[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 125 (Wednesday, June 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39446-39449]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-14809]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Revision to the Record of Decision for the Department of Energy's 
Waste Management Program: Treatment and Storage of Transuranic Waste

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Revision to Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is revising the Record of 
Decision (ROD) for its Waste Management Program: Treatment and Storage 
of Transuranic Waste prepared pursuant to the Waste Management 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (WM PEIS, DOE/EIS-0200-F, 
May 1997). The original ROD was issued on January 20, 1998 (63 FR 
3629), and revised on December 19, 2000 (65 FR 82985), July 13, 2001 
(66 FR 38646), and September 6, 2002 (67 FR 56989). This present 
revision, based on consideration of new information, confirms DOE's 
September 6, 2002, decision to ship its transuranic (TRU) waste from 
the Battelle West Jefferson North Site (West Jefferson Site) in 
Columbus, Ohio, to the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, for 
storage, processing, and certification, pending disposal at the Waste 
Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico.
    In its September 6, 2002, decision, DOE stated that it would 
transfer small quantities of TRU waste from the West Jefferson Site 
(approximately 27 cubic meters), and the Energy Technology Engineering 
Center (ETEC) (approximately 9 cubic meters) in Canoga Park, 
California, to the Hanford Site for storage. The TRU waste would be 
shipped to Hanford from both sites in Type B truck-mounted shipping 
casks licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and 
ultimately shipped to WIPP.
    After issuing its September 6, 2002, decision, DOE completed the 
ETEC shipments and three shipments of the West Jefferson TRU waste 
(about five cubic meters) to Hanford. In March 2003, DOE suspended 
further shipments of West Jefferson TRU waste to Hanford, and 
subsequently a preliminary injunction stopping further shipments of TRU 
waste to Hanford from West Jefferson was issued by the U.S. District 
Court for the Eastern District of Washington in response to actions 
filed by the State of Washington and Columbia Riverkeeper. Shipments of 
TRU waste to Hanford for storage and certification for disposal at WIPP 
have remained suspended pending completion of the Hanford Site Solid 
(Radioactive and Hazardous) Waste Program Environmental Impact 
Statement (HSW EIS, DOE/EIS-0286) and lifting of the preliminary 
injunction. DOE completed the Final HSW EIS in January 2004, and the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a Notice of 
Availability of the HSW EIS on February 13, 2004. In the HSW EIS, DOE 
analyzed site-specific impacts at Hanford associated with storage, 
processing, and certification of the West Jefferson and other TRU waste 
and, using the most recent census data (Year 2000) and an updated 
version of the RADTRAN computer model, DOE analyzed transportation 
impacts of shipping this waste. The analyses conducted in the HSW EIS 
confirmed conclusions previously reached in the

[[Page 39447]]

