[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 234 (Friday, December 5, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 64334-64335]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-32041]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 194
RIN 2060-AE30
[FRL-5932-9]
Opportunity To Present Oral Testimony on EPA's Proposed Rule:
``40 CFR Part 194, Criteria for the Certification and Recertification
of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's (WIPP) Compliance With the 40 CFR
Part 191 Disposal Regulations: Certification Decision;'' Notice of
Public Hearings
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of Public Hearings.
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SUMMARY: EPA will conduct public hearings to receive comments on the
proposed certification decision, published October 30, 1997, for the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, Albuquerque, and Santa
Fe, New Mexico.
DATES: The schedule for these hearings is as follows: Carlsbad, January
5, 1998, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and January 6, 1998, from 9:00
a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Albuquerque, January 7, 1998, from 12:00 Noon to
9:00 p.m. and January 8, 1998, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon; and Santa
Fe, January 8, 1998, from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and January 9, 1998,
from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Procedures for these public hearings are
detailed in the section entitled ``Hearing Procedures'' in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Specific locations for each city is detailed
in the section entitled ADDRESSES.
ADDRESSES: EPA's public hearings to accept comments on EPA's Proposed
Compliance Certification Decision for the WIPP will be held on January
5-6, 1998, at the Pecos River Village Conference Center, Room #3, 711
Muscatel, Carlsbad, NM; on January 7-8 at the Albuquerque Convention
Center, Aztec/Galisteo Room, 401 Second Street, NW, Albuquerque, NM; on
January 8-9, 1998, at the Harold Runnels Building, 1190 St. Francis
Drive, Santa Fe, NM.
EPA's official docket for all rulemaking activities under the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act, as amended, is located in
Washington, DC, in the Air Docket, Room M1500, Mailcode 6102, U.S. EPA,
401 M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460. Information on EPA's
radioactive waste disposal standards (40 CFR Part 191), the compliance
criteria (40 CFR Part 194), and DOE's compliance certification
application 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 at
the following three EPA WIPP docket locations in New Mexico: in
Carlsbad at the Municipal Library, Hours: Mon-Thu, 10-9, Fri-Sat, 10-6,
and Sun 1-5; in Albuquerque at the Government Publications Department,
Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, Hours: Mon-Thu, 8-9, Fri,
8-5, Sat-Sun, 1-5; and in Santa Fe at the Fogelson Library, College of
Santa Fe, Hours: Mon-Thu, 8-12 Midnight, Fri, 8-5, Sat, 9-5, and Sun,
1-9.
Note: The dockets in New Mexico only contain major items from
the official Air docket in Washington, DC, plus all those docu-ments
added to the official docket since the October 1992 enactment of the
WIPP LWA.
As provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR Part 2, and in
accordance with normal Air docket procedures, if copies of any docket
materials are requested, a reasonable fee may be charged for
photocopying.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rafaela Ferguson, Office of Radiation
and Indoor Air, (202) 564-9362 or call EPA's 24-hour toll-free WIPP
Information Line, 1-800-331-WIPP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On October 23, 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced its proposed decision to issue to the Secretary of the
Department of Energy (DOE) a ``certification of compliance'' for the
Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), subject to
several conditions related to: (1) waste characterization (to determine
the radionuclides and other contents of waste disposal containers); (2)
quality assurance programs at DOE waste generator sites; (3)
implementation of passive institutional controls (PICs) (intended to
warn future generations about the hazards of the radioactive waste
buried in the WIPP); and (4) panel seals (used to contain the waste
within compartments in the facility). In addition, DOE is required to
report to EPA any change in the activities or conditions at the WIPP
that differ from those described in the Compliance Certification
Application (CCA), and to immediately inform EPA of any activities or
conditions at the WIPP that might cause the WIPP to exceed the
containment requirements of the disposal regulations. This proposal,
entitled ``Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's Compliance with the 40 CFR Part 191
Disposal Regulations: Certification Decision; Proposed Rule,'' was
published in the Federal Register at 62 FR 58791-58838 on October 30,
1997, which marked the start of a 120-day public comment period.
The WIPP is being constructed by DOE near Carlsbad, New Mexico, as
a potential repository for the safe disposal of transuranic radioactive
waste. Pursuant to the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (WIPP LWA) of 1992,
Pub. L. No. 102-579, as amended, EPA is required to perform several
activities including certifying whether the WIPP will comply with EPA's
radioactive waste disposal standards before DOE may commence disposal
of radioactive waste at the WIPP. On October 29, 1996, DOE submitted a
CCA containing information intended to demonstrate that WIPP will
comply with the EPA's disposal regulations. EPA published an Advance
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on November 15, 1996, announcing
receipt of the CCA and requesting comments on all aspects of DOE's
application for 120 days until March 17, 1997. EPA conducted a
preliminary review of the CCA and requested DOE to submit supplemental
information. DOE submitted the additional information EPA requested and
on May 22, 1997, the Agency announced that DOE's application was deemed
to be ``complete'' (62 FR 27996-27998). EPA's finding that the CCA was
complete commenced a statutory one-year period to determine, by
rulemaking, whether WIPP will comply with the disposal regulations
(WIPP LWA, section 8(d)(2); 40 CFR 194.11).
