Development of a Regional Groundwater Flow Model for the U.S. Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation: Numerical Model using MODFLOW-USG - 17368

Conference · Sat Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2017

OSTI ID:22802391

Khan, Alauddin; Gelinas, Robert L. ^[1]; Haase, Charles S.; Ketelle, Richard H.; Clancy, Holly M.; Sims, Lynn M.; Pack, Samantha R. ^[2]; Mayton, Dennis ^[3]

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1. Leidos, Inc. (United States)
2. URS - CH2M Oak Ridge LLC/Restoration Services, Inc. (United States)
3. U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge Environmental Management (United States)

A regional scale groundwater flow model (GFM) has been developed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). Development of the model implements a key recommendation of the ORR Groundwater Strategy. The model will be used as the single calibrated flow model for the ORR and as the framework for future, smaller scale, modeling efforts to support cleanup actions and decisions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The Oak Ridge site is located in a geologically complex region and encompasses three large government facilities, including the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP). An interagency approach for addressing legacy groundwater contamination from past operations at these facilities has been developed, resulting in an ORR Groundwater Strategy that was agreed to by DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). The ORR Groundwater Strategy provides a comprehensive approach to addressing and prioritizing groundwater issues across the DOE reservation. One component of the strategy is to 'develop and maintain an ORR-wide regional groundwater flow model to ensure a single, regional, calibrated model to support groundwater characterization, decision-making, and remediation.' As part of the cleanup plans for the Oak Ridge site under CERCLA and the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA), there are six final watershed-scale groundwater Records of Decision (RODs) currently planned. In preparation for future projects, the regional GFM has been constructed to serve as the single, calibrated regional flow model to be used as the hydrologic base for the groundwater plume-specific modeling developed for the RODs. (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
• OSTI ID: 22802391
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--19-WM-17368
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
FLOW MODELS
GROUND WATER
OAK RIDGE RESERVATION
ORNL
US SUPERFUND