| William Paul Robinson, Technical Testimony New Mexico Environment Department
William Paul Robinson A. If adopted, the NMED proposed Permit Modification, as drafted, would result in a Corrective Measure Implementation (CMI) Plan for the proposed corrective measure that provides for no further efforts to investigate:
1. the extent of contamination at the site; 2. the full inventory of radioactive and chemical constituents of concern including the full range of potential sources of release of radioactive and chemical constituents of concern; 3. decomposition or deterioration of constituents of concern and bags, boxes and other waste containers; or 4. options for retrieval of hazardous or radioactive materials at the site should additional releases of constituents of concerns occur.
B. The NMED Draft Permit Modification does not provide for compliance with the existing SNL Permit NM5890110518, at Module IV.S.5.c, that provides, "any Permit Modification based on the CMSFR must, among other applicable standards: "Attain compliance with corrective action objectives for hazardous constituents in each medium as established in Module IV.S (CMS Scope of Work); control sources of releases; meet acceptable waste management requirements; and protect public health and the environment." C. The DPM and the CMSFR, which is the sole document identified as a reference in the DPM and the document upon which the DPM is based, fails to provide for compliance with corrective action objectives and closure plan requirements for hazardous constituents in each medium because they fail to address long-term risks to groundwater at the Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL). This concern is of fundamental importance as the MWL site overlies the groundwater supply that provides the primary drinking water supply for the Albuquerque area. The DPM and the CMSFR fail to effectively consider the importance of groundwater contamination demonstrated at SNL waste disposal sites regulated by the NMED Hazardous Waste Permit for DOE/SNL. Though the regional groundwater level - water table - lies 400 feet or more below SNL, groundwater contamination at that depth - caused by Trichloroethene (Nitrate), Nitrate, Ethylbenzene, Toluene or Xylene has been detected at least four SNL waste disposal sites. (SNL, 1999, p. 4-36). D. Rather than provide a CMSFR that complied with regulatory requirements and addressed this demonstrated contaminant release pathway, SNL chose to avoid consideration of groundwater contamination risk and analysis by stating "field studies and supporting modeling indicate that tritium from the landfill will not impact groundwater, which occurs approximately 500 feet" below ground surface. (CMSFR, 2003, p. 29). The CMSFR upon which the DPM is based fails to adequately acknowledge that contamination of regulated hazardous constituents of concern at other SNL waste sites has occur that, that those constituents of concern occur at the MWL and that prior to detection of groundwater contamination at multiple landfill sites, SNL field studies supported modeling that predicted that releases from landfills would not impact groundwater. E. The DPM fails to provide for compliance with applicable regulations as it fails to propose a corrective measure remedy or closure plan that "controls source of releases" as it does not accurately or comprehensively identify the volume, concentration and physical form of all potential "sources of releases," the radioactive and hazardous constituents, at the MWL. Instead of addressing "sources of releases" as required, the NMED DPM and DOE/SNL chose to rely on a CMSFR that focuses on releases already detected, not the "sources of the releases" which are the constituents of concern in the landfill including radioactive and hazardous wastes at the site. F. The DPM is deficient as it relies on a waste inventory in the CMSFR that does not identify the volume or distribution of all known hazardous constituents in the landfill as the CMSFR it relies on lists unspecified "multiple fission products" rather than specific isotopes and radioactivity content; unspecific amounts of radioactive and hazardous constituents in "classified materials;" and fails to identify the amount and distribution of organic solvents and heavy metals for each of the pits and trenches at the MWL as demonstrated by responses to Freedom of Information Act disclosure requests and other document in the Administrative Record of this matter. G. The DPM is deficient as it fails to propose a corrective measure that meets acceptable waste management standards including the standard to protect human health and the environment at 40CFR264.111 that has been incorporated verbatim into the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. By recommending a corrective measure that simply covers the waste at the MWL and does not provide for either:
1. excavation and treatment of waste dumped at the site, or 2. containment systems for the sides and bottom of the MWL with institutional controls on land use, NMED is recommending a corrective measure and closure plan that requires perpetual active maintenance and leaves hazardous waste constituents of concern in place where leachate generation and hazardous waste decomposition will be allowed to continue unabated. The DPM recommended alternative therefore fails to provide a remedy that complies with the NMHWMR standard that requires a corrective measure and closure plan that: "minimizes the need for active maintenance and controls, [or] minimizes or eliminates ... post-closure escape of hazardous waste, hazardous constituents, leachate, contaminated runoff or hazardous waste decomposition products to ground or surface waters or to the atmosphere."
