Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
10/17/14
With the Department of Energy and South Carolina in dispute over extensions for tank closure milestones at the Savannah River Site, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control is urging DOE to take steps to increase waste processing rates. DOE has requested an extension to the 2015 closure milestone for Tanks 12 and 16, which was denied by the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. DOE and liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation are aiming to accelerate closure of Tanks 12 and 16, but the effort is also lagging on numerous upcoming tanks. “DHEC has been working with SRS and SRR to accelerate the closure of Tank 12. DHEC urges Department of Energy to find ways to meet the closure milestones, not only for Tanks 12 and 16, but all of the tanks under the closure schedule,” DHEC’s Shelly Wilson said in a written response late last week.
Despite limited funding, SRR has aimed to accelerate tank closure by seeking efficiencies and prioritizing work. But Wilson believes that more should be done. “In order for DOE to secure future tank milestones, DHEC believes that DOE should implement as much treatment as possible,” Wilson said. That includes introducing the Next Generation Solvent in the Salt Waste Processing Facility under construction at SRS. The new solvent is now being used in a trial run in Savannah River’s interim salt waste treatment capacity, and is currently focusing on increasing cesium removal. But the new solvent is expected to be able to significantly increase processing throughput. The Salt Waste Processing Facility is also planned to exponentially increase tank processing rates when it comes online in late 2018. DOE declined to comment this week on DHEC’s remarks.
SC: Production Needs to Increase at Current Facilities
In the meantime, the Department should implement full-scale capacity in Savannah River’s current treatment facilities, Wilson said, including the vitrification plant known as the Defense Waste Processing Facility, as well as the interim salt waste processing capacity, known as the Actinide Removal Process and Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit. Because of limited disposal space for low-level waste at the site’s Saltstone Facilities, at the ARP/MCU salt waste processing rates will be reduced from 4.7 million gallons per year to 2 million gallons per year. Also, storage space limitations for glass canisters and budget cuts have slashed DWPF production in half, from recent record rates of nearly 300 canisters a year to a current production of 120 to 160 canisters per year, according to the latest version of Savannah River’s liquid waste plan.
A Revival of SCIX
Additionally, DHEC has urged DOE to revive the development of in-tank treatment technology known as Small Column Ion Exchange. The SCIX system could be installed into existing tanks at Savannah River and help augment processing, and is believed to be able to process up to 2.5 million gallons of salt waste per year. But due to budgetary constraints, development of the new technology was put on hold until at least 2018.
Last month, DHEC and the EPA denied DOE’s request for a 15-month extension for Tanks 12 and 16 beyond the September 2015 milestone, citing technical and funding issues. After the rejection of its request, DOE emphasized that it hopes to be able to mitigate any schedule delays in the upcoming tanks. “DOE believes the diligent efforts implemented to achieve early closure of tanks 5F and 6F (two of the four tanks included in this 2015 commitment) twenty months ahead of the milestone date, demonstrate that DOE will similarly work to mitigate any schedule delays associated with tanks 12H and 16H,” DOE said in a September response to DHEC and the EPA.
Dispute Resolution Process Underway
DOE, DHEC and the EPA this week held the first dispute resolution meeting. The process begins with informal dispute resolution meetings between project managers and immediate supervisors. If it’s not resolved there, the disputing party issues a written statement of dispute to a dispute resolution committee with officials from the EPA, DOE and SC DHEC. If it is not unanimously resolved there within 28 days, the statement is forwarded to a senior executive committee for resolution, with includes DOE’s Savannah River manager, the EPA Region 4 Administrator and a DHEC deputy commissioner. If it is still not resolved, the parties could elevate it to the EPA Administrator, who may resolve the dispute in conference with the Secretary of Energy and DHEC Commissioner.
The potentially missed milestones involve the first two tanks in what is likely to be a string of tank closure delays and missed deadlines DOE has attributed to a combination of a lack of funding and a change in schedule for the startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility. In DOE’s latest SRS liquid waste system plan, the closure date for all old style-tanks was moved to 2032, 10 years beyond regulatory commitments. Enacted funding for the Savannah River liquid waste program stood at $838.5 million in Fiscal Year 2013, which has dropped down to a current level of $690.5 million. DOE’s FY’15 budget requests $722.8 million for the liquid waste program. Meanwhile, the SWPF has had its startup pushed back from 2014 to 2018.
