Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
3/27/2015
In ongoing dispute resolution discussions over the closure date of a high-level waste tank at the Savannah River Site, the state of South Carolina, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been unable to resolve the issue, elevating it to a “senior executive committee.” Citing technical and funding issues, DOE in August requested an extension of the closure dates for Tanks 12H and 16H from September 2015 to December 2016. Last month, the parties agreed to only a 27-day extension for 16H, but so far they have been unable to reach an agreement on Tank 12H, which is further behind in the closure process.
The senior executive committee, made up of senior officials from each agency, has until April 9 to resolve the issue. “The DRC was unable to reach unanimous resolution for the remaining item under dispute, which is the operational closure milestone date for Tank 12H. The DRC hereby elevates the remaining item to the Senior Executive Committee for resolution,” DOE Savannah River Assistant Manager for Waste Disposition James Folk said in a Mach 12 letter to the parties.
The talks are the first in what could be a string of tank closure delays and missed deadlines that DOE has attributed to a combination of funding cuts at the site and a change in schedule for the startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility, among other factors. DOE cited technical and funding issues in its extension request. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control originally agreed to a 27-day extension for both tanks, citing the length of the 2013 government shutdown. But the EPA and DHEC have questioned the technical issues, and the state also said DOE did not make the efforts necessary to obtain money for the program.
