[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21539]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 31, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Environmental Management

 

Draft Site Treatment Plan; Notice of Availability

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability

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SUMMARY: Today's notice announces the availability of and requests 
public comment on Draft Site Treatment Plans for treating the 
Department of Energy's (DOE) mixed radioactive and hazardous waste. As 
an interim step toward meeting the requirements of the Federal Facility 
Compliance Act of 1992 (FFCAct or the Act), DOE has prepared a Draft 
Site Treatment Plan (Draft Plan) for each of 48 sites located in 22 
states where DOE is currently storing, generating, or is expected to 
generate mixed hazardous and radioactive waste within the next five 
years. These Draft Plans contain the sites' preferred treatment options 
for this waste, where available. The Draft Plans are being provided at 
each site for public review and comment as well as for review and 
discussion among the state and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA) regulators. Comments on the Draft Plans will be considered in 
developing Proposed Site Treatment Plans to be submitted to the 
regulators for approval in February 1995.

DATES: Comments should be provided to the appropriate site 
representative by October 31, 1994.

ADDRESSES: The address for submitting comments on a specific Draft Site 
Treatment Plan can be obtained by calling the Center for Environmental 
Management Information at 1-800-7EM-DATA (1-800-736-3282).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The DOE is required by section 3021(b) of the Resource Conservation 
and Recovery Act (RCRA), as amended by the FFCAct, to prepare Site 
Treatment Plans (Plans) describing the development of treatment 
capacities and technologies for treating mixed waste for each site at 
which DOE stores or generates mixed waste. Mixed waste is defined by 
the Act as waste containing both a hazardous waste subject to RCRA, and 
source, special nuclear or by-product material subject to the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954. The Site Treatment Plans will be submitted to the 
regulating State or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for 
approval, approval with modification, or disapproval. The Draft Plans 
are the intermediate version of the Site Treatment Plans and are being 
provided to the States and EPA, and made available to the public, for 
review and comment. DOE is preparing Site Treatment Plans for the 
following sites:

