Notice of Intent To Prepare a High-Level Waste and Facilities Disposition Environmental Impact Statement, Idaho Falls, ID

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Intent To Prepare a High-Level Waste and Facilities

Disposition Environmental Impact Statement, Idaho Falls, ID

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) intends to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate alternatives for

managing the high-level waste and associated radioactive wastes and

facilities at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental

Laboratory (INEEL). Under the terms of a 1995 Settlement Agreement with

the State of Idaho, which has been incorporated into a court order, DOE

agreed to treat high-level radioactive wastes currently stored at the

Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) at INEEL and remove these wastes

from Idaho. The proposed EIS, titled the High-Level Waste and

Facilities Disposition Environmental Impact Statement, will assist the

Department in making the decisions necessary for management of these

radioactive wastes in a manner that will comply with applicable laws

and regulations, and protect the environment and the health and safety

of the workers and the public in a cost-effective manner.

This EIS will be tiered from two Environmental Impact Statements:

(1) the Department of Energy Programmatic Spent Nuclear Fuel Management

and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory Environmental Restoration and

Waste Management Programs EIS (SNF & INEL EIS, issued in April 1995),

and (2) the DOE Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact

Statement (WM PEIS, issued in May 1997). As a result, this EIS will

make use of previously developed information and analyses.

The DOE's proposed action is to treat high-activity calcine and

sodium-bearing liquid radioactive wastes in a new facility using a

radionuclide partitioning technology to separate high-level waste from

low-level waste. The proposed action would also include closure of 11

underground storage tanks, the New Waste Calcining Facility, and

associated laboratories and support buildings at the ICPP.

This EIS will consider reasonable alternatives for treatment of the

high-activity calcine and the sodium-bearing wastes, and for

dispositioning of facilities associated with those wastes. Alternatives

ranging from grouting wastes in existing high-level waste facilities at

the ICPP Tank Farm to the complete removal and disposal of these wastes

will be considered. Alternatives involving the separation of only the

transuranic constituents from the wastes, separation of and removal of

hazardous wastes, and full actinide and metal recovery will also be

considered.

DOE will conduct public scoping workshops on this proposed EIS on

October 16, in Idaho Falls, ID and on October 23, 1997, in Boise, ID.

DATES: DOE announces two public workshops and welcomes public

discussion on the scope of the EIS, including the alternatives the

Department is considering. This public scoping period begins with the

publication of this notice in the Federal Register and will continue

until November 24, 1997. DOE invites other Federal agencies, Native

American tribes, State and local governments and the general public to

comment on the scope of this EIS.

Two public workshops will be held during this scoping period:

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1. October 16, 1997, 7:00-9:30 p.m. at Shilo Inn, 780 Lindsay

Blvd., Idaho Falls, ID.

2. October 23, 1997, 6:00-8:30 p.m. Boise Centre on the Grove,

Boise, ID.

These workshops will provide the public with information about the

proposed project, and an opportunity to suggest reasonable alternatives

that the Department should consider. Written comments may be submitted

to the DOE at these workshops, sent by facsimile to (208) 526-5678, or

mailed to the EIS Document Manager, Mr. T. L. Wichmann, at the address

listed below.

To ensure consideration, DOE must receive scoping comments by

November 24, 1997, although DOE will consider comments received after

November 24, 1997, to the extent practicable.

ADDRESSES: To request information about this EIS, or to be placed on

the EIS document distribution list, please call the 24-hour toll-free

information line at 1-888-918-5100. Written comments on this EIS should

be sent to: Thomas L. Wichmann, High-Level Waste and Facilities

Disposition EIS, U.S. Department of Energy, Idaho Operations Office,

785 DOE Place, MS 1108, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, Facsimile: (208) 526-

5678.

For general information about the DOE National Environmental Policy

Act (NEPA) process, please contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office

of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000

Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0119, Phone: (202) 586-

4600, Messages: (800) 472-2756, Facsimile: (202) 586-7031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for Agency Action

The Department of Energy must decide how to treat, store, and

dispose of high-level radioactive waste that has been generated by

spent fuel and irradiated target reprocessing operations at the INEEL.

Most of the high-level waste at the ICPP resulted from reprocessing

spent nuclear fuel to recover enriched uranium from naval reactor fuel,

and from reprocessing miscellaneous government and ``special case''

commercial nuclear fuel materials. This waste typically contains highly

radioactive, short-lived fission products as well as long-lived

radioactive isotopes. High-level waste at the ICPP is ``mixed waste''

because in addition to radioactive substances, it contains hazardous

chemicals and toxic heavy metals that are regulated under the Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) or constituents that exhibit

hazardous characteristics (e.g., corrosivity) as defined under RCRA. To

protect the environment and public health, the highly radioactive and

long-lived radioactive portions of this waste must be stabilized and

isolated from the human environment (as in a geologic repository),

after the chemically hazardous constituents have been appropriately

treated.

