UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
REGION IX
75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105

July 13

, 201 5

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: Posting EPA

- R09

- RCRA

- 201 4

- 0367 to Regulations.gov for Public Access

FROM: Sara Ziff

Project Manager , Corrective Action Section RCRA Branch, Land Division

THRU: Steven S . Armann

Manager

, Corrective Action Section RCRA Branch, Land Division

TO : File

This memorandum authorizes the posting of docket EPA

- R09

- RCRA

- 201 4

- 0367 to http://www.regulations.gov for public access.

This docket contains documents related to EPA’s review and intention to approve a petition submitted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE ) requesting a site

- specific

, one

- time variance from the applicable treatment standard s under the hazardous waste Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) regulations for the future disposal of 34 container s of mixed low level radioactive waste. However, prior to making a final decision on DOE’s petition, EPA must provide an opportunity for public comment on its intention to approve the variance request

.

Th is docket serves two purposes: first, it is a pu blicly available repository for DOE’s petition and documents related to EPA’s review and intended approval of the petition; and secondly, the docket provides one means for the public to provide comments to EPA on its intention to approve the petition

— by su bmitting comments on this memorandum via http://www.regulations.gov

. Other means of providing comments are described below.

Th irty

- four (34) containers ( 7,094 kilograms) of mixed low

- level radioactive waste (MLLW) are currently being stored at the DOE’s E ast Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge

, Tennessee

. They
contain soil

- like amalgam residuals from the treatment of 494 containers of MLLW generated during
environmental remedial activities o n DOE’s Oak Rid ge Reservation. The MLLW in the 34 containers
failed to meet the LDR treatment stand ards for various constituents. DOE submitted a petition on April 7, 2014 requesting a variance from the treatment standards , and proposes direct burial of the 34
containers at DOE’s Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) located outside of Las Vegas, Nevada

, following “macro encapsulation ” in industrial steel containers of the 5 containers that exceeded the LDR
standards for metals. DOE’s petition is being made pursuant to the LDR reg ulations found in th e Codeof Federal Regulations ( C.F.R.), Title 40, Part 268. EPA has reviewed the petition and has made a

proposed decision to approve it. However, prior to making a final decision on the petition, EPA, as required the regulations , is providing an opportunity for public comment on its intention to approve the petition.

This document will be open for public comment from July 13 through August 12

, 201 5

.

Please submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA

- R09

- RCRA

- 2014

- 0367

, by one of the following methods:

 http://www.regulations.gov : f ollow the on

- line instructions for submitting comments.

 E

- mail: ziff.sara@epa.gov

 U.S. Mail: S ara Ziff , P.E.

Project Manager U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (LND

- 4

- 1)
75 Hawthorne Street , San Francisco, CA 94105

EPA’s policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and may be made av ailable online at http://www.regulations.gov

, including any personal information provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose d isclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected through http://www.regulations.gov or e

- mail. The http:// www.regulations.gov Web site is an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you
send an e

- mail comment directly to EPA without going through http://www.regulations.gov

, your e

- mail address will be automatically captured and included as part of the comment that is placed in the public
docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comm ent, EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact information in the body of your comment

. If EPA cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of special characters, avoid any form of encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional information about EPA’s public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm

.

Should you have any questions regarding this memorandum, please contact S ara Ziff at (415) 972

- 3536

, or at ziff.sara@epa.gov

.