            Table 1.--Sites Preparing Site Treatment Plans\1\           
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Agency toreceive  
      Facility/location               State            plan(EPA/State)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Energy Technology             California..........  State.              
 Engineering Center (ETEC),                                             
 Canoga Park.                                                           
General Atomics, San Diego..  ......do............  Do.                 
General Electric, Vallecitos  ......do............  Do.                 
 Nuclear Center, Vallecitos.                                            
Lawrence Livermore National   ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory, Livermore.                                                 
Lawrence Berkeley             ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory, Berkeley.                                                  
Laboratory for Energy-        ......do............  Do.                 
 Related Health Research,                                               
 Davis.                                                                 
Mare Island Naval Shipyard,   ......do............  Do.                 
 Vallejo.                                                               
Sandia National Laboratory--  ......do............  Do.                 
 California, Livermore.                                                 
Grand Junction Project        Colorado............  Do.                 
 Office, Grand Junction.                                                
Rocky Flats Environmental     ......do............  Do.                 
 Technology Site, Golden.                                               
Knolls Atomic Power           Connecticut.........  Do.                 
 Laboratory, Windsor.                                                   
Pinellas Plant, Largo.......  Florida.............  Do.                 
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard,  Hawaii..............  EPA.                
 Honolulu.                                                              
Argonne National Laboratory-- Idaho...............  State.              
 West, Idaho Falls.                                                     
Idaho National Engineering    ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory, Idaho Falls.                                               
Ames Laboratory, Ames.......  Iowa................  EPA.                
Argonne National Laboratory-- Illinois............  State.              
 East, Argonne.                                                         
Site A/Plot M Palos Forest    ......do............  Do.                 
 Preserve, Cook County.                                                 
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion     Kentucky............  State.              
 Plant, Paducah.                                                        
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,    Maine...............  EPA.                
 Kittery.                                                               
Kansas City Plant, Kansas     Missouri............  State.              
 City.                                                                  
Weldon Spring Site Remedial   ......do............  Do.                 
 Action Project, St. Charles                                            
 County.                                                                
University of Missouri,       ......do............  Do.                 
 Columbia.                                                              
Nevada Test Site, Mercury...  Nevada..............  State.              
Middlesex Sampling Plant,     New Jersey..........  EPA.                
 Middlesex.                                                             
Princeton Plasma Physics      ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory, Princeton.                                                 
Inhalation Toxicology         New Mexico..........  State.              
 Research Institute,                                                    
 Albuquerque.                                                           
Los Alamos National           ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory, Los Alamos.                                                
Sandia National Laboratory--  ......do............  Do.                 
 New Mexico, Albuquerque.                                               
Brookhaven National           New York............  State.              
 Laboratory, Upton.                                                     
Colonie Interim Storage       ......do............  Do.                 
 Site, Colonie.                                                         
Knolls Atomic Power           ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory--Kesselring,                                                
 West Milton.                                                           
Knolls Atomic Power           ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory--Schenectady,                                               
 Niskayuna.                                                             
West Valley Demonstration     ......do............  Do.                 
 Project, West Valley.                                                  
Battelle Columbus             Ohio................  Do.                 
 Laboratories                                                           
 Decommissioning Project,                                               
 Columbus.                                                              
Fernald Environmental         ......do............  Do.                 
 Management Project, Fernald.                                           
Mound Plant, Miamisburg.....  ......do............  Do.                 
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion  ......do............  Do.                 
 Plant, Portsmouth.                                                     
RMI Titanium Inc., Ashtabula  ......do............  Do.                 
Bettis Atomic Power           Pennsylvania........  EPA.                
 Laboratory, West Mifflin.                                              
Charleston Naval Shipyard,    South Carolina......  State.              
 Charleston.                                                            
Savannah River Site, Aiken..  ......do............  Do.                 
K-25 Site, Oak Ridge          Tennessee...........  State.              
 Reservation, Oak Ridge.                                                
Oak Ridge National            ......do............  Do.                 
 Laboratory, Oak Ridge                                                  
 Reservation, Oak Ridge.                                                
Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge         ......do............  Do.                 
 Reservation, Oak Ridge.                                                
Pantex Plant, Amarillo......  Texas...............  Do.                 
Norfolk Naval Shipyard,       Virginia............  EPA.                
 Norfolk.                                                               
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,   Washington\1\.......  State.              
 Bremerton.                                                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\The Hanford Site in Richland, Washington, has signed a Tri-Party     
  Agreement with the State of Washington which addresses mixed waste    
  treatment. Therefore, the Hanford site is not preparing a Site        
  Treatment Plan, but is actively participating in the FFCAct           
  discussions.                                                          

    As outlined in an April 6, 1993, Federal Register notice (58 FR 
17875), DOE is developing the Site Treatment Plans in three stages. The 
first stage, the Conceptual Site Treatment Plans, were released in 
October 1993 and described a wide range of possible treatment 
alternatives for each mixed waste stream. The Draft Site Treatment 
Plans were issued in August 1994, and include one or two options 
identified at the site, with input from the State, as the preferred 
treatment for each mixed waste stream. After further analysis of the 
preferred options for the DOE complex as a whole, discussions among the 
States, and consideration of public comments, DOE will submit Proposed 
Site Treatment Plans in February 1995 to the appropriate regulatory 
agency (i.e., the State or EPA). The regulatory agency will issue an 
Order requiring compliance with the approved Plan. Sites that are in 
compliance with approved Plans and Orders after October 1995 will be 
exempt from fines and penalties related to the storage prohibitions 
[section 3004(j)] under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(RCRA).

