Hanford past-practice strategy

Abstract

In May 1989, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) entered into an Interagency Agreement to provide a legal and procedural framework for cleanup and regulatory compliance at numerous hazardous waste sites at the Hanford Site. Four subareas of the Hanford Site (the 100, 200, 300, and 1100 Areas) have been included on the EPA`s National Priorities List (NPL). Under the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (Tri-Party Agreement), the more than 1,000 inactive waste disposal and unplanned release sites were originally grouped into 78 operable units (74 source operable units and 4 groundwater operable units, which underlie the source units). The contamination is in the form of solely hazardous waste, radioactive mixed waste, and other Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous substances. Included within the Tri-Party Agreement are 55 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) treatment, storage, or disposal (TSD) facilities, which will be closed or permitted to operate in accordance with Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-303 (RCRA) regulations. The parties have undertaken an ongoing dialogue over the past year to develop a new strategy for streamlining the past-practice corrective action process. This strategy provides new concepts for (1) accelerating decision making by maximizing the use of existing data consistent with data quality objectives and (2) undertaking expedited response actions and/or interim remedial measures as appropriate to either remove threats to human health and welfare and the environment or to reduce risk by reducing toxicity, mobility, or volume of contaminants.