DOE Completes Final EA on Demo of Central Facilities Area Structures
WC Monitor
9/26/2014
The Department of Energy has completed a Final Environmental Assessment on the proposed demolition of five structures at the Idaho National Laboratory’s Central Facilities Area, finding that the action will not have a significant impact on the environment. The facilities, which were part of a U.S. Naval Proving Ground during World War II, are slated for demolition in 2016. DOE issued a draft environmental assessment in May, which did not receive any public comments.
While the work will have a “substantive effect on the cultural environment,” according to the final environmental assessment, the impact will be mitigated by actions outlined in an agreement between DOE, the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. The mitigating actions include interpretive signs on the World War II area in areas accessible to the public. “Original portions of the proving ground’s Naval Ordnance Offices will be retained – including a concussion wall, an observation tower, powder rooms, a gantry crane, gun abutments and railroad tracks,” according to a DOE release.
