Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
7/10/2015
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy have come to an agreement on the Record of Decision for the planned Portsmouth on-site disposal cell, the two agencies announced this week. The ROD paves the way for the disposal of more than two million cubic yards of waste that would be generated from the decontamination and decommissioning of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plan on-site as a way to save costs on disposal. “The Portsmouth Site-Wide Waste Disposition Evaluation Project provides DOE with a path for disposal of D&D waste and materials. It will also help ensure the safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible site cleanup going forward,” said William Murphie, Manager of DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, in a statement. “The Department would like to thank the Site Specific Advisory Board and members of the public who provided comments and all local stakeholders and participants in this collaborative process, in particular the Ohio EPA for its rigorous review and input, ultimately helping this important project move forward.”
The plan calls for a combination of on-site and off-site waste disposal with the possible excavation of the five existing groundwater contamination plumes and landfills inside the plant’s developable area as the primary sources of the soil fill required to properly dispose of the demolition debris in the cell. Only waste meeting the Ohio EPA’s waste acceptance criteria will be disposed of in the cell, while all other waste will go off-site. “The Waste Disposition ROD allows the compliant on-site disposal of all waste materials generated from the cleanup of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant that meet the waste acceptance criteria approved by Ohio EPA for the facility,” a DOE release said. “Waste not meeting the requirements will be shipped from the plant for compliant disposal at appropriate, licensed off-site federal or commercial disposal facilities. Recycling of waste materials from non-radiological areas is also considered in the decision.”
Pre-Construction Activities Set To Begin This Fall
With the ROD in place, DOE anticipates beginning pre-construction activities such as draft design completion and site clearing by this fall. “The draft final design of the On-Site Waste Disposal Facility (OSWDF) will be submitted this fall for Ohio EPA review and approval,” Fluor-B&W Portsmouth LLC spokesman Jeff Wagner said in an email this week. “Other regulatory documents required to initiate site preparation field work will be submitted to Ohio EPA ahead of the draft final design. Pending Ohio EPA’s concurrence on these documents, DOE plans to start initial site clearing in late summer or early fall this year to prepare the selected site in the ROD for construction of the OSWDF.” Siting clearing will include approximately 100 acres for the cell and an additional 100 acres to support cell construction and operations infrastructure, Wagner said.
Once all the necessary approvals go through the Ohio EPA, construction of the cell will commence next year, Wagner said. “Construction of the OSWDF infrastructure and the first cell liner will then start next year after Ohio EPA approval of the final design,” Wagner said. “Following the completions of the first cell liner and the necessary support infrastructure, the first waste placement in OSWDF is estimated to be between FY2019 and FY2021, pending the level of annual funding.” In total, according to the ROD, the construction of the cell is estimated to cost $273 million— a third of the total $686 million estimated direct cost of the cell as a deposition pathway.
