DOE Issues Finding of No Significant Impact and Final Environmental Assessment on Road Project

The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact stemming from an environmental assessment it performed to examine the potential environmental impacts of building an internal road to safely ship radioactive material within the Idaho National Laboratory.

DOE’s preferred alternative under the environmental assessment is to develop a new, internal road that would connect the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center with the Materials and Fuels Complex, a distance of about 20 miles. It would allow the INL to safely ship nuclear materials between the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center and the Materials and Fuels Complex without having to utilize public roads, like Highway 20, which adds additional cost and security considerations to each shipment.

The route would utilize some existing, paved roads, and would run parallel to the existing T-25 power line service road. It would be controlled access for service and out-of-commerce shipments only, and would be designed for maximum speeds of 35 miles per hour.
In addition, the road would satisfy the requirements of the majority of nuclear materials shipments with a design capacity for a 100,000-pound, double-drop, three-axle trailer with 6-inch ground clearance.

The Finding of No Significant Impact and the final “Environmental Assessment for the Multipurpose Haul Road Within the Idaho National Laboratory” is available for review at: http://www.id.energy.gov/insideNEID/PublicInvolvement.htm You can also request a hard copy of the environmental assessment by calling Brad Bugger at (208) 526-0833 or emailing him at buggerbp@id.doe.gov.

Editorial Date Aug 12, 2010
By Tim Jackson