The INEEL reprocessed spent nuclear fuel at the ICPP from 1952 to

1990, resulting in liquid radioactive waste that is stored at the ICPP

Tank Farm. The Tank Farm consists of eleven 300,000-gallon underground

stainless steel tanks surrounded by concrete vaults. Since 1963, this

liquid radioactive waste has been undergoing conversion into a dry,

stable, granular powder called calcine, using the waste calcining

facility at the ICPP. Calcined waste would require additional treatment

to be suitable for disposal in a geologic repository. The calcine

material is presently stored in above- and below-ground bins at the

ICPP, referred to as the ``calcine bin sets.''

Radioactive liquid waste resulting from the cleanup of extraction

plant solvent and decontamination processes at the ICPP also is stored

in the Tank Farm. This waste contains large quantities of sodium and

potassium nitrates with transuranic radioactive isotopes (i.e.,

isotopes having atomic numbers greater than uranium) that have long

decay times. This waste, although not produced from spent nuclear fuel

reprocessing, historically has been managed as high-level waste because

some of its physical and chemical properties are similar to those of

high-level waste. Additional waste testing and characterization may

result in its reclassification as mixed transuranic waste or mixed low-

level waste.

In October 1995, the State of Idaho, the Department of the Navy,

and the Department of Energy settled the cases of Public Service Co. of

Colorado v. Batt, No. CV 91-0035-S-EJL (D. Id.) and United States v.

Batt, No. CV-91-0065-S-EJL (D.Id.). Certain conditions of the Idaho

Settlement Agreement/Court Order obligate the Department to:

Complete the process of calcining all remaining non-sodium

bearing liquid high-level waste by June 30, 1998;

Commence negotiating with the State of Idaho by December

1999 a plan and schedule for the treatment of calcined waste;

Complete the calcination of sodium-bearing liquid high-

level wastes by December 2012; and

Treat all high-level waste currently at the INEEL so that

it is ready to be moved out of Idaho by a target date of 2035.

As part of its proposed management strategy, DOE proposes to use

radionuclide partitioning for radioactive liquid and calcine waste

treatment, grouting for immobilizing the resulting low-level waste

stream, and glass vitrification for immobilizing the resultant high-

level waste stream. The EIS will analyze the proposed action and

reasonable waste management alternatives to meet the requirements of

the Settlement Agreement/Court Order and other applicable requirements.

The EIS Schedule

The Settlement Agreement/Court Order mandates that the ICPP high-

level radioactive waste be prepared for removal from the State of Idaho

by a target date of 2035. Although the Settlement Agreement/Court Order

in this regard requires only that DOE issue a Record of Decision (ROD)

no later than December 31, 2009, based on an EIS that analyzes

alternatives for treating calcined wastes, DOE plans to complete a more

inclusive EIS and to issue a ROD by September 1999. DOE is pursuing

this more aggressive schedule so that it can better ensure meeting its

commitments effectively and in a timely manner.

Proposed Action

The INEEL Tank Farm currently stores 3,800 cubic meters of calcined

high-level waste in the bin sets, and approximately 1.7 million gallons

of high-level and sodium bearing liquid wastes. The wastes contain

hazardous constituents that are regulated under RCRA. These wastes also

contain transuranic radionuclides. DOE proposes to treat these wastes

by separating, for disposal in a geologic repository, the high-level

radioactive constituents from those constituents that could be

classified as low-level waste. Hazardous wastes would also be separated

from these materials and further treated as required by the RCRA land

disposal restrictions. The low-level radioactive waste would be

disposed of on or off the INEEL, depending on decisions to be made

based on the WM PEIS.

Under the Proposed Action, the Tank Farm, bin sets, associated

support buildings, structures, laboratories and the New Waste Calcining

Facility would be decontaminated and decommisioned according to a cost-

effective, legally compliant, and environmentally sound approach. This

EIS will examine a reasonable range of alternatives, such as various

methods of separating radioactive materials, using different

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materials for encapsulating wastes, options for Tank Farm

decontamination and decommissioning, and options for treatment of waste

residues left in tanks and calcine bins. DOE would especially

appreciate suggestions on alternatives that should be examined.

Preliminary Alternatives

No Action

The Council on Environmental Quality NEPA Regulations (40 CFR parts

1500-1508), and the DOE NEPA Regulations (10 CFR part 1021) require

analysis of a no-action alternative. Under the no-action alternative,

DOE would continue current high-level radioactive waste management

operations at the ICPP until all residual waste that can be removed

from the tanks using existing waste transfer equipment is calcined, but

actions to prepare the waste for disposal would not be taken. Once

operations are completed, all high-level waste treatment and storage

facilities at the ICPP would be placed in a stand-by operational

condition. The calcined high-level waste would be stored in the

existing bin sets, and residual waste (i.e., the approximately 30,000-

40,000 gallons of liquid and solid tank wastes that would remain when

the tanks have been emptied using existing waste transfer equipment)

would remain in the Tank Farm indefinitely.

