13 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Relationship between the DOE loan guaranty and California Environmental Quality Act environmental review processes
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is involved in numerous geothermal research, development, demonstration, and loan guaranty projects in the State of California. These projects often require the preparation of both an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), as required by California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and an Environmental Assessment (EA) or Impact Statement (EIS) as required under NEPA. DOE adoption or utilization of information contained in EIR's to meet that agency's NEPA requirements and thereby reduce duplication of effort is dependent on four critical issues: (1) the scope of the proposed action analyzed, (2) the completeness of treatment of environmental issues, (3) the level of DOE involvement in EIR preparation, and (4) the timing of DOE involvement in EIR preparation. At this time, several constraints prevent the integration of the DOE Loan Guaranty and CEQA environmental review and documentation processes. First, the time required to complete an EIR (up to 2 years in some cases) is not compatible with DOE's goal of processing loan guaranty applications within a 4 month period. Second, the CEQA process is usually initiated and completed prior to DOE's involvement in the project. Therefore, DOE often has no role in document preparation and must verify the content of an EIR before adopting or using that document and often must prepare a separate DOE EA even though an EIR exists
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Evaluation of Secondary Streams in Mixed Waste Treatment
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) and its predecessors have generated waste containing radioactive and hazardous chemical components (mixed wastes) for over 50 years. Facilities and processes generating these wastes as well as the regulations governing their management have changed. Now, DOE has 49 sites where mixed waste streams exist. The Federal Facility Compliance Act of 1992 (1) required DOE to prepare and obtain regulatory approval of plans for treating these mixed waste streams. Each of the involved DOE sites submitted its respective plan to regulators in April 1995 (2). Most of the individual plans were approved by the respective regulatory agencies in October 1995. The implementation of these plans has begun accordance with compliance instruments (orders) issued by the cognizant regulatory authority. Most of these orders include milestones that are fixed, firm and enforceable as defined in each compliance order. In many cases, mixed waste treatment that was already being carried out and survived the alternative selection process is being used now to treat selected mixed waste streams. For other waste streams at sites throughout the DOE complex treatment methods and schedules are subject to negotiation as the realties of ever decreasing budgets begin to drive the available options. Secondary wastes generated by individual waste treatment systems are also mixed wastes that require treatment in the appropriate treatment system. These secondary wastes may be solid or liquid waste (or both). For example debris washing will generate wastewater requiring treatment; wastewater treatment, in turn, will generate sludge or other residuals requiring treatment; liquid effluents must meet applicable limits of discharge permits. At large DOE sites, secondary waste streams will be a major influence in optimizing design for primary treatment. Understanding these impacts is important not only foe system design, but also for assurances that radiation releases and subsequent radiation exposures will be carefully controlled