Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
3/6/2015
SANTA FE, N.M.—As discussions continue on penalties that could top more than $100 million, “time is of the essence” in reaching a settlement between the Department of Energy and the New Mexico Environment Department to ensure a timely reopening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn said here this week. NMED and DOE are in discussions on state compliance orders that include $54 million in fines for violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and WIPP, and Flynn last month warned that an additional $100 million in penalties could be coming. “We are talking with DOE, which is positive. The fact that we are engaged—I think that’s a positive development,” Flynn said in an interview with WC Monitor. “We haven’t issued any additional compliance order. Our hope would be that our discussions with DOE would be fruitful and that we could resolve the first two compliance orders and alleviate the need for any additional enforcement action.”
WIPP has been shut down since a February 2014 radiological release, which was traced back to a drum processed at Los Alamos. DOE has a goal to restart initial operations at WIPP in 2016, and Flynn said NMED shares that goal. But talks must first be completed on the compliance orders, and ideally a settlement would be reached before scheduled compliance order hearings in July and September, Flynn said. “Time is of the essence right now,” he said. “The longer these discussions drag on, and certainly once the hearings begin, really the opportunity to make the deadline of reopening the WIPP by 2016 is jeopardized. Our goal would be to try to reach a mutually agreeable solution as soon as possible.”
Reopening WIPP in 2016 ‘Very Achievable Goal’
Flynn emphasized that the state would like to see WIPP reopen next year. “There is certainly no reason why WIPP can’t be reopened by the end of 2016,” he said. “I think that’s a very achievable goal. But it’s going to take a lot of effort on the part of the Department of Energy and their staff and my staff and others.”
The state is willing to work with DOE to negotiate a settlement, Flynn said. “If we are able to reach an agreement here we will be happy to forego any additional liability or issuing any additional compliance orders,” he said, noting, however, that if an agreement is not reached the additional compliance order topping $100 million is still on the table. “The goal would be to try and see if we could continue to move forward in a productive manner in order to allow a settlement that would obviate the need to issue any additional compliance orders. But we are not there right now and the prospect of additional compliance orders is still very real and our staff is currently working on that,” he said.
‘Our Number One Goal is Compliance’
The state’s goal with the penalties is to ensure compliance and safety at WIPP and LANL, Flynn emphasized. “Our number one goal is compliance. We view enforcement as a last resort. Here enforcement was absolutely appropriate given what occurred,” he said. “We don’t view enforcement as a tool to supplement budget shortfalls. I really think that any type of settlement agreement would need to benefit the state in a manner that would make both Los Alamos and WIPP stronger in the long term.”
Flynn hopes the enforcement action would also serve as a deterrent to prevent future issues at the facilities. “Everyone is going to be inclined to do the right thing right now given what occurred very recently,” he said. “But as memories fade and new players become involved and time passes by, the key is to make sure the lessons learned from this situation guide our actions in the long term. I think that any settlement agreement needs to be forward looking to encourage both the Department of Energy and its contractors to continue to make sure they are developing adequate levels of regulation and abiding by the regulations.”
NMED Looking at Changes to WIPP Permit
On that note, NMED is also looking at its own procedures and permits to improve its oversight of DOE facilities. “We need to invite input and objective criticism of our processes and procedures and our permits in order to make sure that what we are doing is really the best way to handle the situation,” Flynn said, adding later: “When we look at our permit that was issued for WIPP in 1999, there are areas in that permit that have never been changed that I think we need to improve. I can’t give you what those specific modifications would look like at this point, but both our staff and the people we’ve been working with down in Carlsbad at the site level, there has been a lot of good work that has occurred over the last few months to identify areas we can strengthen what we are doing.”
