Millions of dollars in fines are still possible over missed milestones at the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), though South Carolina regulators will not confirm or deny if they’ll impose the penalties after nearly a year of meetings with the federal government on the issue. The Savannah River Site celebrated the facility’s completion in June, but an agreement between the Department of Energy and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) states the facility was supposed to be operating by Oct. 31, 2015. “The milestones weren’t met and the stipulated penalties exist. We have that ability to impose them,” SCDHEC Director Catherine Heigel said in an interview. Heigel did not say whether SCDHEC would impose the fines.
The SWPF will process millions of gallons of salt waste sitting in more than 40 SRS storage tanks. Because the Energy Department failed to meet the October 2015 deadline set by the 2006 Saltstone Disposal Facility permit, SCHDEC could have fined the federal government $105,000 a day starting at the earlier date of Sept. 30, 2011, according to the agreement. The permit states that several tasks were to be completed before the 2011 date, including operation of the waste transfer lines for the SWPF. To date, SCDHEC could attempt to levy $185,430,000 from the Energy Department.
Days before the October deadline, SCDHEC reported that it was beginning conversations with the Energy Department to renegotiate deadlines, schedules, and funding commitments for the facility. Those discussions have continued since then.
The most recent meeting took place on July 15 between Heigel and Monica Regalbuto, assistant energy secretary for environmental management. Neither party would reveal the details of the discussions. Heigel said she could not disclose the information, and a DOE spokesperson emailed the following: “The Department values its relationship with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. DOE takes seriously compliance with regulatory milestones and we continue to work with SCDHEC to develop a long-term path forward for ensuring that Savannah River Site cleanup work is completed safely and expeditiously.”
