APPENDIX B
Closure Plans for Major DOE Sites
Raymond G. Wymer
Information for the table in this appendix was taken primarily from the following sources: Baseline Environmental Management Reports (U.S. Department of Energy, 1995, 1996), Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure (U.S. Department of Energy, 1998), and From Cleanup to Stewardship (U.S. Department of Energy, 1999). The Department of Energy uses the term “sites” in several ways, for example, to refer to national laboratories or to installations such as the Hanford Site or the Savannah River Site. In other instances it refers to specific areas within the major sites as sites. As a consequence the number of contaminated “sites ” can vary from several dozen to many hundreds, depending upon the definition used. In order to bound the number of “sites” to be considered, the “sites” listed in the accompanying table are those discussed in the above DOE reports.
REFERENCES CITED
U.S. Department of Energy. 1995 (March). Estimating the Cold War Mortgage: The 1995 Baseline Environmental Management Report. Office of Environmental Management, DOE/EM-0232, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1996 (June). The 1996 Baseline Environmental Management Report. Office of Environmental Management, DOE/EM-0290, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1998 (June). Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure. Office of Environmental Management DOE/EM-0362, Washington, D.C.
U.S. Department of Energy. 1999 (October). From Cleanup to Stewardship: A Companion Report to Accelerating Cleanup: Paths to Closure and Background Information to Support the Scoping Process Required for the 1998 PEIS Settlement Study. Office of Environmental Management DOE/EM-0466, Washington, D.C.
TABLE B-1 Closure Plans for Major DOE Sites (Sources: U.S. Department of Energy [1995, 1996, 1998a, 1999])
State |
Site |
Responsibility for Site/End Use(s) |
End State |
Conditions of Closure |
Completion Date |
Alaska |
Amchitka Island |
Release to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or U.S. Bureau of Wildlife Mgt. |
Greenfield on surface/institutional control on all sub-surface areas near shot cavities |
Sub-surface soil and groundwater surveillance and monitoring planned for 100 years, but assumed to be in perpetuity; will require controlled access; surface released for uncontrolled use (open space) |
2001 |
California |
Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) |
Site will be turned over to Boeing/Rocketdyne |
Probably industrial use under surveillance and monitoring and deed restrictions |
Remediation of groundwater, soils and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of several bldg.; residual inorganic, PCB, semivolatile organic chemical (SVOC), mercury and dioxin left in soil; contaminated soil over 1×10−5disposed off site; facilitites require D&Dof radionuclides and sodium under RCRA |
2006 |
California |
General Atomics Site (GA) |
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) keeps liability until all waste is off the site then GA assumes site |
Greenfield |
GA responsible for post-remediation monitoring |
1999 |
California |
General Electric (GE) Vallecitos Nuclear Center |
GE owns the site; after cleaning up hot cell and glove box DOE has no further responsibility |
Brownfield/part of site will be zoned industrial; hot cell to be used commercially |
DOE will clean up hot cell #4 and glove box; Univ CA-Davis has primary responsibility for post-closure monitoring |
2005 |
California |
Laboratory for Energy-Related Health Research (LEHR) |
Univ CA-Davis owns the site and is responsible for radioactive waste burial trench and 3 landfills; DOE has leased since 1958 |
Controlled access; decontaminated to industrial use levels |
DOE responsible for decontamination of septic tanks, burial trenches, dry wells, dog pen facilities, etc.; limited institutional controls and monitoring may be necessary |
2002 |
California |
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) |
Land leased to DOE by Univ CA; 134 acres adjacent to Univ CA-Berkeley: |
Ongoing DOE mission |
Groundwater treatment system in place by 2003; no cleanup level defined for tritium in groundwater; long-term monitoring through 2032; underground tanks will be removed |
2003 |
California |
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)-Main Site |
DOE will continue to own and manage site; Univ CA operates site |
Brownfield/future land use to be research and industrial |
Soil and groundwater remediation in progress; no solid waste disposal on site; on U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) national priority list; on-site groundwater must be remediated to EPA maximum contaminant levels (MCL); groundwater stewardship may last to 2015 |
2006 |
California |
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)-Site 300 |
LLNL will occupy indefinitely |
DOE ongoing mission/controlled access/mix of industrial and wildlife management areas |
Groundwater treatment operational by 2006, Will continue until negotiated goals are met; groundwater monitoring for at least 23 years; landfills will require at least 23 years of surveillance and monitoring and cap inspections and repairs |
2006 |
California |
