US Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1, ''General Environmental Protection Program, '' establishes environmental protection program requirements, authorities, and responsibilities for DOE operations. These mandates require compliance with applicable federal, state, and local environmental protection regulations. During calendar year (CY) 1996, environmental protection and monitoring programs were conducted at the Nevada Test Site and other DOE Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV)-managed sites in Nevada and across the US. A detailed discussion of these environmental protection and monitoring programs and summary data and assessments for environmental monitoring results are provided in the DOE/NV Annual Site Environmental Report-1996 (ASER), DOE/NV/11718-137. This document provides summary data results and detailed assessments for the environmental monitoring conducted for all DOE/NV-managed sites in CY1996.

The purpose of this environmental impact statement (EIS) is to provide information on potential environmental impacts that could result from a Proposed Action to construct, operate and monitor, and eventually close a geologic repository for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at the Yucca Mountain site in Nye County, Nevada. The EIS also provides information on potential environmental impacts from an alternative referred to as the No-Action Alternative, under which there would be no development of a geologic repository at Yucca Mountain.

Prior to 1989, annual reports of environmental monitoring and assessment results for the Nevada Test Site (NTS) were prepared in two separate parts. Onsite effluent monitoring and environmental monitoring results were reported in an onsite report prepared by the U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office (DOE/NV). Results of the Offsite Radiological Surveillance and Long-Term Hydrological Monitoring programs conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Laboratory (various names) in Las Vegas, Nevada, were reported separately by that Agency. Beginning with the 1989 Annual Site Environmental Report for the NTS, these two documents were combined into a single report to provide a more comprehensive annual documentation of the environmental protection activities conducted for the nuclear testing program and other nuclear and non-nuclear operations at the NTS. The two agencies have coordinated preparation of this eleventh combined onsite and offsite report through sharing of information on environmental surveillance and releases as well as meteorological, hydrological, and other supporting data used in dose-estimation calculations.