[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 197 (Friday, October 10, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 61268-61271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24260]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 191 and 194
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2014-0609; FRL-9917-73-OAR]
Review Process To Determine Whether the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant Continues To Comply With the Disposal Regulations and Compliance
Criteria
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
ACTION: Notice of availability; official opening of public comment
period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, or the Agency)
intends to evaluate whether or not the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
(WIPP) continues to comply with the Agency's environmental radiation
protection standards for the disposal of radioactive waste. Pursuant to
the 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA), as amended, the
[[Page 61269]]
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE, or the Department) must submit
documentation of continued compliance with the EPA's standards for
disposal and other statutory requirements every five years after the
initial receipt of transuranic waste at WIPP.
The DOE's 2014 Compliance Recertification Application (CRA) was
received by the EPA on March 26, 2014, and a copy may be found on the
EPA's WIPP Web site (http://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp/2014application.html) and in the public dockets (see ADDRESSES
Section). The EPA will determine when the DOE has provided a complete
application; the Agency's completeness determination will be conveyed
to the DOE and published in the Federal Register. The EPA will evaluate
the ``complete'' application in determining whether the WIPP facility
continues to comply with the radiation protection standards for
disposal. The Agency requests public comment on all aspects of the
DOE's application.
DATES: Comments in response to DOE's 2014 recertification application
must be received by the end of the comment period. The comment period
will extend beyond the time when the EPA notifies the DOE that the
recertification application is complete. The ending date of the public
comment period will be specified in a subsequent Federal Register
document. Announcements will be published in the Federal Register to
provide information on the Agency's completeness determination and
final recertification decision.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2014-0609, by one of the following methods:
www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for
submitting comments.
Email: to [email protected].
Fax: 202-566-1741.
Mail: Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Instructions: Direct your comments to Attn: Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2014-0609. The Agency's policy is that all comments received will
be included in the public docket without change and may be made
available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal
information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed
to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information
that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through
www.regulations.gov or email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an
``anonymous access'' system, which means the EPA will not know your
identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of
your comment. If you send an email comment directly to the EPA without
going through www.regulations.gov your email address will be
automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is
placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you
submit an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your
name and other contact information in the body of your comment and with
any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due
to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the
EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should
avoid the use of special characters or any form of encryption and be
free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about the
EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy.
Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically
at www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket,
the EPA/DC, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone
number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone
number for the Air and Radiation Docket is (202) 566-1742. As provided
in the EPA's regulations at 40 CFR part 2, and in accordance with
normal the EPA docket procedures, if copies of any docket materials are
requested, a reasonable fee may be charged for photocopying.
These documents are also available for review in electronic (CD/
DVD) format at the WIPP Information Center in DOE's Carlsbad Field
Office (Skeen-Whitlock Building). The Carlsbad WIPP Information Center
is open from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding
legal holidays. The telephone number for the WIPP Information Center is
1-800-336-WIPP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray Lee, Office of Radiation and
Indoor Air, Radiation Protection Division, Center for Radiation
Information and Outreach, Mail Code 6608T, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20460;
telephone number: 202-343-9463; fax number: 202-343-2305; email
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for the EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA
through www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the information that
you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk or CD-ROM that you
mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD-ROM as CBI and then
identify electronically within the disk or CD-ROM the specific
information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one complete version
of the comment that includes information claimed as CBI, a copy of the
comment that does not contain the information claimed as CBI must be
submitted for inclusion in the public docket. Information so marked
will not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in
40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
Follow directions--the agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and
suggest alternatives.
Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
The WIPP was authorized in 1980, under section 213 of the DOE
National
[[Page 61270]]
Security and Military Applications of Nuclear Energy Authorization Act
of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-164, 93 Stat. 1259, 1265), ``for the express
purpose of providing a research and development facility to demonstrate
the safe disposal of radioactive wastes resulting from the defense
activities and programs of the United States.'' The WIPP is a disposal
system for transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste. Developed by the DOE,
the facility is located near Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico. TRU
waste is emplaced 2,150 feet underground in an ancient layer of salt
that will eventually ``creep'' and encapsulate the waste containers.
The WIPP has a total capacity of 6.2 million cubic feet of TRU waste.
