What's in the Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste EIS

The Greater-Than-Class C Low-Level Radioactive Waste Environmental Impact Statement (GTCC LLRW EIS) will evaluate potential near-term (construction and operation) and long-term human health and environmental impacts of disposal facilities for GTCC LLRW.

Summary

The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (LLRWPAA, Public Law 99-240) assigned the Federal Government responsibility for the disposal of GTCC LLRW that results from activities licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Agreement States. The LLRWPAA also directed that such waste be disposed in a facility licensed by the NRC. There are no facilities currently licensed by NRC for disposal of GTCC LLRW. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is the Federal agency responsible for the disposal of GTCC LLRW, and will evaluate a range of reasonable alternatives for disposal of this waste in the EIS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will participate as a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS and the NRC will participate as a commenting agency.

What will be the scope of the analysis in the Draft EIS?

The scope of the EIS will include the assessment of the positive and negative environmental, social, and economic impacts of constructing, operating, and closure of a disposal facility or facilities for GTCC LLRW and GTCC-like waste. DOE has proposed to evaluate several disposal methods to be applied at various DOE and generic commercial site locations. The disposal methods include enhanced near surface disposal, intermediate depth borehole disposal, and disposal in a geologic repository. DOE site locations included in the EIS are:

• Hanford Site,
• Idaho National Laboratory,
• Los Alamos National Laboratory,
• Nevada Test Site
• Oak Ridge Reservation,
• Savannah River Site, and the
• Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and vicinity.

Generic commercial locations will also be addressed in the EIS.

What impacts and issues will be addressed in the Draft EIS?

DOE is soliciting comments and suggestions for consideration in the preparation of the EIS. DOE intends to evaluate the issues listed below in the process of considering the potential impacts of the proposed disposal alternatives. The list below is not intended to be all-inclusive but rather as a preliminary list. DOE invites interested parties to suggest other issues to be considered, as appropriate.

• Potential environmental impacts including air, noise and water quality.
• Potential transportation impacts from the shipment of GTCC LLRW and GTCC-like waste to the disposal site(s).
• Potential impacts from postulated accidents.
• Cumulative impacts from past, present and reasonably foreseeable actions.
• Impacts to involved and non-involved site workers.
• Potential impacts to historical and cultural artifacts or sites of historical and cultural significance.
• Potential disproportionately high and adverse effects on low income and minority populations (environmental justice).
• Irretrievable and irreversible commitment of resources.
• Short-term and long-term land use impacts.
• Compliance with applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
• Long-term site health and environmental impacts, including potential impacts to groundwater and surface water quality.
• Long-term site suitability, including erosion and seismicity.
• Potential impacts to endangered species.
• Intentional destructive acts.

After DOE has gathered public input on issues the Draft EIS should address, DOE will categorize comments as follows:

1. Issues to be included in the alternatives that will be evaluated.
2. Issues considered outside the scope of the Draft EIS.