UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

REGION IX

75 Hawthorne Street

San Francisco, CA 94105

July 13, 2015

MEMORANDUM

SUBJECT: Posting EPA-R09-RCRA-2014-0367 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-2014-0367 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 standards under the hazardous waste Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) regulations 

for the future disposal of 34 containers 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. 

This docket serves two purposes: first, it is a publicly 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 submitting comments on this memorandum via http://www.regulations.gov. Other means of 

providing comments are described below.

Thirty-four (34) containers (7,094 kilograms) of mixed low-level radioactive waste (MLLW) are 

currently being stored at the DOE’s East 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 on DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation. The MLLW in the 34 containers 

failed to meet the LDR treatment standards 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 “macroencapsulation” 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 regulations found in the Code 
of 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, 2015.

Please submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R09-RCRA-2014-0367, by one of the 

following methods:

 http://www.regulations.gov: follow the on-line instructions for submitting comments.

 E-mail: ziff.sara@epa.gov

 U.S. Mail: Sara 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 available 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 disclosure 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 comment, 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 Sara Ziff at (415) 972-3536, 

or at ziff.sara@epa.gov.