[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 17 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 3863]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-1913]
[[Page 3863]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 194
[FRL-5954-7]
RIN 2060-AE30
Opportunity to Comment on EPA's Analysis of Air Drilling as it
Relates to EPA's Proposed Rule: ``40 CFR Part 194, Criteria for the
Certification and Re-certification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's
(WIPP) Compliance with the 40 CFR Part 191 Disposal Regulations:
Certification Decision''
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the
availability of EPA's analysis of the practice of air drilling during
petroleum exploration and its impact on the ability of the Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant to contain radioactive waste within federal
environmental and public health limits. EPA's analysis of air drilling
is now available for review in the public dockets listed in ADDRESSES.
DATES: EPA is requesting public comment on EPA's review of air
drilling. Comments must be received by EPA's official docket on or
before February 27, 1998.
ADDRESSES: 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 EPA's proposed decision to
certify WIPP 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 contain only major items from
the official Air docket in Washington, DC, plus all those documents
added to the official docket since the October 1992 enactment of the
WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, Pub. L. No. 102-579 (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: Tom Peake, Office of Radiation and
Indoor Air, (202) 564-9310 or call EPA's 24-hour toll-free WIPP
Information Line, 1-800-331-WIPP.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Department of Energy (DOE) is developing the Waste Isolation
Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico as a
potential deep geologic repository for disposal of transuranic (TRU)
radioactive waste. As defined by the WIPP LWA, as amended, TRU waste
consists of materials containing elements having atomic numbers greater
than 92 (with half-lives greater than twenty years), in concentrations
greater 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, e.g., rags, equipment, tools, and
organic and inorganic sludges.
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'' that the
WIPP will comply with EPA's radioactive waste disposal standards at 40
CFR part 191, 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. EPA's proposed decision to certify WIPP is based on 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.
The public has raised air drilling for petroleum exploration as a
potential scenario that should have been considered by the DOE in its
submission of the Certification Compliance Application CCA. In the CCA,
DOE assumes that mud is the fluid used in conjunction with drilling for
resources. EPA has received comments indicating that the use of air
(instead of mud) is a drilling technique that should be considered in
the performance of the WIPP. EPA has analyzed the potential for air
drilling, and the potential impacts that air drilling could have on the
performance of the WIPP. This analysis is now available for public
review in EPA's dockets.
The Agency concludes from its analysis of the impacts of air
drilling that no adverse consequences would result on the ability of
the WIPP site to meet the Agency radioactive waste disposal standards
at 40 CFR 191. Therefore, the Agency's proposed decision of October 23,
1997, to issue the DOE a certification of compliance remains unchanged.
Dated: January 21, 1998.
Richard D. Wilson,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 98-1913 Filed 1-26-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P