**Environmental Management**

**Committee Meeting Minutes**

**Wednesday, December 17 2008, 5:30 p.m.**

**DOE Information Center**

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+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[Committee Members             | **[Others Present]{.underline}**  |
| Present]{.underline}**           |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| Darryl Bonner                    | Dave Adler, Department of Energy  |
|                                  | (DOE)                             |
| Claire Campbell                  |                                   |
|                                  | Dan Jones, ARCADIS                |
| Miranda Clower                   |                                   |
|                                  | John Kubarewicz, Bechtel Jacobs,  |
| Betty Jones                      | Co.(BJC)                          |
|                                  |                                   |
| Gloria Mei                       | Julie Pfeffer                     |
|                                  |                                   |
| Norman Mulvenon                  | Bill Tewes                        |
|                                  |                                   |
| Ron Murphree, Chair              | Kelly Trice (BJC)                 |
|                                  |                                   |
| Tim Myrick, Vice-chair           | Russ Vranicar, DOE                |
|                                  |                                   |
| ##### Bob Olson                  | Ed Walker                         |
|                                  |                                   |
| Kerry Trammell                   |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| ##### [Absent]{.underline}       |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Rhonda Bogard                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| John Coffman                     |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Susan Gawarecki                  |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Luther Gibson                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Charles Jensen                   |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| John Kennerly                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Lance Mezga                      |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Maggie Owen                      |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

