Proposed Baseline Approval of the Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Characterization Program Implemented at the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories
| Citation | 84 FR 65383 |
| Published date | 27 November 2019 |
| Record Number | 2019-25671 |
| Section | Notices |
| Court | Environmental Protection Agency |
Federal Register, Volume 84 Issue 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2019)
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 229 (Wednesday, November 27, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65383-65386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-25671]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0634; FRL-10002-58-OAR]
Proposed Baseline Approval of the Remote-Handled Transuranic
Waste Characterization Program Implemented at the Department of
Energy's Sandia National Laboratories
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of availability; opening of a 45-day public comment
period.
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SUMMARY: The EPA is proposing to approve SNL's remote-handled
transuranic waste characterization program based on the inspections
conducted on June 24-25, 2014, and the offsite document review
conducted April-July 2019. Until the Agency finalizes its baseline
approval decision, the Carlsbad Field Office may not recertify SNL's
waste characterization program and the site may not ship transuranic
waste to the WIPP for disposal.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 13, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2019-0634, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not
electronically submit any information you consider to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered
the official comment and should include discussion of all points you
wish to make. The 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: http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Edward Feltcorn (202-343-9422) or
Jerry Ellis (202-564-2766), Radiation Protection Division, Center for
Waste Management and Regulations, Mail Code 6608T, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20460; fax
number: 202-343-2305; email addresses: [email protected] or
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA through
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of 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.
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 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is
announcing the availability of, and soliciting public comment on, this
proposed action. Initially, the EPA approved the Sandia National
Laboratories' (SNL) remote-handled transuranic waste characterization
program in November 2011 for a limited duration, allowing the site to
ship waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for disposal (EPA
Docket No. A-98-49; II-A4-155). In May 2014, the Department of Energy's
Carlsbad Field Office informed the EPA that SNL had identified
additional remote-handled transuranic debris waste requiring a new
baseline inspection in accordance with 40 CFR 194.8. The EPA conducted
this second baseline inspection in two phases. During the first phase,
the EPA observed waste characterization activities while onsite at SNL
in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and concurrently interviewed cognizant
personnel offsite in Denver, Colorado, on June 24-25, 2014. In the
second phase of the baseline inspection, the Agency reviewed waste
characterization records offsite from April-July 2019 in Washington,
DC. The EPA's report documenting the inspection results and proposed
baseline approval is available for review in the public dockets listed
in the ADDRESSES section of this document.
The DOE operates the WIPP facility near Carlsbad in southeastern
New Mexico as a deep geologic repository for disposal of defense-
related transuranic (TRU) radioactive waste. TRU waste contains more
than 100 nanocuries of alpha-emitting TRU isotopes, with half-lives
greater than twenty years, per gram of waste. Much of the existing TRU
waste, which may also be contaminated with hazardous chemicals,
consists of items contaminated during the production of nuclear
weapons, such as debris waste (rags, equipment, tools) and solid waste
(sludges, soil).
[[Page 65384]]
Section 8(d)(2) of the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) of 1992
provided that the EPA would certify whether the WIPP facility will
comply with the Agency's final disposal regulations, later codified at
40 CFR part 191, subparts B and C. On May 13, 1998, the Agency
announced its final compliance certification to the Secretary of Energy
(published May 18, 1998; 63 FR 27354), certifying that the WIPP will
comply with the disposal regulations. The EPA's certification of the
WIPP was subject to various conditions, including conditions concerning
quality assurance and waste characterization relating to EPA
inspections, evaluations and approvals of the site-specific TRU waste
characterization programs to ensure compliance with various EPA
regulatory requirements, including those at 40 CFR 194.8,
194.22(a)(2)(i), 194.22(c)(4), 194.24(c)(3) and 194.24(c)(5). In
addition, under the LWA, the initial WIPP certification was subject to
quinquennial (every five years) recertification by the Agency.
