United States Solid Waste and
Environmental Protection Emergency Response EPA/530-SW-90-035
Agency (OS-305) April 1990
Office of Solid Waste " " ~" ~
v°/EPA Environmental
Fact Sheet
EPA PROPOSES A CONDITIONAL
NO-MIGRATION VARIANCE
FOR DOE'S WASTE ISOLATION
PILOT PLANT
BACKGROUND
The 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) prohibit the continued
land disposal of hazardous wastes, unless the wastes are treated to
meet standards specified by the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). HSWA requires EPA to establish treatment standards that
define when a hazardous waste may be land disposed. EPA has
established these treatment standards on the basis of best
demonstrated available technology (BDAT). By May 9, 1990,
restrictions will be in effect for all wastes that were listed or identified
as hazardous before November 8, 1984.
Once the land disposal prohibition date for a specific waste has passed,
that waste may not be placed in a land disposal unit unless it has been
treated to BDAT standards, or unless the EPA Administrator
determines that the prohibition is not required in order to protect
human health and the environment for as long as the waste remains
hazardous. This determination must be based on a demonstration by
the facility owner or operator that the waste will not migrate from the
disposal unit or injection zone for as long as the wastes remain
hazardous. A determination under this authority is referred to as a
"no-migration variance"; a request from a facility owner or operator for
such a variance is called a "no-migration variance petition."
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In March 1989, the Department of Energy (DOE) submitted a no-
migration variance petition to EPA for its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
(WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. DOE has designed the WIPP as a
permanent repository for mixed hazardous and radioactive wastes
that are generated and stored at ten DOE sites around the country.
These wastes, which result from the production of nuclear weapons,
consist of a variety of materials, including tools, equipment, protective
clothing, and other material contaminated during the production and
reprocessing of plutonium; contaminated organic and inorganic
sludge from wastewater treatment operations; cemented process and
laboratory wastes; and contaminated items from decontamination and
decommissioning activities at DOE installations.
Because of uncertainties related to the long-term performance of the
repository, DOE intends to place a limited amount of waste under-
ground for testing in a five-year experimental program. Based on the
results of the experimental program, DOE will make a decision as to
whether the repository is appropriate for permanent disposal of mixed
wastes.
If the WIPP proves acceptable as a permanent repository, DOE would
then begin disposal of waste at the site. Drums, metal boxes, and
canisters of waste will be shipped to the WIPP from the generating
sites around the country and placed in the underground rooms.
Under current plans, the wastes would be backfilled with a crushed
salt and clay mixture and the rooms would be sealed. After an oper-
ating period of approximately 25 years, DOE would seal the shafts of
the mine with cement plugs and compacted salt, and decommission
the facility.
A significant portion of the waste destined for the WIPP is contami-
nated with RCRA hazardous waste, making it a "mixed waste" subject
to RCRA Jurisdiction. However, the percentage of hazardous constitu-
ents in this mixed waste is relatively small. The hazardous wastes in
question are primarily solvents and toxic metals, such as lead. The
solvents are currently subject to BDAT standards under the land dis-
posal restrictions, and the toxic metals will be subject by May 1992 at
the latest. DOE applied for a no-migration variance in order to dis-
pose of these mixed wastes in the WIPP without treating them in
conformance with BDAT standards.
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ACTION
EPA is proposing to grant a conditional no-migration variance to DOE
for the WIPP. This variance would allow DOE to place mixed waste
subject to the RCRA land disposal restrictions in the WIPP for testing
and experimentation to determine whether the site is appropriate for
the long-term disposal of mixed waste.
After reviewing DOE's no-migration variance petition and supporting
information, EPA has tentatively determined that there is a reasonable
degree of certainty that hazardous constituents will not migrate from
the WIPP disposal unit during the five-year test period. This is based
on the geologic stability of the area, the depth, thickness, and extreme
impermeability of the salt formation, and the likelihood of the rock
salt to encapsulate the waste.
The proposal establishes several conditions on DOE activities at the
WIPP. Activities would be limited to testing and experimentation. The
proposal would require that waste be placed in the repository in a
readily retrievable form, and that it be removed if DOE could not
demonstrate the acceptability of permanent disposal at the site. DOE
would also be required to conduct air monitoring at the site, and to
provide EPA with waste characterization data developed during the
experimental program.
At the conclusion of its experimental program, DOE will be required to
resubmit a no-migration petition to allow permanent disposal at the
site. The public will have the opportunity to comment on any decision
EPA makes with respect to permanent disposal at that time.
CONCLUSION
EPA emphasizes that this proposal addresses only the specific ques-
tion of whether hazardous constituents will or will not migrate from
the WIPP. EPA's authority under RCRA over waste destined for the
WIPP extends only to mixed hazardous and radioactive waste, and it
is further limited to the hazardous components of the mixed waste.
The potential release of radioactive material from the WIPP is ad-
dressed under the Atomic Energy Act. Issues raised by the transpor-
tation of waste to the WIPP site, or by the handling and possible treat-
ment of waste before it reaches the WIPP, are beyond the scope of this
tentative petition decision.
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PUBLIC COMMENT
EPA is requesting public comment on this proposed conditional no-
migration variance. Comments should be submitted to EPA within 60
days of the Federal Register notice publication date. For instructions
on submitting written comments, please see the Federal Register
notice. It is available for free by calling the RCRA Hotline or by going
to EPAs RCRA Docket in Washington, D.C. It is also available at the
National Atomic Museum Library (Building 20358, Wyoming Blvd
Kirkland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, NM), and at the WIPP Office
and Information Center (101 W. Greene, Carlsbad, NM). In addition
copies of the petition and all supporting information are available for
viewing and photocopying at these three locations.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Public hearings for this proposed rule will be held in Carlsbad New
Mexico, on May 22, and in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on May 23 - 26
To schedule a time to speak at one of these hearings, please call (800)
955-9477 by May 11. EPA requests that commenters speak at only
one hearing in order to allow all interested parties the opportunity to
participate. J
participate.
CONTACT
For further information, or to order a copy of the Federal Register
notice, please call the RCRA Hotline Monday through Friday 8-30
a.m. to 7:30 p.m. EST. TTie national toll-free number is (800) 424-
9346; for the hearing impaired, it is (TDD) (800) 553-7672. In
Washington, D.C., the number is (202) 382-3000 or TDD (202) 475-
9652.
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