> **[K-25/K-27 Update and ETTP Ponds Remediation Status]{.underline}**
>
> The committee received updates on the status of the remediation of the
> K-1007 Pond and decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) activities
> at East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP).
>
> Ms. Pfeffer began by providing the update on the pond remediation
> project (Attachment 1). Mobilization is scheduled to begin in January
> with work beginning in February on a project to remediate the
> K-1007-P1 Pond at ETTP. The fish in the 25-acre pond located on the
> southwest corner of ETTP are contaminated primarily by PCBs.
>
> The pond is currently the home of grass carp and gizzard shad, which
> are bottom-feeders and tend to re-suspend contaminated sediment. PCBs
> accumulate in high levels in the shad, which are a favorite prey of
> large-mouth bass in the pond. The bass, in turn, could be consumed by
> humans.
>
> In March 2007 an action memorandum was signed by DOE Oak Ridge to
> conduct a non-time critical removal action to mitigate PCB
> contamination in the fish by restoring the pond to a more natural
> condition.
>
> Other options considered were to remove all of the sediment in the
> pond or fill in the pond with clean fill. Removal of contaminated
> sediment would have been a difficult endeavor requiring excavation of
> about 110,000 cubic yards of sediment and cost about \$30 million.
> Filling in the pond would have required about 150,000 cubic yards of
> clean fill and cost \$11-\$12 million.
>
> The selected option is environmental restoration to return the pond to
> a more natural state. Restoration steps include drawing down the pond,
> removing the shad and carp and reintroducing blue gill fish, which are
> not bottom feeders. Some clean fill will be added on top of the
> contaminated sediment and vegetation will be planted in and around the
> pond to limit sediment re-suspension and erosion. Higher growing
> vegetation will be planted to discourage geese from congregating in
> the area. Geese cause high nutrient loading in the pond that promotes
> algae growth on the surface water.
>
> Flood controls will be put in place to prevent reintroduction of carp
> and shad from nearby Poplar Creek. Burchfield Road, which borders the
> pond, provides some flood protection but additional improvements are
> needed.
>
> Ms. Pfeffer said the schedule for the work is heavily dependent on the
> weather. Mobilization to begin the work is scheduled for mid-January
> through mid-February 2009. The pond will be drawn down from
> mid-February to about the first of August. Additional fill will be
> added during the first months of the pond draw down. Ecological
> enhancement by planting new vegetation and reintroducing blue gill
> will be from May to about the first of November.
>
> The carp and shad currently in the pond will be killed off using
> rotenone. While some dead fish will sink to the bottom of the pond,
> the floaters will be removed and buried in an area across Burchfield
> Road.
>
> Since no contaminated sediment will be removed, Mr. Myrick asked if
> hot spots will be sought for placement of clean fill. Ms. Pfeffer said
> that is not required but most spots should be covered.
>
> Ms. Mei asked if there will be any work to maintain the condition of
> the pond once the project is complete. Ms. Pfeffer said the area
> should be self-sustaining, but it will be monitored and results
> reported in the annual Remediation Effectiveness Report.
>
> Mr. Bonner asked if there will be any recontouring around the pond.
> Ms. Pfeffer said gravel will be installed for trucks to drive on but
> that will be removed when the project is finished. Mr. Bonner also
> asked if there will be any additional barriers for undesirable fish.
> Ms. Pfeffer said a fencing material is being considered for any 50-100
> year flooding event, but details have not been completed. Mr. Adler
> asked if flooding is a real risk since the nearby Clinch River is
> controlled by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Ms. Pfeffer said a big
> storm could cause flooding in the area.
>
> Mr. Trammell asked if fishing will be allowed in the pond after
> restoration is complete. Ms. Pfeffer said if PCB levels are low enough
> it should be safe for fishing, but the landlords would have to provide
> permission to fish.
>
> Mr. Bonner asked about the storm drain exiting the pond. Ms Pfeffer
> said there are no plans to modify it.
>
> Mr. Vranicar and Mr. Trice provided the update on the K-25/K-27 D&D
> project (Attachment 2).
>
> The project is a non-time critical removal action to remove high risk
> process system components from both buildings, establish criticality
> incredible, and demolish the buildings. Mr. Vranicar repeated the
> comments by Steve McCracken, the DOE Oak Ridge Assistant Manager for
> Environmental Management (EM), at the October 2008 Oak Ridge Site
> Specific Advisory Board (ORSSAB) meeting that he did not believe the
> North Tower of K-25 was worth saving as had been planned. Mr. Trice
> said about 200 corbels in K-25 have failed and about 40 of those are
> in the North Tower.
>
> Debris from the project will be disposed at the waste management
> facility on Bear Creek Road near Y-12, at Energy Solutions in Utah,
> and at the Nevada Test Site.
>
> Mr. Vranicar noted major project accomplishments (Attachment 2, pages
> 9 and 10). All preparation for demolition of the west wing of K-25 has
> been completed and actual demolition started the day before on
> December 16. Mr. Vranicar said in order to achieve the criticality
> incredible status for the operating floor a platform had to be built
> to access the floor. The operating floor had been closed because it
> was so degraded.
>
> Full scale deactivation of the east wing is underway including duct
> cutting, asbestos removal, system draining, transite siding removal,
> and vent/purge/drain operations.
>
> Demolition of the west wing is scheduled for completion by the end of
> 2010. Demolition of the east wing is scheduled to begin February 2010.
> All demolition work for K-25 is scheduled for completion by March
> 2011. Demolition of K-27 is scheduled to begin July 2014 and be
> complete by August 2016.
>
> Mr. Trice said D&D of K-25 is the most complex project underway in the
> country. He said many of the tasks being done are one of a kind. The
> expected cost to D&D both K-25 and K-27 is about \$850 million. That
> projection is up from \$827 million reported to the committee in July
> 2008.
>
> Mr. Vranicar said one of the lessons learned in the D&D project is to
> remove uranium deposits in the equipment while the equipment is still
> in a functioning condition.
>
> Mr. Tewes said there has not been good documentation of what has taken
> place in the buildings. He asked if careful records are being kept
> about where each cell and converter came from in the building. Mr.
> Vranicar said a tracking device is attached to each large piece of
> equipment that comes out of the building that notes the waste
> characterization done on the piece and where it is placed in the waste
> cell.
>
> Mr. Olson asked how K-27 is being maintained prior to demolition. Mr.
