TEXAS REGULATORS DETAIL REMAINING ISSUES FOR WCS SITE

Among the reasons that Waste Control Specialists’ Andrews, Texas low-level waste disposal facility has not yet been certified to begin operations, state regulators told the company in a letter this week, is the fact that construction in some areas differs from its license-approved design and some systems and features have yet to be completed. After reviewing construction certification reports and visiting the Andrews site Dec. 12-14, inspectors with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality noticed “several features or facilities that had been constructed differently than specified in the license-approved design,” Susan Jablonski, director of TCEQ’s radioactive materials division, wrote in the Jan. 17 letter to WCS’ Scott Kirk. “TCEQ’s review also identified additional items in the reports that were missing, erroneous, poorly-copied, or described temporary equipment that had been put in place.” Deviations from the license-approved design “must be explained and submitted for review by the executive director,” Jablonski wrote, adding, “deviations may require an amendment of the license.” TCEQ also gave WCS five days to provide an updated status for and schedule for the completion of several unfinished portions of the site, including the compact waste facility’s sedimentation pond discharge piping and pumps and primary entrance ramp.