South Carolina Warns of Penalties Coming for Missed Tank Closure Milestones

South Carolina continues to push back against the Department of Energy’s latest Savannah River high level waste tank closure plan, warning that it will not extend regulatory milestones solely based on inadequate funding requested for the site. The DOE’s latest liquid waste system plan “would result in a total cumulative delay of over 200 years for waste removal, tank closure, treatment startup and waste treatment completion milestones. These delays will not be tolerated by the State of South Carolina,” states a June 16 letter from South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Templeton to DOE Secretary Ernest Moniz.

 

Penalties could add up to $193 million by the end of Fiscal Year 2016, with subsequent ongoing daily penalties totaling over $100,000. Templeton warns: “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. 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.”