Environmental statements; availability, etc.: Savannah River Site, SC level waste tanks, closure,
[Federal Register: December 29, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 249)]
[Notices]
[Page 71628-71630]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29de98-44]
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Closure of High-Level Waste Tanks at the Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposed closing of high- level waste tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina. DOE proposes to close the tanks to protect human health and the environment and to promote safety. DOE's preferred alternative is to remove the residual waste from the tanks to the extent technically and economically feasible, and then to fill them with a reducing grout to bind up residual waste and a structural material to prevent collapse of the tanks. DOE proposes to close these tanks and their associated waste handling equipment in accordance with the Industrial Wastewater Closure Plan for F- and H-Area High-Level Waste Tank Systems, prepared by DOE and approved by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC). In closing the tanks, DOE will comply not only with the Closure Plan, which is required by Industrial Wastewater Permits that SCDHEC issued to DOE, but also with the applicable requirements of DOE Orders, including DOE 5820.2A (Radioactive Waste Management). DOE invites comments on the scope of the EIS.
DATES: The public scoping period begins with the publication of this Notice and concludes February 12, 1998. DOE invites Federal agencies, Native American tribes, State and local governments, and the public to comment on the scope of this EIS. DOE will consider fully all comments received by the close of the scoping period, and will consider comments received after that date to the extent practicable.
Two public scoping workshops will be held during the scoping period:
January 14, 1999
2:00-4:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm, North Augusta Community Center, 101 Brookside Drive, North Augusta, South Carolina, and, January 19, 1999
2:00-4:00 pm and 6:00-8:00 pm, Holiday Inn Coliseum, 630 Assembly Street, Columbia, South Carolina.
These scoping workshops will provide information about the high- level waste tank closure process and alternatives for closure of high- level waste tanks at SRS. The workshops will provide opportunities to comment orally or in writing on the EIS scope, including the alternatives and issues that the Department should consider in the EIS.
ADDRESSES: Comments on the scope of the EIS may also be mailed to the address below or sent by fax, voice mail, or electronic mail. Written comments on the scope of this EIS should be sent to: Andrew Grainger, NEPA Compliance Officer, Savannah River Operations Office, U. S. Department of Energy, Building 742A, Room 183, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, Attention: Tank Closure EIS.
Toll-free 24-hour fax and voice mail (local and nationwide): 800- 881-7292; E-mail: nepa@srs.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request information about this EIS and the public scoping workshops, or to be placed on the EIS distribution list, use any of the methods listed in ADDRESSES above. For general information about the DOE NEPA process, contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U. S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20585-0119, Phone: 202-586-4600, Voice mail: 800-472-2756, Fax: 202- 586-7031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Purpose and Need for Agency Action
At its inception in the 1950s, the primary mission of the SRS was to produce special nuclear materials to support the defense, research, and medical programs of the United States. This mission largely ended and production of nuclear materials ceased following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Before the cessation of production, however, chemical separation of irradiated fuel at SRS had resulted in product streams (that is, special nuclear materials) and waste streams consisting of acidic liquids bearing radioactive fission products and small amounts of transuranic elements. This waste was chemically converted to an alkaline solution and stored as insoluble sludges, salts, and liquid supernate in 51 large underground tanks constructed between 1952 and 1981 at the SRS F-and H-Area Tank Farms. Two tanks, both in the F-Area Tank Farm, were closed in 1997 and no longer store high-level waste. Approximately 129 million liters (34 million gallons) of high-level radioactive waste are now stored in 49 tanks. SRS still operates facilities to stabilize nuclear materials that were in various stages of processing when strategic nuclear materials production ceased; this activity generates additional small amounts of high-level radioactive waste.
DOE proposes to close the tanks and their associated waste handling equipment to protect human health and the environment and to promote safety, in accordance with (1) the Industrial Wastewater Closure Plan for F- and H-Area High-Level Waste Tank Systems, prepared by DOE and approved by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), (2) South Carolina Regulation R.61-82, ``Proper Closeout of Wastewater Treatment Facilities,'' and (3) applicable requirements of DOE Orders, including DOE 5820.2A (Radioactive Waste Management).
Removal, treatment, storage, and disposal of bulk waste from the tanks will be in accordance with previous decisions, and are not within the scope of this environmental impact statement. High-level waste will be removed and treated to separate the high-activity fraction from the low-activity fraction. The high-activity fraction will be transferred to the Defense Waste Processing Facility and mixed into borosilicate glass to immobilize the radioactive constituents. Stainless steel canisters containing the borosilicate glass will be stored in Glass Waste Storage Buildings at the SRS pending a decision on disposal in a geologic repository. The low-activity fraction will be transferred to the Saltstone Facility and mixed with grout to make saltstone, a concrete-like material disposed of onsite in concrete vaults. The environmental impacts of these processes and facilities were evaluated
[[Page 71629]]
in environmental impact statements for the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DOE/EIS-0082-S, Record of Decision: 60 FR 18589, April 12, 1995), and Savannah River Site Waste Management (DOE/EIS-0217, Record of Decision: 60 FR 552499, October 30, 1995). DOE is currently evaluating processes and facilities required to replace one component of the high-level waste processing system, the In-Tank Precipitation process, and will conduct separate NEPA review of its environmental impacts.
Closure of the high-level tanks after bulk waste removal is the subject of this environmental impact statement. The primary concerns in the closure process are how to deal with the waste that cannot be technically or economically removed from the bottom of a tank and what to do with the tank itself. The potential environmental impacts of tank closure could vary, depending upon how DOE resolves these issues.
