action Plan and Finalized EA Issued Final EA and Finding of No Significant Impact (Sep. 2015) 20
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NHPA Section 106 Area of Potential Effect was transmitted to the consulting parties (Sep. 2012). Cultural Resources Identified CRR Draft completed by LATA (March 2015) Cultural Resources Report (CRR) and findings transmitted to SHPO to start 30-day review period (April 2015) State Historic Preservation Officer concurred with “Adverse Effect” finding (Jun. 2015) CRR Finalized (Aug. 2015) RL, Tribes, SHPO and ACHP consult and develop MOA in collaboration, including mitigations for adverse effects A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was finalized and signed by RL Manager, SHPO, ACHP, and tribes (Sep. 2015). The MOA was incorporated by reference into NEPA Environmental Assessment Mitigation Action Plan (Sep. 2015) RL and new land owners are currently performing actions to satisfy MOA stipulations and mitigations. 21
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DOE Order 458.1 RL completed a Historical Site Assessment: Hanford Southern 600 Area (HSA), documenting radiological history, characterization of the study area (Sep. 2012) HSA recommended excluding ~1,309 acres of the study area from radiological release (called “constrained” areas) due to added time/cost to release, focus on clearing “unconstrained” 3,104 acres RL executed a task order with Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) to perform an Independent Validation of the radiological clearance (Feb. 2013) RL and its site contractor worked with HQ to establish the Authorized Limits (Dec. 2013) An NHPA Section 106 Cultural Resources Report for radiological sampling activities was prepared (May 2014) RL and its site contractor worked with HQ to develop the Sampling and Analysis Plan (July 2014) A Categorical Exclusion for radiological survey activities was approved by DOE NEPA Compliance Officer (July 2014) The radiological field survey and sampling activities was completed; included separate samples by ORAU (Feb. 2015) The sampling and survey results were evaluated and shared with ORAU The Radiological Clearance Report was completed (June 2015) and reviewed by ORAU ORAU issued its Independent Verification Report (July 2015) 22
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CERCLA Section 120(h) Hanford Site 300 Area Record of Decision Completed (Nov. 2013) RL performed investigations and utilized historical information to identify whether hazardous substances or petroleum products were released or disposed on the property for transfer (Jul. 2015) Investigation identified that the land was uncontaminated property RL worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prepare documentation in accordance with the regulation. The documentation was submitted to EPA for concurrence (Aug. 2015) EPA reviewed the documentation and concurred with the identification as uncontaminated property (Sep. 2015) The Deed identified the land as uncontaminated property and provided notice that a waste site has been remediated under the applicable EPA Record of Decision The Deed also contains covenants regarding RL’s future response actions and the reservation of RL’s right to access the property for future response action 23
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Modify RCRA Facility Permit Legal Description RCRA Facility Permit is issued by Washington State Department of Ecology. Land transfer changes the legal description of the Hanford Facility RL worked closely with Ecology to communicate which land would leave federal ownership and the processes being utilized to execute the land transfer. The final determination of the land to be transferred would not be known until the regulatory processes were completed. NDAA required land transfer to be completed by September 30, 2015. Ecology allowed land transfer to occur prior to modifying the RCRA permit legal description; Ecology’s corrective action authority over the transferred land continues after the transfer. RL will prepare and submit an application to modify the RCRA Facility Permit to change legal description of the Hanford Facility. Ecology will approve the modification. 24
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Assess Radioactive Air Emission Licenses and Air Operating Permit The transfer of land and the establishment of a new site boundary changed the location of the Maximum Exposed Individual (MEI) under the applicable regulations Modeling was performed to determine any impacts to existing licenses or permits In most cases, the MEI change did not affect the licenses, or the changes could be mitigated through administrative controls at facilities (operations or inventory controls) For some facilities or equipment, further modeling will be necessary in order to validate or update licenses before operations resume in areas near the transferred land. 25
