Comments received on Hanford’s tank waste plans
The Department of Energy has agreed to hold a 30-day review and comment period on a draft environmental analysis associated with a proposed plan for retrieving, grouting, and transporting some of Hanford’s low-activity tank waste for out-of-state disposal.
The decision to conduct the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) supplemental analysis for the tank waste was made in response to comments the DOE received regarding proposed changes to the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) and the Washington v. Granholm consent decree, which set deadlines for the cleanup of radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state.
Hanford holds about 56 million gallons of liquid waste stored in 177 underground tanks, a legacy of plutonium production at the site. While the DOE is planning to immobilize much of the waste in glass through vitrification for eventual disposal, it is also considering grouting some of the tanks low-activity waste, turning it into a concrete form, and shipping it off-site for disposal.
Background: First signed in 1989 by the DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology), the TPA is the governing document for the cleanup of Hanford, setting enforceable milestones for treating radioactive waste.
Following litigation regarding delays associated with some of those milestones, the DOE and Ecology settled the Washington v. Granholm consent decree in 2010, establishing deadlines for certain tank waste retrievals and the construction and operation of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, which is to vitrify the waste.
The consent decree has been amended several times since then, and following mediated negotiations that began in 2020, the agencies signed a settlement agreement in April 2024 with proposed new and revised cleanup deadlines. That agreement was opened to a 120-day public review and comment period, during which the agencies took feedback on the proposed changes.
Comments received: The DOE, the EPA, and Ecology responded to comments received during the open review period, posting a summary of the comments and agency responses on Hanford’s website on December 19. The agencies said they collected 185 comments, all of which were considered prior to them issuing a comment responsiveness summary and updating the agreement.
The DOE agreed to the NEPA review for grouting some of Hanford’s low-activity tank waste for off-site disposal and anticipates holding a 30-day comment period on the draft supplemental analysis in early 2025.
The agencies also revised the due dates for several of the proposed milestones to allow additional time for this public involvement process. One of these is the deadline for the DOE’s decision on where to grout the waste, which has now been extended by one year to the end of 2025.
The revisions to the TPA were to be formalized by the DOE, the EPA, and Ecology over the coming weeks. A federal court will also need to approve a joint amendment to the Washington v. Granholm consent decree.
Agreement highlights: The proposed TPA and consent decree modifications include the following:
- Maintaining existing timeframes for starting treatment of both low-activity and high-level waste through vitrification.
- Using a direct-feed approach vitrifying HLW, similar to the DOE’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste program.
- Building a vault storage system and second effluent management facility to support treating HLW.
- Retrieving waste from 22 tanks in Hanford’s 200 West Area by 2040, including grouting the low-activity portion of the waste for off-site disposal.
- Designing and constructing 1 million gallons of additional capacity for multi-purpose storage of tank waste.
- Evaluating and developing new technologies for retrieving waste from tanks.
Under the settlement agreement, the DOE has also committed to refrain from applying its interpretation of what constitutes “high-level waste” when disposing of treated waste or closing tank systems at Hanford. In 2021, the DOE affirmed its interpretation of HLW to mean that some wastes from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel may be classified as non-HLW and may be safely disposed of in accordance with its radiological characteristics.
Agency statements: “Public comments provide important and valued perspectives that contribute to informed decisions on our complex cleanup mission at the Hanford site,” said Brian Vance, manager of the Hanford Field Office. “We appreciate everyone who shared their perspectives through the public comment process as well as those who participated in the constructive public meetings on this important agreement in July.”
Stephanie Schleif, Ecology’s nuclear waste program manager, said, “We heard the public’s feedback on the proposed changes and the desire for more engagement opportunities. That input is making the agreement a stronger, more durable plan. Cleaning up Hanford’s tank waste is a critical priority for our state, and it’s essential that this process includes the perspectives of tribal governments and impacted communities.”
Dan Opalski, deputy regional administrator of the EPA, added, “The voices and opinions of the Hanford community are vital to this process. Thanks to the thoughtful input, we can continue this work with these important perspectives in mind.”