Upon completing closure activities for proximate groups of tanks, environmental restoration actions to remediate groundwater would be considered under the SRS Environmental Restoration Program, which is not within the scope of this EIS.
The EIS Schedule
DOE plans to publish the draft EIS in August 1999 and the final EIS in March 2000. A record of decision would be issued no sooner than 30 days from the Environmental Protection Agency's Federal Register publication of the notice of availability of the final EIS.
DOE will not close additional high-level waste tanks before completing the EIS process, but will continue to remove waste from the tanks. The EIS schedule will fully support compliance with existing schedules for additional tank closures. DOE is committed under the SRS Federal Facilities Agreement between DOE, EPA, and SCDHEC to close another high-level waste tank by fiscal year 2003 and to complete closure of 24 additional tanks by 2022. Under the Savannah River High Level Waste System Plan, DOE will close the remaining high-level waste tanks by 2028.
Phased Action
Under each alternative except no action, DOE would close 49 high- level waste tanks at SRS by implementing the Industrial Wastewater Closure Plan for F- and H-Area High-Level Waste Tank Systems in accordance with DOE Orders. Associated with each tank is additional waste handling equipment, such as evaporators, pumps, and transfer lines; a tank and its associated equipment are referred to as a ``tank system.'' Each tank system would be closed in three phases:
‹bullet› The Evaluation and Cleaning Phase consists of determining closure performance objectives and identifying cleaning and stabilization methods required to meet those performance objectives.
‹bullet› The Approval Phase consists of DOE obtaining SCDHEC and EPA approval of a DOE tank-systems-specific closure plan module that describes the end state of the tank, the performance modeling results, and closure details. Depending upon the tank-specific performance objectives and the amount and type of waste left in the tank after bulk waste removal, several alternative cleaning methods and stabilization methods could be employed.
‹bullet› The Stabilization Phase would involve execution of the tank closure in accordance with the approved closure plan module.
Alternatives
Preferred Alternative: DOE's preferred alternative is first to clean the tank, to the extent technically and economically feasible, with spray washing or, if needed to meet performance objectives, oxalic acid cleaning. DOE then would fill the tank with a pumpable material (for example, grout, sand, or saltstone) to immobilize any remaining waste and stabilize the tanks themselves to prevent future collapse.
Clean to Allow Removal of the Tank Alternative: This alternative consists of cleaning the tank only sufficiently to allow safe removal and transferring it to the SRS Radioactive Waste Burial Grounds or a high-level waste repository for disposal. This alternative would eliminate potential migration of contaminants from closed tanks left in place at the SRS tank farms.
No Action Alternative: This alternative consists of bulk waste removal (that is, without further cleaning) and abandonment of the tank. No fill material would be used to immobilize the remaining waste or to stabilize the tank.
Related NEPA Decisions and Reviews
This EIS will use the information and analyses found in several final DOE NEPA reviews that address high-level waste management systems at SRS. These documents are available in these DOE public reading rooms:
DOE Freedom of Information Reading Room, Forrestal Building, Room 1E- 190, 1000 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 200585, Phone: 202- 586-6020
and
DOE Public Document Room, University of South Carolina, Aiken Campus, University Library, 2nd Floor, 171 University Parkway, Aiken, S.C. 29801, Phone: 803-648-6851
‹bullet› Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, Defense Waste Processing Facility, DOE/EIS-0082-S, 1994.
‹bullet› Final Environmental Impact Statement, Savannah River Site Waste Management, DOE/EIS-0217, 1995.
‹bullet› Environmental Assessment for the Closure of the High-Level Waste Tanks in F- and H-Areas at the Savannah River Site, DOE/EA-1164, 1996.
DOE also will use additional information and analyses, including the Industrial Wastewater Closure Plan for F- and H-Area High-Level Waste Tank Systems, the Closure Modules for Tanks 17 and 20, information from DOE tank closure workshops, and information developed in consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding whether waste left in the high-level waste tanks can be managed as waste incidental to reprocessing plant operations.
Preliminary Identification of EIS Issues
DOE intends to address the following issues when assessing the potential environmental impacts of the alternatives in this EIS. DOE invites comment from Federal agencies, Native American tribes, State and local governments, and the public on these and any other issues that should be addressed in the EIS.
‹bullet› Potential impacts of the proposed action and alternatives on release of contaminants to groundwater.
‹bullet› Relationship to land use plans for the SRS.
‹bullet› Compliance with applicable Federal, State and local requirements and agreements.
‹bullet› Potential effects on the public, including minority and low-income populations, and SRS workers from exposure to radiological and hazardous materials.
‹bullet› Potential effects on air, soil, and water quality from normal operations and reasonably foreseeable accidents.
‹bullet› Potential effects on SRS waste management operations and facilities.
‹bullet› Pollution prevention, waste minimization, and energy and water use reduction technologies to eliminate or reduce use of energy, water, and hazardous substances and to minimize environmental impacts during closure activities.
‹bullet› Potential socioeconomic impacts, including potential impacts associated
[[Page 71630]]
with the workforce needed for operations during closure activities.
‹bullet› Potential impacts on cultural and historic resources.
‹bullet› Potential cumulative environmental impacts of past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future operations at the SRS.
‹bullet› Potential irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources.
Issued in Washington, D.C. on December 22, 1998. David Michaels, Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 98-34458Filed12-28-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
