Balancing Institutional Controls and Beneficial Reuse at U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy...

Balancing Institutional Controls and Beneficial Reuse at

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management Sites

Steven R. SchiesswohlU.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management,

Asset Management Team Lead

Thomas C. PaulingU.S. Department of Energy Office of Legacy Management,

Director, Office of Site Operations

Ronneburg, GermanyMay 25 through 27, 2011

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Legacy Management’s (LM) Mission Manage the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) post-

closure responsibilities and ensure the future protection of human health and the environment

LM has control and custody for legacy land, structures, and facilities and is responsible for maintaining them at levels consistent with DOE’s long-term plans

Includes

• Maintaining the remedy

• Monitoring to ensure integrity of the remedy

• Complying with regulatory requirements

• Providing for disposition and beneficial reuse of legacy assets

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LM’s Mission Goals

Protect human health and the environment Preserve, protect, and share legacy records

and information Meet commitments to the contractor work force Optimize the use of land and assets Sustain management excellence

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LM Sites

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LM’s Diversity LM has 87 sites in 28 states and Puerto Rico Sites are added every year; more than 108 sites are

expected by 2015 Sites are regulated by numerous federal cleanup

regulations requiring Institutional Controls (ICs) (e.g., Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act [UMTRCA], Formerly Utilized Sites Remediation Action Program [FUSRAP], Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act [CERCLA], and Nuclear Waste Policy Act [NWPA])

Sites are also subject to applicable state regulations ICs are part of a remedy and are maintained wherever

needed including on adjacent properties and on transferred properties in beneficial reuse by others

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Legacy of LM Sites

UMTRCA – uranium processing and disposal sites

• Title I – federal cleanup and long-term stewardship

• Title II – private cleanup and transfer to LM for long-term stewardship

FUSRAP – industrial sites used for research, production, and testing of nuclear weapons

CERCLA, decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) – other sites with no continuing mission, but with residual contamination requiring long-term stewardship

IC challenge: Majority of LM sites have contamination that must be considered in any proposal for reuse

8% 7%

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The ICs HighwayLots of Rules - USA

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The ICs HighwayLots of Rules - Europe

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IC Regulatory Drivers – To Name a Few

Federal laws and regulations

• Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (AEC)

• UMTRCA, FUSRAP, CERCLA, and NWPA

State agencies and local regulations

• Uranium Leasing Program – Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment and Colorado Department of Reclamation and Mining Safety

• Permits, zoning, and inspections

Federal agencies

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

DOE policy

• DOE Policy 454.1, Use of Institutional Controls

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The ICs Highway – A Little Complex – USA

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The ICs Highway – A Little Complex - Europe

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LM’s Approach to ICs

DOE Policy 454.1, Use of Institutional Controls

“DOE policy is to use institutional controls as essential components of defense-in-depth strategy that uses multiple independent layers of safety to protect human health and the environment…”

Defense-in-depth strategy includes “a layered approach to protectiveness”

• Administrative controls

• Notices

• Engineered components and structures

Integrate use of well-designed and reliable ICs for protectiveness of DOE lands during stewardship, under reuse scenarios, and for disposition to other parties

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Implementing and Evaluating ICs

Most sites are already remediated and come to LM with established ICs

LM reviews ICs prior to transition for long-term stewardship Establishing ICs for land undergoing groundwater

remediation

• LM works with local government agencies and private landowners for ICs on non-DOE-owned property

Sites routinely reevaluated for risk and to determine if ICs are appropriate and mechanisms are protective

Implementing Maintaining EnforcingPlanning

LM’s Goal for Beneficial Reuse

DOE is fourth-largest federal landholding agency LM established mission requirements for beneficial reuse

• Manage legacy land and assets, emphasizing protective real and personal property reuse and disposition

• Identify uses that benefit others, are compatible with ICs, and are protective

LM must ensure ICs are appropriate for proposed reuse, are visible to those using the land, and are enforceable

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ICs for Renewable Energy DOE is the leader for renewable energy in federal

government LM reviewed all sites for renewable energy potential Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site: uranium mill tailings

disposal cell that was attractive for solar photovoltaic development; model for future reuse

• Can implement project and abide by restrictions required

• Regulator approval ensures protectiveness of cell and associated structures

• Existing infrastructure, electrical capacity, and industry interest

• Developer must meet technical requirements and IC constraints

• Tailor land lease to ensure developer adherence to ICs and remedy requirements, and construct lease to allow private sector financial investment to meet private sector expectations

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LM’s ICs Roadmap – Looking for Reuse Opportunities While Being Protective

Durango, Colorado, Disposal Site

Durango Disposal Site

Reuse at the Durango site is a good example of the balance between beneficial reuse and maintaining the restrictions needed to preserve the integrity of the site and its associated structures.