WM PEIS. That is, the impacts of transporting the West Jefferson TRU 
waste to Hanford and the onsite impacts of storing, certifying, and 
processing this waste for shipment to WIPP are small.
    Based on the new information in the HSW EIS, as well as the 
information on which DOE's September 6, 2002, decision was based, DOE 
intends to complete the transfer of the West Jefferson TRU waste to 
Hanford for storage and certification prior to disposal at WIPP. The 
remaining shipments will not commence unless and until the preliminary 
injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District 
of Washington is lifted.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the documents referenced herein are available from 
the: Center for Environmental Management Information, P.O. Box 23769, 
Washington, DC 20026-3769, telephone: 1-800-736-3282 (in Washington, 
DC: 202-863-5084).
    The Final HSW EIS and other relevant information can also be viewed 
in the DOE Public Reading Room, Washington State University, Tri-Cities 
Campus, 100 Sprout Road, Room 130W, Richland, WA 99352, telephone: 509-
376-8583, Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
    The Final HSW EIS is available for review on the Internet at http://www.hanford.gov/eis/eis-0286D2 and on the DOE National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) Web page (http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/eis/eis0286F).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of the Final HSW EIS and 
further information about the HSW EIS, contact: Mr. Michael Collins, 
Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland Operations 
Office, P.O. Box 550, A6-38, Richland, WA 99352, telephone: 509-376-
6536.
    For further information on the disposal of TRU waste at WIPP, 
contact: Mr. Harold Johnson, U.S. Department of Energy, Carlsbad Field 
Office, P.O. Box 3093, Carlsbad, NM 88221, telephone: 505-234-7349.
    For further information on Hanford Site TRU waste operations, 
contact: Mr. Mark French, U.S. Department of Energy, Richland 
Operations Office, P.O. Box 550, MSIN A6-38, Richland, WA 99352, 
telephone: 509-373-9863.
    For information on DOE's NEPA process, contact: Ms. Carol 
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-42), U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585, telephone 202-586-4600, or leave a message at 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    TRU waste is waste that contains alpha particle-emitting 
radionuclides with atomic numbers greater than that of uranium (92) and 
half-lives greater than 20 years in concentrations greater than 100 
nanocuries per gram. TRU waste is classified according to the radiation 
dose at a package surface. Contact-handled (CH) TRU waste has a 
radiation dose rate at a package surface of 200 millirem per hour or 
less; direct contact with this waste can be made safely by workers. 
Remote-handled (RH) TRU waste has a radiation dose rate at a package 
surface greater than 200 millirem per hour, and must be handled 
remotely (e.g., with machinery designed to shield workers from 
radiation).
    West Jefferson performed atomic energy research and development for 
DOE as part of the government's fuel and target fabrication programs 
from 1943-1986. DOE is contractually responsible for the disposal of 
CH- and RH-TRU waste generated as part of the cleanup of the West 
Jefferson Site. This waste consists of sample residues, analytical 
equipment, and hot cell fixtures that became contaminated during 
several decades of metallurgical and nuclear fuel research. As part of 
the closeout of its nuclear materials research contract, DOE is 
assisting in the remediation of the site. Although the West Jefferson 
facilities are privately owned, contract terms specify that all 
radioactive waste generated during the site cleanup is ``DOE-owned'' 
for the purposes of disposal. In the WM PEIS, prepared under the NEPA 
implementing regulations (40 CFR 1500-1508 and 10 CFR 1021), DOE 
evaluated the potential environmental impacts of treating and storing 
TRU waste at DOE generator sites and at DOE sites such as Hanford, 
where this waste could be consolidated on a regional or centralized 
basis. In the WM PEIS TRU Waste ROD (63 FR 3629, January 20, 1998), DOE 
selected the Decentralized Alternative, stating that ``each of the 
Department's sites that currently has or will generate TRU waste will 
prepare and store its waste on site'' prior to shipment to WIPP.\1\ The 
WM PEIS TRU Waste ROD also noted that ``in the future, the Department 
may decide to ship transuranic wastes from sites where it may be 
impractical to prepare them for disposal to sites where DOE has or will 
have the necessary capability.'' The WM PEIS TRU Waste ROD stated that 
the sites that could receive TRU waste shipments from other sites were 
the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, the Oak 
Ridge Reservation, the Savannah River Site, and the Hanford Site, and 
that such decisions would be subject to appropriate review under NEPA.
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    \1\ The only exception to this decision was the Sandia National 
Laboratory in New Mexico, which will ship its TRU waste to the Los 
Alamos National Laboratory for storage and processing before 
disposal at WIPP.
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    In its September 6, 2002, decision, DOE identified approximately 
115 55-gallon drums of RH-TRU waste (about 25 cubic meters) and 
approximately 10 drums of CH-TRU waste (about two cubic meters) for 
transfer from West Jefferson to Hanford. In that decision, based on the 
analysis contained in the WM PEIS and earlier analysis in of such 
shipments in the Environmental Assessment for Battelle Columbus 
Laboratories Decommissioning Project (DOE/EA-0433, June 1990), DOE 
concluded that the potential health and environmental impacts of 
shipping a total of approximately 27 cubic meters of TRU waste from 
West Jefferson to Hanford for storage and future certification for 
disposal at WIPP would be very small. Since that time, 20 drums of the 
previously-identified RH-TRU waste (about five cubic meters) have been 
transferred to Hanford, and through the decommissioning process, DOE 
has generated an additional 20 drums of RH-TRU waste at West Jefferson 
(also about five cubic meters). Thus about 25 cubic meters of RH-TRU 
waste remain at West Jefferson. An additional 10 cubic meters of CH-TRU 
waste was also generated through the decommissioning process, bringing 
the total remaining CH-TRU waste at West Jefferson to approximately 12 
cubic meters. This waste has been packaged into six standard waste 
boxes. All of the TRU waste (totaling approximately 37 cubic meters) 
was moved from the site's hot cell building to an onsite shielded area 
for temporary storage in order for decontamination and demolition of 
the hot cell building to proceed.\2\ DOE does not believe that 
additional TRU waste will be generated at the West Jefferson site.
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    \2\ In that same ROD, DOE also decided to transfer approximately 
9 cubic meters of waste from ETEC to Hanford. Due to DOE 
repackaging, the actual volume of TRU waste shipped was 
approximately 4 cubic meters. DOE completed those shipments in 
December 2002.
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    In March 2003, DOE suspended further shipments of West Jefferson 
TRU waste to Hanford, and subsequently a preliminary injunction 
stopping further shipments of TRU waste to Hanford was issued by the 
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington in response 
to actions filed by the State of Washington and Columbia Riverkeeper 
(Nos. CT-03-5018AAM and CT-03-

