Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
4/25/2014
Alternatives to commissioning the Salt Waste Processing Facility the Department of Energy has studied include use of the existing processing capability combined with a new in-tank treatment technology called small column ion exchange, WC Monitor has learned. The Department originally undertook the study last year when it was in talks with contractor Parsons to renegotiate the contract for construction of the plant. While an agreement for construction was completed last summer, as talks drag on for a separate deal for startup of the plant, the Department has recently updated the alternatives study, WC Monitor has learned.
The options studied would involve continued use of SCIX in one or two tanks combined with the interim tank waste processing capability at Savannah River, called the Actinide Removal process and Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit. That combination could potentially process more than 5 million gallons per year, compared to estimates for SWPF of 7 million gallons to more than 10 million gallons per year. However, it is uncertain if waste from the tanks could be fed to SWPF to allow it to operate at its maximum capacity. So far, DOE has not made the study available or commented on it.
The ARP/MCU, operated by contractor Savannah River Remediation, has a record for waste processing so far of about 1.3 million gallons of tank waste per year. But SRR is currently deploying a new solvent into the interim process that has the potential to double throughput to nearly 3 million gallons per year (see related story). The SCIX system, which is expected to process up to 2.5 million gallons of salt waste per year, could be installed into existing tanks at Savannah River and help augment processing. But due to budgetary constraints, development of the new technology has been put on hold until at least 2018.
Consideration Comes During Protracted Talks
The reconsideration of alternatives comes during protracted SWPF contract talks. DOE and Parsons have had to negotiate a new contract for SWPF since delays in the delivery of key tanks for the facility caused the project’s price tag to increase substantially. A new agreement-in-principle reached last June covered only construction and pushed out completion of the facility from 2014 to late 2016, with commissioning and start-up to be addressed in a future agreement. But since then, talks have continued on for a separate agreement covering the startup portion. DOE’s fact finding process for the discussions begin in September, and formal negotiations began in December. Parsons submitted a “best and final offer” in late March for commissioning and startup of the plant. However, DOE subsequently prepared a counteroffer and no resolution has been reached.
S.C.: Alternatives Would Need to Beat Current Schedule
Any alternatives to SWPF that delay tank closure would be a hard sell to South Carolina state regulators, who have threatened the Department with fines due to likely missed tank waste cleanup milestones and a missed commitment for SWPF startup in 2015. “The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) has not been notified of an alternatives assessment for the Salt Waste Processing Facility,” DHEC federal facilities liaison Shelly Wilson said in a written response last week. “DHEC is open to alternatives that process waste in a time frame that meets or beats the current milestone schedules for tank closure and waste treatment.”