Sandia National Laboratories-CA |
Ongoing mission under Defense Programs |
Brownfield/ongoing mission |
Designated solid waste mgt. areas remediated or under management controls such that no further action is necessary; remediation and waste disposal of 23 release sites by 2001 |
2001 |
California |
Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) |
To be returned to DOE Office of Energy Research by end of 2000 |
Ongoing DOE mission |
Soil and groundwater will be cleaned up; network of monitoring wells installed; soil contaminated by solvents at 10 to 20 feet will stay that way |
2000 |
Colorado |
Grand Junction Office Site |
No radiological restrictions |
Greenfield/industrial/recreational |
Administrative control of groundwater until verification that passive remediation has achieved cleanup goals (by approximately 2076) |
2002 |
Colorado |
Rio Blanco |
DOE will maintain institutional control of sub-surface areas near shot cavities in perpetuity |
Surface area will be released for alternative uses/no radiological restrictions |
Site remains under controlled access; monitoring planned for 100 years, but assumed to be in perpetuity |
2005 |
Colorado |
Rocky Flats Buffer Zone |
DOE may transfer site to another entity as cleanup becomes more complete |
Final record of decision (ROD) will determine stewardship requirements; likely available for re-use as open space |
2010 (2006) |
Colorado |
Rocky Flats Industrial Area (consists of six operable units; 95 individual contaminated sites)1 |
Various end states, depending upon particulars of sites |
Clean up in compliance with environmental laws and regulations; surveillance and monitoring after closure of each operable unit; monitoring for greater than 30 years after site closure; subsurface facilities will be capped and left in place |
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Colorado |
Rulison |
DOE will maintain institutional control of shot cavities |
Surface area will be released for alternate uses |
Site surface released for recreation; subsurface areas near no radiological restrictions; subsurface and groundwater remains under institutional controls; long-term surveillance and monitoring |
1998 |
Idaho |
Argonne National Laboratory-West |
DOE Nuclear Energy is responsible for waste mgt. program |
Ongoing DOE mission/brownfield/industrial, commercial/residual contamination in soil and groundwater |
Groundwater remediation will be ongoing for 5 years with monitoring for at least 20 years; surveillance and maintenance for about 100 years; DOE will conduct 5-year CERCLA reviews and sampling for 20 years; after DOE departs deed restrictions will be needed to maintain industrial use levels |
2000 |
Idaho |
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)2 |
Currently DOE; long-range plan is to be a national multi-program engineering and environmental laboratory |
Cleanup per Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) and all existing and future agreements; grazing and industrial use |
Industrial and open space; on-site disposal cell for contact handled (CH) low-level waste (LLW); store spent fuel until 2035; treat and store high-level waste (HLW) until 2070; no residential use for 100 years; various waste area groups (WAG) handled according to need and anticipated use |
2050 |
Illinois |
Argonne National Laboratory-East |
DOE Energy Research is landlord; DOE has program responsibility for environmental restoration, stewardship, and land use |
Ongoing DOE mission |
On-site containment of some residual contamination; annual sampling and monitoring of soil; groundwater remedial options include pump and treat after 2002; composite caps over several landfills |
2002 |
Iowa |
Ames Laboratory |
Waste mgt. program transferred to DOE Energy Research in 2000 |
Greenfield |
All waste treated and/or disposed of off site |
1999 |
Kentucky |
Maxey Flats Disposal Site |
Commonwealth of KY has long-term stewardship; permanent LLW disposal site; controlled access |
Controlled access |
Cleanup levels in accordance with CERCLA ROD; wastes stay on site |
2002 |
Kentucky |
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant |
On-going mission by US Enrichment Corp. (USEC) |
Brownfield/controlled access; other land restricted industrial, open space/recreational |
Contaminated burial grounds and landfills closed in place in industrial area; deed restrictions or use limitation on areas with contamination; pump and treat off-site plumes until 2070; federal government maintains stewardship forever; caps over burial grounds; soil monitoring for hundreds of years; groundwater pump and treat for at least 100 years |
2010 |
Mississippi |
Salmon Site |
Site will be transferred to Mississippi |
No radiological restrictions/characterization and remediation under RCRA/use as a wilderness area |
Site remains under controlled access; DOE responsible for institutional controls forever; monitoring for 100 years |
1999 |
Missouri |
Kansas City Plant |
Defense Programs is landlord/commercial use |
Brownfield |
Dense nonaqueous-phase liquids (DNAPL) cleaned up with innovative technology; groundwater treatment and monitoring from two to hundreds of years |
1999 |
Missouri |
Weldon Springs Site |
155 acres of plant site released to unrestricted use; 9-acre quarry for recreational use; 62-acre disposal cell controlled access |