EPA has conducted an extensive independent technical review and
evaluation (including confirmatory audits and inspections) of the DOE's
CCA and supplemental materials based on the requirements specified in
the WIPP Compliance Criteria at 40 CFR Part 194. In response to public
comments, EPA subsequently extended the ANPRM public comment period
until publication of the proposed rule, thus resulting in an
approximately 264-
[[Page 64335]]
day public comment period. All public comments received on or before
August 8, 1997, were reviewed and considered as part of EPA's
evaluation of the CCA. ANPRM comments received on or before August 8,
1997, were responded to in the Compliance Application Review Documents
(CARDs), which are part of the proposed certification decision.
Comments received from August 8, 1997, to October 30, 1997, will be
responded to with comments on the proposed rule.
DOE is developing the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near
Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico as a deep geologic repository for
disposal of transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste. As defined by the WIPP
LWA, as amended, TRU wastes are materials containing elements having
atomic numbers greater than 92, in concentrations greater than 100
nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste, with half-
lives greater than twenty years. Most TRU wastes are items contaminated
during the production of nuclear weapons, e.g., rags, equipment, tools,
and organic and inorganic sludges.
The WIPP LWA, as amended, specifies the terms and conditions for
DOE's activities at the WIPP and the regulatory requirements which
apply throughout various stages of the repository's development
including the requirement that before beginning disposal of radioactive
wastes at the WIPP, DOE must demonstrate that the WIPP will comply with
the EPA's radioactive wastes disposal standards, ``Environmental
Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High-
Level and Transuranic Radioactive Wastes'' (40 CFR Part 191).
Under the WIPP LWA, as amended, EPA is required to develop criteria
for the Administrator's certification of compliance with the 40 CFR
Part 191 disposal standards. EPA's final rule for the compliance
criteria was published in the Federal Register on February 9, 1996, at
61 FR 5224-5245, approximately one year after proposal. On March 29,
1996, EPA issued the Compliance Application Guidance (CAG) which
provided DOE with specific guidelines regarding the format and content
of the compliance certification application and a clear description of
the information that EPA would need to make its certification decision.
The guidance provided in the CAG is within the framework established by
40 CFR Parts 194 and 191. On November 15, 1996, EPA published an ANPRM
in the Federal Register at 61 FR 58499-58500, entitled ``Decision to
Certify Whether the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Complies With the 40
CFR Part 191 Disposal Regulations and the 40 CFR Part 194 Compliance
Criteria.''
If EPA finalizes the decision that the WIPP meets its radioactive
waste disposal standards, then DOE may continue to take necessary steps
required prior to emplacement of TRU wastes in the repository.
Following the initial emplacement of TRU wastes in the facility and
throughout its operational phase, DOE will be required to submit a re-
certification application to EPA every five years throughout the
operational phase of the disposal system. The Agency will review the
applications and determine whether the WIPP remains in compliance with
the disposal standards.
Hearing Procedures
Those persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearings
are requested to pre-register by calling EPA's toll-free WIPP
Information Line at 1-800-331-WIPP between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and
7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) with the following information:
Name/Organizational Affiliation (if any)/address/hearing date,
location, time(s) available to testify, and a daytime telephone number.
In order to be guaranteed an opportunity to testify, requests must be
received by EPA no later than 12:00 p.m. EST on December 30, 1997.
Speakers not registered in advance may register at the door, if time
slots are available. Individuals testifying on their own behalf will be
allowed 5 minutes. One individual may testify as the official
representative or spokesperson on behalf of groups and organizations
and will be allocated 10 minutes for an oral presentation. Time allowed
is exclusive of any time consumed by questions from the government
panel and answers to these questions. Requests to testify at a second
or possibly third location will be accommodated, to the extent
possible, once pre-registration has been completed. Written comments
will be considered to the same extent as oral testimony and will be
included as part of the official hearings transcripts. The hearing
transcript will constitute the official record of the hearing. All
written comments which are submitted outside of the public hearings
must be received by the HQ EPA Air Docket by February 27, 1998. These
comments will also be given EPA's full consideration. Thus, all
comments received by EPA, whether written or oral, will be given equal
consideration in development of the final rule.
The public will be permitted to inspect and comment on any re-
certification application.
Dated: December 3, 1997.
Richard D. Wilson,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 97-32041 Filed 12-4-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P