[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