Revised Finding of No Significant Impact for Expansion and Operation of the Central Shops Borrow Pit at the Savannah River Site (10/29/03)

Abstract

The Department of Energy (DOE) prepared an environmental assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1194) in 1997 for the expansion and operation of the existing Central Shops Borrow Pit (i.e., SRS Facility 632-G) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), located near Aiken, South Carolina. This EA was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended; the requirements of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR 15400-1508); and the DOE Regulations for Implementing NEPA (10 CFR 1021). Based on the analyses in the EA, DOE determined that the action was not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of NEPA. Therefore, the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) was not required, and DOE issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) dated March 13, 1997. In an effort to provide the site with cost-effective future landfill capacity for construction and demolition (C&D) debris/structural fill, DOE is considering redefining the closure of the 632-G facility to encompass the permitted disposal of inert C&D debris into the excavation areas, which would then be closed as per regulatory requirements. Based on the existing infrastructure at the 632-G facility that would support a permitted Part III C&D Landfill, DOE has concluded that the environmental impacts of the proposed use of the excavated portions of this facility as an inert debris landfill is not a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment within the meaning of NEPA. Therefore, the preparation of an EIS is not required, and DOE is issuing this revised FONSI.