The 1992 WIPP LWA (Pub. L. 102-579) \1\ limits radioactive waste
disposal in the WIPP to TRU radioactive wastes generated by defense-
related activities. TRU waste is defined as waste containing more than
100 nano-curies per gram of alpha-emitting radioactive isotopes, with
half-lives greater than twenty years and atomic numbers greater than
92. The Act further stipulates that radioactive waste shall not be TRU
waste if such waste also meets the definition of high-level radioactive
waste, has been specifically exempted from regulation with the
concurrence of the Administrator, or has been approved for an alternate
method of disposal by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The TRU
radioactive waste proposed for disposal in the WIPP consists of
materials such as rags, equipment, tools, protective gear and sludges
that have become contaminated during atomic energy defense activities.
The radioactive component of TRU waste consists of man-made elements
created during the process of nuclear fission, chiefly isotopes of
plutonium. Some TRU waste is contaminated with hazardous wastes
regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA; 42
U.S.C. 6901-6992k). The waste proposed for disposal at the WIPP derives
from Federal facilities across the United States, including locations
in Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina,
Tennessee, and Washington.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act was amended by the ``Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act Amendments,'' which were
part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The WIPP must meet the EPA's generic disposal standards at 40 CFR
Part 191, Subparts B and C, for high-level and TRU radioactive waste.
These standards limit releases of radioactive materials from disposal
systems for radioactive waste, and require implementation of measures
to provide confidence for compliance with the radiation release limits.
Additionally, the regulations limit radiation doses to members of the
public, and protect ground water resources by establishing maximum
concentrations for radionuclides in ground water. To determine whether
the WIPP facility meets these disposal standards, the Agency issued the
1997 WIPP Compliance Criteria (40 CFR part 194), which interprets and
implement the disposal standards specifically for the WIPP site. The
Compliance Criteria--along with its accompanying preamble and
supporting documents--describe what information the DOE must provide
and how the EPA evaluates WIPP's performance and provides ongoing
independent oversight. Thus, the Agency implemented its environmental
radiation protection standards, 40 CFR part 191, by applying the WIPP
Compliance Criteria, 40 CFR part 194, to the disposal of TRU
radioactive waste at the WIPP. For more information about 40 CFR part
191, refer to Federal Register notices published in 1985 (50 FR 38066-
38089, September 19, 1985) and 1993 (58 FR 66398-66416, December 20,
1993). For more information about 40 CFR part 194, refer to Federal
Register notices published in 1996 (61 FR 5224-5245, February 9, 1996)
and 1995 (60 FR 5766-5791, January 30, 1995).
Using the process outlined in the WIPP Compliance Criteria, the EPA
determined on May 18, 1998 (63 FR 27354), that DOE had demonstrated
that the WIPP complied with Agency's radioactive waste disposal
regulations at subparts B and C of 40 CFR part 191. The EPA's
certification determination permitted the WIPP to begin accepting TRU
waste for disposal, provided that other applicable conditions and
environmental regulations were met.
Since the 1998 certification decision, the EPA has conducted
ongoing independent technical review and inspections of all WIPP
activities related to compliance with the EPA's disposal regulations.
The initial certification decision identified the starting (baseline)
conditions for the WIPP site and established the waste and facility
characteristics necessary to ensure proper disposal in accordance with
the regulations. At that time, the EPA and the DOE understood that
future information and knowledge gained from the actual operations of
the WIPP would result in changes to best practices and procedures for
the facility.
In recognition of this, section 8(f) of the amended WIPP LWA
requires the EPA to evaluate all changes in conditions or activities at
the WIPP every five years to determine if the facility continues to
comply with the Agency's disposal regulations. This determination is
not subject to standard rulemaking procedures or judicial review, as
stated in the aforementioned section of the WIPP LWA.
The first recertification process began with the DOE's submittal of
the initial CRA, which was received by the Agency on March 26, 2004.
The EPA deemed the CRA-2004 to be complete on September 29, 2005, and
published its first WIPP recertification decision on March 29, 2006 (71
FR 18010).
The EPA received the Department's second CRA on March 24, 2009. The
Agency deemed the CRA-2009 to be complete on June 29, 2010, and
published the second WIPP recertification decision on November 18, 2010
(75 FR 70584).
The EPA received the Department's third CRA on March 26, 2014.
