About NEPA
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was enacted to ensure that Federal decisionmakers considered the effects of proposed actions on the human environment and to lay their decisionmaking process open for public scrutiny. NEPA also created the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to establish a NEPA review process. DOE's NEPA regulations (10 CFR 1021) augment the CEQ regulations (40 CFR 1500- 1508). An environmental impact statement (EIS) documents a Federal agency's analysis of the environmental consequences that might be caused by major Federal actions, defined as those proposed actions that might result in a significant impact to the environment. An EIS:
- Explains the purpose and need for the agency to take action
- Describes the proposed action and the reasonable alternative courses of action that the agency could take to meet the need
- Describes what would happen if the proposed action were not implemented -- the "No Action" (or Status Quo) Alternative
- Describes what aspects of the human environment would be affected if the proposed action or any alternative were implemented
- Analyzes the changes, or impacts, to the environment that would be expected to take place if the proposed action or an alternative were implemented, compared to the expected condition of the environment if no action were taken.
- Notice of Intent, published in the Federal Register, identifies potential EIS issues and alternatives and asks for public comment on the scope of the analysis
- Public scoping period, with at least one public meeting
- Implementation Plan, which gives the results of public scoping and provides a "roadmap" of how the EIS will be prepared
- Draft EIS, issued for public review and comment, with at least one public hearing
- Final EIS, which incorporates the results of the public comment period on the draft EIS
- Record of Decision, which states:
- The decision
- The alternatives that were considered in the EIS, and the environmentally preferable alternative
- All decision factors, such as cost and technical considerations, that were considered by the agency along with environmental consequences
- Mitigation measures designed to alleviate adverse environmental impacts.
Mitigation Action Plan, which explains how the mitigation measures will be implemented and monitored.
Dear Interested Party
The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Nevada Test site (NTS) and Off-Site Locations in the State of Nevada has been completed. The EIS examines existing and potential impacts to the environment that have resulted, or could result, from current and future Department of Energy Activities in southern Nevada. The EIS analyzes four alternatives for managing the activities of Department of Energy programs at the NTS, the Tonopah Test Range, portions of the Nellis Air Force Range Complex, the Central Nevada Test Area, and the Project Shoal Area. In addition, proposed Solar Enterprise Zone facilities in Dry Lake Valley, Eldorado Valley, Coyote Spring Valley and the NTS are also examined.
The EIS identifies the Preferred Alternative as the Expanded Use Alternative (Alternative 3) plus the public education activities from Alternative 4, Alternative Use of Withdrawn Lands. This Preferred Alternative is the most comprehensive alternative in supporting statutory mission responsibilities while providing for a diversification of use to include nondefense, interagency, public, and private uses of the resources and capabilities available. Details on this preferred alternative can be found in the Summary and in Volume 1, Section 3.6, of this EIS. A framework for a Resource Management Plan is included as Volume 2 of this EIS and represents the development of an ecosystem management-based planning process closely integrated with the National Environmental Policy Act process.
The Department of Energy appreciates your participation in the development of this EIS and looks forward to your continued participation in the development of the Resource Management Plan and other activities of the Department of Energy.
NTS EIS Acronym List
| AIWS | American Indian Writers Subgroup |
| amp | ampere |
| Bd | baud |
| Bq | Becquerel |
| Bq/L | Becquerels per liter |
| BREN | Bare Reactor Experiment Nevada Tower |
| C | degree Celsius |
| C | Coulomb |
| C/kg | coulomb per kilogram |
| CFR | Code of Federal Regulations |
| CGTO | Consolidated Group of Tribes and Organizations |
| Ci | curie |
| Ci/yr | curies per year |
| cm | centimeter |
| cm2 | square centimeter |
| dB | decibel |
| dBA | A-weighted sound levels |
| DEIS | Draft Environmental Impact Statement |
| DoD | Department of Defense |
| DOE/NV | U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office |
| DOE | U.S. Department of Energy |
| EIS | Environmental Impact Statement |
| EPA | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |
| F | degree Fahrenheit |
| FEIS | Final Environmental Impact Statement |
| ft | feet |
| ft2 | square feet |
| ft3 | cubic feet |
| ft/sec | feet per second |
| ft/yr | feet per year |
| g | local acceleration due to gravity |
| gal | gallon |
| gal/hr | gallon per hour |
| gal/s | gallons per second |
| gal/yr | gallons per year |
| gpm | gallon per minute |
| HE | high explosive |
| HF | high frequency |
| Hz | hertz |
| in. | inch |
| in2 | square inches |
| in3 | cubic inch |
| J | joule |
| kg | kilogram |
| kg/yr | kilograms per year |
| km | kilometer |
| km2 | square kilometer |
| kph | kilometers per hour |
| kt | kilotons |
| kV | kilovolt |
| kw | kilowatt |
| L | liter |
| L/min | liters per minute |
| L/s | liters per second |
| lb | pound |
| lb/yr | pounds per year |
| m | meter |
| m2 | square meter |
| m3 | cubic meter |
| m/sec | meters per second |
| m/yr | meters per year |
| MEI | maximally exposed individuals |
| MHz | megahertz |
| Ci | microcurie (micro symbol not viewable in HTML) |
| g | microgram (micro symbol not viewable in HTML) |
| mg | milligram |
| mg/L | milligram per liter |
| mg/yr | milligram per year |
| mi | mile |
| mi2 | square mile |
| mm | millimeters |
| mph | miles per hour |
| mR | milliroentgen |
| mrem/hr | millirem per hour |
| mrem/yr | millirem per year |
| mW | milliwatt |
| MW | megawatt |
| NAFR | Nellis Air Force Range |
| nCi | nanocurie |
| ns | nanosecond |
| NTS | Nevada Test Site |
| NV/ERP | Nevada Environmental Restoration Program |
| OCC | Operation Coordinator Center |
| ppm | parts per million |
| PCB | polychlorinated biphenyl |
| pCi/L | picocurie per liter |
| PEIS | Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement |
| PM10 | airborne particulate matter smaller than 10 micrometers (microns) |
| R | roentgen |
| rem | roentgen equivalent man |
| SHPO | State Historic Preservation Officer |
| tons/yr | tons per year |
| TNT | trinitrotoluene |
| TRU | transuranic |
| UHF | ultra high frequency |
| V | volt |
| w | watt |
| yd | yard |
| yd2 | square yard |
| yd3 | cubic yard |
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