Changes to the legal and regulatory framework for management of Energy Department nuclear waste could save $40 billion in costs for cleanup of the DOE nuclear complex and hasten the removal of that waste from local communities, the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) said in a new report.
“ECA understands this is a large change from current policy,” says the report from the nongovernmental organization that represents localities surrounding DOE environmental cleanup sites. “We have seen how the current policy has caused DOE to tread water and store this waste in our communities with no clear path forward to decrease risk, cut costs, or complete the job that DOE started over thirty (30) years ago.”
The heart of the problem, ECA said, is use of “artificial standards” in decision-making on waste management, notably classifying waste based on its point of origin instead of its characteristics and the danger it poses to human health.
The organization wants DOE to revamp its radioactive waste policy in order to open the door for some material now classified as high-level material to be treated as low-level or transuranic waste, depending on radiological traits. In the report, ECA said the “small shift” away from focusing on the origin of the waste could increase disposal flexibility and expedite cleanup.
On Wednesday, ECA Director of Nuclear Programs Kara Colton told Weapons Complex Monitor the Trump administration’s focus on regulatory reform could make DOE more receptive to issues that have been talked about for years. This includes revising the radioactive waste management policy outlined in DOE Order 435.1.
But because administrations change, ECA is pushing for a legislative approach as well. The report notes that the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization has prepared draft language that could be inserted into the National Defense Authorization Act or other legislation. The language says DOE “shall consider the radiological characteristics of wastes … Regardless of origin or previous categorization.”
There is language in the House NDAA for fiscal 2018 that effectively calls upon the secretary of energy to study the issue and report to Congress by Feb. 1, 2018. “The Senate version does not address this at all,” Colton said.
ECA said in the report that it wants to maximize the use of existing waste disposal sites and avoid delays from “the construction and D&D of new single-purpose government facilities.” By introducing more flexibility, the organization also hopes DOE can tackle “problematic or currently orphaned waste streams.”
The ECA paper also has much to say about the future of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. The organization wants DOE to work with New Mexico on a permit change that would remove the ban on tank waste and certain high-level wastes so that additional forms of TRU waste can be disposed of at the underground repository near Carlsbad, N.M.
Congress and DOE should also loosen the purse strings for WIPP’s capital improvements, including ventilation upgrades, ECA said.
