Major impacts of the 40 CFR 194 final rule on the WIPP performance assessment
- Westinghouse Electric Corp., Carlsbad, NM (United States)
- Dept. of Energy, Carlsbad, NM (United States)
After some 20 years of site-specific studies in the United States of America (USA), the US Department of Energy (DOE) Carlsbad Area Office (CAO) is on schedule to open a deep geological repository for the safe disposal of transuranic (TRU) waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in April 1998. A focused organization, well-defined mission, early and iterative interactions with the regulators, oversight groups, and stakeholders in the regulatory process, and strong local support are some of the keys to this progress. The remaining activities, which will be completed prior to the initiation of disposal at the WIPP, include a formal integrated system checkout, readiness review and evaluation, and the required regulatory approvals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now defined the path forward for the WIPP with respect to one of the major regulatory hurdles. With the promulgation of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 194, in February 1996 entitled {open_quotes}Criteria for the Certification and Re-Certification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant`s Compliance with the 40 CFR Part 191 Disposal Regulations,{close_quotes} the format and content for the DOE`s Compliance Certification Application (CCA) is now clearly defined. Along with the much needed definition of the required format and content for the CCA, the final criteria included a few unforeseen challenges for the DOE. Among these challenges are new requirements that jeopardize the timely completion of the performance assessment (PA) calculations and submittal of the CCA to the EPA in October 1996.
- OSTI ID:
- 469789
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960804--Vol.1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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