Why Cleanup Acceptance Is Running into Conflicts - Off-Site Disposal Versus On-Site Disposal
Amy Fitzgerald, Ph.D., City of Oak Ridge, TN | 3/11/2019
[ECA Note: This summary is the first in a series ECA will share this week highlighting presentations and papers prepared by ECA members and staff for the 2019 Waste Management Symposia, March 3-7, 2019 in Phoenix, AZ.]
This first story focuses on local government input in environmental cleanup decisions; particularly the concern of the local governments adjacent to the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation regarding mercury disposal at a proposed second on-site landfill with groundwater levels at a depth that will require a deviation from State standards. The local governments have asked DOE to undertake a risk and cost assessment on
disposing the mercury off-site. To date, such information has not been provided.]
Background
For years the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) identified several sites to receive shipments of various types of wastes. However, with the backlog at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the inability to license Yucca Mountain, and the agency’s desire to expedite cleanup, DOE is trying to “dispose of” or “store” more waste belonging to the Federal government on-site. Some states and communities that were “promised” disposal of
DOE’s waste in geologic repositories and licensed landfills in arid locations, are now being told that on-site disposal is the best path forward. Competition for resources is forcing more sites to focus on near term cost savings of on-site disposal, rather than develop comprehensive life-cycle estimates representing a more realistic picture of costs associated with isolating radioactive and other hazardous materials on-site in perpetuity.
Several of DOE’s closed sites (Fernald, Weldon Springs, and Rocky Flats) have on-site waste disposal landfills, or “cells,” that were constructed as part of the cleanup remedy, and where radioactive and other hazardous wastes remain. The regulatory drivers for these facilities are primarily the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as “Superfund,” and the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The DOE’s Office of Legacy Management (LM), created in 2003, is responsible at these sites for long-term surveillance and maintenance, records management, and for ensuring that post-closure responsibilities are met. Several of DOE’s largest sites with active cleanup programs---Oak Ridge, Savannah River, and Hanford, also have on-site engineered landfills for “legacy” waste generated from past production activities. These landfills were constructed
pursuant to CERCLA are managed by the DOE Environmental Management program at each site.
Since 2012, DOE officials in Oak Ridge have been actively pursuing the construction of a second on-site landfill to dispose of radioactive, hazardous, and toxic wastes, including mercury-contaminated demolition debris. The agency is concerned that space is running out in their existing CERCLA landfill and cannot accommodate the large volumes of waste that are expected to be generated from the cleanup program over the next decade.
DOE recently issued a proposed plan for the second landfill for public comment.
One of the criteria required by CERCLA to be considered in the decision-making process is “Community Acceptance.” Numerous concerns about DOE’s proposed plan have been raised by citizens, federal and state regulators, local officials, and environmental scientists. The paper provides the
background and examine issues affecting community acceptance of DOE’s proposal for additional on-site disposal.
Paper Conclusions
The paper explores the issues and possible solutions in a case study on proposed on-site disposal of waste at the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation, and draws the following preliminary conclusions:
- The City of Oak Ridge and other stakeholders recognize that the federal government has a problem to solve. They want to help solve the problem, but the CERCLA process and the Federal Facilities Agreement do not provide the City a formal seat at the table. Decisions are being made that will affect the Oak Ridge community for hundreds of years into the future.
- Community and Stakeholder engagement early in the decision-making process is essential. The initiative taken by the community to systematically evaluate the DOE’s proposals and technical documents has been instrumental to determining whether community acceptance can be achieved.
- Risk-based decisions are inherently uncertain, and must be made at the community level, as each site is different. The community must be provided the science, technology, tools and resources to understand the human health and environmental risks, both in the near term and long term.
- The process must include meaningful education and discussion on waste acceptance criteria, which can facilitate community acceptance of certain types of waste, but also clearly show DOE which waste must be disposed off-site.
- DOE should re-evaluate its cleanup contracts to decouple performance bonuses from the schedule for on-site disposal of CERCLA waste. Considering the lack of technical information and site characterization at this stage in the process, incentive based contracting places too many constraints and excessive pressure on the agency, its contractors and regulators to make a near term decision that may not be
in the long-term best interests of the community or the federal government.
- Research should continue to examine case studies where communities have been more actively engaged in decision making. DOE should consider expanding/reconvening the agency’s On-Site Disposal Working Group to help foster communication and assess onsite disposal performance across the DOE complex. [27] Sites such as Rocky Flats will require protective action forever, and much is to be learned as
stakeholders are just at the front end of the learning curve.
In the end, DOE needs community support and community acceptance to successfully implement the agency’s cleanup mission. Ongoing dialogue with the community saves both time and money but more importantly, cooperation helps ensure that effective long-term cleanup occurs.
BUDGET & APPROPRIATIONS
FY 2020 President’s Budget Request for DOE Expected Today
ECA Staff | 3/11/2019
ECA expects The Presidential Department of Energy budget request for FY 2020 (i.e. the "skinny" budget) to be released later today. We will provide a detailed summary of request highlights upon it's release.
|
Learn more about DOE's cleanup sites with ECA's new DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, DOE stakeholders, and other parties who may be interested in learning more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local
governments.
|
|
|
|
