[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 73 (Friday, April 16, 1999)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 18870-18871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-9601]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 194
[FRL-6327-3]
RIN 2060-AG85
Waste Characterization Program Documents Applicable to
Transuranic Radioactive Waste at the Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory 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) 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 Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) proposed for
disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The documents are:
``Quality Assurance Project Plan for the Transuranic Waste
Characterization Program (PLN-190), Revision 3 (April 1999),'' ``INEEL
TRU Waste Characterization, Transportation, and Certification Quality
Program Plan (PLN-182), Revision 3 (April 1999),'' and ``Program Plan
for Certification of INEEL Contact-Handled Stored Transuranic Waste
(INEL-96/0345), Revision 2 (April 1999).'' These documents are
available for review in the public dockets listed in ADDRESSES. The EPA
will use these documents to evaluate waste characterization systems and
processes at INEEL that DOE described as applicable to waste streams
containing homogeneous solids, debris, and soils and gravels. In
accordance with EPA's WIPP Compliance Criteria at 40 CFR 194.8, EPA
will conduct an inspection of waste characterization systems and
processes at INEEL to verify that the proposed systems and processes at
INEEL can characterize transuranic waste at issue properly, consistent
with the Compliance Criteria. This notice of the inspection and comment
period accords with 40 CFR 194.8.
DATES: The EPA is requesting public comment on these documents.
Comments must be received by EPA's official Air Docket on or before May
17, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted to: Docket No. A-98-49, Air
Docket, Room M-1500 (LE-131), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 401
M Street, SW, Washington, DC, 20460.
The DOE documents ``Quality Assurance Project Plan for the
Transuranic Waste Characterization Program (PLN-190), Revision 3 (April
1999),'' ``INEEL TRU Waste Characterization, Transportation, and
Certification Quality Program Plan (PLN-182), Revision 3 (April
1999),'' and ``Program Plan for Certification of INEEL Contact-Handled
Stored Transuranic Waste (INEL-96/0345), Revision 2 (April 1999),'' are
available for review in the official EPA Air Docket in Washington,
D.C., Docket No. A-98-49, Category II-A-2, and at the
[[Page 18871]]
following three EPA WIPP informational docket locations in New Mexico:
in Carlsbad at the Municipal Library, Hours: Monday-Thursday, 10 am-9
pm, Friday-Saturday, 10 am-6 pm, and Sunday, 1 pm-5 pm; in Albuquerque
at the Government Publications Department, Zimmerman Library,
University of New Mexico, Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 am-9pm, Friday, 8
am-5 pm, Saturday-Sunday, 1 pm-5 pm; and in Santa Fe at the Fogelson
Library, College of Santa Fe, Hours: Monday-Thursday, 8 am-12 pm,
Friday, 8 am-5 pm, Saturday, 9 am-5 pm, and Sunday, 1 pm-9 pm.
Copies of items in the docket may be requested by writing Docket A-
98-49 at the address provided above, or by calling (202) 260-7548. 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: Jim Oliver, 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 website at http://
www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp/announce.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DOE is developing 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),
TRU waste consists of materials containing elements having atomic
numbers greater than 92 (with half-lives greater than twenty years), in
concentrations greater than 100 nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU
isotopes per gram of waste. Most TRU waste consists of items
contaminated during the production of nuclear weapons, such as rags,
equipment, tools, and organic and inorganic 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 states that the WIPP will comply with the EPA's
radioactive waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR part 191, subparts B
and C.
The final WIPP certification decision includes a condition that
prohibits shipment of TRU waste for disposal at WIPP from any site
other than LANL until EPA has approved the procedures developed to
comply with the waste characterization requirements of
Sec. 194.24(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, DOE is required
to submit to EPA appropriate documentation of 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,
D.C., and in informational dockets in the State of New Mexico, for
public review and comment.
EPA inspected certain waste characterization processes at INEEL on
July 28-30, 1998. DOE is proposing to use processes that EPA did not
previously inspect at INEEL that are applicable to waste streams in the
categories of homogeneous solids, debris waste, and soils and gravels.
EPA will conduct an inspection of INEEL to verify that these additional
processes comply with 40 CFR 194.24.
The INEEL documents submitted to EPA are: ``Quality Assurance
Project Plan for the Transuranic Waste Characterization Program (PLN-
190), Revision 3 (April 1999),'' ``INEEL TRU Waste Characterization,
Transportation, and Certification Quality Program Plan (PLN-182),
Revision 3 (April 1999),'' and ``Program Plan for Certification of
INEEL Contact-Handled Stored Transuranic Waste (INEL-96/0345), Revision
2 (April 1999).'' The ``Quality Assurance Project Plan for the
Transuranic Waste Characterization Program (PLN-190), Revision 3 (April
1999)'' and the ``INEEL TRU Waste Characterization, Transportation, and
Certification Quality Program Plan (PLN-182), Revision 3 (April 1999)''
set forth the quality assurance program applied to TRU waste
characterization at INEEL. The ``Program Plan for Certification of
INEEL Contact-Handled Stored Transuranic Waste (INEL-96/0345), Revision
2 (April 1999)'' sets forth the waste characterization procedures for
TRU wastes at INEEL. After EPA reviews these documents, EPA will
conduct an inspection of INEEL to determine whether the requirements
set forth in these documents are being adequately implemented in
accordance with Condition 3 of the EPA's WIPP certification decision
(appendix A to 40 CFR part 194). In accordance with Sec. 194.8 of the
WIPP compliance criteria, EPA is providing the public 30 days to
comment on the documents placed in EPA's docket relevant to the site
approval process.
If EPA determines that the provisions in the documents are
adequately implemented, EPA will notify the DOE by letter and place the
letter in the official Air Docket in Washington, D.C., and in the
informational docket locations in New Mexico. A positive approval
letter will allow DOE to ship additional TRU waste from INEEL. 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 EPA's radioactive waste disposal standards (40
CFR part 191), the compliance criteria (40 CFR part 194), and the EPA's
certification decision is filed in the official EPA Air Docket, Dockets
No. R-89-01, A-92-56, and A-93-02, respectively, and is available for
review in Washington, D.C., and at the 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, D.C., plus
those documents added to the official Air Docket after the October 1992
enactment of the WIPP LWA.
Dated: April 12, 1999.
Robert Perciasepe,
Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.
[FR Doc. 99-9601 Filed 4-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P