> Trice said K-27 is in better condition that K-25, although there is
> some roof leakage. He said the maintenance budget for both buildings
> is about \$10 million a year. He said his job is to get K-27 ready for
> demolition. He said about 85 percent of the cost of D&D is getting the
> building ready for demolition.
>
> Mr. Murphree asked what the schedule driver was for K-27. Mr. Trice
> said the driver is the ability to have the building ready for
> demolition start in 2014. He said it took 18-20 months to get the west
> wing of K-25 ready for demolition. He wants to have the east wing
> ready in 12 months. He said that's an aggressive schedule but believes
> it can be done.
>
> Mr. Trammell asked if demolition work is a daytime-only job. Mr. Trice
> said it was and the work is generally done on four 10-hour work days.
> He said a lot of the work of demolition is size reduction of large
> pieces of debris. For each excavator doing demolition there are four
> doing size reduction. He said about 45 loads of debris will go the
> waste management facility each day. The hope is to get up to 100 loads
> a day.
>
> **[Discussion of possible recommendation or comments on the
> presentation]{.underline}**
>
> Mr. Trice mentioned that the committee could help by recommending
> stable funding for D&D work.
>
> Mr. Myrick said he didn't see a need for any comments at this time,
> but to continue to receive periodic updates on the work at K-25/K-27.
> Mr. Trammell agreed saying the committee should monitor the work to
> make sure schedules are being met to ready the east wing for
> demolition.
>
> Mr. Mulvenon said the reporting of costs needs to be better. No
> figures were in the presentation and Mr. Trice and Mr. Vranicar
> provided figures from memory. Mr. Adler said he would bring
> information to the January meeting clarifying the costs.
>
> Ms. Clower suggested a news item in the next Advocate newsletter about
> the start of the ponds remediation. She also suggested a more detailed
> news release on the topic to send to area newspapers.
>
> Staff will work up an item for the newsletter and discuss a more
> general news release with the Public Outreach Committee.
>
> **[Committee input on next month's program: Building 3019
> Update]{.underline}**
>
> Next month's presentation is a status update on Building 3019 at Oak
> Ridge National Laboratory. Ms. Mei asked for input on what the
> committee would like to receive in the presentation.
>
> Mr. Adler said project manager Gary Riner has a new baseline proposal
> to report that indicates how costs and schedules have been revised.
> His new proposal would also include information on the construction of
> another facility.
>
> Mr. Olson said he would like to hear about any uncertainty related to
> disposing of the uranium-233 in the building. Mr. Adler said the task
> is to stabilize the material and get it ready for disposition at the
> Nevada Test Site. Mr. Olson asked if money has been allocated for the
> project. Mr. Alder said the 3019 project takes a significant portion
> of the Oak Ridge EM budget for the next 10 years. He said funding will
> determine the pace of work.
>
> **[Develop FY 2010 EM Committee Budget Request]{.underline}**
>
> The committee reviewed the FY 2009 committee budget request
> (Attachment 3). After some discussion about travel and technical
> assistance the committee agreed on the FY 2010 budget request\
> (Attachment 4).
>
> **[Review Work Plan]{.underline}**
>
> In February a joint meeting is scheduled with the Stewardship
> Committee to receive a report from a technical advisor on the focused
> feasibility study and proposed plan for the remediation of Bear Creek
> Burial Grounds. However, the D2 version of the study and plan will not
> be ready for a report until April.
>
> In April there is another joint meeting scheduled with Stewardship to
> get a report on exit pathways of groundwater and especially on
> contaminated groundwater from Melton Valley reaching a line a picket
> wells southwest of the Oak Ridge Reservation.
>
> The Stewardship Committee said at its December 16 meeting that it is
> agreeable to simply swap the meeting dates if the EM Committee was
> agreeable. The EM Committee agreed that topic dates could be swapped.
> Staff will adjust both work plans accordingly.
>
> **[Review of Trench 13]{.underline}**
>
> ORSSAB received a briefing on Trench 13 in Melton Valley from Mr.
> Adler at the December meeting. Chair Steve Dixon asked the EM
> Committee to review the presentation to determine if any comments or
> recommendations were warranted.
>
> Mr. Olson suggested that the waste in Bear Creek Burial Grounds is
> similar to that in Trench 13 and perhaps they should be considered
> together. He suggested that both sites have \'shock sensitive\' or
> pyrophoric materials in them. 
>
>  
>
> Mr. Bonner agreed that discussions on Trench 13 and the Bear Creek
> Burial Grounds should wait until the April meeting in conjunction with
> discussions on the focused feasibility study and proposed plan for
> Bear Creek Burial Grounds.
>
> Mr. Olson suggested holding discussion until DOE submits a proposal to
> the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation on what to do
> about Trench 13 and then discuss it at the April meeting in
>
> conjunction with the review of the focused feasibility study and
> proposed plan for Bear Creek Burial Grounds.
>
> **[Addition to Agenda - Review of K-25 historic
> preservation]{.underline}**
>
> Mr. Murphree said new options for historic commemoration of K-25 has
> been provided to Steve McCracken. Those options were presented to the
> Stewardship Committee on December 16.
>
> The preferred option is similar to a suggestion in a minority opinion
> written in part by Mr. Murphree and Mr. Olson to demolish the North
> Tower of K-25 and build a separate interpretive center. The new option
> will be provided to board members Bill Bass and Steve Stow who also
> signed the minority opinion. The four will consider the new option and
> determine if their minority opinion will be revised as a full
> recommendation to put before the board.
>
> **[Action Items]{.underline}**
>
> *Open*

1.  Jeff Crane will provide a letter detailing his explanation as to why
    the state's water classifications have not been approved by EPA.
    *Carryover from the November meeting.*

2.  A technical advisor scope of work will be completed by Mr. Olson,
    Ms. Jones, and Mr. Bonner by the end of October. **Status.** A
    revised scope of work has been developed in response to some
    questions raised by the Board Finance & Process Committee.

3.  Mr. Adler will bring more detailed cost information on K-25/K-27 D&D
    to the January 2009 committee meeting.

*Closed*

1.  Staff will include an item on the ponds remediation in the next
    Advocate newsletter. A more detailed news release on the subject
    will be discussed with the Public Outreach Committee. **Complete.**

2.  Staff will adjust the EM and Stewardship work plans to reflect
    swapping the February and April meeting topics. **Complete.**

    The meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m.

    Attachments (4) are available on request from the ORSSAB support
    office.

    rsg