Annual Hanford Site environmental permitting status report

The Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application is considered to be a single application organized into a General Information Portion (document number DOERL-91-28) and a Unit-Specific Portion. The scope of the Unit-Specific Portion includes closure plan documentation submitted for individual, treatment, storage, and/or disposal units undergoing closure, such as the 300 Area Waste Acid Treatment System. Documentation contained in the General Information Portion is broader in nature and could be used by multiple treatment, storage, and/or disposal units (e.g., the glossary provided in the General Information Portion). Whenever appropriate, 300 Area Waste Acid Treatment System documentation makes cross-reference to the General Information Portion, rather than duplicating text. This 300 Area Waste Acid Treatment System Closure Plan (Revision 2) includes a Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application, Part A, Form 3. Information provided in this closure plan is current as of April 1999.

The information contained in, and/or referenced in, this Annual Hanford Site Environmental Permitting Status Report addresses Permit Condition II.W (Other Permits and/or Approvals) of the Dangerous Waste Portion of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Permit for the Treatment, Storage, and Disposal of Dangerous Waste, issued by the Washington State Department of Ecology (WA7890008967). Condition II.W specifies that the Permittees are responsible for obtaining all other applicable federal, state, and local permits authorizing the development and operation of the Hanford Facility. This status report also addresses Permit Condition LE.22, as interpreted in Section 12.1.25 of the Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application. General Information Portion (DOE/RL-9 1-28, latest revision), that states this report will be prepared annually and a copy of this report will be placed in the Facility Operating Record, General Information file by October 1 of each year. The Washington State Department of Ecology Dangerous Waste Regulations (WAC 173-303) recently was amended to require that all Part As for final status permit applications include a listing of specific environmental permits and construction approvals for various environmental programs. The list of environmental programs is provided in WAC 173-303-803(3)(k). In response to this requirement, a list is provided that provides a cross-reference of the environmental permits and construction approvals for the various Hanford Site Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 treatment, storage, and/or disposal units that are incorporated or are scheduled for incorporation as final status operating treatment, storage, and/or disposal units.

This report contains the Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit Application for the 325 Hazardous Waste Treatment Units (325 HWTUs) which consist of the Shielded Analytical Laboratory, the 325 Building, and the 325 Collection/Loadout Station Tank. The 325 HWTUs receive, store, and treat dangerous waste generated by Hanford Facility programs. Routine dangerous and/or mixed waste treatment that will be conducted in the 325 HWTUs will include pH adjustment, ion exchange, carbon absorption, oxidation, reduction, waste concentration by evaporation, precipitation, filtration, solvent extraction, solids washing, phase separation, catalytic destruction, and solidification/stabilization.

The emergence of hazardous waste as a major environmental issue has forced the society to reexamine the ultimate ends of the whole pollution control enterprise. The hazardous waste problem is a by‐product of this nation's rapid economic growth over the past 50 or 60 years. As the industry has expanded, we have developed more and more reliance on a broader range of chemicals and chemical by‐products in plastics, automobiles, and other major manufacturing sectors. When chemicals are used to develop new products, however, wastes are generated, and unfortunately, the phenomenal growth in the production of waste was not mirrored by the growth in the field of waste management. Much of the waste produced made its way into the environment where it poses a serious threat to ecological systems and public health. It was not until the mid‐1970s that Congress enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ( RCRA ), the first major hazardous waste regulatory document to address waste generation and disposal effectively. This article is organized in a historical manner. In Section 2, waste legislation before the RCRA of 1976—what little there was—is discussed. Section 3 examines the 1976 RCRA with particular emphasis on Subtitle C of the act, which lays the groundwork for the current standards and regulations pertaining to the management of hazardous waste. In Section 4, the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments ( HSWA ) to the RCRA , also known as the New RCRA , are discussed. Along with key elements of the amendments, a discussion of Subtitle 1, which expands the regulation domain of Subtitle C, is included. Section 5 covers the permitting process for incinerators, treatment/storage tanks, and land treatment, with special emphasis on incinerators. Section 6 covers more recent activities by EPA in assisting and expediting the permit processes for incinerators and other hazardous waste combustors including concerns regarding emissions of toxic metals, hydrogen chloride, and chlorine and their control, control of PICs , and measurement techniques for all emissions of concern. Section 7 covers the release and implementation of the boiler and industrial furnace regulations. Section 8 covers the US EPA Hazardous Waste Reduction and Combustion Strategy in the 1993–1994 era with the change of administration in Washington. Included in this section are the activities initiated by the US EPA with the moratorium on new incinerator construction followed by public meetings in February and November 1993 to openly discuss waste minimization and eventually issuance of the maximum achievable control technology ( MACT ) rules for combustion of hazardous wastes in incinerators, cement kilns, and lightweight aggregate kilns. Section 9 discusses the Combustion Emissions Technical Resources Document ( CETRED ), issued in May 1994. Section 10 covers the MACT rules initially introduced in April 1996, with many reviews by industry, industrial associations, peer review groups, and public groups, with final approval by the Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) and release in final form in August 1999.

