Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
9/5/2014
In a move that could lead to fines for the Department of Energy, South Carolina and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rejected late last week DOE’s request for a five-month extension for the closure dates for two high-level waste tanks at the Savannah River Site. After DOE cut requested funds for Savannah River tank closure actvities, South Carolina’s Department of Health and Environmental Control warned DOE repeatedly that it could face hundreds of millions fines for missed milestones. South Carolina “will fully exercise its authorities for penalty assessment if satisfactory commitment to the high level waste schedule is not reached,” SCDHEC said in an Aug. 29 letter to DOE.
Citing technical and funding issues, DOE requested an extension of the closure dates for Tanks 12H and 16H from September 2013 to December 2016. However, the state did not believe any technical issues were cause for extension, and stated that DOE did not make timely efforts to obtain necessary funds. SCDHEC only agreed to a 27-day extension to make up for last year’s government shutdown. “The liquid radioactive and toxic waste in aging tanks at Savannah River Site is currently one of the greatest environmental threats to the State of South Carolina,” SCDHEC said in a statement. “By not accepting the DOE’s request to extend the closure date for two tanks, we are holding the agency accountable to its responsibility of meeting its timeline and supporting risk reduction.”
The EPA is also opposing DOE’s request to extend the closure milestones for two Savannah River high-level waste tanks by 15 months, instead suggesting a 30-day and a seven-month extension. “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.”
DOE Has Pushed Tank Closure Schedules Back by 10 Years
The delays in closure of those two tanks are just the first in a string of tank closure delays DOE has attributed to a combination of a lack of funding and a change in schedule for the startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility, among other factors. In DOE’s latest SRS liquid waste system plan, tanks are expected to miss regulatory commitments to South Carolina for closure dates, with a closure date for all old style-tanks moving to 2032, 10 years beyond regulatory commitments. Enacted funding for the Savannah River liquid waste program stood at $838.5 million in Fiscal Year 2013, which has dropped down to a current level of $690.5 million. DOE’s FY’15 budget requests $722.8 million for the liquid waste program. Meanwhile, SWPF is expected to greatly increase tank processing rates, but has had its startup pushed back from 2014 to 2018.
Penalties Could Add Up to $193 million
South Carolina’s penalties could add up to $193 million by the end of Fiscal Year 2016, with ongoing daily penalties of $105,000 for failure to start up SWPF by 2015 and $10,000 for failure to close tanks, according to a June letter from SC DHEC Director Catherine Templeton. “DHEC will not agree to milestone extensions sought because of inadequate funding for SRS. DHEC calls upon DOE to take appropriate action to fund existing and additional processing capacities needed to meet its commitments,” she said in the letter. “DHEC will fully exercise its authority for hazardous waste oversight, along with other environmental authorities, if satisfactory commitment to the high level waste schedule is not reached.”
DOE Says Progress Being Made
DOE this week noted its positive progress in early closure of other tanks at the site. “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,” according to a DOE statement.
Also late last week, the Department’s Office of Environmental Management responded to Templeton’s June letter. “EM must work in an integrated manner to address the environmental issues at all of the DOE sites,” acting EM Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney wrote in the letter. “While recognizing current fiscal challenges, I assure you that the Administration also shares your concerns that the Savannah River Site (SRS) receives the resources necessary to address the site’s cleanup needs.”