Non-Separation

Under the Non-Separation alternative, DOE will analyze options for

treating the liquid and calcine high-level waste to forms that are

suitable for permanent disposal in-place at the INEEL, or outside of

the State of Idaho in a geologic repository. The calcine would be pre-

treated as necessary, and immobilized in a glass, glass-ceramic, or

cementatious form, which would be encapsulated in cylinders or cast

into shapes suitable for placement into transportation and disposal

containers for disposal outside of the State of Idaho. Under this

alternative the residual liquid high-level waste remaining in the Tank

Farm would be solidified or grouted, and the tanks would be closed in

accordance with RCRA requirements. As described under the Proposed

Action, the ICPP Tank Farm, bin sets, associated support buildings,

structures, laboratories and the New Waste Calcining Facility would be

decontaminated and decommissioned in a cost-effective, legally

compliant, and environmentally sound manner.

Related NEPA Decisions and Reviews

This EIS will use and supplement as necessary, the information and

analysis contained in: (1) the Department of Energy Programmatic Spent

Nuclear Fuel Management and Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Programs Environmental

Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0203-F); and (2) the DOE Waste Management

Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0200-F).

Volume 2 of the SNF & INEL EIS, issued in April 1995, is a site-

wide EIS for the INEEL. Among other matters, Volume 2 analyzed the

potential environmental impacts associated with ongoing high-level

waste treatment, storage and management operations at the INEEL. In a

ROD based on this EIS (60 FR 28680), the Department decided to resume

operation of the New Waste Calcining Facility, to convert the high-

level liquid and sodium-bearing liquid waste to calcine prior to

further treatment. The Department also decided to construct a facility

to treat the calcined high-level waste (and any remaining liquid waste)

in accordance with RCRA requirements and on a schedule to be negotiated

with the State of Idaho under the Federal Facility Compliance Act.

The DOE WM PEIS, issued May 1997, is a DOE complex-wide study

examining the environmental impacts associated with managing five types

of radioactive and hazardous wastes generated by past, present, and

reasonably foreseeable future activities at a variety of sites located

around the United States. The five types of waste examined by the WM

PEIS are low-level mixed waste, low-level waste, transuranic waste,

hazardous waste, and high-level waste. The WM PEIS characterizes and

identifies volumes of high-level waste at DOE facilities nationwide,

including the INEEL, and uses/updates information presented in the SNF

& INEL EIS. The preferred alternative in the WM PEIS for high-level

waste storage is for each of the four sites (one of which is INEEL)

with immobilized high-level waste canisters to store its own

immobilized waste onsite until shipment to a geologic repository for

disposal. A high-level waste WM PEIS Record of Decision has not yet

been issued.

In addition to the programmatic EISs described above, other related

NEPA analyses and documents that will be considered in the analyses of

this EIS include:

The Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) EIS--

this EIS will analyze the possible environmental impacts of thermal

treatment of transuranic and mixed transuranic waste. The AMWTP is

potentially relevant to the proposed High-Level Waste and Facilities

Disposition EIS because a small portion of the inventory of radioactive

waste at the ICPP is being considered for treatment at the proposed

AMWTP. A notice of intent to prepare this EIS will be issued shortly.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Disposal Phase

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS II)--the SEIS II

analyzes the treatment and storage of transuranic waste and disposal of

such waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The Draft SEIS II was issued in November 1996; the Final SEIS II is in

preparation. Some radioactive waste at ICPP may be affected by

decisions based on the SEIS II.

The Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear

Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain Environmental

Impact Statement--this EIS will analyze the potential environmental

impacts associated with the disposal of high-level waste and spent

nuclear fuel in a potential geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in

Nevada. The draft EIS is scheduled to be issued in July 1999. A Final

EIS, scheduled for August 2000, would accompany any DOE recommendation

to the President whether to develop Yucca Mountain as a geologic

disposal site. INEEL's high-level waste could be eligible for disposal

at Yucca Mountain.

Preliminary Identification of EIS Issues

Potential environmental impacts on the Snake River Plain

Aquifer.

Effects of emissions and discharges from the treatment of

liquid and calcined high-level waste.

Effects of the storage of encapsulated high-level waste at

the INEEL.

Potential effects on the public and workers from exposure

to radiological and hazardous wastes during normal operations and

reasonably foreseeable accidents.

Potential effects on air, soil, and water quality from

normal operations and reasonably foreseeable accidents.

Potential effects on members of the public, including

minority and low income populations from normal operations and

reasonably foreseeable accidents.

Impacts on cultural and historic resources.

Pollution prevention, waste minimization, and energy and

water use

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reduction technologies to eliminate or significantly reduce use of

energy, water, and hazardous substances, and to minimize environmental

impacts.

External regulation of DOE operations and possible

privatization of high-level waste treatment.

Potential use of the constituents contained in high-level

waste.

Compliance with applicable Federal, State, and local

requirements and the Settlement Agreement/Court Order.

Cumulative environmental impacts of all past, present and

reasonably foreseeable future operations at the INEEL.

The potential irreversible and irretrievable commitment of

resources, including the ultimate use of INEEL lands and land occupied

by the ICPP.

Potential environmental impacts, including long term risks

to people, associated with Tank Farm facility closure and on-site waste

disposal.

Issued in Washington, D.C. on September 15, 1997.

Peter N. Brush,

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and

Health.

[FR Doc. 97-24951 Filed 9-18-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450-01-P