(Tribune News Service) — Stronger oversight of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could be coming as the federal government was called on by New Mexico officials and members of Congress to address alleged problems with the U.S. Department of Energy's environmental cleanup operations.

New Mexico Secretary of the Environment James Kenney expressed concerns for operations at WIPP in a letter to the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO), calling for the federal office to increase its oversight of the nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad.

Low-level transuranic (TRU) waste from around the country is disposed of at WIPP via burial in an underground salt deposit about 2,000 feet underground.

It is owned and operated by the DOE and its Office of Environmental Management (EM) but is permitted and regulated by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) headed by Kenney.

In his Dec. 22 letter to the GAO, Kenney said the Office should review nuclear programs in New Mexico, including the prioritization of nuclear waste shipments to WIPP from facilities outside New Mexico.

He said first priority should be given to waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in northern New Mexico as the DOE intends to increase the production of plutonium pits.

"The WIPP is subject to an NMED operating permit and must adhere to the requirements of the permit in order to remain operable in New Mexico and in service to the nation," Kenney wrote. "Yet, the DOE EM has entered into legally binding settlement agreements with states to prioritize waste shipments to WIPP at the expense of shipments from other states, including New Mexico.

"This is problematic for both the clean-up of legacy waste at LANL and new waste from pit production at LANL."

Before the DOE entered into such agreements, as it had with the State of Idaho for cleanup at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in 1995, Kenney said the agency should have first engaged with New Mexico stakeholders he said would bear the impacts of moving out-of-state nuclear waste into their state.

The Idaho Settlement Agreement led to shipments of nuclear waste leftover from the Cold War to WIPP, with the DOE's Carlsbad Field Office approving 2,237 drums of TRU waste for shipment earlier this year, per a July announcement from the DOE EM - accounting for about six shipments a week through February 2022.

In 2021, WIPP accepted an average of about five shipments per week, records show, and officials reported 30 shipments were sent to WIPP from LANL.

"The practice of DOE EM solely managing waste shipments to WIPP from around the U.S. without first discussing with New Mexico stakeholders - including NMED as its regulator - now merits immediate congressional oversight," Kenney wrote.

In response, DOE officials in an emailed statement said WIPP prioritizes shipments based on their availability and certification under the federal Land Withdrawal Act.

"The Department of Energy (DOE) takes seriously its responsibility for safely cleaning up transuranic (TRU) waste generator sites in support of our country's national defense mission. Shipments are prioritized according to the availability of certified TRU waste that meets the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC)," the statement read.

"In accordance with the Land Withdrawal Act, TRU waste cannot be disposed at WIPP unless it meets strict characterization and certification guidelines established under the WAC with regulatory oversight by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED).

"DOE will continue its transparency efforts while strongly encouraging community engagement at all public meetings, including those hosted by DOE's Carlsbad Field Office."

Kenney also voiced reservations about DOE officials allegedly seeking to "expand" the kinds of waste accepted at WIPP.

A recent DOE proposal sought to redefine high-level waste to consider the radiation level as opposed to the current method that considers where the waste was generated, potentially leading to more waste coming to WIPP, Kenney said.

Another concern, Kenney wrote, was a DOE-proposed "dilute and dispose" program that would see high-level plutonium processed to lower its radioactivity so it could meet WIPP requirements for TRU waste.

The proposal would see up to 34 tons of plutonium from the DOE's Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Pantex Plant in northern Texas processed and prepared for disposal at WIPP.

The Pantex waste, under the DOE's preferred method published in the Federal Register, would be sent to LANL for preparation and then to Savanna River for dilution before heading back to WIPP for disposal.

Plutonium waste at Savannah River would be down-blended there before shipment to WIPP.

"Equally problematic is that DOE EM has sought to expand scope of waste streams sent to WIPP," Kenney wrote. "For example, DOE revised its interpretation of the definition of ‘high level waste’ and developed a ‘dilute and dispose’ program to ship surplus plutonium from South Carolina to WIPP in a potential manipulation of NMED's waste acceptance criteria as found in its state operating permit."

Through a 2016 compliance order, Kenny also argued the DOE was required to remediate groundwater contamination and other waste at LANL, leading to a lawsuit filed by the NMED.

"NMED alleged DOE failed to make progress in the clean-up of contamination as required by a 2016 Compliance Order on Consent," Kenney wrote. "This failure continues despite the DOE EM's congressionally approved budget for clean-up at this site."

Kenney's letter was in response to a Dec. 2 letter from the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce calling for the GAO to hold a program-wide review of "extreme management challenges" at the DOE EM.

The DOE EM was added to the GAO's High Risk List in 2017 and remained on the list at the time of the letter.

In its letter, Committee members outlined concerns with the DOE EM's program management, safety costs, soil and groundwater remediation and stakeholder engagement.

"In an effort to assist us with our oversight of EM's cleanup efforts, the Committee would like GAO to examine the major management challenges at EM that affect its ability to reduce its environmental liabilities and make progress on longstanding high risk areas," the Congressional letter read.

"The Committee also requests GAO to undertake a series of reviews focused on areas critical to EM's mission including DOE program management, minimum safety requirement costs, soil and ground remediation, and coordination with stakeholders."

achedden@currentargus.com

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