LM currently manages nine sites where remediation was conducted in accordance with Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and/or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations. These sites were radiologically and/or chemically contaminated by federal milling, processing, research, and/or weapons manufacturing operations.
CERCLA was enacted by Congress on December 11, 1980, to enforce cleanup and reporting requirements on contaminated property. RCRA was enacted by Congress on October 21, 1976, to govern the disposal of solid and hazardous waste.
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For sites in the DOE Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) Program, LM ensures compliance with DOE Order 5400.1, “General Environmental Protection Program,” which was superseded by DOE O 436.1, “Departmental Sustainability” (May 2, 2011); and DOE O 5400.5, “Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment.” DOE O 5400.1 stipulates that DOE will comply with applicable federal, state, and local environmental protection laws and regulations, Executive Orders, and internal DOE policies. DOE O 458.1 Admin Change 3, also titled “Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment,” cancels DOE Order 5400.5 as of January 15, 2013.
DOE established the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) in 1974 to remediate sites where radioactive contamination remained from Manhattan Project and early U.S. Atomic Energy Commission operations. DOE assessed more than 600 candidate facilities and determined that 46 sites required remediation. In 1997, the U.S. Congress directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to remediate the remaining FUSRAP sites — by this time DOE had completed cleanup of 25 of 46 sites. Remediation of FUSRAP sites follows Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) protocols. In 1999, DOE negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with USACE to transfer responsibility for FUSRAP sites to DOE for long-term care two years after remedial action has been completed.
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MED/AEC legacy sites are sites that were associated with Manhattan Engineer District’s (MED) efforts to develop the first nuclear weapons during World War II as well as sites that were involved in the work of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).
Certain sites where low-level radioactive contamination was remediated by the site owner under the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Site Decommissioning Management Program can be transferred to the federal government under Section 151 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA). NRC will terminate the site license only after concurring with the implemented remedial action, determining that the owner has obtained DOE approval to accept responsibility for the site, and ensuring future funding for long-term surveillance and maintenance. LM manages one NWPA Section 151 site.
The Plowshare/Vela Uniform/Weapons-Related program consists of 15 sites in eight states where U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, a predecessor agency to the U.S. Department of Energy, planned or conducted weapons-related experiments and underground nuclear and non-nuclear tests for various purposes within the United States. The tests, experiments, and other support activities took place during the 1960s and 1970s. AEC conducted these activities under three distinct programs — Plowshare, Vela Uniform, and Weapons-Related — and all had different purposes.
The DOE Office of Legacy Management took responsibility for the Chariot site in 2005. The eight sites where underground nuclear tests were performed transferred to LM in 2008. The five sites not used for nuclear testing transferred to LM in 2019. Responsibility for the Tonopah Test Range transferred to LM in 2020.
Plowshare/Vela Uniform/Weapons-Related sites are maintained long-term according to the regulatory requirements of the state they are located in. LM's long-term monitoring activities at the sites consist mainly of making sure that use restrictions are in place and working, maintaining site integrity to protect public health and the environment, and monitoring for impacts.
View the Plowshare/Vela Uniform/Weapons-Related program sites.
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Water quality standards (WQS) are EPA-approved state, territorial, authorized tribal, or federal law provisions that describe a water body’s desired condition and how that condition will be protected or achieved. States, territories, and authorized tribes establish WQS to protect human health and aquatic life in these waters. WQS forms a legal basis for controlling pollutants entering LM sites’ waters in the United States. Generally, contamination located on these sites is not considered hazardous under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, nor do they qualify under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act.
UMTRCA Title I Disposal and Processing Sites
For Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978 (UMTRCA) Title I disposal sites managed by LM, DOE becomes a licensee to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Inspection, reporting, and record-keeping requirements are defined in Title 10 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 40.27, "General License for Custody and Long-Term Care of Residual Radioactive Material Disposal Sites." The general license for long-term custody does not expire. Usually, the land title is assigned to a federal government agency and the land is administratively withdrawn from unrestricted public use. Sites located on tribal land revert to tribal control, and DOE obtains a site access agreement with the tribe that allows DOE to fulfill its custodial responsibilities.
Under UMTRCA Title I, 22 inactive uranium ore-processing sites were designated for remediation. Remediation resulted in the creation of 19 disposal cells that contain encapsulated uranium mill tailings and associated contaminated material. Approximately 40 million cubic yards of low-level radioactive material are contained in engineered UMTRCA Title I disposal cells.
Residual radioactive material was moved from some Title I processing sites for containment at off-site disposal locations. NRC does not require a license for remediated processing sites that do not have disposal cells. However, NRC is the regulator if contaminated groundwater remains. Groundwater compliance action plans, with compliance strategies that range from natural flushing to active remediation, have been or are being developed by DOE for processing sites that have contaminated groundwater. These plans require NRC, state, and Native American tribe concurrence, when applicable. To date, groundwater remedies have been approved and implemented at several former uranium ore processing sites.
Standards for UMTRCA remedial action, cell performance, and groundwater quality are established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 40 CFR 192, "Health and Environmental Protection Standards for Uranium and Thorium Mill Tailings." Each disposal site comes under the general license for long-term custody and care by DOE once NRC concurs that remedial action has been completed and accepts the site-specific, long-term surveillance plan. If groundwater at a site was contaminated by previous site activities, NRC will accept only the surface improvements under the general license; the site will not be fully licensed until groundwater quality meets applicable regulations. The NRC license mandates annual disposal cell inspections. Additional requirements for post-closure care are defined in site-specific, long-term surveillance plans.
All Title I sites are under general licenses, except for the Grand Junction, Colorado, Disposal Site. A portion of the cell at the Grand Junction disposal site will remain open to receive contaminated materials and continues to be managed by LM.
UMTRCA Title II Disposal Sites
Uranium processing sites addressed by Title II of Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) were active when the act was passed in 1978. These sites were commercially owned and regulated under an NRC agreement state license. For license termination, the owner conducts an NRC-approved reclamation of radioactive waste remaining from uranium ore processing operations. The site owner also ensures full funding for inspections and, if necessary, ongoing monitoring or maintenance. LM develops the site-specific, long-term surveillance plan and accepts title to the site for long-term custody and care after approval of site remediation by the licensee and development of a long term surveillance plan by LM. DOE administers Title II sites under the provisions of a general NRC license granted under Title 10 CFR 40.28, "General License for Custody and Long-Term Care of Uranium or Thorium Byproduct Materials Disposal Sites."
LM currently manages seven UMTRCA Title II sites. The number will increase as ongoing site reclamations are completed. Ultimately, LM will manage as many as 30 UMTRCA Title II sites.
View the UMTRCA Title I and II disposal and processing sites.
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