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ICs for Agriculture

Western sites are remote and surrounded by U.S. Bureau of Land Management and ranching operations

Most sites lack infrastructure for renewable energy uses (e.g., transmission lines)

Grazing is nonintrusive, compatible reuse

• Grazing of vegetative cover helps control weeds

ICs are primarily engineered controls

• Fencing to keep livestock away from cells or associated structures

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Edgemont, South Dakota Beneficial Reuse – Grazing

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Let Others Use the Land!

Weldon Spring, MissouriEducational and RecreationReuse

Fernald Preserve, OhioWildlife Preservation

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LM Dispositions and Reuse Update

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Cumulative Acres in Beneficial Reuse

Salmon, Mississippi, Site

In December 2010, LM transferred a 595-hectare site, located in Lamar County, Mississippi, to the State of Mississippi. The site will be managed by the state as a wildlife refuge and working demonstration forest.

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Remediation in early 1970

Salmon site as it appears today

Rincón, Puerto Rico

Dr. Modesto Iriarte Technological Museum (formerly known as the Boiling Nuclear Superheater [BONUS] Decommissioned Reactor Site)

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Summary

Reuse is a national priority LM challenge is to promote beneficial reuse of underutilized

land while ensuring ICs are effective for hundreds or thousands of years

• Continually evaluate risks and protectiveness

• Monitor ICs to ensure visibility and awareness of regulators and all land users

• Monitor land uses for real property transferred to third parties to ensure uses are consistent with ICs

Anatomy of theDisposal FacilityWeldon Spring, Missouri

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Weldon Spring, Missouri, Disposal Cell

Weldon Spring, Missouri, Disposal Cell with biking and hiking trails and adjacent interpretive-education center

Spook, Wyoming, Disposal Site

UMTRCA Title I site Former uranium-ore upgrading facility Cleanup took place from 1989 to 1992

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Open pit uranium mine operated from 1962 to 1965 Remediation complete

Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, Disposal Site

UMTRCA Title I site Former uranium-ore processing facility Cleanup took place from 1987 to 1995

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Ambrosia Lake uranium milloperated from 1958 to 1982

Ambrosia Lake Disposal Cell

Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, Disposal Site

UMTRCA Title I site Former uranium-ore processing facility Cleanup took place from 1987 to 1995

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Canonsburg uranium mill operated from 1911 to 1957

Canonsburg Disposal Site

Gunnison, Colorado, Disposal and Processing Sites UMTRCA Title I site Former uranium-ore processing facility Cleanup took place from 1992 to 1995

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Gunnison uranium milloperated from 1958 to 1962 Gunnison Disposal Site

Monticello, Utah, Disposal and Processing Sites UMTRCA Title I site Former uranium-ore upgrading facility Cleanup took place from 1989 to 1992

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Monticello uranium mill

Monticello disposal cell under construction

Rifle, Colorado, Sites

UMTRCA Title I sites Two uranium- and vanadium-processing sites Cleanup took place from 1992 to 1996

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Rifle uranium mill1924–1932; 1942–1958 Rifle disposal cell

Tuba City, Arizona, Disposal Site

UMTRCA Title I site Former uranium mill Cleanup took place from 1988 to 1990

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Tuba City uranium mill operated from 1956 to 1966Tuba City solar panels

Rocky Flats, Colorado, Site

CERCLA and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) site

Former weapons production facility Cleanup took place from 1994 to 2005 Approximately 1,619 hectares transferred to U.S. Department of

Interior to be managed as a national wildlife refuge

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Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant operated from 1952 to 1994 Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge

Rocky Flats, Colorado – Off the Grid

Durango, Colorado, Disposal and Processing Sites UMTRCA Title I site Former uranium-ore processing facility Cleanup took place from 1986 to 1991

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Durango uranium mill operated from 1942 to 1963

Durango Disposal Site

Weldon Spring, Missouri, Site

CERCLA site Produced explosives and later uranium feed materials plant Cleanup took place from 1986 to 1995

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Weldon Spring Interpretive Center

Weldon Spring Chemical Plantoperated from 1941 to 1967

Fernald Preserve, Ohio

CERCLA site Uranium-processing facility for high-purity uranium metal

products for weapons production Cleanup took place from 1989 to 2006

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Fernald Preserve Visitors Center

Fernald Feed Materials Production Center operated from 1951 to 1989

Uranium Leasing Program

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C-JD-5 Mine (headframe and hoist house)

Exploration drilling at C-CM-24