[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 68661-68662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31756]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 194
[FRL-6505-2]
RIN 2060-AG85
Waste Characterization Program Documents Applicable to
Transuranic Radioactive Waste From the Hanford Site for Disposal at the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of availability; opening of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the
availability of, and soliciting public comments for 30 days on,
Department of Energy (DOE) documents applicable to characterization of
transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste at the Hanford site proposed for
disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The documents are
entitled: ``Hanford Site Transuranic Waste Characterization Quality
Assurance Project Plan, HNF-2599,'' and ``Hanford Site Transuranic
Waste Certification Plan, HNF-2600.'' They are available for review in
the public dockets listed in ADDRESSES. EPA will conduct an inspection
of waste characterization systems and processes and the quality
assurance program for waste characterization at Hanford to verify that
the site can characterize transuranic waste in accordance with EPA's
WIPP compliance criteria. EPA will perform this inspection the week of
January 10, 2000. This notice of the inspection and comment period
accords with 40 CFR 194.8.
DATES: EPA is requesting public comment on the documents. Comments must
be received by EPA's official Air Docket on or before January 7, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Docket No. A-98-49, Air
Docket, Room M-1500 (LE-131), US Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M
Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20460. The DOE documents are available for
review in the official EPA Air Docket in Washington, DC, Docket No. A-
98-49, Category II-A2, and at the following three EPA WIPP
informational docket locations in New Mexico: in Carlsbad at the
Municipal Library, Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10am-9pm, Friday-Saturday,
10am-6pm, and Sunday 1pm-5pm; in Albuquerque at the Government
Publications Department, Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico,
Hours: vary by semester; and in Santa Fe at the New Mexico State
Library, Hours: Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
As provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR Part 2, and in
accordance with normal EPA docket procedures, if copies of any docket
materials are requested, a reasonable fee may be charged for
photocopying.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Monroe, Office of Radiation and
Indoor Air, (202) 564-9310 or call EPA's toll-free WIPP Information
Line, 1-800-331-WIPP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
DOE is developing the WIPP near Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico
as a deep geologic repository for disposal of TRU radioactive waste. As
defined by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) of 1992 (Pub. L. No. 102-
579), as amended (Pub. L. No. 104-201), TRU waste consists of materials
containing elements having atomic numbers greater than 92 (with half-
lives greater than twenty years), in concentrations greater than 100
nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste. Much of
the existing TRU waste consists of items contaminated during the
production of nuclear weapons, such as rags, equipment, tools, and
sludges.
On May 13, 1998, EPA announced its final compliance certification
decision to the Secretary of Energy (published May 18, 1998, 63 FR
27354). This decision stated that the WIPP will comply with EPA's
radioactive waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR part 191, subparts B
and C.
The final WIPP certification decision includes conditions that (1)
Prohibit shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site other
than the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) until the EPA determines
that the site has established and executed a quality assurance program,
in accordance with 194.22(a)(2)(i), 194.24(c)(3), and 194.24(c)(5) for
waste characterization activities and assumptions (Condition 2 of
Appendix A to 40 CFR Part 194); and (2) Prohibit shipment of TRU waste
for disposal at WIPP from any site other than LANL until the EPA has
approved the procedures developed to comply with the waste
characterization requirements of 194.22(c)(4) (Condition 3 of Appendix
A to 40 CFR Part 194). The EPA's approval process for waste generator
sites is described in 194.8. As part of EPA's decision-making process,
the DOE is required to submit to EPA appropriate documentation of
quality assurance and waste characterization programs at each DOE waste
generator site seeking approval for shipment of TRU radioactive waste
to WIPP. In accordance with 194.8, EPA will place such documentation in
the official Air Docket in Washington, D.C., and informational dockets
in the State of New Mexico for public review and comment.
DOE has notified EPA that the Hanford site is preparing to ship
waste to the WIPP. EPA will perform an inspection of Hanford's
technical and quality assurance programs for waste characterization in
accordance with Conditions 2 and 3 of the WIPP certification. The
inspection is scheduled to take place the week of January 10, 2000.
EPA has placed two documents pertinent to the inspection in the
public docket described in ADDRESSES. The documents are entitled: (1)
``Hanford Site Transuranic Waste Characterization Quality Assurance
Project Plan, HNF-2599,'' and (2) ``Hanford Site Transuranic Waste
Certification Plan, HNF-2600'' (Items II-A2-22 and II-A2-23). In
accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, as amended by the final certification
decision, EPA is providing the public 30 days to comment on these
documents.
If EPA determines as a result of the inspection that the proposed
processes and programs at Hanford adequately control the
characterization of transuranic waste, we will notify DOE by letter and
place the letter in the official Air Docket in Washington, DC, as well
as in the informational docket locations in New Mexico. A letter of
approval will allow DOE to ship transuranic waste from Hanford to the
WIPP. The EPA will not make a determination of compliance prior to the
inspection or before the 30-day comment period has closed.
Information on the certification decision is filed in the official
EPA Air Docket, Docket No. A-93-02 and is available for review in
Washington, DC, and at three EPA WIPP informational docket locations in
New Mexico. The dockets in New Mexico contain only major items from the
official Air Docket in Washington, DC, plus those documents added to
the official Air Docket since the October 1992 enactment of the WIPP
LWA.
[[Page 68662]]
Dated: December 1, 1999.
Robert Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 99-31756 Filed 12-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P