Greenfield and brownfield/controlled access/engineered disposal facility with clay liner and stone cap for debris, sludge, contaminated soil, asbestos, low-level PCB |
Federal government stewardship forever |
2002 |
Multiple States |
Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Sites |
Site responsibilities vary: state, local, and DOE; restrictions range from uncontrolled access to restricted access |
Greenfield/restricted access |
Many sites rely on natural attenuation to reach EPA groundwater standards |
Various |
Nevada |
Central Nevada Test Site |
DOE responsible for institutional controls of sub-surface soil and contaminated groundwater |
Future surface use with “no radiological restrictions”; No technology available for bomb crater cleanup; economic redevelopment possible in parts |
Site remains under controlled access; in-situ containment; treatment for commercial disposal; indefinite term of monitoring |
2006 (est) |
Nevada |
Nevada Test Site (NTS) (including Tonopah test range) |
DOE ongoing mission of nuclear stockpile stewardship; federal government will own the land forever |
Brownfield development possible in southwestern portion/controlled access all over/final cleanup levels to be negotiated with state regulators/waste management sites used for LLW and mixed wastes |
Surface and soil plumes outside of NTS will be remediated; sub-surface contaminants in and around shots will not be remediated; filled pits and trenches will be closed and capped; modeling and monitoring in perpetuity to predict movement of radionuclides in groundwater |
2014 (est.) |
Nevada |
Project Shoal Site |
DOE will not maintain an active presence but will maintain institutional controls forever for subsurface soil and groundwater |
Surface soil re-use with no radiological restrictions |
Site remains under controlled access; restricted access to groundwater forever; monitoring forever |
2004 |
New Jersey |
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory |
DOE Office of Science gets waste mgt. program in 2000 |
Ongoing research mission |
Contaminated soil and sediment treated and disposed off site; no groundwater remediation required |
1999 |
New Mexico |
Gasbuggy |
DOE will maintain institutional control of subsurface areas near shot cavities |
Surface area will be released for alternate uses with no radiological restrictions |
Site remains under controlled access; monitoring forever; groundwater monitoring wells refurbished or replaced every 25 years |
2005 |
New Mexico |
Gnome-Coach |
DOE will not maintain an active presence, but will maintain institutional control of sub-surface areas near shot cavities; land released without restrictions or given to Bureau of Land Mgt. |
Surface area will be released for alternate uses with no radiological restrictions |
Site remains under controlled access; annual monitoring planned for 100 years, but assumed to be forever |
2004 |
New Mexico |
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) |
Ongoing research mission; transfer up to 4650 acres to county and San Idelfonso Pueblo |
Brownfield/industrial/commercial use/DOE mission |
Legacy mixed LLW off site by 2004; environmental restoration project complete 2008; residual radioactive, metal and organic contamination; indefinite radiological contamination surveillance and monitoring; no groundwater remediation of regional aquifer deemed necessary; groundwater monitoring for over 30 years; contaminated material disposal areas closed with engineered barriers and long-term surveillance and monitoring |
2008 |
New Mexico |
Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute (LRRI) |
U.S. Air Force leases the land to DOE with renewal option; Office of Science is operational landlord |
Brownfield |
Groundwater contamination exceeds NMED 10 Tg/L level; natural attenuation of nitrates and diesel products expected to achieve standard; surveillance and monitoring until 2006 |
2000 |
New Mexico |
Sandia National Laboratories-NM |
Ongoing mission under Defense Programs; industrial (DOE programmatic) uses beginning in 2001 |
Brownfield/ongoing mission/chemical waste and mixed waste landfills and a disposal cell will remain |
Controlled access of landfills and disposal cell unless wastes are sent off site; under federal control in perpetuity; long-term institutional controls; 30 years of monitoring per RCRA |
2001 |
New Mexico |
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) |
WIPP is neither a cleanup nor a disposal site; DOE control for ongoing waste mgt. for CH and remote handled (RH) transuranic (TRU) wastes until 2033 |
After completion of TRU disposal project surface area will be unrestricted for recreational and agricultural use |
Monuments and markers to warn people of presence of radioactive wastes; no access to underground; 124 acres passive institutional control |
2038 |
New York |
Brookhaven National Laboratory |
Office of Science is landlord; ongoing research mission |
Final ROD not complete and remediation strategies are not finalized as of June 1999 |
Groundwater remediation and monitoring until 2031; former and current landfills capped; newly generated wastes disposed off site; institutional controls for 100 years with deed and use restrictions at site closure time |
