CH2M-WG Idaho has successfully completed its Operational Readiness Review for the Sodium-Bearing Waste Treatment Facility at the Department of Energy’s Idaho site, DOE said yesterday. The review, which ran from Feb. 27 to March 9, identified nine pre-start findings that DOE said related mainly to the “to the paper side of the review such as the strengthening of some procedure points, ensuring clarity for operators, and expanded depth of documentation in certain areas.” DOE is now scheduled to conduct its own Operational Readiness Review of the facility later this month. “We are a step closer to achieving our cleanup milestones and meeting our environmental commitments to the State of Idaho,” said Jim Cooper, DOE Deputy Manager for the Idaho Cleanup Project, said in a release. “The IWTU project team had to overcome numerous hurdles in achieving this major interim milestone and I am very pleased with the IWTU team and the results of this review.”
The SBWT Facility is intended to process the approximately 900,000 gallons of liquid waste remaining at the Idaho site by the end of this year to meet a commitment included in the Idaho Settlement Agreement. The facility has had a history of cost and schedule issues, and as a result, DOE has had to push back the planned start of operations a number of times. Construction work on the plant wrapped up last summer, and since then the facility has been undergoing start-up testing and commissioning prior to full operation. Most recently, DOE and CWI had planned to have the facility in operation in the late January-to-late February time frame, but had to push that schedule back. DOE now expects the facility to begin operations by the end of April—a schedule Department officials have said would be sufficient to have the waste treated in time to meet the Idaho Settlement Agreement milestone.
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