State & Federal Governments Agree on Clean-up Plan for Buried Waste

Tag : chemical wastes

NEWS RELEASE
The State of Idaho and the federal government today announced theiragreement to a cleanup plan for buried waste at the Idaho NationalLaboratory that provides for the long-term protection of the SnakeRiver Plain Aquifer.

The agreement implements a 2006 federal court order in coordinationwith ongoing Superfund cleanup of the area. It marks the end ofsix years of litigation between the U.S. Department of Energy andthe State of Idaho, and it will satisfy DOE's commitment to Idahoto remove transuranic (plutonium-contaminated) waste buried at INLdecades ago.

"This agreement reflects years of effort, scientific advancement,diligent follow-up, and most of all building trust," Governor Ottersaid. "We enter into this agreement confident that it is in thebest interest of the aquifer, the Idaho National Laboratory, andall Idahoans. With the support of my predecessors in this office,it represents our best effort - and our highest aspirations - forsecuring a safe and productive future."

"Today's plan satisfies the requirements of Judge Lodge's 2006decision by requiring the removal of transuranic waste from Idaho,consistent with the court's direction to protect worker safety,"Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden said. "Although ourlitigation was lengthy, it concluded in a sensible agreement tofulfill DOE's commitment to Idaho."

"The Department of Energy is pleased to reach an agreement with thestate of Idaho on a cleanup plan that assures the Snake River Plainis protected," DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental ManagementJames A. Rispoli said. "After an extensive evaluation of technicaldata and careful consideration of public input, we believe thisapproach will be protective of the environment and ensure workersafety and our national security."

Former Idaho Governors Phil Batt and Cecil Andrus, whose previousnegotiations with DOE laid the foundation for today's agreement,also attended today's announcement.

"This framework takes a practical, comprehensive approach toaddress an issue that does not have an easy solution," formerGovernor Batt said. "It is an important step toward achieving agoal I set back in 1995 - proper cleanup of INL's historicproblems."

"Finally, after all of these years, the federal government hasagreed to comply with the removal of the transuranic waste that hasbeen buried in Idaho for too long," former Governor Andrus said.

"EPA is glad to see this issue resolved. The waste retrievalrequired by this settlement is consistent with the proposed cleanupstrategy for site and an important step forward in dealing with thewaste disposal legacy at the Idaho National Lab," EPA RegionalAdministrator Elin Miller said.

The cleanup plan was developed after an exhaustive technical reviewand balancing of potential risks to the public, workers, and theenvironment. The plan takes into account public feedback to a draftproposal issued under the Superfund cleanup process.

Most of the radioactivity from plutonium and other transuranicelements buried in the Subsurface Disposal Area is located in asmall percentage of the waste volume. The plan identifies a rangefrom 5.7 acres to 7.4 acres for shipment of no less than 7,485cubic meters of targeted wastes most likely to be contaminated withtransuranic elements (such as plutonium), as well as uranium, andvolatile organic compounds (hazardous chemical solvents similar tocleaning fluids that move easily in groundwater).

Retrieval areas were selected based on the densities of wasteidentified through disposal records and geophysical evaluations,and a review of factors that may affect the relative risks tocleanup workers, the public and the environment.

DOE will treat retrieved waste for shipment out of Idaho. The planaddresses remaining contamination in the Subsurface Disposal Areathrough a combination of continued vacuuming of hazardous chemicalvapors, grouting of some more mobile contaminants, and a long-termcap. Long-term monitoring and reevaluation of cleanup performanceat least every five years will assure the approach is protectingthe public and safeguarding the aquifer.

The cleanup of the Subsurface Disposal involves two different legalprocesses: (1) removal of transuranic waste under the 1995Settlement Agreement between the State and DOE, and (2) overallSuperfund cleanup of contamination from the Subsurface DisposalArea. The legal documents that will work together to govern thesetwo aspects of cleanup of the Subsurface Disposal Area are: Agreement to Implement U.S. District Court Order dated May 25,2006, subject to approval by U.S. District Court Judge EdwardLodge. Record of Decision for Waste Area Group 7 (a draft is in the reviewprocess by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, State of IdahoDepartment of Environmental Quality and U.S. Department of Energy).
The Subsurface Disposal Area at the INL began receiving waste in1952. The area contains a wide array of radioactive and chemicalwastes, located in approximately 35 acres of disposal pits andtrenches in a 97-acre site. Transuranic (plutonium-contaminated)waste from the Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado is distributedunevenly in pits and trenches in roughly 15 acres of the landfill.

Cleanup of the Subsurface Disposal Area has long been the subjectof disputes between Idaho and DOE.
In 2002, Idaho brought legal proceedings in U.S. District Court todetermine DOE's obligation to Idaho under the 1995 SettlementAgreement regarding transuranic waste in the Subsurface DisposalArea. In May 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Lodgedetermined the 1995 Settlement Agreement obligates DOE to removetransuranic waste from the Subsurface Disposal Area, with safety ofwaste removal taken into account. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court ofAppeals recently upheld Judge Lodge's decision.