Revision of the NNSSWAC and Resolution of the Finding of Alleged Violation Settlement Agreement - 22282

The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) supports the safe, secure, and compliant disposal of low-level waste (LLW) from approximately 25 generators. This mission supports sites associated with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) ongoing production mission, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) clean-up mission, DOE Office of Science, and U.S. Department of Defense. Generators are required to adhere to the rigorous Nevada National Security Site Waste Acceptance Criteria (NNSSWAC). Adherence to the NNSSWAC promotes protection of workers, the public, and the environment by prescribing technical and administrative requirements to ensure only allowable, properly packaged waste is received. DOE EM Nevada Program has designated the Radioactive Waste Acceptance Program (RWAP), managed by Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc. (Navarro), with the responsibility of monitoring generator compliance with the NNSSWAC. RWAP is also responsible for maintaining the NNSSWAC and revising the document as necessary to meet operational requirements. RWAP had identified the need to update the NNSSWAC, last revised in 2016, based on operational improvements regarding waste packaging and receipt, and other administrative enhancements. As this revision was underway, the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee notified the NNSS that between 2013 and 2018, certain shipments of classified Weapons Related Material (WRM) were transferred from the Y-12 National Security Complex to the NNSS for disposal that were non-compliant with the NNSSWAC. Consolidated Nuclear Services (CNS), the managing and operating contractor at Y12, completed and provided to NNSS the documentation of a comprehensive causal analysis identifying the root and contributing causes of the issue with WRM disposed at NNSS. This causal analysis provided the foundation for the implementation of corresponding corrective actions, for which evidence was provided to NNSS to demonstrate necessary improvements at the point of waste generation. NNSS conducted an audit to verify implementation of corrective actions for low-level and mixed low-level waste shipments. Results of the Y-12 investigation and Corrective Action Plan, as well as 16 evaluations performed by the DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA), have been shared across the DOE complex to strengthen waste characterization and verification processes. In May 2021, the Acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and Administrator for NNSA joined the Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management in issuing a memo emphasizing the expectation that key observations and lessons learned from the Y-12 incident be incorporated into mission execution at all field offices and operating sites to prevent recurrence. Two regulatory actions resulted from the Y-12 waste issue: In April 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Region 9 issued a Notice of Violation (NOV), that in part indicated that EPA believed this waste is hazardous. In 2021, EPA Region 9 referred the issue for appropriate action and resolution to the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). Additionally, in June 2020, NDEP issued a Finding of Alleged Violation (FOAV) indicating disposal of this waste violated solid waste permit requirements. To resolve these issues, DOE entered mediated discussions with NDEP. Following a series of discussions, in June 2021 DOE and NDEP reached a Settlement Agreement resolving all regulatory actions resulting from the Y-12 waste issue. The deliverables agreed-to by DOE under the Settlement Agreement built upon the Department's continued commitment to enhancing the rigor of its waste management activities for the protection of the DOE workforce, the public, and the environment. Specifically, the NNSA Nevada Field Office (NFO) and the DOE EM Nevada Program committed to implementing various waste program improvements, including enhanced use of visual and chemical verifications of waste, and the prioritization of analytical data and obtainment of more detailed data on waste profiles. Data associated with these improvements will be assessed and reported annually to NDEP. This information will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the improvements to determine if a requirement will be retained beyond the Settlement Agreement. For example, some of the requirements of the Settlement Agreement are expected to be incorporated into other facility permits and other may not be retained. Many Settlement Agreement commitments will be memorialised in the revision of the NNSSWAC. Revisions to the NNSSWAC were pursued to better reflect broad organizational changes related to federal oversight, to ensure current operational practices align with regulatory requirements, and to strengthen core requirements based on recent and ongoing lessons-learned exercises. Priorities identified in the revision process included clarifying regulatory requirements to promote compliance, streamlining the NNSSWAC layout, enhancing flexibility to promote a more dynamic document, providing linkages to guidance documents and source documentation, and clarifying regulatory requirements applied to waste generator sites. The types of waste received, including the allowable contaminants, did not change in this revision. The overall goal of the revision was to provide generators with clearer waste acceptance criteria supporting waste packaging, receipt, and disposal for the continued protection of workers, the public, and the environment. (authors)