Discussions over missed deadlines and penalties at the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) have been held since November, even though the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) said in December that talks were expected to wrap up in January. Construction of the facility is expected to be completed next month, but the issue of whether SCDHEC will impose about $170 million in fines due to missed milestones has yet to be decided.
According to the Saltstone Disposal Facility Permit signed on Oct. 3, 2006, the facility, which will process millions of gallons of salt waste sitting in more than 30 SRS waste storage tanks, was supposed to be operating by Oct. 31, 2015. Because the Energy Department failed to meet the deadline, SCHDEC could have fined the federal government $105,000 a day starting at the earlier date of Sept. 30, 2011, according to the agreement. The permit states that several tasks were to be completed before the 2011 date, including operation of the waste transfer lines for the SWPF.
Days before the October deadline, SCDHEC reported that it was beginning conversations with the Energy Department to renegotiate deadlines, schedules, and funding commitments. At that time, the state agency also forfeited its ability to impose the fines until Dec. 18; It has since had the green light to act, but is “continuing to evaluate our options regarding the assessment of penalties,” said SCDHEC spokesperson Jim Beasley. He added that the two parties are working to “reach an environmentally protective solution” but did not comment further.
Once operable, SWPF, will separate the highly radioactive cesium and actinides from the salt solution found in the waste storage tanks. After completing the separation process, the cesium and actinide waste will be sent to the nearby Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF). The remaining decontaminated salt solution will be mixed with grout at the SRS Saltstone facility for disposal on-site.
When SWPF begins operating, liquid waste processing at the Savannah River Site is expected to jump from 1.5 million gallons a year to about 6 million gallons, according to site officials. The facility will accompany DWPF, which converts the liquid waste into a glass form that allows for safe storage on-site until a federal repository is made available.