Within the confines of the Oak Ridge Y-12 Plant are both active and inactive hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities. These solid waste management units (SWMUs) are subject to assessment by the US Environmental Protections Agency, as required by the 1984 Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). This document is the site-specific RFI plan for Tank 2064-U and contains historical information, operational information, and sampling data for this tank. The potential for release of contamination through the various media and potential receptors is addressed. A sampling and analysis plan is proposed to determine the extent, if any, of contaminant releases to the surrounding environment. Included are health, safety, quality assurance, and quality control procedures to be followed when implementing the sampling plan. 4 figs., 4 tabs.

This 2002 Facility Work Plan (FWP) has been prepared as required by Module VII, Permit Condition VII.U.3 of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, NM4890139088-TSDF (the Permit) (New Mexico Environment Department [NMED], 1999a), and incorporates comments from the NMED received on December 6, 2000 (NMED, 2000a). This February 2002 FWP describes the programmatic facility-wide approach to future investigations at Solid Waste Management Units (SWMU) and Areas of Concern (AOC) specified in the Permit. The Permittees are evaluating data from previous investigations of the SWMUs and AOCs against the most recent guidance proposed by the NMED. Based on these data, and completion of the August 2001 sampling requested by the NMED, the Permittees expect that no further sampling will be required and that a request for No Further Action (NFA) at the SWMUs and AOCs will be submitted to the NMED. This FWP addresses the current Permit requirements. It uses the results of previous investigations performed at WIPP and expands the investigations as required by the Permit. As an alternative to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Facility Investigation (RFI) specified in Module VII of the Permit, current NMED guidance identifies an Accelerated Corrective Action Approach (ACAA) that may be used for any SWMU or AOC (NMED, 1998). This accelerated approach is used to replace the standard RFI Work Plan and Report sequence with a more flexible decision-making approach. The ACAA process allows a facility to exit the schedule of compliance contained in the facility's Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (HSWA) permit module and proceed on an accelerated time frame. Thus, the ACAA processcan be entered either before or after an RFI Work Plan. According to the NMED's guidance, a facility can prepare an RFI Work Plan or Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP) for any SWMU or AOC (NMED, 1998). Based on this guidance, a SAP constitutes an acceptable alternative to the RFI Work Plan specified in the Permit. The NMED accepted that the Permittees are using the ACAA in a letter dated April 20, 2000.

This report presents an evaluation of the groundwater and surface water monitoring data obtained in the Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime) during calendar year (CY) 1997. The monitoring data were obtained in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) post-closure permit for the Bear Creek Regime and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.1, and are reported ixx Calendar Year 1997 Annual Groundwater A40nitoringReport for the Bear Creek Hydrogeolo@"c Regime at the US. Department ofEnergy Y-12 Plant, Oak Ridge, Tennessee (AJA Technical Services, Inc. 1998a). This report provides an evaluation of the monitoring data with respect to historical results for each sampling location, the regime-wide extent of groundwater and surface water contamination, and long-term concentration trends for selected groundwater and surface water contaminants.

