The Energy Department said last week it continues to conduct “departmental concurrence” ahead of submitting a report to Congress on disposal of Greater Than Class C waste.
That leaves the schedule for issuing the record of decision on the disposal pathway “TBD at this time,” a DOE spokesperson said in a July 27 email to RadWaste Monitor.
Speaking during an industry conference in March, a DOE official involved in the work said she expected the report to be sent to Congress by the end of 2017.
The federal government is legally responsible for disposing of what is likely to be about 12,000 cubic meters of GTCC and GTCC-like waste: activated metals from commercial nuclear power plants, sealed sources from hospitals and universities, and other waste from environmental cleanup sites.
In February 2016, DOE issued the final environmental impact statement for GTCC low-level radioactive waste and GTCC-like waste. The final EIS found the preferred alternative would be storage at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) geologic repository in New Mexico and/or generic commercial facilities.
In accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the next step in the process for obtaining GTCC LLW disposal capability is for DOE to submit the report to Congress that includes a discussion of the disposal alternatives, the spokesperson said.
Before it can issue any record of decision, which is a public document that explains the remediation plan for the waste cleanup, the Energy Department needs congressional action, the DOE spokesperson said. Depending on the outcome of the congressional action, the ROD would include a discussion on further analysis that might be required.
The Energy Policy Act did not further define what “congressional action” means, but that could be a topic of further discussion once the DOE report is submitted to Capitol Hill.
