• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

L.1.2 Activities Prior to Completion of Draft EIS/EIR

In October 1990, DOE and UC announced their intent to prepare the joint EIS/EIR for the continued operation of LLNL and SNL, Livermore. The Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and hold a public scoping meeting was published by DOE in the Federal Register on October 5, 1990 (55 Fed. Reg. 41,048, 1990). The Notice of Preparation to prepare a joint Draft EIS/EIR was filed with the California Office of Planning and Research on October 8, 1990. The project was assigned California State Clearinghouse Number 90030847.

The public and federal, state, and local agencies were invited to submit both oral and written comments at the scoping meeting held on November 15, 1990, in Livermore, California, and to provide written comments until the close of the scoping period, initially set for November 30, 1990.

DOE and UC distributed copies of Notice of Intent and Notice of Preparation to individuals on the community relations mailing list, and advertisements were placed in the local newspapers. Community leaders and media representatives were briefed, and public tours of LLNL Site 300 and SNL, Livermore were conducted. In response to a request from the Western States Legal Foundation, the scoping period was extended to December 15, 1990.

At the November 15, 1990, scoping meeting in Livermore, California, 61 identified individuals, organizations, and agencies provided DOE and UC with a total of 282 scoping comments. All comments received were reviewed to identify the significant issues to be evaluated in depth in the EIS/EIR.

A project overview information flyer describing the purpose of the NEPA/CEQA process, opportunities for public involvement in the process, and sources of additional information was prepared and mailed. The information flyer was distributed at the LLNL visitors center, public meetings, and briefings. This information flyer included a tear-off, return-mail form so that the public could request copies of the executive summary of the Draft EIS/EIR.

DOE's NEPA guidelines require preparation of an implementation plan summarizing results of public scoping, the proposed actions and alternatives, and environmental impact issues to be addressed. Such a plan was prepared and issued in August 1991 (DOE and UC, 1991b). Though a formal public review and comment period was not required, the project Implementation Plan and Community Relations Plan were distributed to the information depositories. A second information flyer, announcing the availability of the Implementation Plan, was distributed in September 1991.

To help citizens prepare for the publication of the Draft EIS/EIR, DOE distributed a third information flyer inviting interested individuals to request copies of the Executive Summary of the Draft EIS/EIR or the Draft EIS/EIR document itself. The flyer described planned public notice and comment opportunities. In addition, the information depositories and reference libraries were described, and the special studies conducted during the preparation of the Draft EIS/EIR were discussed.