A pair of public meetings have been scheduled in March on proposed changes in the New Mexico hazardous waste facility permit for the U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M.
The meetings, scheduled in Carlsbad and Santa Fe, will center around clarifying transuranic “Mixed Waste Disposal Volume Reporting,” according to a memo posted online by WIPP and site prime operations contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership.
The Energy Department and its contractor on Jan. 31 filed an application with the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) for a Class 2 modification to WIPP’s hazardous waste permit. The state agency regulates radioactive materials in New Mexico.
Among other things, the permit modification seeks to “Clarify that Final TRU Mixed Waste Volumes reported by the Permittees are based on outermost disposal container volumes,” according to the memo. The permit modification also seeks to add some definitions to “distinguish between Transuranic (TRU) Mixed Waste Volume and Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) TRU Waste Volume of Record.” Under the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, the underground disposal facility has a TRU waste capacity limit of 6.2 million cubic feet.
The public meetings are set for Tuesday, March 6, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. local time at the Skeen-Whitlock Building, 4021 National Parks Highway in Carlsbad; and on Thursday, March 8, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott, 3347 Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe.
The events are described as public meetings, rather than public hearings. It is not clear if public comments will actually be taken at the meetings. Written comments for the record must be sent by April 3 to NMED’s Ricardo Maestas at [email protected].
NMED declined comment. NWP did not respond by press time to a request for further comment on the modification request.
