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Nuclear Waste: Much Effort Needed to Meet Federal Facility Compliance Act's Requirements

RCED-94-179 Published: May 17, 1994. Publicly Released: May 17, 1994.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the Department of Energy's (DOE) management of radioactive and hazardous waste, focusing on: (1) DOE progress in submitting treatment plans and complying with the Federal Facility Compliance Act (FFCA); (2) DOE efforts to develop technologies for and provide the capacity to treat mixed wastes; and (3) additional actions needed to completely implement FFCA.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Energy To improve the likelihood that DOE, the states, and EPA, will meet the FFCA October 1995 deadline, the Secretary of Energy should evaluate and implement, if appropriate, alternatives for meeting the deadline. These alternatives should include: (1) preparing proposed and final site treatment plans for well-characterized waste streams; and (2) beginning negotiations on these plans with the states and EPA before preparing proposed and final site treatment plans for streams that are not well-characterized.
Closed – Implemented
DOE has continued to work with the states and EPA to develop mutually acceptable site treatment plans for well-characterized mixed waste streams. Recognizing that some waste streams will not be characterized in time to meet the FFCA's October 1995 deadline, DOE, the states, and EPA have adopted an alternative approach for uncharacterized streams that is consistent with the recommendation. The states and EPA have agreed that they will review proposed site treatment plans that contain different information for well-characterized and not-well-characterized streams. Accordingly, in March 1995, DOE submitted proposed treatment plans to the states and EPA that identified treatment options for well-characterized streams and schedules for completing characterization and analysis of treatment options for less well-understood streams.

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Topics

Natural Resources and Environment
Energy researchEnvironmental legislationEnvironmental policiesNuclear waste disposalNuclear waste managementNuclear waste storageRadioactive wastesReporting requirementsWastewater treatmentNuclear waste