The role of the agency for toxic substances and disease registry under the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) prepared this environmental assessment (EA) to analyze the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed interim measures for the Mixed Waste Management Facility (MW) groundwater at the Burial Ground Complex (BGC) at the Savannah River Site (SRS), located near Aiken, South Carolina. DOE proposes to install a small metal sheet pile dam to impound water around and over the BGC groundwater seepline. In addition, a drip irrigation system would be installed. Interim measures will also address the reduction of volatile organic compounds (VOCS) from ''hot-spot'' regions associated with the Southwest Plume Area (SWPA). This action is taken as an interim measure for the MWMF in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) to reduce the amount of tritium seeping from the BGC southwest groundwater plume. The proposed action of this EA is being planned and would be implemented concurrent with a groundwater corrective action program under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). On September 30, 1999, SCDHEC issued a modification to the SRS RCRA Part B permit that adds corrective action requirements for four plumes that are currently emanating from the BGC. One of those plumes is the southwest plume. The RCRA permit requires SRS to submit a corrective action plan (CAP) for the southwest plume by March 2000. The permit requires that the initial phase of the CAP prescribe a remedy that achieves a 70-percent reduction in the annual amount of tritium being released from the southwest plume area to Fourmile Branch, a nearby stream. Approval and actual implementation of the corrective measure in that CAP may take several years. As an interim measure, the actions described in this EA would manage the release of tritium from the southwest plume area until the final actions under the CAP can be implemented. This proposed action is expected to reduce the release of tritium from the southwest plume area to Fourmile Branch between 25 to 35 percent. If this proposed action is undertaken and its effectiveness is demonstrated, it may become a component of the final action in the CAP. This document was prepared in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended; the requirements of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508); and the DOE Regulations for Implementing NEPA (10 CFR 1021). NEPA requires the assessment of environmental consequences of Federal actions that may affect the quality of the human environment. Based on the potential for impacts described herein, DOE will either publish a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or prepare an environmental impact statement (EM).

This report contains groundwater quality data obtained during the 1993 calendar year (CY) at several waste management facilities and petroleum fuel underground storage tank (UST) sites associated with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 Plant located on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) southeast of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. These sites are within the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime), which is one of three regimes defined for the purposes of groundwater and surface-water quality monitoring at the Y-12 Plant. The Environmental Management Department of the Y-12 Plant Health, Safety, Environment, and Accountability Organization manages the groundwater monitoring activities in each regime as part of the Y-12 Plant Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). The annual groundwater report for the East Fork Regime is completed in two-parts; Part 1 (this report) containing the groundwater quality data and Part 2 containing a detailed evaluation of the data. The primary purpose of this report is to serve as a reference for the groundwater data obtained each year under the lead of the Y-12 Plant GWPP. However, because it contains information needed to comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) interim status assessment monitoring reporting requirements, this report is submitted to the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment (TDEC) by the RCRA reporting deadline.

This report contains groundwater and surface-water quality data obtained during the 1993 calendar year (CY) at several hazardous and non-hazardous waste-management facilities associated with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 Plant located on the DOE Oak ridge Reservation (ORR) southeast of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. These sites are located southwest of the Y-12 Plant complex within the Bear Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (Bear Creek Regime), which is one of three regimes defined for the purposes of groundwater and surface-water quality monitoring at the Y-12 Plant. The Environmental Management Department of the Y-12 Plant Health, Safety, Environment, and Accountability (HSEA) Organization manages the monitoring activities in each regime as part of the Y-12 Plant Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). The annual groundwater and surface water report for the Bear Creek Regime is completed in two-parts; Part 1 (this report) containing the groundwater and surface-water quality data and Part 2 containing a detailed evaluation of the data. The primary purpose of this report is to serve as a reference for the groundwater and surface-water quality data obtained each year under the lead of the Y-12 Plant GWPP. However, because it contains information needed to comply with Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) interim status assessment monitoring reporting requirements, this report is submitted to the Tennessee Department of Health and Environment (TDEC) by the RCRA reporting deadline.

