Thursday, September 15, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
NEVADA TEST SITE: Plan to 'accelerate closure'
But critics say unlined pit would accept hazardous waste for another five years
By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
A plan by state environmental officials to "accelerate closure" of an unlined pit at the Nevada Test Site where radioactive-laced hazardous waste has been dumped since 1987 is being billed as a win-win situation.
But critics who are trying to keep nuclear waste out of Nevada said Wednesday the plan is a trick to allow the unpermitted disposal site to receive waste for up to five more years, or until it's filled with another 20,000 cubic meters of mixed waste from out-of-state Department of Energy facilities.
The pit, which can hold 60,000 cubic meters of waste, or 78,000 cubic yards, is two-thirds full after operating under "interim status" with no state permit for 18 years.
At capacity, it would hold enough solid, mixed waste to cover a 100-yard-long football field 10 yards deep and 78 yards wide.
The waste includes rags containing treated solvents, radioactive-laced sludges, lead bricks and laboratory gear that contains hazardous components.
"I don't understand the logic of keeping it open and letting out-of-state waste come in, if they have the authority to close it down," said Bob Loux, executive director of the Nevada Nuclear Projects Agency.
The agency has no jurisdiction over the low-level radioactive waste components of the waste, but Loux said he is observing the situation.
"We're kind of concerned about letting more waste into the state in general. Most of us are working hard to keep waste out," he said.
He was referring to the state's long-standing fight against the federal government's plans to entomb the nation's spent nuclear fuel and highly radioactive defense wastes in Yucca Mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Peggy Maze Johnson, executive director of Citizen Alert, a statewide environmental watchdog group agreed.
"This is nuts," Johnson said. "It seems to me the legislation is really clear. Closing means closing it, not putting out an alert to all DOE facilities to say, 'Send us your waste.' "
This year, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill No. 396 at the urging of Leo Drozdoff, administrator of the Environmental Protection Division.
After a 20-0 vote in the Senate and 30-11 in the Assembly, the bill was signed by Gov. Kenny Guinn. It takes effect Oct. 1 and prevents the State Environmental Commission from permitting or granting a variance for hazardous waste disposal facilities or landfills that don't have at least one liner to prevent toxic materials from contaminating soils, groundwater and surface water.
Jeff Denison, with the Nevada Environmental Protection Division's Bureau of Waste Management, said the plan for closing the mixed waste pit was negotiated with Department of Energy officials during discussions on renewing five-year permits for disposing of explosive ordnance at the test site and for temporarily storing hazardous waste in containers for off-site shipment.
He said a notice for public review of those draft permits will be posted next week or by the end of the month, triggering a 45-day comment period.
In addition, the division will accept comments on Pit No. 3 and a staging facility for mixed waste described as "additional units" in a draft document.
"The remaining capacity of (Pit No. 3) is about 20,000 cubic meters, and the issuance of the draft permit will accelerate closure and installation of a final cover system for the unit," according to the division's fact sheet for the draft permit.
In a telephone interview this week, Denison said, "We felt the best environmental remedy is to permit closure and accelerate construction of a final cap."
He noted that the state law requiring liners on hazardous waste pits doesn't apply "to an existing landfill that undergoes or commences closure on or before December 31."
In an e-mail, Denison explained that Pit No. 3 "will undergo closure" rather than seek an operating permit.
Although it might take five years to actually complete closure, it will commence closure in keeping with the statutory intent.
Michael Giblin, mixed waste project manager for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration office in North Las Vegas, said the state was asked to develop a method to verify that out-of-state waste shipped to the test site will meet requirements for land disposal.
"They've decided to go ahead and accept out-of-state waste that's generated by DOE," he said. "The bottom line is we've met the requirement under interim status to receive off-site mixed waste."