[[Page 39448]]

5044AAM). Shipments of TRU waste from West Jefferson to Hanford for 
storage and future certification for disposal at WIPP have remained 
suspended pending completion of the HSW EIS and lifting of the 
preliminary injunction.
    DOE completed the Final HSW EIS in January 2004, and EPA published 
a Notice of Availability of the HSW EIS on February 13, 2004 (69 FR 
7215). In the HSW EIS, DOE analyzed site specific impacts at Hanford 
associated with storage, processing, and certification of the West 
Jefferson and other TRU waste, and, using the most recent census data 
(Year 2000) and an updated version of the RADTRAN computer model, 
analyzed transportation impacts of shipping this waste. The analyses 
conducted in the HSW EIS confirmed conclusions previously reached by 
the WM PEIS and the WIPP Disposal Phase Supplemental EIS-II (WIPP-SEIS-
II, DOE/EIS-0026-S-2, September 1997), which supported DOE's September 
6, 2002, decision. These multiple NEPA reviews show that the impacts of 
transporting the West Jefferson TRU waste to Hanford, and the onsite 
impacts of storing, certifying, and processing this waste for shipment 
to WIPP are small.
    In the WIPP SEIS II ROD, based on the analysis In the WIPP SEIS II, 
DOE decided to dispose of up to 175,600 cubic meters of TRU waste 
generated from defense activities, including waste from the Battelle 
West Jefferson site, at WIPP. The Department reaffirmed that decision 
in the September 6, 2002, revision to the WMPEIS ROD with respect to 
the Battelle waste when it decided to transfer this waste to Hanford 
pursuant to that revision.
    Section 9(a)(1)(H) of the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act exempts mixed 
TRU waste designated for disposal at WIPP from certain provisions of 
the Solid Waste Disposal Act, 42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.:
    With respect to transuranic mixed waste designated by the Secretary 
for disposal at WIPP, such waste is exempt from treatment standards 
promulgated pursuant to section 3004(m) of the Solid Waste Disposal Act 
(42 U.S.C. 6924(m)) and shall not be subject to the land disposal 
prohibitions in section 3004(d), (e), (f) and (g) of the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act.

    WIPP Land Withdrawal Act Amendments, Public Law No. 104-201, 110 
Stat. 2422 (September 23, 1996), 3188(a) at Stat. 2853. In this ROD, 
the Department confirms its prior designation of the mixed TRU waste at 
West Jefferson for disposal at WIPP in the WIPP SEIS II ROD and the 
September 2002 revision to the WM PEIS ROD.
    EPA has approved DOE's implementation plans to characterize 
defense-related RH-TRU waste for disposal at WIPP. DOE is still 
awaiting approval of its RH waste analysis plan. DOE anticipates that 
WIPP will begin disposal of RH-TRU waste in the 2006 time frame. For 
the reasons explained in the Department's Revised Record of Decision 
for the Department of Energy's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal 
Phase, issued concurrently with this ROD, the need for additional 
regulatory approval that DOE is actively seeking and reasonably expects 
to be able to obtain is not an obstacle to designation of this waste 
under section 9(a)(1)(H) of the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act.

II. Decision

    DOE intends to complete the action stated in its September 6, 2002, 
ROD and ship the TRU waste currently stored at the West Jefferson Site 
in Columbus, Ohio, to the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. This 
waste consists of approximately 115 drums (about 25 cubic meters) of 
RH-TRU waste and 6 standard waste boxes (about 12 cubic meters) of CH-
TRU waste. DOE intends to transfer the RH-TRU waste in approximately 14 
shipments using truck-mounted, Type B shipping containers licensed by 
the NRC, and the CH waste in one shipment, also in NRC-licensed, truck-
mounted Type B containers.
    At Hanford, DOE will store the West Jefferson RH-TRU in shielded 
containers at solid (radioactive and mixed) waste management facilities 
located in the 200 West Area of the site until this waste can be 
accepted at WIPP. West Jefferson CH-TRU waste will be assayed at 
Hanford, and any fraction determined to be low-level waste (LLW) will 
be disposed of at Hanford in lined trenches.\3\ West Jefferson is 
currently an approved generator site for disposal of LLW at Hanford.
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    \3\ Concurrently with the issuance of this ROD, DOE is issuing a 
ROD under the HSW EIS (Record of Decision for the Solid Waste 
Program, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington: Storage and Treatment 
of Low-Level Waste and Mixed Low-Level Waste; Disposal of Low-Level 
Waste and Mixed Low-Level Waste; and Storage, Processing, and 
Certification of Transuranic Waste for Shipment to the Waste 
Isolation Pilot Plant). DOE's decisions for onsite LLW disposal at 
Hanford include a requirement to dispose of such waste in lined 
trenches.
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    The remaining fraction would be CH-TRU waste, which would be 
packaged and certified to meet the WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria, and 
ultimately shipped to WIPP for disposal.