II. Draft Site Treatment Plans

    In response to early discussions with the States, DOE followed a 
``bottom-up'' approach in which the DOE Operations Offices evaluated 
treatment options for the mixed waste at each site, in conjunction with 
the host State and others. The Draft Plans contain the results of this 
site-specific evaluation of the treatment options identified in the 
Conceptual Plans, and present the currently preferred option for 
treating the site's mixed waste. The Draft Plans have not yet been 
evaluated as a whole for impacts on other DOE sites and to the overall 
DOE program. Changes in the preferred option and associated schedules 
are possible as evaluation from the DOE-wide perspective progresses, as 
State-to-State discussions take place, and as other stakeholder input 
is received. DOE defined a common framework to provide a consistent 
approach to Draft Plan development among all of the DOE sites. This 
framework, developed with input from State representatives, established 
common terminology, objectives, planning assumptions, and a recommended 
methodology for narrowing the alternatives presented in the Conceptual 
Plan to the preferred options in the Draft Plan. Evaluation criteria 
included sound technical judgment; regulatory compliance; 
environmental, health, and safety concerns; stakeholder involvement; 
implementability; and efficient use of limited resources.
    The Draft Plans also follow a common format, consisting of a 
Background Volume and a Compliance Plan Volume, supplemented by an 
Appendix(s). The Background Volume describes the site's treatment 
options, including the associated uncertainties, budget status, and 
regulator and stakeholder reactions, when known. The Compliance Plan 
Volume identifies the preferred treatment option(s) and associated 
schedules, and also broadly describes provisions to implement and 
update the Plan once approved. When finalized, the Compliance Plan 
Volume is intended to contain information that will ultimately be 
enforced through an Order. Each Draft Plan also includes an Appendix 
that explains how the options presented in the Conceptual Plan were 
narrowed to select the preferred option. Some site Draft Plans include 
additional appendices to present other related information.
    In conjunction with identifying treatment options, DOE is also 
evaluating options for disposal of mixed waste treatment residuals, at 
the request of the States. The Background Volume of each Draft Plan 
contains a description of the process for evaluating disposal options.
    A Draft Site Treatment Plan Summary Report is being prepared to 
present a compilation of the information contained in the individual 
sites' Draft Plans. The Summary Report will also provide a preliminary 
indication of the configuration that may emerge for the DOE complex as 
a whole, and is intended to useful for discussions among the States, 
EPA and other interested parties. This Summary Report will include 
brief discussions of the Draft Plan development process, a DOE complex-
wide look at treatment options for the different mixed waste streams, 
information on waste characterization, technology development and other 
related topics. The Summary Report will be released as soon as 
possible.

III. Availability of Draft Site Treatment Plans and Opportunity for 
Comment

    The individual Draft Site Treatment Plan will be available at each 
site's public reading room or at nearby locations by mid-September, 
1994. To review or request information on a specific Draft Plan, a DOE 
contact name and reading room address for each site can be obtained by 
calling the DOE Center for Environmental Management Information at 1-
800-7EM-DATA. The full set of 48 individual Draft Plans can also be 
reviewed by mid-September 1994 at the U.S. Department of Energy 
Headquarters reading room, Room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Ave., 
Washington, DC 20585, and at the Center for Environmental Management 
Information, 470 East L'Enfant Plaza, Suite 7110, Washington, DC 20585.
    Comments should be provided to the appropriate DOE site contact by 
October 31, 1994. Additional opportunities for public involvement in 
the Site Treatment Plan development process will be offered at many 
sites; information on these opportunities can be obtained from the DOE 
site contact. Comments from the public will be considered by DOE in 
preparing the Proposed Plans, to be submitted to regulators in February 
1995.
    Additional information on the Site Treatment Plan process, related 
activities, and site-specific fact sheets describing the Draft Plans 
can be obtained from the DOE Center for Environmental Management 
Information at 1-800-7EM-DATA (1-800-736-3282). Persons interested in 
receiving the Summary Report when available, or other information on 
the development of the Site Treatment Plans and related activities, 
such as evaluation of options for disposal, should provide their name, 
address, and items of interest to the DOE Center for Environmental 
Management Information.
Jill E. Lytle,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Management, Environmental 
Management.
[FR Doc. 94-21539 Filed 8-30-94; 8:45 am]
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