The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will work with the Energy Department and a New York state agency in drafting a scoping plan for Phase 2 cleanup of the West Valley Demonstration Project near Buffalo, N.Y.
In late September DOE asked the NRC to participate in the supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) process to ensure the West Valley environmental planning for Phase 2 complies with the regulator’s requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act.
The NRC agreed to become a cooperating agency in a Nov. 2 letter on the SEIS from agency official John Tappert to West Valley Decommissioning Project Director Brian Bower. Tappert directs the Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs within the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. The New York state Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is also involved in drafting the document.
Work on the West Valley Demonstration Project involves cleanup of a former commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing plant that last operated in 1976.
West Valley is being torn down in phases. Phase 1, which is ongoing, includes removal of a number of highly contaminated facilities. Areas remaining after Phase 1 will include the Waste Tank Farm, as well as an NRC-licensed disposal area and a state-licensed disposal area, according to materials posted online following the West Valley Citizens Task Force meeting on Oct. 25. A landfill must also be remediated.
The notice of intent for the supplemental EIS is due to be published in both the Federal Register and the New York state Environmental Notice Bulletin in February 2018. Three public hearings will likely be held on the SEIS on March 19, 20, and 21.
The slides from the Citizens Task Force meeting don’t clearly state when the SEIS for Phase 2 is expected to be complete.
The West Valley project is managed by CH2M Hill BWXT West Valley (CHBWV). The contractor currently has a $545 million project contract that extends until March 2020, according to a DOE Office of Environmental Management summary of major contracts.
