South Carolina is giving the Department of Energy extra time — more than a year in one case — to meet key milestones in treatment of liquid waste and closure of storage tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS).
The previously unreported suspension agreement, signed on Nov. 6 by DOE, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), revises waste tank deadlines that were originally designated in 2007.
The milestones are intended to ensure the Savannah River Site treats the more than 30 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste stored in over 40 underground waste tanks. The waste is a byproduct of nuclear weapons production operations during the Cold War, and is regarded by DHEC as the primary environmental threat in South Carolina.
Under the 2007 agreement with the state, the Energy Department was supposed to complete two tasks by Sept. 30, 2017: bulk waste removal, or the removal of most of the waste, in at least three storage tanks; and the operational closure of two tanks. The department was also supposed to complete bulk waste removal for three more tanks by Sept. 30, 2018.
The new deadline for these three tasks is May 30, 2019. “The milestones set in 2007 reflected best information at the time,” DHEC spokesman Tommy Crosby said Dec. 8 by email. “Since then, the High-Level Waste system has experienced significant delays and SRS has determined it is unable to meet the milestones.”
If DOE fails to reach the new milestones by May 30, 2019, Crosby said the suspension agreement may be terminated and DHEC “can take action for failure to meet the original milestones.” Those actions include fines that DHEC could impose based on the 2007 agreement. Under the agreement, the state agency could in total impose fines upward of $185 million. But, according to Crosby, the fines are suspended until the 2019 date. “Any penalties would be determined at that time,” he wrote.
