Deferred remedial action -- A public participation success story

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:124504

Garland, II, S B; Rymer, G; Van Hoesen, D ^[1]

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1. Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multidiscipline research laboratory managed for the Department of Energy by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, inc. During its fifty years of operation, the Laboratory has generated a variety of wastes that were disposed of mainly on site by shallow land burial. In December 1989, when the Oak Ridge Reservation was placed on the National Priorities List, Waste Area Grouping 6 came to be regulated jointly by RCRA and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). A Proposed Plan that recommended an interim action to hydrologically isolate the burial trenches was completed and made available for public review. At a public meeting in February 1993, numerous comments were received which questioned the expense associated with this interim action, as compared to the relatively minor contaminant releases. Simultaneously with preparation of the decision documents, the DOE Oak Ridge Operations Office was preparing an overall remediation strategy focused on giving remediation priority to areas that were major contributors to off-site risk. Participation by the public allowed DOE, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to defer the combined RCRA/CERCLA action at Waste Area Grouping 6 and to focus on higher priority sites. Lessons learned from this experience with public participation are discussed.

• OSTI ID: 124504
• Report Number(s): CONF-940499--; ISBN 1-56590-014-6
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
INTERAGENCY COOPERATION
OAK RIDGE
ORNL
PUBLIC OPINION
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESOURCE RECOVERY ACTS
US SUPERFUND