DOE/EA-2220: Documents Available for Download

The Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Proposed issuance of an Easement to Public Service Company of New Mexico for the Construction and Operation of a 72-inch Natural Gas Pipeline within Los Alamos National Labora ory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (DOE/EA- 7409) (attached) provides sufficient
evidence and analysis to determine that a Finding Of No Significant Impact is appropriate for the Proposed Action.

The Proposed Action is to grant an easement to the Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) to construct, operate, and maintain approximately 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) of 12-inch (in.) (30-centimeter [cm]) coated steel natural gas transmission mainline on NNSA-administered land within LANL along Los Alamos Canyon. The new gas line would begin at the existing valve setting located at the bottom of Los Alamos Canyon near the Los Alamos County water well pump house and adjacent to the existing 12-in. (30-cm) PNM gas transmission mainline. The new gas line (owned by PNM) would then cross the streambed and continue east in a new easement obtained by PNM from the NNSA, paralleling the existing electrical power line along the bottom of the canyon. The gas line would then turn northeast near State Road (SR) 4 and be connected to the existing 12-in. (30-cm) coated steel gas transmission mainline, located within the right-of-way (ROW) of SR 502.

DOE evaluated the potential environmental impacts from proposed construction of various site improvements and the proposed installation and operation of the Helios light source at Jefferson Lab. The Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc. operates Jefferson Lab (SURA) under contract to the DOE. With this proposal, DOE intends to construct no more than four major two or three story additions to CEBAF Center, the main facility administration building, and the addition of three new single story and one two story operations support structures on the accelerator site. The proposed action also involves the installation and operation of the Helios(High Energy Lithography Source) accelerator in the Free Electron Laser (FEL) addition.

DOE's objective in participating in the cooperative agreement is to support demonstration of technoloy potentially capable of substantially reducing particulate emissions, particularly emissions of fine particulate, from coal-fired power plants. The environmental analysis identified that the most notable changes to result from the proposed action would occur in the following areas: air emissions, construction impacts, and solid waste disposal.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes, through a cooperative agreement with Northwest Fuel Development, Incorporated, to provide funds for the construction of a facility to demonstrate an integrated system which would use coal mine waste methane, commonly referred to as "gob gas", for the production of electrical power. The facility woudl be located at the Parrish Shaft site of the Federal Number 2 Mine near the unincoporated town of Crossroads in western Monogalia County, West Virginia. If approved DOE would provide approximately 35% ($600,000) of the funding required for the project.