se°S74%___UNITEDSTATESENVIRONMENTALPROTECTIONAGENCYREGIONIXI75HawthorneStreetSanFrancisco,CA94105May10,2012MEMORANDUMSUBJECT:PostingEPA-R09-RCRA-2012-0361toRegulations.govforPublicAccessFROM:StephenF.TyahiaProjectManagerRCRACorrectiveActionOfficeWasteManagementDivision,EPARegion9TIIRU:StevenS.Armann,(\f/Manager,RCRA(x*’veActionOfficeWasteManagemet\viion,EPARegion9TO:FileThismemorandumauthorizesthepostingofEPA-R09-RCRA-2012-0361toRegulations.govforpublicaccess.ThisdocketcontainsdocumentsrelatedtoEPA’sreviewandintentiontoapproveapetitionsubmittedbytheU.S.DepartmentofEnergy(“DOE”)requestingasite-specificone-timevariancefromtheapplicabletreatmentstandardunderthehazardouswasteLandDisposalRestrictionsregulationsforthefuturedisposaloftworadioisotopethermoelectricgenerators.However,priortomakingafinaldecisiononDOE’spetition,EPAmustprovideopportunityforpubliccomment.Thisdocketservestwopurposes:first,itisapubliclyavailablerepositorytoDOE’spetitionanddocumentsrelatedtoEPA’sreviewandintendedapprovalofthepetition;andsecondly,thedocketprovidesonemeansforthepublictoprovidecommentsonEPA’sintentiontoapprovethepetition—bysubmittingcommentsonthismemorandumviawww.regulations.gov.VThetworadioisotopethermoelectricgenerators(or“RTG5”)arecurrentlylocatedinasecuredcoveredstorageareaattheOakRidgeNationalLaboratorycomplexinOakRidge,Tennessee(“ORNL”)andhavenotyetbeendeclaredawastebyDOE.Inanticipationoftheirdisposal,DOEisproposinganalternativetreatmentmethod(“macroencapsulation”)beusedinlieuoftheapplicabletreatmentstandardofthermaldesorptionandrecoveryofthemercury.DOE’spetitionisbeingmadepursuanttotheLandDisposalRestrictionsregulationsfoundintheCodeofFederalRegulations(“C.F.R.”),Title40,Part268.EPAhasreviewedthepetitionandhasmadeaproposeddecisiontoapproveit.However,priortomakingafinaldecisiononthepetition,EPA,asrequiredtheregulations,isprovidinganopportunityforpubliccommentonitsintentiontoapprovethepetition.ThisdocumentwillbeopenforpubliccommentfromMay18throughJune17,2012.Pleasesubmityourcomments,identifiedbyDocketIDNo.EPA-R09-RCRA-2012-0361,byoneofthefollowingmethods:www.regu1ations.govFollowtheon-lineinstructionsforsubmittingcomments.•Email:tyahla.stephen@epa.gov•Mail:StephenF.Tyahia,P.E.,CHMMProjectManager•U.S.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,Region975HawthorneSt.(WST-5),SanFrancisco,CA94105EPA’spolicyisthatallcommentsreceivedwillbeincludedinthepublicdocketwithoutchangeandmaybemadeavailableonlineathttp://www.regulations.gov,includinganypersonalinformationprovided,unlessthecommentincludesinformationclaimedtobeConfidentialBusinessInformation(CBI)orotherinformationwhosedisclosureisrestrictedbystatute.DonotsubmitinformationthatyouconsidertobeCBIorotherwiseprotectedthroughhttp://www.regulations.govore-mail.Thehttp://www.regulations.govWebsiteisan“anonymousaccess”system,whichmeansEPAwillnotknowyouridentityorcontactinformationunlessyouprovideitinthebodyofyourcomment.Ifyousendane-mailcommentdirectlytoEPAwithoutgoingthroughhttp://www.regulations.gov,youre-mailaddresswillbeautomaticallycapturedandincludedaspartofthecommentthatisplacedinthepublicdocketandmadeavailableontheInternet.Ifyousubmitanelectroniccomment,EPArecommendsthatyouincludeyournameandothercontactinformationinthebodyofyourcomment.IfEPAcannotreadyourcommentduetotechnicaldifficultiesandcannotcontactyouforclarification,EPAmaynotbeabletoconsideryourcomment.Electronicfilesshouldavoidtheuseofspecialcharacters,avoidanyformofencryption,andbefreeofanydefectsorviruses.ForadditionalinformationaboutEPA’spublicdocket,visittheEPADocketCenterhomepageathttp://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.Shouldyouhaveanyquestionsregardingthismemorandum,pleasecontactSteveTyahlaat(415)972-3466,orviaemailattvahla.stephen(epa.gov.