After EPA has determined that the application is complete, the Agency
will review the CRA-2014 to ensure that all of the changes made at the
WIPP since the second recertification process have been accurately
reflected and that the facility will continue to safely contain TRU
radioactive waste. If the EPA approves the CRA-2014, it will set the
parameters for how the WIPP will be operated by the DOE over the next
five years. This approved CRA-2014 (along with any supplemental
completeness information submitted by the DOE) will then serve as the
baseline for the next recertification that will occur starting in 2019.
An important consideration in the EPA's review of the DOE's CRA-
2014 is the radiation release that took place in the WIPP's underground
disposal area in February 2014. Recovery activities are currently
ongoing. EPA conducted oversight activities in response to the incident
and these activities are discussed on EPA's Web site (http://www.epa.gov/radiation/news/wipp-news.html#wippradevent). EPA's review
confirmed that DOE remains in compliance with EPA's standards; however,
EPA identified several areas where improvements would enhance DOE's
ability to provide the best possible information to the public and its
partner agencies during a release. Although the incident took place
after the preparation of the CRA-2014, the Department has indicated
that changes will need to be made to the WIPP disposal system in order
to reopen the facility and that the DOE will provide supplemental
information to the Agency on the incident and potential ramifications
on compliance. This
[[Page 61271]]
information will be made available in the Agency's public dockets and
posted on EPA's WIPP Web site. The EPA is currently considering how
anticipated changes in the facility design will impact the
recertification process.
With today's notice, the Agency solicits public comment on the
DOE's documentation of whether the WIPP facility continues to comply
with the disposal regulations. A copy of the application is available
for inspection on the EPA's WIPP Web site (http://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp/2014application.html) and in the public dockets
described in the ADDRESSES section. Other background information
related to the Agency's recertification activities are also available
in our public dockets and on our WIPP Web site. The EPA will evaluate
the complete application in determining whether the WIPP continues to
comply with the radiation protection standards for disposal. In
addition, the EPA will consider public comment and other information
relevant to the WIPP's compliance. The Agency is most interested in
public comment on issues where changes have occurred that may
potentially impact the WIPP's ability to remain in compliance with the
requirements in the EPA's disposal regulations, as well as any areas
where the public believes that changes have occurred and have not been
identified by the DOE. Additionally the Agency expects to provide
public meetings in New Mexico during the review process to encourage
and facilitate participation by interested stakeholders.
The first step in the recertification process is a ``completeness''
determination. The EPA will make this completeness determination as a
first step in its more extensive technical review of the application.
This determination is based on a number of the Agency's WIPP-specific
guidances, most notably, the ``Compliance Application Guidance'' (CAG;
EPA Pub. 402-R-95-014) and ``Guidance to the U.S. Department of Energy
on Preparation for Recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
with 40 CFR Parts 191 and 194'' (Docket A-98-49, Item II-B3-14;
December 12, 2000). Both guidance documents include guidelines
regarding: (1) Content of certification/recertification applications;
(2) documentation and format requirements; (3) time frame and
evaluation process; and (4) change reporting and modification. The
Agency developed these guidance documents to assist the DOE with the
preparation of any compliance application for the WIPP. It is the
Agency's intent that these guidance documents give the DOE and the
public a general understanding of the information that is expected to
be included in a complete application of compliance. However, the DOE
does not have to resubmit information already supplied to the EPA in
prior recertification applications. Thus, the focus of each
recertification is on any changes to the disposal system since the
previous recertification decision (in this case, 2009-2010). The EPA
may request additional information as necessary from the Department to
ensure the completeness of the CRA.
Once the 2014 recertification application is deemed complete, the
EPA will provide the DOE with written notification of its completeness
determination and publish a Federal Register notice announcing this
determination. All correspondence between the EPA and the DOE regarding
the completeness of the CRA-2014, as well as any additional
supplemental information submitted by the Department, will be posted on
our Web site and placed in the public dockets.
The EPA will make a final decision as to whether the WIPP continues
to meet the disposal regulations after each of the aforementioned steps
(technical analysis of the application, issuance of a notice on the
CRA-2014's completeness in the Federal Register, and analyses of public
comment) have been completed. As required by the WIPP LWA, the Agency
will make a final recertification decision within six months of issuing
its completeness determination.
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 191 and 194
Environmental protection, Radiation protection, Transuranic
radioactive waste, Waste treatment and disposal, Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant.
Dated: October 1, 2014.
Michael P. Flynn,
Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.
[FR Doc. 2014-24260 Filed 10-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P