2006 |
New York |
Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU)-Knolls |
Owned by Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory |
Greenfield/to be released by owner for unrestricted use |
In standby since 1953; surveillance and monitoring in place; some transuranic wastes |
2014 |
New York |
West Valley Demonstration Project |
Site and facilities owned by New York state and licensed by NRC; DOE manages oversight responsibilities; final end state not determined |
Remediation strategy and final EIS not complete; after completion of project facility operational responsibilities will be transferred to New York Energy Research Development Authority |
Unknown pending completion of final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) |
Unknown |
Ohio |
Ashtabula Environmental Management Project |
Owned by RMI, a private company |
RMI has sole responsibility for site after 2003 |
Future use assumed to be industrial consistent with surrounding property use and zoning; surficial soil to be remediated to <30 pCi/g; long-term sampling and monitoring of groundwater |
2003 |
Ohio |
Columbus Environmental Management Project-West Jefferson |
Return to Battelle for unrestricted use by 2005 |
Brownfield/industrial use |
Clean up for use without radiological restrictions; all waste streams to be shipped off site |
2005 |
Ohio |
Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) |
DOE or a successor federal agency maintains stewardship; use may be recreational or industrial |
Brownfield/no residential or agricultural use; access to 138-acre on-site disposal facility restricted forever |
Large on-site LLW disposal facility; controlled access; restore aquifer to 20 ppb uranium contamination; 23 acres set aside for future economic development; groundwater monitoring forever |
2008 (2005) |
Ohio |
Miamisburg Environmental Management Project-(MEMP) (Mound) |
Transfer to city of Miamisburg by 2004 except for Office of Nuclear Facilities for ongoing NE mission |
Brownfield/cleanup to EPA industrial use standards |
DOE retains responsibility for contaminated areas; DOE will remediate on-site groundwater to industrial use levels and off-site groundwater to residential levels; DOE has duty to conduct annual assessments of compliance with deed restrictions and to enforce compliance |
2004 |
Ohio |
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant |
USEC will use the plant for the foreseeable future; federal government responsible for stewardship forever |
Brownfield/combination of mixed industrial and recreational use |
Contaminated burial grounds and landfills closed in place in industrial area; deed restrictions or use limitation on areas with contamination; complete remediation of waste sites in 2035; shut down groundwater treatment in 2050 and monitoring of passive treatment in 2055; seven capped landfills remain on site |
2005 |
South Carolina |
Savannah River Site (SRS)3 |
DOE Office of Environmental Management is landlord until 2038 after which an unidentified federal agency will assume responsibility |
Ongoing mission/no land use policy to date/central industrial area will be used for DP activities and environ. mgt.; end state for HLW tanks is scheduled for 2024 |
Various, depending on specific site; all land and groundwater located on site perimeter remediated for unrestricted use; institutional controls forever; groundwater strategy is a combination of ex situ and in situ treatments; soil contamination, buried waste, and buried structures will be contained by capping |
2038 |
Tennessee |
East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) (formerly K-25), ORR |
Open space/recreational; controlled access; industrial with restrictions |
Brownfield/part of site will be remediated to industrial levels as a private industrial park; part of site for restricted recreational use |
Contaminated areas within re-industrialized area contained or consolidated; burial areas capped and hydrologically isolated and/or excavated; radioactive burial grounds will be capped; deed restrictions, monitoring and digging restrictions; groundwater monitoring until at least 2016 |
2013 |
Tennessee |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) 4 |
DOE Office of Science has ongoing mission |
End states and their corresponding cleanup levels for the entire Oak Ridge Reservation are still being determined |
Buried wastes isolated with engineered and institutional controls on migration; contaminated sediments stabilized; radioactive burial grounds will be capped and isolated; inactive bldg. razed to grade; stewardship will be needed for hundreds of years; federal gov’t. will be responsible for site-wide groundwater monitoring and treatment forever |
2013 (Stewardship until 2070 is planning basis) |
Tennessee |
Y-12, ORR |
DOE Defense Programs has ongoing mission |
Brownfield/controlled access/restricted industrial use; controlled access; open space/recreational use/waste mgt. disposal facility for CERCLA waste |
Burial ground contamination capped in place; groundwater contained and use restricted; stewardship will be needed for hundreds of years; federal government will be responsible for site-wide groundwater monitoring and treatment forever; site will maintain institutional controls and conduct CERCLA five-year reviews, inspections, monitoring and reporting; pump-and-treat systems may address on-site groundwater |
