Proposed Rule2021-25590
Notification of Completeness of the Department of Energy's Compliance Recertification Application for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Primary source
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Published
November 26, 2021
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) has determined that the Department of Energy (DOE) 2019 Compliance Recertification Application (CRA) for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is complete. The EPA provided written notice of the completeness decision to the Department of Energy on November 17, 2021.The Agency has determined that the CRA is complete, in accordance with the, ``Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the WIPP's Compliance with the Disposal Regulations'' (Compliance Certification Criteria). The EPA also gives notice of the end of the comment period relating to the CRA.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 225 (Friday, November 26, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 225 (Friday, November 26, 2021)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 67424-67426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25590]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 194
[EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-5304; FRL-9213-01-OAR]
Notification of Completeness of the Department of Energy's
Compliance Recertification Application for the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Plant 2019 Compliance Recertification Application is complete;
end of comment period concerning the 2019 Compliance Recertification
Application.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) has
determined that the Department of Energy (DOE) 2019 Compliance
Recertification Application (CRA) for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
(WIPP) is complete. The EPA provided written notice of the completeness
decision to the Department of Energy on November 17, 2021.The Agency
has determined that the CRA is complete, in accordance with the,
``Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the WIPP's
Compliance with the Disposal Regulations'' (Compliance Certification
Criteria). The EPA also gives notice of the end of the comment period
relating to the CRA.
DATES: The EPA opened the public comment period after receipt of some
documentation of continued compliance and before the completeness
determination concerning the CRA and gave notice that the comment
period would remain open until after the completeness determination to
a date which would be specified later (84 FR 50367, September 25,
2019). Comments must be received on or before December 27, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2019-5304, to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. The
EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not
submit electronically any information you consider to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI), or other information of which disclosure is
restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must
be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered
the official comment and should include discussion of all points
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you wish to make. The EPA will generally not consider comments or
comment contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on
the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional
submission methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information
about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making
effective comments, please visit <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>. The EPA is temporarily suspending its Docket
Center and Reading Room for public visitors, with limited exceptions,
to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff
will continue to provide remote customer service via email, phone, and
webform. We encourage the public to submit comments via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> or email, as there may be a delay in processing
mail and faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received by
scheduled appointment only. For further information on EPA Docket
Center services and the current status, please visit us online at
<a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray Lee, Radiation Protection
Division, Center for Radiation Information and Outreach, Mail Code
6608T, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
Washington, DC 20460; telephone number: 202-343-9463; fax number: 202-
343-2305; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#345851511a46554d595b5a50745144551a535b42"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fe929b9bd08c9f879391909abe9b8e9fd0999188">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA
through <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> or email. Clearly mark the part or all of
the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk
or CD ROM that you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD
ROM as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM
the specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket.
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2.
2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments,
remember to:
<bullet> Identify the rulemaking by docket number and other
identifying information (subject heading, Federal Register date and
page number).
<bullet> Follow directions--The Agency may ask you to respond to
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
<bullet> Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives
and substitute language for your requested changes.
<bullet> Describe any assumptions and provide any technical
information and/or data that you used.
<bullet> If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be
reproduced.
<bullet> Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns and
suggest alternatives.
<bullet> Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the
use of profanity or personal threats.
<bullet> Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period
deadline identified.
II. Background
The WIPP is a disposal system for transuranic (TRU) radioactive
waste. The WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, Public Law 102-579 (Oct. 30, 1972)
\1\ (LWA) imposed various conditions or restrictions on the WIPP,
including limiting radioactive waste disposal in the WIPP to TRU
radioactive wastes generated by defense-related activities. The waste
proposed for disposal at the WIPP derives from federal facilities
across the United States, including locations in California, Colorado,
Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and
Washington. The LWA also provides that the DOE will submit information
to the EPA to determine whether the WIPP complies with the Agency's
final disposal regulations, 40 CFR part 191, subparts B and C (Disposal
Regulations). This includes an initial determination or certification
of compliance, and then subsequent, periodic recertifications of
continued compliance. LWA Sec. 8. Under the LWA, the periodic
recertifications occur on a five-year cycle, beginning five years after
the initial receipt of transuranic waste for disposal at the WIPP. LWA
Sec. 8(f)(1). The EPA promulgated the Compliance Certification
Criteria to set out criteria for the certification and recertification
of the WIPP's compliance with the Disposal Regulations. Among the
criteria is the requirement that information submitted by the DOE shall
be complete and accurate and a preliminary step for the EPA to
determine and notify DOE, in writing, that a complete recertification
application has been received. 40 CFR 194.11. The completeness
determination is an administrative step; it does not imply in any way
that the CRA demonstrates compliance with the Compliance Certification
Criteria or the disposal regulations. The EPA is now engaged in the
final technical review that will determine if the WIPP remains in
compliance with the disposal regulations.