The EPA's inspection and approval processes for waste generator
sites, including quality assurance and waste characterization programs,
are described at 40 CFR 194.8. Between November 2005 and April 2012,
the EPA inspected waste characterization programs of previously
approved sites. The Agency has discretion in establishing technical
priorities; the ability to accommodate variation in the site's waste
characterization capabilities; and flexibility in scheduling site waste
characterization inspections.
In accordance with the conditions in the WIPP compliance
certification and relevant regulatory provisions, including 40 CFR
194.8, the EPA conducts ``baseline'' inspections at waste generator
sites, as well as subsequent inspections to confirm continued
compliance. As part of a baseline inspection, the EPA evaluates each
waste characterization process component (equipment, procedures and
personnel training and experience) for adequacy and appropriateness in
characterizing TRU waste intended for disposal at the WIPP. During the
inspection, the site demonstrates its capabilities to characterize TRU
waste(s) and its ability to comply with the regulatory limits and
tracking requirements under Sec. 194.24. The baseline inspection can
result in approval with limitations and conditions or may require
follow-up inspection(s) before approval. Within the approval
documentation, the EPA specifies what subsequent program changes should
be reported to the Agency, referred to as Tier 1 or Tier 2 changes,
depending largely on the anticipated effect of the changes on data
quality.
A Tier 1 designation requires that the CBFO provide to the EPA
documentation on proposed changes to the approved components of an
individual site-specific waste characterization process (such as
radioassay equipment) which the Agency must approve before the change
can be implemented. Tier 2 designated changes are minor changes to the
approved components of individual waste characterization processes
(such as visual examination procedures) which must also be reported to
the EPA, but the site may implement such changes without awaiting
Agency approval. After receiving notification of Tier 1 changes, the
EPA may choose to inspect the site to evaluate technical adequacy. The
inspections conducted to evaluate Tier 1 or Tier 2 changes are under
the authority of the EPA's WIPP compliance certification conditions and
regulations, including 40 CFR 194.8 and 194.24(h). In addition to
follow-up inspections, the EPA may opt to conduct continued compliance
inspections at TRU waste sites with a baseline approval under the
authority of the WIPP compliance certification regulations, including
Sec. 194.24(h).
In accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, the EPA issues a Federal Register
notice proposing a baseline compliance decision, dockets the inspection
report for public review, and seeks public comment on the proposed
decision for a minimum period of 45 days. The report describes the
waste characterization processes the EPA inspected at the site, as well
as their compliance with 40 CFR 194.8 and 194.24 requirements.
Proposed Baseline Decision
This notice announces the EPA's proposed baseline approval of the
remote-handled (RH) TRU debris waste characterization program
implemented by the Central Characterization Program (CCP) at the DOE's
SNL, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In accordance with Title 40, Part 194,
of the Code of Federal Regulations [40 CFR 94.8(b)], the EPA conducted
Baseline Inspection No. EPA-SNL-CCP-RH-06.14-8 of the CCP's waste
characterization program for RH TRU debris waste at SNL. Upon the EPA's
final approval, DOE can emplace SNL-CCP RH TRU debris waste in the
WIPP. The EPA previously approved SNL-CCP's RH TRU waste
characterization program in November 2011 (EPA Docket No. A-98-49; II-
A4-155). At the time, DOE expected that SNL-CCP would not have an
active RH TRU waste characterization program beyond fiscal year 2012.
In March 2012, the EPA approved one Tier 1 (T1) change (EPA Docket No.
A-98-49; II-A4-160, EPA Air e-Docket No: EPA-HQ-OAR-2001-0012-0306). In
May 2014, the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) informed the EPA that SNL
had identified additional RH TRU debris waste requiring a new baseline
inspection in accordance with 40 CFR 194.8. The EPA is proposing to
approve the SNL-CCP waste characterization program implemented to
characterize RH TRU debris waste as documented in the report
(``Proposed Approval: EPA Baseline Inspection of the Central
Characterization Program Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste
Characterization Program for the Sandia National Laboratories'';
hereafter, ``the report''). The baseline inspection addressed in this
notice occurred over an extended period of time. The EPA conducted the
second baseline inspection in two segments: (1) Observing waste
characterization activities Dose-to-Curie (DTC) and Visual Examination
(VE) onsite at SNL in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and interviewing
Acceptable Knowledge (AK) personnel offsite in Denver, Colorado, on
June 24-25, 2014; and (2) a desktop review of waste characterization
records in Washington, DC, from April-July 2019. The results of the
baseline inspection documented in the report are a combination of the
results of the 2014 DTC and VE observations at SNL, AK personnel
interviews in Denver and the 2019 desktop review of all waste
characterization records.
