On July 11, the City of Oak Ridge sent a letter to the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and state and
federal regulators, expressing concerns over a DOE plan to site and construct an onsite disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste at the Oak Ridge Reservation.
Accompanying the letter were reports from the City's
Environmental Quality Advisory Board and the City's independent technical consultant, both of which are critical of the project.
The letter has been reproduced below.
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RE: Proposed Plan for the Disposal of Oak Ridge Reservation Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Waste DOE/OR/01-2695&D2
Dear Mr. Adler, Mr. Hill, and Ms. Calabrese Benton:
On June 7, 2018, Mr. Adler transmitted a copy of the subject Proposed Plan to the City for review. The document has been
reviewed by the City’s Environmental Quality Advisory Board (EQAB) and by the City’s independent technical consultant, The Ferguson Group. Copies of these reports are attached for your review.
Aside from the serious technical concerns that must be addressed, the proposed plan lacks any analysis
related to Community Acceptance, one of the nine criteria upon which federal law requires CERCLA decisions to be based. Many of these issues were identified in the City’s Community Impact Assessment, completed in September 2015, discussed in several public meetings, and transmitted to the DOE for consideration and incorporation into the CERCLA review. We believe this is a serious oversight.
The City appreciates the opportunity to review and respond to the draft document during its development. However, with many questions arising on topics ranging from mercury disposal to site characterization, I cannot recommend supporting a new nuclear waste disposal facility in our community without detailed clarifications to questions outlined in the attached report
relating to mercury treatment waste disposal transport out West and concrete explanation of the exemptions requested and their impacts upon the Oak Ridge community. As City Manager, I am assessing a project that will impact generations of Oak Ridgers for decades to come.
I am available to
discuss this matter further as to next steps in this evaluation process.
Sincerely yours,
Mark S. Watson
City Manager
City of Oak Ridge, TN