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\1\ The 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act was amended by the ``Waste
Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act Amendments,'' a part of
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997. Public
Law 104-201, Title 31, Subtitle F (Sept. 23, 1996).
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The DOE submitted its first documentation of continued compliance
and request for recertification of the WIPP, typically referred to as a
compliance recertification application, in March 2004. The DOE
submitted the second compliance recertification application in March
2009 and the third in March 2014. In March 2019, the DOE submitted the
CRA, its fourth, and currently pending compliance recertification
application. In September 2019, after receipt of the CRA, the EPA gave
notice of receipt of the CRA and requested comment on all aspects of
the application. 84 FR 50367 (Sept. 25, 2019). The Agency indicated
that the comment period would remain open until a date after the EPA's
completeness determination in accordance with Sec. 194.11, a date that
EPA would specify in a subsequent notice.\2\
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\2\ For additional background information concerning the WIPP,
the LWA, and periodic compliance recertification, see the September
25, 2019 notice of receipt and availability of the CRA and opening
of the comment period. 84 FR 50367.
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After receiving the CRA, the EPA engaged in a preliminary review of
the information submitted for completeness. The Agency's review
identified multiple topics for which additional information was
necessary to perform a technical evaluation. The EPA sent a series of
letters to the DOE requesting additional information, and the
Department provided documents and analyses in response to these
requests. This completeness-related correspondence--along with other
supporting documentation--is available in the Agency's public dockets
(<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>; Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-2019-5304). Links
to the electronic docket and additional information are also available
at the EPA's WIPP website (<a href="https://www.epa.gov/radiation/certification-and-recertification-wipp">https://www.epa.gov/radiation/certification-and-recertification-wipp</a>).
[[Page 67426]]
In addition, since the opening of the public comment period on the
2019 CRA, the Agency has received 12 sets of public comments regarding
the application and the recertification process in general. In addition
to soliciting written public comments, the EPA held a virtual, informal
public meeting in August 2021 to discuss stakeholders' concerns and
issues related to recertification. All submitted public comments can
also be referenced via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>; Docket ID: EPA-HQ-
OAR-2019-5304.
In a letter dated November 17, 2021, from the EPA's Director of the
Office of Radiation and Indoor Air to the Assistant Secretary of the
Office of Environmental Management, Department of Energy, the Agency
notified the DOE that the CRA for the WIPP is complete. This letter can
be referenced via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>; Docket ID: EPA-HQ-OAR-
2019-5304. This determination is solely an administrative measure and
does not reflect any conclusion regarding the WIPP's continued
compliance with the disposal regulations.
The EPA will now undertake a full technical evaluation of the
complete 2019 CRA to determine whether the WIPP continues to comply
with the Disposal Regulations. The Agency will consider relevant public
comments and other information relevant to the WIPP's compliance. The
Agency is most interested in whether new or changed information has
been appropriately incorporated into the performance assessment
calculations for the WIPP and whether the potential long-term effects
of changes are properly characterized.
If the Agency approves the CRA, it will then serve as the baseline
for the next recertification. As required by the WIPP LWA, the EPA will
make a final recertification decision within six months of issuing the
completeness determination letter to the Secretary of Energy. In
accordance with the Compliance Certification Criteria, the Agency will
seek to publish notice of EPA's recertification decision. 40 CFR
194.64.
Jonathan D. Edwards,
Director, Office of Radiation and Indoor Air.
[FR Doc. 2021-25590 Filed 11-24-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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