EPA Also Opposing DOE?s Request to Extend Savannah River Tank Closure Milestones

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is also opposing the Department of Energy’s request to extend the closure milestones for two Savannah River high level waste tanks by 15 months, instead suggesting separate 30-day and seven-month extensions to close the tanks. DOE has requested an extension of the closure dates for Tanks 12H and 16H from September 2013 to December 2016, citing technical and funding issues. The delay comes after DOE cut its funding request for Savannah River tank cleanup. “EPA considers the requested extension of 15 months to be excessive and not totally supported by the submitted information,” states the Aug. 29 letter from EPA to DOE. It adds: “Based on the information DOE has provided EPA, we believe an extension of no more than 30 days is sufficient for Tank 16H and that an extension of no more than 7 months would be appropriate for Tank 12H.”  

 

The EPA’s letter to the Department Friday comes as South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control rejected DOE’s recent request for an extension, instead only agreeing to a 27-day extension to accomodate the government shutdown last year. DOE said in a statement yesterday: “We value our relationship with the State of South Carolina including our commitment to operationally close tanks. We completed operational closure of Tanks 5 and 6 over a year earlier than the planned date. While we have been challenged by a number of issues, the Department will continue to strive to find ways to accelerate our current schedule for closure of Tanks 12 and 16.”