The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) confirmed recently the cleanup road map for the entire Santa Susana Field Laboratory site, due this year, will not be published until 2019.
State spokesman Sanford Nax confirmed by email the DTSC now expects to issue the program management plan (PMP) for the 2,800-acre site in early 2019. The delay could affect the state’s plan for remediation to begin next year.
“We are developing responses to the public comments on both the PEIR [Program Environmental Impact Report] and Draft Program Management Plan and are working to issue the final EIR late this year, and the PMP early next year,” Nax said. He declined to provide further detail.
The PMP is intended to provide a detailed picture of what has to be achieved and how it should be carried out. The plan is also designed to help the state and the responsible parties for cleanup coordinate their efforts. The state has previously said a good estimate of cost that work will be hard to come by until the key environmental reports are done.
The Ventura County Star first reported the delay Aug. 21, adding public interest groups fear contamination could worsen the longer remediation is put off. The Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles recently posted a video on its website suggesting there is a cancer cluster around the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site. California has previously set 2034 as its target for completion of all cleanup.
The state is also is extending the public comment period by 15 days on cleanup plans for a portion of the Santa Susana site where the Energy Department operated its Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC).
The state agency said Aug. 13 it is extending the public comment period from Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, for draft closure plans for DOE’s Hazardous Waste Management Facility (HWMF) and the Radioactive Materials Handling Facility (RMHF) within in Area IV.
The RMHF buildings were constructed in the late 1950s to process, package, and temporarily store radioactive waste. It shut down in 2007. The RMHF also treated and stored mixed waste with both chemical and radiological portions. The facility is authorized by the state to store and treat wastes pending off-site disposal.
The HWMF, which started operation in the 1970s and closed in 1997, has two remaining buildings that were used for storage and treatment of non-radiological alkaline metal wastes. The Energy Department began pre-demolition sampling and assessment there in 2003.
The state is also holding two public hearings on the closure plans, one was Thursday in Woodland Hills and another is Sept. 8 in Simi Valley. Before making a final determination, DTSC will respond to all public comments with a response document.
The DTSC is the lead regulator overseeing cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, located in Ventura County about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Responsibility for Santa Susana cleanup is divided among Boeing, NASA, and DOE.
The Energy Department’s 472-acre footprint encompasses the ETEC, a retired laboratory for research into nuclear power and liquid metal technology. Some of the DOE work released chemicals and radionuclides into soil, bedrock, and groundwater at Area IV and the neighboring Northern Buffer Zone. North Wind has a $26 million contract, awarded in 2014, for DOE decommissioning and demolition at ETEC.
The Energy Department signed an administrative order with California in December 2010 that defines the process for soil, characterization, cleanup, and final remediation for Area IV.
