EIS-0287: Final Environmental Impact Statement

Idaho High-Level Waste and Facilities Disposition

This EIS analyzes the potential environmental consequences of alternatives for managing high- level waste (HLW) calcine, mixed transuranic waste/sodium bearing waste (SBW) and newly generated liq- uid waste at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) in liquid and solid forms. This EIS also analyzes alternatives for the final disposition of HLW management facilities at the INEEL after their missions are completed. After considering comments on the Draft EIS (DOE/EIS- 0287D), as well as information on available treatment technologies, DOE and the State of Idaho have iden- tified separate preferred alternatives for waste treatment. DOE's preferred alternative for waste treatment is performance based with the focus on placing the wastes in forms suitable for disposal. Technologies avail- able to meet the performance objectives may be chosen from the action alternatives analyzed in this EIS. The State of Idaho's Preferred Alternative for treating mixed transuranic waste/SBW and calcine is vitrifi- cation, with or without calcine separations. Under both the DOE and State of Idaho preferred alternatives, newly generated liquid waste would be segregated after 2005, stored or treated directly and disposed of as low-level, mixed low-level, or transuranic waste depending on its characteristics. The objective of each pre- ferred alternative is to enable compliance with the legal requirement to have INEEL HLW road ready by a target date of 2035. Both DOE and the State of Idaho have identified the same preferred alternative for facilities disposition, which is to use performance-based closure methods for existing facilities and to design new facilities consistent with clean closure methods.