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Schultz-Hanford Area Transmission Line Project

Tracing the timeline of nuclear power, from the ideas of Greek philosophers to the discovery of radioactivity to the modern-day use of atoms as a valuable source of energy.

Umatilla Generating Project; Umatilla County, Oregon

The purpose of this Memorandum is to ensure that all Federal agencies are actively considering designation of Federal and non-federal cooperating agencies in the preparation of analyses and documentation required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and to ensure that Federal agencies actively participate as cooperating agencies in other agency’s NEPA processes.

The purpose of this Council on Environmental Quality Memorandum is to ensure that all Federal agencies are actively considering the designation of Federal and non-federal cooperating agencies in the preparation of analyses and documentation required by...

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to rebuild the first 17 miles of the Santiam-Chemawa transmission line from Santiam Substation to the line’s connection (tap) to Portland General Electric’s (PGE) Bethel Substation to improve transmission system reliability in the Salem area of northwestern Oregon. BPA would replace the existing single-circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) line with towers that could support two circuits (double-circuit) in the existing right-of-way. The existing line supplies both Bethel Substation and BPA’s Chemawa Substation. The new lines would eliminate overloading of the existing line from Santiam Substation to the tap to Bethel Substation by having one new line supply Bethel Substation and the other new line supply Chemawa Substation.

Santiam-Bethel Tap Transmission Line Project, Oregon

The RMI Titanium Company's Earthline Technology Division (RMI) is the Department of Energy's (Department) environmental restoration contractor at the Ashtabula Environmental Management Project (AEMP) in Ashtabula, Ohio. RMI owns the Ashtabula property, formerly known as the RMI Extrusion Plant, where the firm processed uranium for the Department and its predecessor agencies. In March 1993, the Department awarded RMI a sole-source, costreimbursable contract to clean the extrusion plant and adjacent grounds to a level that permits release of the site for unrestricted use. The contract requires that RMI complete the project on or about March 31, 2003. The Department estimated the project would cost about $237 million to complete. As part of the original decommissioning plan, RMI was required to excavate and ship about 40,000 tons of contaminated soil offsite for disposal. However, in January 1997, RMI began testing a soil washing process designed to chemically extract uranium from contaminated soils. Based on the test results, the Department expected that soil washing would reduce the volume of soil requiring disposal by 95 percent, generate minimal amounts of radioactive wastewater, and reduce cleanup costs by about $40 million. With the Department's approval, RMI spent over $6 million of Department funds to design and build the soil washing complex. In May 2000, RMI completed its first operating campaign in which it had hoped to process about 14,200 tons of soil. Since the campaign ended, RMI has been evaporating radioactive wastewater generated by the soil washing facility and researching alternatives to improve the performance and cost effectiveness of the plant. No additional soil has been processed. The objective of the audit was to determine whether the AEMP's soil washing project has met the Department's performance and cost expectations.

Soil Washing at the Ashtabula Environmental Management Project

Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) proposes to clear unwanted vegetation in the rights-of-ways and around tower structures that may impede the operation and maintenance of the subject transmission lines and access roads, including Reclaim and Danger Trees. BPA plans to conduct vegetation control with the goal of removing tall growing vegetation that is currently or will soon be a hazard to the transmission line. BPA’s overall goal is to have low-growing plant communities along the rights-of-way to control the development of potentially threatening vegetation. All work will be executed in accordance with the National Electrical Safety Code and BPA standards. A follow-up herbicide treatment will occur 6-12 months following the initial entry to eliminate resprouting noxious weeds and tall-growing species along access roads and tower sites.