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Deed Contents Reserves easements for ongoing DOE operations within transferred land: – RL and BPA power lines, telecommunication lines, railroad, groundwater wells, access roads Reserves RL right to close adjacent road for waste shipments Under CERCLA, identifies property as uncontaminated, provides notice regarding cleaned up sites, provides notice of other environmental conditions, establishes CERCLA covenants, and reserves RL’s right to access property pursuant to CERCLA Includes terms, conditions, and covenants Includes restrictions: – Restricts noise, vibration, electric field and magnetic interference, and radionuclide emissions to prevent impacts to nearby/adjacent operations and activities (Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)). – Prohibits groundwater use and discharges, establishes depth limitation for excavations, prohibits mining, prohibits Concentrated Solar Power farms. – Restricts building height, color, and landscaping – Requires periodic development discussions with DOE, PNNL, LIGO, tribes – Requires owner to provide access to property by tribes for tribal activities – Protect archaeological and cultural resources, and pre-contact artifacts and human remains. – Requires implementation of a Cultural Resources Protection Protocol. 26
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Final 1,641 Acres Transferred The final land transfer was 1,641 acres. The boundary was surveyed by the Bureau of Land Management. The boundary reflects land still required for site operations and land that could not be fully assessed for transfer by the mandatory 9/30/2015 date. TRIDEC transferred ownership of 581.2 acres to the City of Richland and 759.8 acres to the Port of Benton on 2/1/2016, and is nearing completion on the transfer of 300 acres to Energy Northwest. TRIDEC has a continued interest in the Patrol Training Academy (PTA) Range 10 land (257+ acres), Archaeological Site (53 acres), and Horn Rapids Landfill (75 acres). TRIDEC stated they will pursue a transfer of these lands in the future. 27
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Follow On Mitigation Actions Commitments made in NEPA EA Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) and NHPA Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) NEPA MAP – Incorporates NHPA MOA by reference – Includes deed restrictions to minimize environmental impacts – Includes deed restrictions to minimize impacts to PNNL and LIGO operations – Includes deed restrictions to protect cultural resources and human remains – Includes deed restrictions to minimize impacts to groundwater – Includes planting forbs in remediated area, installing burrowing owl boxes, establishing a higher level habitat area for a site, and conducting pollinator habitat study NHPA MOA – Mitigation commitments made with three tribes and Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation – Includes grant funding, establishing an archaeological district for site, establishing records, developing and implementing native revegetation plan, developing and initiating a rehabitation plan, removing miscellaneous debris, finalizing a cultural protocol, and making historic information available to public and historic societies 28
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Lessons Learned Pre-Planning – There was an initial misconception that if the land area did not require further clean up then it would be suitable for other uses, such as a land transfer; the complexities associated with evaluating this parcel land for transfer were not well understood. These led to an unrealistic schedule expectation. – Recommendations Before future requests for land use are considered, RL should first investigate and determine which lands are suitable for other uses. RL needs to understand that evaluating land for other uses is an ongoing discovery process as illustrated in the next slide. As new discoveries are made, additional actions will need to be taken to address them. NEPA/NHPA Processes – The complexity of the NEPA/NHPA processes was not widely understood within RL. The lack of broad knowledge of the NEPA/NHPA processes led to unrealistic schedule expectations. – Recommendations RL should ensure that more staff and management personnel are trained in NEPA, NHPA and Project Management to better understand the processes. RL should continue to educate stakeholders and its own personnel on the benefits of integrating the NEPA and NHPA processes. RL should develop an integrated strategy on how to efficiently accomplish NEPA and NHPA processes. 29
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Lessons Learned (cont.) Contracting/Contractor – As a result of having little knowledge of the land to be assessed, RL did not adequately prepare the contract for performing NEPA and NHPA, and did not effectively evaluate bidders. – Recommendation Ensure adequate information is known before preparing a contract Develop a checklist of considerations for placing a NEPA/NHPA contract and evaluating bidders. Resources – RL is not structured or adequately staffed to manage small contracts or to address the influx of work associated with external interests along with performing oversight of the Hanford Site prime contracts. – Recommendation RL should perform a resource loading assessment considering the transition from cleanup to future uses of the site, and train and place staff personnel for effective management of the work. 30
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Signing Deed – September 30, 2015 31
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Conveyance Completed – Meeting NDAA Deadline. 32
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Questions ??????? 33
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