This baseline inspection evaluated SNL-CCP's RH waste
characterization program for technical adequacy and, when approved,
SNL-CCP would be allowed to ship waste already characterized under that
program and to use the program's components to characterize future RH
waste in accordance with the conditions and limitations discussed in
the report. SNL-CCP representatives stated that all SNL RH TRU waste
has been characterized with completion of the activities described in
the report. However, based on the EPA's experience with RH TRU waste
characterization programs, this proposed approval provides for the
characterization of additional RH TRU wastes, subject to the conditions
described below. Specifically, the proposed approval includes:
(1) The AK process for RH TRU debris waste generated in the SNL Hot
Cell Facility during the removal and packaging of experimental material
and
[[Page 65385]]
decontamination operations in Building 6580 and added to Waste Stream
SNL-HCF-S5400-RH. The proposed approval also includes process generated
waste from cleanup of the Auxiliary Hot Cell Facility after repackaging
containers from Waste Stream SNL-HCF-S5400-RH.
(2) The radiological characterization process using DTC and scaling
factors for assigning radionuclide values for Waste Stream SNL-HCF-
S5400-RH that is documented in Appendix C of CCP-AK-SNL-501, Revision
6, and supported by the calculation packages referenced in the report.
(3) The VE process to identify waste material parameters and the
physical form of RH TRU debris waste.
CBFO currently presents the population of subject waste as 25 drums
of RH TRU waste whose characterization activities were completed in
2015, using the processes observed and reviewed by the EPA in 2014.
However, the Agency understands that there are two waste drums from
Waste Stream SNL-HCF-S5400-RH that lack a clear path forward for
disposal as RH TRU waste. One drum has an external dose rate that
prevents shipment in its current configuration and, it appears, would
require repacking into several drums to be eligible for shipment. The
second drum contains HEPA filters associated with Waste Stream SNL-HCF-
S5400-RH and SNL-CCP is not sure at the time of this notice if it will
assay as contact-handled or RH TRU.
If the wastes within one or both of the drums are part of this
waste stream, they would be covered by this proposed baseline approval,
provided they were characterized by the EPA-approved processes
described in the report. The Agency is aware that processing these
drums would require SNL-CCP to perform DTC and VE activities, at a
minimum, which would be a T1 change, as stated in Table 1. To be clear,
commencement of any RH TRU waste characterization activities by SNL-CCP
from the date of the final baseline approval must be reported to and
approved by the EPA, according to Table 1. All T1 changes must be
submitted for approval before their implementation and will be
evaluated by the EPA. Upon approval, the Agency will post the results
of the evaluations through the EPA's general WIPP eDocket. SNL-CCP must
submit Tier 2 (T2) changes that have been implemented four times a year
at the end of each fiscal quarter.
The EPA's final approval decision regarding the SNL-CCP RH TRU
waste characterization program will be conveyed to DOE separately by
letter following the EPA's review of public comments responding to this
notice. This information will be provided through the EPA's WIPP docket
provided for this action at regulations.gov (Docket No: EPA-HQ-OAR-
2019-0634), in accordance with 40 CFR 194.8(b)(3). A summary of all
WIPP-related EPA inspection statuses can also be found on the EPA
website at https://www.epa.gov/radiation/waste-isolation-pilot-plant-wipp-inspections, and any interested party can get these and other WIPP
updates via the Agency's WIPP-NEWS website (https://www.epa.gov/radiation/wipp-news). Individuals may also subscribe to the WIPP-NEWS
email listserv using the instructions on the website.