This report provides a technical basis for establishing radiological release limits for granular activated carbon (GAC) containing very low quantities of tritium and radon daughter products generated during environmental remediation activities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). This evaluation was conducted according to the Authorized Limit procedures specified in United States Department of Energy (DOE) Order 5400.5, Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment (DOE, 1993) and related DOE guidance documents. The GAC waste is currently being managed by LLNL as a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) mixed waste. Significant cost savings can be achieved by developing an Authorized Limit under DOE Order 5400.5 since it would allow the waste to be safely disposed as a hazardous waste at a permitted off-site RCRA treatment and disposal facility. LLNL generates GAC waste during vapor-phase soil remediation in the Trailer 5475 area. While trichloroethylene and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the primary targets of the remedial action, a limited amount of tritium and radon daughter products are contained in the GAC at the time of disposal. As defined in DOE Order 5400.5, an Authorized Limit is a level of residual radioactive material that will result in an annual public dose of 100 milliroentgen-equivalent man per year (mrem/year) or less. In 1995, DOE issued additional release requirements for material sent to a landfill that is not an authorized low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. Per guidance, the disposal site will be selected based on a risk/benefit assessment under the As-Low-As-Reasonably-Achievable (ALARA) process while ensuring that individual doses to the public are less than 25 mrem in a year, ground water is protected, the release would not necessitate further remedial action for the disposal site, and the release is coordinated with all appropriate authorities. The 1995 release requirements also state that Authorized Limits may be approved by DOE field office managers without DOE headquarters (EH-1) approval if a reasonably conservative dose assessment demonstrates that: (1) Public doses will not exceed one mrem per year individually or 10 person-rem/year collectively; (2) Appropriate record keeping and data collection procedures are in place; (3) Copies of the release evaluation and procedures are properly maintained; and (4) Coordination with all applicable state and federal agencies is documented. Based on the above guidelines, this report uses one mrem/year for individual members of the public and 10 person-rem/year for the collective population as upper-bound doses for the determination of Authorized Limits.

In October 1990, representatives of States and compact regions requested that the US Department of Energy (DOE) explore an agreement with host States and compact regions under which DOE would accept commercial mixed low-level radioactive waste (LLW) at DOE`s own treatment and disposal facilities. A program for DOE management of commercial mixed waste is made potentially more attractive in light of the low commercial mixed waste volumes, high regulatory burdens, public opposition to new disposal sites, and relatively high cost of constructing commercial disposal facilities. Several studies were identified as essential in determining the feasibility of DOE accepting commercial mixed waste for disposal. The purpose of this report is to identify any current or proposed waste acceptance criteria (WAC) or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) provisions that would have to be modified for commercial mixed waste acceptance at specified DOE facilities. Following the introduction, Section 2 of this report (a) provides a background summary of existing and proposed mixed waste disposal facilities at each DOE site, and (b) summarizes the status of any RCRA Part B permit and WAC provisions relating to the disposal of mixed waste, including provisions relating to acceptance of offsite waste. Section 3 provides overall conclusions regarding the current status and permit modifications that must be implemented in order to grant DOE sites authority under their permits to accept commercial mixed waste for disposal. Section 4 contains a list of references.

