[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 29, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45679-45680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21812]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7046-6]
Waste Characterization Program Documents Applicable to
Transuranic Radioactive Waste From the Savannah River Site Proposed 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, or ``we'') is
announcing the availability of, and soliciting public comments for 30
days on, Department of Energy (DOE) documents on waste characterization
programs applicable to certain transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste at
the Savannah River Site (SRS) proposed for disposal at the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The documents are procedures and other
materials related to the Central Characterization Project (CCP),
established by DOE to augment the ability of TRU waste sites to
characterize and certify the waste in accordance with EPA's WIPP
Compliance Criteria. The documents are available for review in the
public dockets listed in ADDRESSES. We will use these documents to
evaluate the CCP activities at SRS to characterize SRS-generated
contact-handled (CH) TRU debris waste during an inspection conducted
the week of September 24, 2001. The purpose of the inspection is to
verify that the CCP can properly characterize SRS-generated contact-
handled (CH) TRU solid debris waste, consistent with the WIPP
Compliance Criteria and Condition 3 of EPA's final certification
decision for the WIPP.
DATES: The EPA is requesting public comment on these documents.
Comments must be received by EPA's official Air Docket on or before
September 28, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Docket No. A-98-49, Air
Docket, Room M-1500 (LE-131), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401
M Street, SW, Washington, DC, 20460.
DOE documents related to the CCP are available for review in the
official EPA Air Docket in Washington, D.C., Docket No. A-98-49,
Category II-B2, 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, General Library, University of New Mexico, Hours: vary by
semester; and in Santa Fe at the New Mexico State Library, Hours:
Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.
Copies of items in the docket may be requested by writing to Docket
A-98-49 at the address provided above, or by calling (202) 260-7548. As
provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR Part 2, and in accordance with
normal EPA docket procedures, a reasonable fee may be charged for
photocopying. Air Docket A-98-49 in Washington, DC, accepts comments
sent electronically or by fax (fax no.: 202-260-4400; E-mail: [email protected]).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rajani D. Joglekar, Office of
Radiation and Indoor Air, (202) 564-9310, or call EPA's 24-hour, toll-
free WIPP Information Line, 1-800-331-WIPP, or visit our website at
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp/announce.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOE owns and operates the Waste
Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) facility 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
[[Page 45680]]
than 100 nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste.
Most TRU waste consists of items contaminated during the production of
nuclear weapons, such as rags, equipment, tools, and organic and
inorganic 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 states that the WIPP will comply with the EPA's
radioactive waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR part 191, subparts B
and C.
The final WIPP certification decision includes a condition that
prohibits shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site
other than LANL until EPA has approved the procedures developed to
comply with the waste characterization requirements of
Sec. 194.24(c)(4) (Condition 3 of Appendix A to 40 CFR part 194). The
EPA's approval process for waste generator sites is described in
Sec. 194.8. As part of EPA's decision making process, DOE is required
to submit to EPA relevant documentation of waste characterization
programs at each DOE waste generator site seeking approval for shipment
of TRU radioactive waste to the WIPP. In accordance with Sec. 194.8,
EPA will place such documentation in the official Air Docket in
Washington, D.C., and in informational dockets in the State of New
Mexico, for public review and comment.
At the direction of DOE's Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO),
Westinghouse TRU Solutions (WTS) has been developing the CCP mainly to
assist DOE facilities that have generated small quantities of TRU waste
with meeting applicable waste characterization requirements. At the
present stage of development of the CCP, all required waste
characterization will be managed by WTS at TRU waste sites prior to
shipment to the WIPP. For the inspection announced today, the CCP will
demonstrate their capabilities in characterizing TRU debris waste
generated at SRS in accordance with the DOE/CBFO-implemented waste
characterization (WC) and quality assurance (QA) plans.
DOE/CBFO conducted an initial audit of the CCP at SRS on June 18-
20, 2001, which EPA observed. DOE/CBFO has scheduled a final audit for
the week of September 24, 2001, to evaluate the adequacy,
implementation, and effectiveness of technical and quality assurance
activities related to the CCP TRU waste characterization of contact-
handled, retrievably-stored debris waste at SRS. The evaluation would
lead DOE/CBFO to certify that the CCP-characterized CH TRU debris waste
meets all applicable requirements at 40 CFR part 194. We will conduct
an independent inspection under Sec. 194.8 at the same time as DOE/
CBFO's audit to verify that the CCP has characterized SRS-generated CH
TRU debris waste appropriately in accordance with Condition 3 of our
WIPP Certification Decision (Appendix A to 40 CFR part 194) and
Sec. 194.24(c)(4). The CCP may not ship transuranic waste from SRS to
the WIPP until EPA has approved the CCP's waste characterization
processes and quality assurance in accordance with Sec. 194.8.
The following documents related to the CCP have been placed in Air
Docket A-98-49, particularly: (1) ``CCP-PO-001--Revision 2, 7/23/01--
CCP Transuranic Waste Quality Assurance Characterization Project Plan''
(2) ``CCP-PO-002--Revision 2, 7/23/01--CCP Transuranic Waste
Certification Plan'' and (3) IWR NO. AC27750W--Revision 0, 7/23/01--
Savannah River Site Statement of Work IE 8863 for Clarification of SRS
TRU Waste.'' These documents describe the top-tier programmatic
requirements for the CCP. In accordance with Sec. 194.8 of the WIPP
compliance criteria, we are providing the public 30 days to comment on
the documents in the docket. EPA will review other potentially relevant
documentation and will interview CCP personnel during the inspection.
Our inspection activities and findings will be summarized in our
inspection report, which will be placed in Docket A-98-49.
If EPA determines that the provisions in the documents available in
the EPA Docket are adequately implemented, we will notify DOE by letter
and place the letter in the official Air Docket in Washington, D.C.,
and in the informational docket locations in New Mexico. We will not
make a determination of compliance prior to the inspection or before
the 30-day comment period has closed.
Information on EPA's radioactive waste disposal standards (40 CFR
part 191), the compliance criteria (40 CFR part 194), and EPA's
certification decision is filed in the official EPA Air Docket, Dockets
No. R-89-01, A-92-56, and A-93-02, respectively, and is available for
review in Washington, D.C., and at the 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, D.C., plus
those documents added to the official Air Docket after the October 1992
enactment of the WIPP LWA.
Dated: August 23, 2001.
Jeffrey R. Holmstead,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 01-21812 Filed 8-28-01; 8:45 am]
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