New Mexico (N.M.) has reached a settlement with the Department of Energy (DoE) over the renewal of a permit for the only underground repository for nuclear waste in the U.S. Officials with the New Mexico Environment Department announced Tuesday that an agreement was reached last week after four days of negotiation with the DoE. The state first laid out its terms in December. N.M. was seeking to ensure that high-level waste such as diluted plutonium would not be sent to N.M.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico plays a critical role in the U.S. multibillion-dollar effort to clean up radioactive waste left by decades of nuclear research and the manufacture of nuclear weapons. Currently, N.M. is licensed to receive what is referred to as transuranic waste. This is waste generated by the nation’s nuclear weapons program that is contaminated with radioactive elements that are heavier than uranium.
The draft of the new permit would provide greater regulatory oversight and safeguards at the repository over the next ten years, according to officials. It would also prioritize the cleanup of Cold War-era waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The first atomic bomb in the U.S. arsenal was developed at the LANL.
James Kenney is the head of New Mexico's Environment Department. He said, “The new permit conditions affirm New Mexico’s authority and position that all roads lead from WIPP — we are no longer the last stop for clean-up but the driving force in that process that begins here.” The state agency expects to publish the modified permit on the 15th of August. There will be a public meeting following the publication. It is hoped that a final permit will be issued in October.
Nuclear watchdog groups said that they were in support of the agreement because it focuses on the waste at the LANL. It also required greater transparency about legacy defense-related waste around the U.S. The new permit includes language that would enable N.M. to suspend shipments to WIPP if there is evidence of a threat to human health or the environment.
N.M. could move to revoke the permit if Congress were to increase WIPP’s capacity or expand the types of waste that could be shipped to the repository. State officials and watchdogs have said that language serves as a hedge against N.M. becoming the nation’s permanent dumping ground for such waste.
Under the new permit, the DoE would have to provide documentation on its progress siting another underground repository in a state other than N.M. through a new annual report. The DoE would also have to hold quarterly meetings to update the public.
N.M. is justified in being concerned about the way in which WIPP is being run. A few years ago, the repository had to be temporally shut down in order to clean up radioactive materials which had escaped through the ventilation system. A review of the accident indicated that part of the problem was how waste coming from LANL was packaged. There were also problems with the lack of adherence to regulatory standards in the construction and maintenance of the WIPP.