This groundwater quality report (GWQR) contains an evaluation of the groundwater quality data obtained during the 1995 calendar year (CY) at several waste management facilities associated with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Y-12 Plant located on the DOE Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) southeast of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. These sites lie within the boundaries of the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek Hydrogeologic Regime (East Fork Regime), which is one of three hydrogeologic regimes defined for the purposes of groundwater quality monitoring at the Y-12 Plant. The Environmental Management Department of the Y-12 Plant Health, Safety, Environment, and Accountability (HSEA) Organization manages the groundwater monitoring activities in each regime under the auspices of the Y-12 Plant Groundwater Protection Program (GWPP). The purpose of the GWPP is to characterize the hydrogeology and to monitor groundwater quality at the Y-12 Plant and surrounding area to ensure protection of local groundwater resources in accordance with federal, state, and local regulations, DOE Orders, and Lockheed Martin Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems) corporate policy. The annual GWQR for the East Fork Regime is completed in two parts. Part I consists primarily of data appendices and serves as a reference for the groundwater quality data obtained each CY under the lead of the Y-12 Plant GWPP. Because it contains information needed to comply with reporting requirements of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) interim status assessment monitoring, the Part I GWQR is submitted to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) by the RCRA reporting deadline (March 1 of the following CY); Energy Systems submitted the 1995 Part I GWQR for the East Fork Regime to the TDEC in February 1996. Part 2 (this report) contains an evaluation of the data with respect to regime-wide groundwater quality.

On May 22, 2000, as required by Congress in its 1980 Amendments to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels. On the basis of information contained in its 1999 Report to Congress: Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels, the EPA concluded that coal combustion wastes (CCWs), also known as coal combustion by-products (CCBs), did not warrant regulation under Subtitle C of RCRA, and it retained the existing hazardous waste exemption for these materials under RCRA Section 3001(b)(3)(C). However, the EPA also determined that national regulations under Subtitle D of RCRA were warranted for CCWs that are disposed of in landfills or surface impoundments. The EPA made this determination in part on the basis of its findings that 'present disposal practices are such that, in 1995, these wastes were being managed in 40 percent to 70 percent of landfills and surface impoundments without reasonable controls in place, particularly in the area of groundwater monitoring; and while there have been substantive improvements in state regulatory programs, we have also identified gaps in State oversight' (EPA 2000). The 1999 Report to Congress (RTC), however, may not have reflected the changes in CCW disposal practices that occurred since the cutoff date (1995) of its database and subsequent developments. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the EPA discussed this issue and decided to conduct a joint DOE/EPA study to collect new information on the recent CCW management practices by the power industry. It was agreed that such information would provide a perspective on the chronological adoption of control measures in CCW units based on State regulations. A team of experts from the EPA, industry, and DOE (with support from Argonne National Laboratory) was established to develop a mutually acceptable approach for collecting and analyzing data on CCW disposal practices and State regulatory requirements at landfills and surface impoundments that were permitted, built, or laterally expanded between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 2004. The scope of the study excluded waste units that manage CCWs in active or abandoned coal mines. The EPA identified the following three areas of interest: (1) Recent and current CCW industry surface disposal management practices, (2) State regulatory requirements for CCW management, and (3) Implementation of State requirements (i.e., the extent to which States grant or deny operator requests to waive or vary regulatory requirements and the rationales for doing so). DOE and the EPA obtained data on recent and current disposal practices from a questionnaire that the Utility Solid Waste Activities Group (USWAG) distributed to its members that own or operate coal-fired power plants. USWAG, formed in 1978, is responsible for addressing solid and hazardous waste issues on behalf of the utility industry. It is an informal consortium of approximately 80 utility operating companies, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), the American Public Power Association (APPA), and the American Gas Association (AGA). EEI is the principal national association of investor-owned electric power and light companies. NRECA is the national association of rural electric cooperatives. APPA is the national association of publicly owned electric utilities. AGA is the national association of natural gas utilities. Together, USWAG member companies and trade associations represent more than 85% of the total electric generating capacity of the United States and service more than 95% of the nation's consumers of electricity. To verify the survey findings, the EPA also asked State regulators from nine selected States that are leading consumers of coal for electricity generation for information on disposal units that may not have been covered in the USWAG survey. The selected States were Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas. A total of 56 waste units were identified, and information from these units formed the basis for the analysis of recent and current surface disposal management practices. Table S-1 summarizes the numbers of units for the various categories covered in this study.