[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 18, 2003)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 12887-12888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6462]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 194

[FRL-7468-8]


Waste Characterization Program Documents Applicable to 
Transuranic Radioactive Waste From the Savannah River Site Proposed for 
Disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of availability; opening of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, or ``we'') is 
announcing the availability of, and soliciting public comments for 30 
days on, Department of Energy (DOE) documents on waste characterization 
programs applicable to certain transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste at 
the Savannah River Site (SRS) proposed for disposal at the Waste 
Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The documents are procedures and other 
materials related to the Central Characterization Project (CCP), 
established by DOE to augment the ability of TRU waste sites to 
characterize and certify the waste in accordance with EPA's WIPP 
Compliance Criteria. The documents are available for review in the 
public dockets listed in ADDRESSES. We will use these documents to 
evaluate the CCP activities at SRS to characterize SRS-generated 
contact-handled (CH) retrievably-stored TRU debris waste during an 
inspection conducted the week of March 24, 2003. The purpose of the 
inspection is to verify that the CCP can properly characterize SRS-
generated contact-handled (CH) TRU debris waste, consistent with the 
WIPP Compliance Criteria and Condition 3 of EPA's final certification 
decision for the WIPP.

DATES: The EPA is requesting public comment on these documents. 
Comments must be received by EPA's official Air Docket on or before 
April 17, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Air and Radiation Docket, 
Attn: Docket A-98-49, EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Mail Code

[[Page 12888]]

6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC, 20460.
    DOE documents related to the CCP are available for review in the 
official EPA Air Docket in Washington, DC, Docket No. A-98-49, Category 
II-A2, and at the following three EPA WIPP informational docket 
locations in New Mexico: In Carlsbad at the Municipal Library, hours: 
Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and 
Sunday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m.; in Albuquerque at the Government Publications 
Department, General Library, University of New Mexico, hours: vary by 
semester; and in Santa Fe at the New Mexico State Library, hours: 
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
    Copies of items in the docket may be requested by writing to Docket 
A-98-49 at the address provided above, or by calling (202) 566-1742. As 
provided in EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 2, and in accordance with 
normal EPA docket procedures, a reasonable fee may be charged for 
photocopying.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Rajani D. Joglekar, Office of 
Radiation and Indoor Air, (202) 564-9310, or call EPA's 24-hour, toll-
free WIPP Information Line, 1-800-331-WIPP, or visit our Web site at 
http://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    DOE is operating the WIPP near Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico 
as a deep geologic repository for disposal of TRU radioactive waste. As 
defined by the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) of 1992 (Public Law 102-
579), as amended (Public Law 104-201), transuranic (TRU) waste consists 
of materials containing elements having atomic numbers greater than 92 
(with half-lives greater than 20 years), in concentrations greater than 
100 nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes per gram of waste. Much 
of the existing TRU waste consists of items contaminated during the 
production of nuclear weapons, such as rags, equipment, tools, and 
sludges.
    On May 13, 1998, EPA announced its final compliance certification 
decision to the Secretary of Energy (published May 18, 1998, 63 FR 
27354). This decision stated that the WIPP will comply with EPA's 
radioactive waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR part 191, subparts B 
and C.
    The final WIPP certification decision includes conditions that (1) 
prohibit shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site other 
than the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) until the EPA determines 
that the site has established and executed a quality assurance program, 
in accordance with Sec. Sec.  194.22(a)(2)(i), 194.24(c)(3), and 
194.24(c)(5) for waste characterization activities and assumptions 
(Condition 2 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 194); and (2) prohibit 
shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site other than 
LANL until the EPA has approved the procedures developed to comply with 
the waste characterization requirements of Sec.  194.22(c)(4) 
(Condition 3 of appendix A to 40 CFR part 194). The EPA's approval 
process for waste generator sites is described in Sec.  194.8. As part 
of EPA's decision-making process, the DOE is required to submit to EPA 
appropriate documentation of quality assurance and waste 
characterization programs at each DOE waste generator site seeking 
approval for shipment of TRU radioactive waste to WIPP. In accordance 
with Sec.  194.8, EPA will place such documentation in the official Air 
Docket in Washington, DC, and informational dockets in the State of New 
Mexico for public review and comment.
    EPA will perform an inspection of the TRU waste characterization 
activities performed by the DOE's Central Characterization Project 
(CCP) staff at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in accordance with 
Condition 3 of the WIPP certification. We will evaluate the adequacy, 
implementation, and effectiveness of the CCP technical activities 
contracted by SRS for characterization of the disposal of retrievably-
stored TRU debris waste at the WIPP. The overall program adequacy and 
effectiveness of CCP documents will be based on the following DOE-
provided documents: (1) CCP-PO-001--Revision 5, 2/05/03--CCP 
Transuranic Waste Characterization Quality Assurance Project Plan and 
(2) CCP-PO-002--Revision 5, 2/13/03--CCP Transuranic Waste 
Certification Plan. EPA has placed these DOE-provided documents 
pertinent to the SRS inspection in the public docket described in 
ADDRESSES. The documents are included in item II-A2-43 in Docket A-98-
49. In accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, EPA is providing the public 30 
days to comment on these documents. The inspection is scheduled to take 
place the week of March 24, 2003.
    The EPA inspectors at SRS will evaluate the quality of the waste 
characterization program via testing, interviews of WC personnel, 
review of WC procedures, and inspection of WC equipment used to 
characterize retrievably-stored debris waste. The inspection will focus 
on the IQ3 NDA (Non-Destructive Assay) system and the AK process as 
implemented by the CCP at SRS. The EPA has already inspected and 
approved the quality assurance (QA) program at SRS regarding the CCP. 
This inspection was conducted in October 2002, and the details of this 
inspection can be found in item II-A1-41 in Docket A-98-49.
    If EPA determines as a result of the inspection that the proposed 
CCP waste characterization processes and programs used at SRS 
adequately control the characterization of transuranic waste, we will 
notify DOE by letter and place the letter in the official Air Docket in 
Washington, DC, as well as in the informational docket locations in New 
Mexico. A letter of approval will allow DOE to ship transuranic waste 
from SRS to the WIPP. The EPA will not make a determination of 
compliance prior to the inspection or before the 30-day comment period 
has closed.
    Information on the certification decision is filed in the official 
EPA Air Docket, Docket No. A-93-02 and is available for review in 
Washington, DC, and at three EPA WIPP informational docket locations in 
New Mexico. The dockets in New Mexico contain only major items from the 
official Air Docket in Washington, DC, plus those documents added to 
the official Air Docket since the October 1992 enactment of the WIPP 
LWA.

    Dated: March 11, 2003.
Robert Brenner,
Acting Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 03-6462 Filed 3-17-03; 8:45 am]
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