Is ‘Trust Us, We’re the Government’ Really A Guarantee? A Review of Financial Assurance Options for Long-Term Stewardship at the Mixed Waste Landfill, Sandia National Laboratories
3 Executive Summary Citizen Action commissioned this study to identify and evaluate options for financial assurance that may apply to the Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL) at the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) at Albuquerque, New Mexico. The report reviews legal aspects of this subject and evolving Department of Energy (DOE) policy on long-term management of waste sites, as well as specific examples of trust funds, DOE-contractor agreements and other state-based approaches to financial assurance at sites with similarities to Sandia’s Mixed Waste Landfill. This research has been supported by a grant from the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund administered by RESOLVE, Inc. Washington, DC.
This review identifies four options for financial assurance to guarantee of the performance of long-term care at waste disposal sites as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), (42 USC 6901 et seq.) and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations (40 CFR 260 et seq.) pursuant to that Act. RCRA is a federal law that regulates solid and hazardous waste from generation through disposal referred to as a “cradle-to-grave” control program. This review focuses on the “grave” portion of the RCRA process, the requirements for closure and post-closure plans at waste disposal sites.
This research was completed money allocated during Round 2 of the Citizens’ Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund (MTA Fund). Clark University was named conservator of these works.
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