American Geological Institute

Government Affairs Program

Updated Status of WIPP Repository: 11-8-97

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given preliminary approval to operation of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as an underground repository for plutonium-contaminated material produced by the Department of Energy's (DOE) nuclear weapons production complex. WIPP is located east of Carlsbad, New Mexico in thick salt beds 2,150 feet below the surface. EPA will issue a final decision next spring following four months of public comment. The repository could begin accepting waste as early as May of 1998, although lawsuits seeking an injunction are likely hurdles that remain.

Update on WIPP Land Withdrawal Act Amendments (last revised 11-6-96)

Unlike the congressional stalemate that killed an interim repository for high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, legislation on the low-level nuclear waste repository known as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant(WIPP) passed both houses of Congress and was signed by the President in late September. The legislation was intended to expedite opening of the facility, which will contain low-level but long-lived nuclear waste produced by the nation's nuclear weapons production complex. The waste consists predominantly of clothing and equipment that has been contaminated by plutonium and similar radioactive elements known as transuranics (TRU). Originally introduced by Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) as a stand-alone bill (S. 1402), the legislation passed as an amendment, introduced by Idaho Republican Senators Craig and Dirk Kempthorne, tacked on to the much larger defense authorization bill (S.1745). As passed, the new language revises the 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act to exempt transuranic wastes from some land disposal regulations promulgated under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, removes outdated retrievability requirements, and provides a firm target date in 1997 for opening the facility. Before passage, the language in S. 1402 underwent two changes. First, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may request information from the Energy Department (DOE) at any time during the licensing process, effectively subjecting WIPP to EPA safety requirements, and 30-day period for public and congressional review of the facility after EPA's opening authorization is required. Second, wastes deposited at the facility are restricted to defense nuclear wastes. The latter provision removed language in the Craig bill that would have expanded the types of wastes that could be stored at WIPP. The changes were supported by the Administration and received the backing of New Mexico Senators Pete Domenici (R) and Jeff Bingaman(D).

A very similar bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Joe Skeen (R-NM) and debate centered on a controversial provision that would transfer certification responsibility from EPA to DOE. The provision was aimed at reducing the amount of time and paperwork required to expedite the opening of WIPP, but the Administration strongly opposed the provision, pointing out that DOE self regulation over the past several decades was responsible, in great part, for the many current contamination and waste problems. The Administration argued that the public's trust was at risk if an outside regulating agency does not monitor activities at WIPP. In March, the House Commerce Committee removed the provision when it marked up the bill.

Background
Before 1970, transuranic waste was handled the same way as other low-level radioactive waste and was buried in shallow trenches. Because the radioactive decay of plutonium in TRU waste takes thousands of years, however, DOE concluded that a special deep repository was necessary. Since 1970, more than 60,000 cubic meters of TRU waste have been packed in metal drums or corrugated metal boxes and covered with a removable layer of soil, to allow retrieval upon completion of a permanent repository. Currently, waste is stored at 10 DOE laboratory facilities around the country, with the largest amount stored at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory.

The WIPP project was authorized by Congress in 1980 (P.L. 96-164) to address the problem of long-term disposal of defense-related TRU waste. The New Mexico site was chosen after earlier efforts to site a repository in an abandoned salt mine near Lyons, Kansas failed. The law excluded the WIPP repository from licensing by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and required DOE to reach a "consultation and cooperation" agreement with the state of New Mexico in developing the facility. Excavation of the WIPP tunnels and chambers began in 1981, and DOE declared the facility ready for the start of underground waste tests in 1991. However, shipments were halted by legal challenges and DOE's lack of jurisdiction over the site, which was controlled by the Department of the Interior. The 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act largely settled those issues and established procedures for opening the repository, including the establishment of EPA as the agency with regulatory authority over site suitability.

Originally contributed by Rene Cortez, AGI Government Affairs; revised by David Applegate

Sources: The Library of Congress and the EESI Bulletin

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Last updated November 8, 1997 (bulk last updated 11-6-96)

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