[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 161 (Monday, August 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42899-42900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21082]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-5554-3]


Availability of Department of Energy Petition to EPA for a No-
Migration Determination for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) 
Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency announces the availability 
for public comment of a petition for a no-migration determination 
submitted to the Agency by the Department of Energy (DOE) for its Waste 
Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) on June 18, 1996. The WIPP is a geological 
repository intended for the disposal of mixed hazardous and transuranic 
wastes generated by DOE in the production and decommissioning of 
nuclear weapons. The hazardous portion of the waste is subject to the 
land disposal restrictions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery 
Act (RCRA), as codified at 40 CFR Part 268. DOE's no-migration petition 
is intended to show that the WIPP will comply with the land disposal 
restrictions by demonstrating that hazardous constituents will not 
migrate out of the WIPP disposal unit for as long as the wastes remain 
hazardous (a regulatory period of up to 10,000 years).


[[Page 42900]]


DATES: Public comments on the no-migration petition should be submitted 
on or before October 18, 1996.

ADDRESSES: Commenters must send an original and two copies of their 
comments referencing docket number F-96-WI2A-FFFFF to: RCRA Docket 
Information Center, Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency Headquarters (EPA, HQ), 401 M Street, SW, Washington, 
DC 20460. Hand deliveries of comments should be made to the Arlington, 
VA address listed below. Comments may also be submitted electronically 
by sending electronic mail through the Internet to: rcra-
[email protected]. Comments in electronic format should also be 
identified by the docket number F-96-WI2A-FFFFF. All electronic 
comments must be submitted as an ASCII file avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption.
    Commenters should not submit electronically any confidential 
business information (CBI). An original and two copies of CBI must be 
submitted under separate cover to: RCRA CBI Document Control Officer, 
Office of Solid Waste (5305W), U.S. EPA, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, 
D.C. 20460.
    Public comments and supporting materials are available for viewing 
in the RCRA Information Center (RIC), located at Crystal Gateway I, 
First Floor, 1235 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA. The RIC is 
open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding 
federal holidays. To review docket materials, it is recommended that 
the public make an appointment by calling 703-603-9230. The public may 
copy a maximum of 100 pages from any regulatory docket at no charge. 
Additional copies cost $0.15/page. For information on accessing paper 
and/or electronic copies of the document, see the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section.
    Copies of the draft petition also are available to the public at 
RCRA dockets that EPA has opened in New Mexico. These dockets are in 
the same locations as the currently existing dockets for the EPA Office 
of Radiation and Indoor Air (ORIA). ORIA is responsible for regulating 
the radioactive portion of the WIPP waste through 40 CFR Part 191. 
Petitions are located at: (1) the EPA's docket in the Governmental 
Publications Department of the Zimmerman Library of the University of 
New Mexico located in Albuquerque, New Mexico (open from 8:00 a.m. to 
9:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on 
Sunday); (2) the EPA's docket in the Fogelson Library of the College of 
Santa Fe in Santa Fe, New Mexico, at 1600 St. Michaels Drive (open from 
8:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight on Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 
5:00 p.m. on Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. 
to 9:00 p.m. on Sunday); and (3) the EPA's docket in the Municipal 
Library of Carlsbad, New Mexico, at 101 South Halegueno (open from 
10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 
p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday). Up 
to 100 pages of material from the docket may be copied at no cost. 
Additional copies are $0.15 per page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For general information, contact the 
RCRA Hotline at (800) 424-9346 or TDD (800) 553-7672 (hearing 
impaired). In the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, call (703) 412-
9810 or TDD (703) 412-3323.
    For information on specific aspects of the petition, and issues 
discussed in this notice, contact Reid Rosnick (703-308-8758), or Chris 
Rhyne (703-308-8658), Office of Solid Waste (5303W), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the provisions of 40 CFR 
268.6, EPA made a conditional no-migration determination for the WIPP 
on November 14, 1990 (55FR47709). This determination allowed DOE to 
place hazardous waste subject to the land disposal restrictions of the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in the WIPP for the 
limited purposes of below-ground testing and experimentation over a ten 
year period. In 1993, DOE canceled the proposed test period, after a 
determination that the tests and experiments could be done faster and 
more cheaply above ground. As a result, the 1990 determination was made 
moot, and DOE was informed that a new petition for a long-term 
demonstration would need to be submitted and approved before any waste 
could be accepted at the facility. A preliminary draft petition was 
made available to the public in August of 1995 (see 60 FR 40379 August 
8, 1995) as the first step in the Agency's decision process. That draft 
petition was not complete, in that all of the required information for 
a long-term demonstration was not contained in the document, and in 
that it covered only the disposal phase of the project (the first 
twenty-five years of operation of the facility).
    EPA has provided guidance to DOE on the requirements for submitting 
a complete petition through the Agency's guidance document entitled 
``No-Migration Variance to the Hazardous Waste Land Disposal 
Prohibitions: A Guidance Manual for Petitioners,'' and by encouraging 
pre-submission discussions with DOE. The Agency has also provided 
comments on DOE's submitted draft petition to provide early guidance to 
DOE (available in today's docket).
    The petition noticed today addresses the short-term and the long-
term migration potential of the RCRA hazardous constituents from the 
WIPP repository. The EPA encourages the public to provide comments that 
will inform its review of DOE's petition.
    It should be noted that the WIPP is also subject to a RCRA permit 
for both the above and below ground storage, and disposal of RCRA 
hazardous wastes at the site. DOE submitted its application for a RCRA 
permit to the State of New Mexico in June of 1995. In addition, the 
WIPP must demonstrate compliance with the Agency's environmental 
radiation protection standards (40 CFR part 191). The RCRA no-migration 
determination will be made in concert with the determination of 
compliance with the radiation protection standards. Finally, it should 
be noted that there is currently a bill in the United States Congress 
that would, among other things, exempt the WIPP from EPA's land 
disposal restrictions, eliminating the need for a no-migration 
determination. Since the status of Congressional action is uncertain at 
this time, EPA intends to review DOE's petition consistent with current 
law and regulations. If Congress eliminates the RCRA land disposal 
restrictions at the WIPP, EPA will publish a notice in the Federal 
Register announcing that it is ceasing review of DOE's petition.
    EPA will review DOE's full petition and determine, through a notice 
and comment process, whether to issue a no-migration determination, or 
deny the no-migration petition, consistent with the procedures laid out 
in 40 CFR 260.20 and 268.6. Interested members of the public now have 
an opportunity to comment on DOE's petition. After EPA has completed a 
preliminary review, it will publish a proposed decision for public 
comment in the Federal Register. EPA's final decision will also be 
published in the Federal Register.

    Dated: August 9, 1996.
Elliott P. Laws,
Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response.
[FR Doc. 96-21082 Filed 8-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P