[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57887-57888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15560]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0309; FRL-12079-01-OAR]


Planned Change Request for Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 
Replacement Panels 11 and 12

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) seeks 
public comment on a Planned Change Request (PCR) recently submitted by 
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to modify the Waste Isolation Pilot 
Plant (WIPP) to replace lost disposal capacity resulting from the 2014 
radiological incident and ground control issues throughout WIPP's 
operational history. The proposed change will involve adding two 
additional waste panels to the west of the current repository and 
connecting those panels to the existing facility via the west main 
access drifts (tunnels) currently under construction. EPA is soliciting 
public comments on both the DOE application and on what EPA should 
consider in its evaluation of DOE's PCR.

DATES: Comments may be submitted on or before September 16, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2024-0309, by any of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov 
(our preferred method). Follow the online instructions for submitting 
comments.
     Email: [email protected]. Include Docket ID No. EPA-
HQ-OAR-2024-0309 in the subject line of the message.
     U.S. Postal Service Mail: U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, EPA Docket Center, Air and Radiation Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Docket Center, WJC West 
Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004. 
The Docket Center's hours of operations are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., 
Monday-Friday (except Federal Holidays).
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0309. Comments received may be posted without 
change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal 
information provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments, 
see the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. A copy of 
the DOE's 2024 PCR is linked on EPA's WIPP website (https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-03/24-0168-wipp-pcr-panels-letter-enclosures.pdf).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray Lee, Radiation Protection 
Division, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Mail Code 6608T, 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: (202) 343-9463; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Submit your comments, identified by Docket 
ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0309, at https://www.regulations.gov (our 
preferred method), or the other methods identified in the ADDRESSES 
section.
    Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from the 
docket. EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do 
not submit electronically any information you consider to be 
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose 
disclosure is restricted by statute. The written comment is considered 
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you 
wish to

[[Page 57888]]

make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents 
located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 
other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full 
EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia 
submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please 
visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
    Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the document by docket number, subject heading, 
Federal Register date, and page number.
     Provide a brief description of yourself and your role or 
organization.
     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.
     Illustrate your concerns with specific examples 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.
    Public information session. EPA will be hosting public information 
sessions during the comment period in the Carlsbad, NM and Santa Fe, NM 
locales. Additional details about timing and the registration process 
for the information sessions will be shared on EPA's WIPP website at 
https://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp-news. This information will also be 
distributed by the WIPP-NEWS email listserv. The information sessions 
will include presentations from both EPA and DOE regarding the content 
and review of the PCR. Additionally, there will be a facilitated 
discussion surrounding questions EPA plans to address/has addressed 
with DOE related to the PCR. Participants will also have an opportunity 
to ask clarifying questions and provide comments on the contents of the 
PCR.

I. Background

    The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a transuranic (TRU) 
radioactive waste disposal system developed by the DOE that is located 
near Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico. TRU radioactive waste is 
emplaced about 650 meters (2,150 feet) underground in an ancient layer 
of salt that will eventually ``creep,'' encapsulate, and isolate the 
waste from the surrounding environment. The 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal 
Act (Pub. L. 102-579) (LWA) limits radioactive waste disposal in the 
WIPP to TRU radioactive wastes generated by defense-related 
activities.\1\ The WIPP LWA provides EPA with authority to oversee and 
regulate the WIPP. The WIPP must meet EPA's generic radioactive waste 
disposal standards at 40 CFR part 191, subparts B and C. 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.
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    \1\ 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.
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    In 1996, the Agency issued the WIPP Compliance Criteria, which are 
located at 40 CFR part 194, as mandated by WIPP LWA, section 8(c).\2\ 
DOE submitted the initial WIPP Compliance Certification Application 
(CCA) in 1996. The Agency then issued the certification decision on May 
18, 1998, determining that the WIPP met the standards for radioactive 
waste disposal. Since the 1998 certification decision, EPA has 
conducted ongoing independent technical reviews, certification/
recertifications, and inspections of all WIPP activities related to 
compliance with the Agency's disposal regulations. The WIPP has been 
recertified four times since the initial CCA in 1996, with the most 
recent recertification decision occurring in 2022.\3\
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    \2\ 61 FR 5224-5245 (February 9, 1996).
    \3\ 87 FR 26126 (May 3, 2022).
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    As part of the original design of the WIPP repository in the 
initial CCA, the underground waste disposal region at WIPP is divided 
into panels. A panel is a group of rooms mined into the salt, connected 
by tunnels called drifts. EPA certified the WIPP in 1998 and most 
recently recertified the WIPP in 2022 based on a planned footprint of 
10 waste panels.
    On March 14, 2024, EPA received a planned change request (PCR) from 
DOE per 40 CFR 194.4(b)(3) that seeks the Agency's approval to add two 
replacement waste panels to the west of the current repository. These 
two panels, 11 and 12, are being constructed to replace waste disposal 
volume that was lost in panels 7 and 9 due to the 2014 radiological 
release that contaminated the south end of the repository.\4\ 
Additionally, panels 1 and 2 were not completely filled due to ground 
control issues from being kept open so long before waste was emplaced. 
DOE has calculated that to replace the volume lost, 1.7 panels of waste 
volume will be needed, rounded up to 2 panels for construction.\5\ DOE 
also states that the waste volume with panels 11 and 12 will not exceed 
the LWA waste disposal volume limit. The PCR contains a performance 
assessment DOE has conducted to support a demonstration that the 
repository will continue to meet the numeric release limits of EPA's 
disposal regulations for the WIPP. As part of the performance 
assessment, DOE calculated releases based on a repository design of 19 
panels, which is the anticipated WIPP repository configuration at the 
time of closure. With this PCR, DOE is only seeking EPA's approval of 
the two new planned panels and has provided documentation to address 
the two new panels within the context of the 19-panel design. DOE would 
have to submit a separate request for approval of any additional panels 
beyond panels 11 and 12.
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    \4\ For a discussion of the 2014 incidents at the WIPP, see 
EPA's third recertification determination. 82 FR 33106, 33107 (July 
19, 2017).
    \5\ Knerr, R. (DOE/CBFO), Dunagan, S. (NWP LLC). Class 3 Permit 
Modification Request [Letter to Maestas, R. (NMED)] (July 30, 2021).
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II. Request for Comments

    The Agency is soliciting public comment on DOE's documentation of 
its PCR to add two new waste panels--panels 11 and 12--at the WIPP 
facility, and the demonstration of compliance with EPA's disposal 
regulations. Additional background information related to the Agency's 
review of DOE's application--including an electronic copy of the PCR 
itself--is available in the public docket \6\ established for this 
action and on the EPA WIPP website.\7\
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    \6\ Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2024-0309 (https://www.regulations.gov).
    \7\ https://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp-news#WIPP-PCR.
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    The Agency will accept comment until the September 16, 2024. Upon 
completion of EPA's evaluation of the PCR, the Agency will announce a 
decision on the proposed two new panels along with a response to 
comments document and related technical support documents.

Jonathan D. Edwards,
Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.
[FR Doc. 2024-15560 Filed 7-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P