Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Federal Facilities

1.0 Description of Facility
The Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) applies to land controlled, managed, owned, or leased by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (and/or) the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in the state of Nevada. Specifically, the Agreement covers the Nevada Test Site, parts of the Tonopah Test Range, the Central Nevada Test Area, the Project Shoal Area, and parts of the Nellis Air Force Range (Figure 1-1).

1.1 Nevada Test Site
The Nevada Test Site (NTS) is a DOE installation occupying approximately 1,350 square miles (882,332 acres) in southeastern Nye County, Nevada. The site is federally-owned, access controlled, and withdrawn from settlement, sale, location or entry. The withdrawal also excludes public mining and mineral leasing.

The area recognized as the Nevada Test Site is composed of four separate land transfers from other federal agencies to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).

Executive Order 9337, signed by President Roosevelt on April 24, 1943, resulted in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issuing Public Land Order 805 (February 12, 1952), to transfer approximately 437,020 acres of Air Force land to the Atomic Energy Commission for use as a weapons testing site.

Public Land Order 3759, issued under Executive Order 10355 signed on May 26, 1952, withdrew approximately 21,108 acres of BLM managed land to the AEC in support of the NTS.

Pursuant to Public Land Order 2568 (December 19, 1961), and under the authority of Executive Order 10355 on May 26, 1952, approximately 318,000 acres of the Nellis Air Force Range was transferred from the Air Force to the AEC for use in connection with the Nevada Test Site for test facilities, utilities, and safety distances.

A Memorandum of Understanding with the Air Force, signed on November 1, 1963, granted the AEC the unconditional use and operational control of approximately 106,000 acres of Air Force land in the Pahute Mesa area.

For the purposes of the FFACO, the boundaries of the Nevada Test Site will be defined as recorded in the Holmes and Narver, Inc., survey of April 16, 1986, except for the exclusion of Public Land Order 1662 (Figure 1-2). Any activities undertaken by DOE or successor agencies pursuant to the terms of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), 42 U.S.C. Section 10101 et seq., as amended, or subsequent legislation of similar scope and purpose which may be enacted by Congress, are specially excluded from the Agreement and this Appendix. The DoD is a tenant of the DOE on the NTS. The division of responsibilities between the two Parties is the subject of a Memorandum of Understanding between the DOE and the Defense Nuclear Agency. Cleanups required as a result of testing activities conducted by the DoD are joint responsibilities at some sites; the remainder are the sole responsibility of the DoD.

1.2 Tonopah Test Range
Portions of the Tonopah Test Range, located in Nye County, and the activities thereon, have been managed by the AEC or the DOE for the U.S. Department of the Air Force since an initial Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 1956. Approximately 370,000 acres were designated to support research related to the weapons development program (Figure 1-3). DOE has responsibility for remediation efforts on the Tonopah Test Range for those sites resulting from past DOE activities. As described in a Memorandum of Understanding dated April 1, 1969, the boundaries are as follows:

An area approximately 24 by 26 miles starting from a point on the northern boundary of the Nellis Air Force Range at approximately 37E 53' N - 116E 26' W, thence 26 miles west to approximately 37E 53' N - 116E 55' W, thence south to approximately 37E 33' N - 116E 55' W, thence 26 miles east to approximately 37E 33' N - 116E 26' W, thence 24 miles north to point of beginning.

1.3 Central Nevada Test Area
The Central Nevada Test Area consists of three noncontiguous unmanned sites in Hot Creek Valley, approximately 80 miles east of Tonopah (Figure 1-4). A large-diameter borehole specifically designed for nuclear testing was drilled at each site; one site was utilized. The unused boreholes are 120 inches in diameter and drilled to a depth of 5,500 feet with 56-inch diameter casing installed to 4,846 feet. There are also numerous small-diameter monitoring wells on the sites. The large-diameter wells and most of the small-diameter wells have been plugged and abandoned.

Pursuant to Executive Order 10355, May 26, 1952, Public Land Order 4338 was issued on December 6, 1968, to withdraw a parcel of approximately 640 acres in Nye County for the AEC to conduct underground atomic energy experiments. The parcel is located as follows:

Mount Diablo Meridian
T. 9 N., R. 51 E. (unsurveyed) Parcel: SW¼, Sec. 14; SE¼, Sec. 15; NE¼, Sec. 22; and NW¼, Sec. 23. Pursuant to Executive Order 10355, May 26, 1952, Public Land Order 4748 was issued on December 2, 1969, to withdraw approximately 1,920 acres in two parcels in Nye County for the Atomic Energy Commission to conduct underground atomic energy experiments. They were located as follows:

Mount Diablo Meridian
Parcel 1: T. 9 N., R. 51 E. (unsurveyed). Beginning at a point, said point being S. 67E34'33" W., 11,046,966 feet from the southeast corner of T. 9 N., R. 51 E., W. 5,280 feet; N. 7,920 feet; E. 5,280 feet; and S. 7,920 feet, to the point of beginning. Parcel 2: T. 9., R. 51 E., (unsurveyed), Sec. 2 NW¼; Sec. 3, N½. T. 10 N., R. 51 E., Sec. 34, S½; Sec. 35, SW¼.

1.4 Project Shoal Area
The Project Shoal Area is located approximately 30 miles southeast of Fallon in the Sand Springs Mountains (Figure 1-5). Memorandum of Understanding AT (26-1) 255 (January 1, 1966), resulted in the site being under the joint use and control of the U.S. Navy and the Department of Energy.

Pursuant to Executive Order 10355, May 26, 1952, Public Land Order 2771 was issued on September 6, 1992, to withdraw approximately 2,560 acres in Churchill County for use by the Atomic Energy Commission for experimental project purposes and allied safety areas (Figure I-5). The site was located as follows:

T. 16 N., R. 32 E., Secs. 33 and 34. T. 15 N., R. 32 E. (unsurveyed), Secs. 3 and 4. Public Land Order 2834 corrected Public Land Order 2771 to cover Secs. 33 and 34.

1.5 Nellis Air Force Range
Portions of the Nellis Air Force Range, located in Nye, Lincoln, and Clark Counties, were used by the DOE or the AEC for nuclear testing or related activities. Only those portions of the Range contaminated during these activities are subject to the terms of the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order. To date, four areas on the Nellis Air Force Range have been identified as the responsibility of the DOE. All ground zero coordinates are Nevada State Plane, Central Zone.

Area 13 - A safety experiment (Project 57 No. 1) with ground zero coordinates of N 932646, E 688515 was detonated on April 24, 1957. Preliminary surveys define the impacted area as displayed in Figure 1-6.

Small Boy - A nuclear detonation with ground zero coordinates of N 747908, E 717118 was detonated on July 14, 1963. Preliminary surveys define the impacted area as displayed in Figure 1-7.

Schooner - A nuclear detonation with ground zero coordinates of N 944011, E 529301 was detonated on December 8, 1968. Preliminary surveys define the impacted areas as displayed in Figure 1-8.

Double Tracks - A storage-transportation test shot with ground zero coordinates of N 1076306, E 407268 was detonated on May 15, 1963. Preliminary surveys define the impacted area as displayed in Figure 1-9.