This eighth revision of the Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization presents current environmental data regarding the Hanford Site and its immediate environs. This information is intended for use in preparing Chapters 4 and 6 in Hanford Site-related NEPA documents. Chapter 4 .O (Affected Environment) includes information on climate and meteorology, geology, hydrology, ecology, historical, archaeological and cultural resources, socioeconomics, and noise. Chapter 6.0 (Statutory and Regulatory Requirements) provides the preparer with the federal and state regulations, DOE directives and permits, and environmental standards directly applicable to the NEPA documents on the Hanford Site. Not all of the sections have been updated for this revision. The following lists the updated sections: Climate and Meteorology Ecology (Threatened and Endangered Species section only) Historical. Archaeological and Cultural Resources Socioeconomics all of Chapter 6 Remaining sections were last revised in 1995. The individual sections were prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) staff. More detailed data are available from reference sources cited or from the authors. No conclusions or recommendations are given in this report. Rather, it is a compilation of information on the Hanford Site environment that can be used directly by Site contractors. This information can also be used by any interested individual seeking baseline data on the Hanford Site and its past activities by which to evaluate projected activities and their impacts. Previous editions of the Hanford Site NEPA Characterization report included sections on "Environmental Monitoring" and "Models Used to Estimate Environmental Impacts. have been deleted from Revision 8.
dana.i .hoitinkO,pnl.gov Air Quality C. J. Fosmire (509) 372-63 14 Christian.Fosmire(ii,ptil.gov ~~ a : U S. Department of Energy (DOE). 1993. Recommendations for the Preparation of Environmental Assessments and EnvironmentalImpact Statements.
SUMMARYThis report contains the environmental setting infonnation developed for 25 U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) installations in support of the DOE's Programmatic Environmental Impact Study (PElS) and the Baseline Environmental Management Report (BEMR). The common objective of the PElS and the BEMR is to provide the public with infonnation about the environmental contamination problems associated with major DOE facilities across the country, and to assess the relative risks that radiological and hazardous contaminants pose to the public, on site workers, and the environment.Environmental setting infonnation consists of the site-specific data required to model (using the Multimedia Environmental Pollutant Assessment System) the atmospheric, groundwater, and surface water transport of contaminants within and near the boundaries of the installations. The environmental settings data describes the climate, atmospheric dispersion, hydrogeology, and surface water characteristics of the installations. The number of discrete environmental settings established for each installation was governed by two competing requirements: 1) the risks posed by contaminants released from numerous waste sites were to be modeled as accurately as possible, and 2) the modeling required for numerous release sites and a large number of contaminants had to be completed within the limits imposed by the PElS and BEMR schedule. The fmal product is the result of attempts to balance these competing concerns in a way that minimizes the number of settings per installation in order to meet the project schedule while at the same time providing adequate, if sometimes highly simplified, representations of the different areas within an installation.Environmental settings were developed in conjunction with installation experts in the fields of meteorology, geology, hydrology, and geochemistry. When possible, local experts participated in the initial development, fme tuning, and fmal review of the PElS and BEMR environmental settings.iii
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 any of their employees, make 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. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document.
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