Certification and Recertification of WIPP
WIPP News
In The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) (PDF) (7 pp, 159.32 K, About PDF), Congress required EPA to certify that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) complies with the waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR Part 191, Subparts B and C, as well as WIPP Compliance Criteria at 40 CFR Part 194. Congress also required EPA to recertify the facility every five years following the initial receipt of transuranic
transuranicElements with atomic numbers higher than uranium (92). For example, plutonium and americium are transuranics. (TRU) waste until the end of its operational activities.
Recertification is a process that evaluates changes at WIPP to determine whether the facility continues to meet all the requirements of EPA’s disposal regulations. The recertification process helps ensure WIPP's continued compliance based on the most accurate, up-to-date information available.
EPA initially certified WIPP on May 13, 1998 and WIPP first received TRU waste on March 26, 1999. DOE submitted applications for recertification in 2004, 2009 and 2014.
On March 26, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officially submitted the third Compliance Recertification Application (CRA) to EPA. This step initiated the recertification process required by Congress. Recertification is a process to verify that changes at the facility in the preceding five-year period comply with EPA's disposal standards for radioactive waste.
EPA received the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) official Compliance Recertification Application on March 26, 2014. The official comment period on the application opened on October 10, 2014, and will remain open until the Agency specifies the end of the comment period with a future Federal Register notice announcing its completeness determination. View the Federal Register notice about the opening of the comment period.
View the complete 2014 recertification application on the DOE website.
The EPA will be hosting an informal webinar session for the public to provide comments and ask questions regarding the 2014 WIPP CRA – specifically concerning the upcoming completeness determination on the application. The Agency has reserved hosting locations in both Carlsbad and Albuquerque for interested stakeholders to attend in New Mexico. The webinar will be held jointly (with both locations patched in via Adobe Connect) on Thursday, January 12th, from 1:00 - 4:00 PM (MST):
New Mexico State University - Carlsbad
Room 201
1500 University Drive
Carlsbad, NM 88220
University of New Mexico - Albuquerque
Student Union Building
Fiesta A & B
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
For any members of the public that are unable to attend the hosting locations, you may also participate remotely via Adobe Connect and conference line with the following details:
http://epawebconferencing.acms.com/wipp
Conference #: 1-866-299-3188
Conference code: 2023439201#
On March 24, 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) officially submitted the second Compliance Recertification Application (CRA) to EPA. This step initiated the second of EPA’s periodic evaluations of the facility's continued compliance, as required by Congress. On November 18, 2010, EPA officially recertified that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE's) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) continued to comply with the waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR Part 191, Subparts B and C, as well as with WIPP Compliance Criteria at 40 CFR Part 194. EPA based its recertification decision on a thorough review of information submitted by DOE, independent technical analyses, and public comments. All of the documents related to the Agency's recertification decision are available through the EPA WIPP Dockets.
EPA received the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) official Compliance Recertification Application on March 26, 2004. A 30-day comment period opened on May 24, 2004 and was extended to December 5, 2005. On March 29, 2006, EPA officially recertified that the U.S. Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) continued to comply with the waste disposal regulations at 40 CFR Part 191, Subparts B and C, as well as with WIPP Compliance Criteria at 40 CFR Part 194. This action was the first of EPA’s periodic evaluations of the facility's continued compliance. EPA based its recertification decision on a thorough review of information submitted by DOE, independent technical analyses, and public comments. All of the documents related to the Agency's recertification decision are available through the EPA WIPP Docket.
DOE submitted a Compliance Certification Application (CCA) to EPA on October 29, 1996, to demonstrate that the WIPP complies with the criteria at 40 CFR Part 194. After receiving the CCA, EPA published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register that announced receipt of the application and initiated a 120-day public comment period. Copies of the application were made available for public inspection at the Agency WIPP docket and the three supplemental New Mexico Dockets. Written comments were solicited, and public hearings were held in New Mexico in February 1997.
Over the next several months, EPA requested additional information from DOE related to the completeness and technical sufficiency of the CCA. View EPA's May 22, 1997 announcement that the CCA was complete.
View the October 30, 1997 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. This notice announced the proposed certification that the WIPP will comply with EPA's disposal standards. It was accompanied by Compliance Application Review Documents (CARDs) explaining the technical basis for EPA's decision. EPA's responses to comments received on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking were also included with the CARDs. This announcement initiated a 120-day period in which the public commented on the Proposed Certification. During this comment period the Agency held public hearings in Carlsbad, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
View the May 18, 1998 Final Rulemaking Notice on the certification decision. This decision is accompanied by a document that summarizes significant comments and issues regarding the proposal and provides EPA's responses.