Environmental Assessment for Lease of Land for the Development of a Research Park at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico - Final Document

As part of its initiative to fulfill its responsibilities to provide support for the incorporated County of Los Alamos (the County) as an Atomic Energy Community, while simultaneously fulfilling its obligations to enhance the self-sufficiency of the County under authority of the Atomic Energy Community Act of 1955 and the Defense Authorization Act, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposes to lease undeveloped land in Los Alamos, New Mexico, to the County for private sector use as a research park. The Proposed Action is intended to accelerate economic development activities within the County by creating regional employment opportunities through offering federal land for private sector lease and use. As a result of the proposed land lease, any government expenditures for providing infrastructure to the property would be somewhat supplemented by tenant purchase of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) expertise in research and development activities. The presence of a research park within LANL boundaries is expected to allow private sector tenants of the park to be able to quickly and efficiently call upon LANL scientific expertise and facility and equipment capabilities as part of their own research operations and LANL research personnel, in turn, would be challenged in areas complementary to their federally funded research. In this way a symbiotic relationship would be enjoyed by both parties while simultaneously promoting economic development for the County through new job opportunities at the Research Park and at LANL, new indirect support opportunities for the community at large, and through payment of the basic building space leases. A ''sliding-scale'' approach (DOE 1993) is the basis for the analysis of effects in this Environmental Assessment (EA). That is, certain aspects of the Proposed Action have a greater potential for creating adverse environmental effects than others; therefore, they are discussed in greater detail in this EA than those aspects of the action that have little potential for effect. The Proposed Action would result in an increase of as many as 1,500 new direct jobs and, as many as 2,565 indirect jobs could be created from the development of a research park. Lease of the tract would not reduce the size of LANL or change its site boundary. However, approximately 30 ac (12 ha) of a 60-ac (24-ha) tract would be changed from an undeveloped to a developed status. Under the No Action Alternative, no transfer or lease of Federal lands would occur. LANL would not have the benefit of its research personnel working on a variety of complementary research efforts beyond their federally funded responsibilities. No new jobs would be created from proposed development activities. Undeveloped lands would remain in their current condition. Two hypothetical accidents were analyzed that evaluated a potential chemical release and radiological doses to the public from hypothetical accidents at the proposed Research Park. Neither accident scenario resulted in potentially serious health effects for workers or the public at the proposed Research Park. The cumulative effects of the Proposed Action as well as reasonably foreseeable related actions could result in potential adverse health effects. Environmental effects would be limited to the loss of a small amount of wildlife habitat. Additional economic development would be expected to occur