Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
7/24/2015
The Department of Energy is aiming for a fall 2016 start date for a demonstration project on the use of deep boreholes for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste, a DOE official said last month during a meeting of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB). Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fuel Cycle Technologies John Herczeg said during the June 24 meeting that Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz has identified fall 2016 as the ideal starting point for the project. “I cannot speak specifically to your question of the licensing time, but I can give you an overview of the time frame the secretary has personally told me that he wants to start drilling that borehole,” Herczeg said in response to a question on the timeline forward on the project. “It’s Oct. 2, 2016. So I am on the hook to get that done”
DOE hopes to expand its research and development efforts for deep boreholes after the disposal method has been recommended multiple times for some smaller packages of DOE-managed defense waste. Moniz has been a vocal advocate for the disposal method, particularly for some of the smaller cesium capsules located at the Hanford cleanup site. The department in its fiscal 2016 budget request proposed creating a new used fuel disposition subprogram that would explore alternative disposal options for DOE-managed high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel. As part of the new program, DOE has requested $18 million in FY16 for research and development on deep borehole disposal. Earlier this month, DOE issued a request for proposals for its Deep Borehole Field Test procurement.
Herczeg cautioned, though, that any licensing effort for the demonstration project would be a lengthy process. “As far as licensing is, going forward we are to put together the road map for that and work with NRC,” he said. “I would only have to venture a guess, and I don’t think I want to give a guess right now. But certainly the licensing process would require many, many steps here and probably the drilling of more than just one hole.” As part of the preparation for licensing, DOE would need to establish a small pilot hole of 8 inches, followed by a second, larger hole 17 inches in diameter. “We would do all of the scientific measurements we can possibly do,” Herczeg said.
Both the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency would need to license the project before any actual waste could go into the ground, Herczeg said. With two agencies, the licensing pathway becomes a bit more complicated. “So the licensing process could get quite complicated. My guess is, is that you’re looking at no less than five years and more likely ten years before you can go forward,” Herczeg said.
The NWTRB last month recommended that DOE take a closer look at deep borehole disposal. In its report, the NWTRB "recommended looking at consolidating the waste into smaller packages, which could prove useful for disposal in deep boreholes, evaluating approaches, benefits, and costs of repackaging cooler naval SNF into smaller disposal packages, and conducting research on borehole sealing technology and assess whether more robust engineered barriers might be required for disposing of selected waste forms in deep boreholes.”
