The Department of Energy anticipates publication of its final environmental impact statement for its not-yet-known preferred alternative for the disposal of Greater Than Class C waste and GTCC-like waste by the end of next quarter, a senior DOE official said yesterday during a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Environment and the Economy Subcommittee. DOE needs to complete the EIS before it can begin disposing of GTCC waste, but the process has taken longer than initially expected. In 2011, the department issued a draft environmental impact statement, which estimated the total national inventory of GTCC waste at approximately 1,100 cubic meters, with an additional 175 cubic meters expected to be generated annually from DOE and commercial activities over the next 60 years. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Mark Whitney said yesterday the final version of the report should be completed by, at the latest, March 2016. “DOE anticipates publication of the final environmental impact statement within the next quarter, contingent on formal review by the department,” Whitney told House lawmakers.
While DOE may finally complete the much-anticipated report, House lawmakers did not miss the opportunity to knock the department for the need for the document in the first place. “In 2005, Congress directed DOE to examine disposal options for GTCC waste and make recommendations to Congress,” subcommittee Chairman John Shimkus (R-Ill.) said. “Congress has not yet received any GTCC recommendation. However, DOE walked away from the most practical disposal pathway for GTCC waste when President Obama quit work on the Yucca Mountain project. The longer DOE puts off its recommendation, the longer this material must remain on-site in temporary storage, instead of in permanent disposal.” In 2010, the Obama administration shuttered the Yucca Mountain project, after deeming the site “unworkable” due to a lack of public consent in the state of Nevada.