Table 1--Tiering of RH-TRU Waste Characterization Processes Implemented
by SNL-CCP
[Based on June 24-25, 2014, and April-July 2019 Baseline Inspection]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SNL-CCP RH waste SNL-CCP RH waste
characterization characterization
Process elements process--Tier 1 (T1) process--reporting
changes requiring of Tier 2 (T2)
EPA approval changes *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Acceptable Knowledge........ Implementation of Submission of a list
payload management of SNL-CCP RH AK
for any waste Experts and Site
stream. Project Managers
that performed work
during the previous
quarter.
Notification to the
EPA upon
availability of or
modification to
AKSRs and
certification test
plans (e.g., CCP-AK-
SNL-500, CCP-AK-SNL-
502).
Notification to the
EPA upon
availability of or
substantive
modification ***
to:
CCP-TP-
005, Attachments
8 and 9,
including
associated
memoranda (e.g.,
add-container
memoranda).
Waste
stream profile
form.
AK
accuracy reports
(annually, at a
minimum).
Enhanced
AK documents
such as AK
assessment, CCE
and BOK
memoranda
(including
addition of new
figures or
attachments).
Characterization
procedures
requiring CBFO
approval.
Radiological Any radiological Submission of a list
Characterization, including characterization of SNL-CCP DTC
Dose-To-Curie. processes performed operators, expert
after approval of analysts and
the 2019 Baseline independent
Inspection. technical reviewers
Substantive that performed work
modification ** to during the previous
EPA-approved quarter.
radiological Notification to the
characterization EPA upon
reports (e.g., CCP- availability of or
AK-SNL-501).. non-substantive
modification ** to
radiological
characterization
reports (e.g., CCP-
AK-SNL-501).
Notification to the
EPA upon
availability of or
modification to
characterization
procedures
requiring CBFO
approval.
Visual Examination.......... Any VE performed Submission of a list
after approval of of SNL-CCP VE
the 2019 Baseline Operators, VE
Inspection. Experts and
independent
technical reviewers
that performed work
during the previous
quarter.
Notification to the
EPA upon
availability of or
modification to
characterization
procedures
requiring CBFO
approval.
Real-Time Radiography....... Any use of RTR...... None.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* SNL-CCP will report all T2 changes to the EPA every three months.
** ``Substantive modification'' refers to a change with the potential to
affect SNL-CCP's RH waste characterization processes or documentation
of them, excluding changes that are solely related to the environment,
safety and health; nuclear safety; or the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act; or that are editorial in nature or are required to
address administrative concerns. The EPA may request copies of new
references that DOE adds during a document revision.
[[Page 65386]]
III. Availability of the Baseline Inspection Report and Proposed
Approval for Public Comment
The EPA has placed the report discussing the results of the
inspection of the RH TRU waste characterization program at the Sandia
National Laboratory in the public docket as described in the ADDRESSES
section of this document. In accordance with 40 CFR 194.8, the Agency
is providing the public 45 days to comment on this and other documents
and the EPA's proposed decision to approve the SNL RH TRU waste
characterization program. The Agency requests comments particularly
concerning the Enhanced Acceptable Knowledge process, a major
significant change made by the Sandia National Laboratory to its RH TRU
waste characterization program as previously approved by the EPA in
2012. The Agency will accept public comment on this notice and
supplemental information as described in Section I above. At the end of
the public comment period, the EPA will evaluate all relevant public
comments and, as the Agency may deem appropriate and necessary, revise
the report and proposed decision or take other appropriate action. If
the EPA concludes that there are no unresolved issues after the public
comment period, the Agency will issue an approval letter and the final
report. The letter of approval will authorize the DOE to use the
approved waste characterization processes to characterize RH TRU waste
at SNL.
Information on the approval decision will be filed in the official
public docket opened for this action on www.regulations.gov, Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-0634 (as listed in the ADDRESSES section of this
document).
Dated: November 14, 2019.
Jonathan D. Edwards,
Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.
[FR Doc. 2019-25671 Filed 11-26-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