III. Basis for the Decision

    DOE needs to ship its TRU waste from the West Jefferson site in 
order to complete the cleanup of contaminated facilities at this site 
in a timely manner. The TRU waste is predominantly RH-TRU waste, which 
cannot presently be accepted at WIPP for disposal. Continued storage of 
the TRU waste on the West Jefferson Site until WIPP is ready to receive 
the RH-TRU waste (estimated to be in the 2006 time frame) may require 
construction of a new, shielded facility licensed by the State of Ohio 
and the NRC. Construction of a new facility could not be completed by 
the West Jefferson scheduled closure date of December 2005. Also, 
building a new facility would divert funding away from necessary clean-
up activities, be inconsistent with DOE's goal of early removal of 
radioactive waste from privately owned sites, and result in additional 
costs for decontaminating and decommissioning the storage building. DOE 
thus needs to ship the TRU waste to another DOE site that has the 
requisite remote-handling and storage capabilities. In addition, DOE 
needs to ship the West Jefferson CH-TRU waste to a DOE site having the 
capabilities to process and certify CH-TRU waste for WIPP in order to 
avoid the cost required to establish such capability at West Jefferson, 
particularly for such a small waste volume.
    The Hanford Site, located in Washington State near Richland, has an 
established radioactive waste management capability in the central 
plateau (200 Area) of the 586-square mile (1,520-square kilometer) 
reservation. DOE's Hanford Site offers a practical, safe, and secure 
location for storing the TRU waste from West Jefferson. Hanford is 
certifying and shipping CH-TRU waste according to WIPP's Waste 
Acceptance Criteria and applicable state and federal regulations. RH- 
and CH-TRU waste have been, are being, and will be managed at Hanford, 
which has trained waste management personnel and storage capacity for 
TRU waste at waste management facilities located in the 200 Area of the 
site. The Hanford Site's planning for facilities and operations to 
characterize, certify and package RH-TRU waste is also well 
underway.\4\
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    \4\ The Hanford Solid Waste EIS analyzed construction of new and 
modification of existing facilities to characterize and prepare RH-
TRU waste at the Hanford Site.
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    The potential health and environmental impacts of this decision 
would be small. The HSW EIS included an updated route-specific 
transportation analysis of potential low-level waste,

[[Page 39449]]

mixed low-level waste, and TRU waste shipments using Year 2000 census 
data and an updated version of the RADTRAN computer code to calculate 
potential risks associated with shipping. This analysis included the 
route-specific impacts of transporting the West Jefferson TRU waste to 
Hanford and subsequent shipment of this waste to WIPP. Due to the 
additional TRU waste generated and identified at West Jefferson 
subsequent to DOE's September 6, 2002, decision, DOE's currently 
estimated total number of 18 shipments (3 completed RH-TRU waste 
shipments, 14 remaining RH-TRU waste shipments, and 1 remaining CH-TRU 
waste shipment) exceeds DOE's prior estimate of total shipments by 3. 
However, the currently estimated number of shipments is within the 
number of shipments analyzed for the West Jefferson TRU waste in the 
HSW EIS (29 shipments of RH-TRU waste and 1 shipment of CH-TRU waste).
    The HSW EIS also analyzed potential onsite impacts at Hanford of 
storage, certification, and processing of TRU waste for shipment to 
WIPP, including TRU waste from Hanford and offsite generators such as 
West Jefferson. The potential health and environmental impacts of 
shipping the West Jefferson TRU waste to Hanford and managing the waste 
there until it can be shipped to WIPP for disposal are consistent with 
the results presented in the WM PEIS and WIPP SEIS-II, which supported 
DOE's prior decision regarding the West Jefferson TRU waste.
    For the reasons stated above and for the reasons stated in the 
September 6, 2002, revision to the WM PEIS, DOE is confirming its 
September 6, 2002, decision and will transfer the remaining TRU waste 
from West Jefferson to Hanford for storage and certification, pending 
shipment to WIPP for disposal once the preliminary injunction issued by 
the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington is 
lifted.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of June, 2004.
Jessie Hill Roberson,
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.
[FR Doc. 04-14809 Filed 6-29-04; 8:45 am]
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