2013 (Surveillance and monitoring of treatment systems through 2070) |
Texas |
Pantex Plant |
DOE will keep control; site closure not expected in foreseeable future; current land use is called “industrial” |
Brownfield/ongoing mission |
Groundwater pump and treat may be required at least until 2015; identified release sites remediated to TX Risk Reduction Stds. |
2002 |
Utah |
Monticello Millsite and Vicinity Properties |
Some land deeded to city for recreational use; onsite repository will remain under DOE control |
Greenfield/controlled access |
Remediation methods of sediments, groundwater, surface water not yet decided |
2001 |
Washington |
Hanford Site5 560-square-mile site near the Columbia River; includes the four major areas discussed below |
Federal government maintains ownership of most of the site |
Two site remediation goals: unrestricted and restricted use; specific land use decisions pending completion of Hanford Remedial Action EIS and Comprehensive Land Use Plan |
DOE quarterly surveillance and routine radiological surveys; repair of barricades; vegetation management; surplus facilities D&D; compliance with tri-party agreements; institutional controls indefinitely to control groundwater use; semi-annual monitoring for at least 30 years after closing last facility |
2046 |
100 Area: nine reactors |
Restricted use |
Institutional controls; reactors, N-fuel basin, K basins in interim safe storage for up to 75 years |
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200 Area: reprocessing area |
Federal government will use the area for management and disposal of nuclear materials; cleanup levels have not been established |
Surface barriers over contaminated soil, waste sites and burial grounds; institutional controls; double shell and single shell tanks will remain; tanks will be closed in RCRA compliant manner; post-closure monitoring of tank farms through 2050; sanitary solid waste landfill will remain |
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300/400 Area: fuel fabrication and support facilities |
Final end state determined by ongoing CERCLA process |
Radioactive cleanup to 14 mrem/year; deed restrictions used to control industrial use; institutional controls |
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Abbreviations Used in Table: CERCLA—Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended; CH—contact handled; D&D—decontamination and decommissioning; DNAPL—dense nonaqueous phase liquid; EIS—Environmental Impact Statement; EPA—U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; FFACO—Federal Facilities Agreement and Consent Order; HLW—high-level waste; LLW—low-level waste; RCRA—Resouree Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as amended; ROD—record of decision; RH—remote handled; TRU—transuranic; UMTRA—Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action; USEC—US Enrichment Corporation; DOE—U.S. Department of Energy. 1 Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site is 6,185 acres. The majority of the land is uncontaminated and meets Residential land-use standards, but is currently limited to use as a buffer for plutonium stored on site. The core of the cleanup area is 384 acres, which will attain Industrial land-use standards to allow for environmental technology development activities. Determination of the future status of the Rocky Flats site is still very much a work in progress. 2 INEEL is the largest of the five major sites. Under the base case 99 percent of the area meets Residential use standard. Contaminated areas and facilities present only limited opportunities for alternative uses. 3 The SR site is a very complex site located in a humid environment. The majority of the surface of the site is uncontaminated. Contaminated surface waters and sediments limit the remainder of the site to Open Space use. The area north of the production area meets Agricultural use standard. The maximum feasible greenfield case for the SR site is limited by the possible end state for the five reactors, the chemical processing buildings and storage/disposal areas in the E, F, and H areas, which remain controlled access. Under some cleanup strategies most of the site could be brought to residential standards, however, most of the land will be used for resource or wildlife management. 4 The Oak Ridge site has a high water table. Although most of the site is uncontaminated the nature of the site and the three production areas limit use of that area to Open Space. A significant portion of the cost at the site is allocated to monitoring and addressing migration of contamination from numerous waste burial areas. 5 Most of the land currently meets residential standards. DOE actively uses only 8,150 acres for industrial/storage/disposal. Onsite plutonium storage is a major determinant of future land use because of buffer and emergency planning requirements. The base cleanup strategies assume complete dismantlement of reactors and core removal and extensive contaminated soil excavation. The 200 Areas remain Controlled Access for storage/disposal and waste mgt. activities. |