Addl. Details Released of FY 2015 FUSRAP Budget Request
Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
3/28/2014
The Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) has elected to add a new site to its cleanup list. The Middlesex North Site, also known as the Middlesex Municipal Landfill, located in New Jersey, will join the list of cleanup sites during Fiscal Year 2015, according to Corps spokesperson Candy Walters. The Corps has requested $200,000 in FY 2015 to perform a feasibility study at the site, according to detailed budget documents released this week. The proposed budget sets aside $100 million for the FUSRAP program, down from the $103.49 million allocated for FY2014.
The site had been under consideration by FUSRAP after additional contamination had been discovered in area by a radiological survey performed by the Borough of Middlesex, which provided the data to the Department of Energy. DOE then commissioned a survey of the entire property that identified above-background concentrations of radium-226 and uranium-238 inside the property boundary in areas that had not been previously remediated, and then referred the site to FUSRAP. The site had gone through two prior cleanups conducted by the Atomic Energy Commission in 1961 and then by DOE in 1984 and 1986 after which it was deemed open for unrestricted use in 1989.
Large Boost Sought for SLDA Site
The Corps’ FY 2015 request also proposes significant funding increases for two current FUSRAP sites. For the Shallow Land Disposal Area site, the Corps is seeking $20 million, up from the site’s current funding level of approximately $6 million. The site has come under heavy scrutiny lately from Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Inspector General for mishandled record keeping and oversight of the site that “grossly underestimates” how much radioactive material remains there. The “FY 2015 funds will be used to award the remediation contract, prepare remedial work plans, and begin site infrastructure improvements,” the budget documents said.
Maywood Would See Slight Cut
For the Maywood site, located in New Jersey, the Corps is proposing a slight cut in funding for FY 2015—$33 million, down from the site’s current funding level of $36.65 million. Cleanup activities at the site currently focus on soil and groundwater remediation. “FY 2015 funds will be used to continue the remedial action under the soils and groundwater RODs. Plan to excavate and dispose 28,000 cyds [cubic yards] of material,” the detailed budget documents said. FUSRAP estimates it will take an additional $258 million to $269 million to complete the cleanup, bring the estimated total cost to somewhere between $930 million and $940 million.
Flat Funding Sought for Niagara Falls Storage Site
The Corps requested a relatively flat budget of $3.6 million next year for the Niagara Falls Storage Site, located in Lewistown, N.Y. The site came under scrutiny last month when the Niagara County Legislature passed a resolution calling on FUSRAP to accelerate its cleanup efforts. The legislators have concerns over the pace of the decision-making process and preliminary site tests, which they feel are moving too slowly. “FY2015 funds will be used to complete and publicly release the IWCS Operable Unit Feasibility Study, execute public information sessions and outreach activities including technical facilitated services, and perform annual environmental surveillance, security, and maintenance activities,” the budget documents said. “Funds will also be used to develop the Proposed Plan for the IWCS Operable Unit, which will identify the preferred long term remedy for the IWCS. Additionally, a contract will be awarded to obtain services for the preparation and development of four technical memoranda and the Feasibility Study report associated with the Balance of Plant Operable Unit,” the documents said.
