The draft Record of Decision on a proposed 2.2-million-cubic yard landfill for the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee is being delayed once again, with the new publication target being next July.
The document was previously scheduled for publication this week by the DOE Office of Environmental Management at Oak Ridge. But spokespeople for the federal cleanup office and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said not to expect the document before summer.
“We recently received approval” from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to extend the record of decision submittal date until then, a DOE spokesperson at Oak Ridge said Tuesday by email.
A spokesperson for the Tennessee agency, Kim Schofinski, confirmed that DOE has asked to delay delivery of the first draft of the Environmental Management Waste Management record of decision until then.
The new landfill will replace the existing Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, which is expected to be maxed out by the middle of this decade. The current landfill holds debris mostly from structures torn down at the East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge’s former K-25 uranium enrichment complex. The new landfill would take low-level radioactive and mixed waste from remediation work at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex.
Before a draft decision is issued, DOE, Tennessee and the Environmental Protection Agency hope to iron out a dispute over regulation of wastewater effluents containing radionuclides at the site. The DOE contends EPA’s Region 4 in Atlanta seeks to enforce tougher standards for runoff management than what is in place at other U.S. nuclear properties.