H. The DPM fails to require a corrective measure or closure plan that protects public health and the environment because the corrective measure recommended would leave an aquifer currently providing public water supplies - an aquifer has already suffered contamination from unlined waste sites at SNL - vulnerable to contamination in perpetuity and only considers institutional controls for a 100-year period, after which CMSFR assumes administrative controls will fail. I. As the DPM fails to provide for a corrective measure or closure plan that meets applicable standards NMED should, at a minimum:
1. Withdraw it acceptance of the CMSFR as technically adequate to demonstrate compliance with applicable standards; 2. Identify all necessary information to include and address in a revised CMSFR, including specific requirements related to:
a. identification of the volume and conditions are all hazardous and radioactive constituents at the MWL; b. completion of risk assessments and risk evaluations for alternatives that consider human health and environmental consequences of the full range of radioactive and chemical hazardous constituents in the MWL; c. identification of a range of remedies that reflect demonstrated remedial technologies and verifiable waste management costs, including the range of remedies adopted a the SNL Chemical Waste Landfill (ChWL) and Classified Waste Landfill (ClWL) where extraction, treatment and disposal in and engineered containment systems have been accomplished; d. identification of the range of risks associated with the deterioration of wastes and waste forms associated with corrective measures that result in waste remaining in place without treatment at the MWL; and e. a corrective measure proposal that provides for full excavation and treatment of wastes at the MWL - such as those accomplished at the Chemical Waste Landfill and Classified Waste Landfill at SNL under NMED Permit - unless DOE/SNL establishes an enforceable financial guarantee - based on a model such as the Trust Fund established for the Mixed Waste Landfill at Oak Ridge Tennessee while Governor Richardson was DOE Secretary (summarized with citations to original decision documents in Robinson, 2002) - to insure that such a remedy will be implemented fully. J. The DPM approves a corrective measure that is less protective of environmental and public health, provides less effective control of sources of potential releases, and provide less effectively minimizes or eliminates the potential for "post-closure escape of hazardous waste, hazardous constituents, leachate, contaminated runoff or hazardous waste decomposition products to ground or surface waters or to the atmosphere" then that required by the NMED Hazardous Waste Management Permit for SNL at the Chemical Wasted Landfill (ChWL) and the Classified Waste Landfill (ClWL).
K. Based on SNL documents, the excavation and treatment of the wastes at those landfills, and the constituents of concerns at those landfills are summarized as:
1. The ChWL waste excavated, its waste treated and the site closed with engineered containment systems on the top, bottom and sides and treated materials from the site were redisposed at the ChWL site with approval from NMED. The ChWL contained a mix of constituents of concern similar to those at the MWL and included: heavy metals - such as beryllium and chromium, pyrophoric materials, radioactive materials, strong acids and unreacted chemicals that have been encountered during excavation without injury and incident and the primary hazards at the site have been neutralized, deactivated and/or removed. At the ChWL, 53,000 cubic yards of soil and debris were excavated, hauled to an adjacent Corrective Action Management Unit for treatment and/or placement in the containment cell for long-term monitoring and intact containers of chemical products (liquids and powders), excavated batteries and other items, and radioactively contaminated items and soil disposed of at appropriate permitted off-site disposal facilities. 2. The ClWL was excavated, soil and debris treated and separated. SNL proposes to return the majority 99 percent of the 50,000 cubic yards excavated to the site for backfill following, demilitarization, sampling, analysis and approval by NMED. The ClWL contained constituents of concern that were similar to the MWL including: radioactive materials - including nickel, radium, thorium, depleted uranium and tritium, heavy metals - including lead, beryllium, cadmium and chromium, PCBs, High Explosive compounds and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - including TCE, 1,1,1-TCA and possibly toluene and benzene. No injuries or incidents associated with excavated and treatment of waste at the ClWL is reported by SNL.
L. General and specific deficiencies in the Sandia National Laboratories' Mixed Waste Landfill CMSFR, NMED Draft Permit Modification, and related documents regarding completeness and performance measures established by New Mexico Hazardous Waste Management Regulations. M. Neither the NMED DPM nor the CMSFR upon which it is based provide for direct or indirect costs sufficient to assure third party completion of closure and post-closure activities. Indirect costs may include mobilization-demobilization, insurance, engineering, and profit, or the cost of the New Mexico Environment Department administration of third party closure if necessary in case the permittee is unable or unwilling to conduct such activities. N. Corrective measure and closure costs used in the CMSFR and relied on by NMED in its DPM are not supported by accurate data based on actual corrective measure and closure experience Sandia National Laboratories, such as data associated with the corrective measures and or closure plans at the Chemical Waste Landfill, or other mixed waste or hazardous waste landfills, and should be revised to accurate reflect actual corrective measure or closure experience at other mixed waste or hazardous waste landfills.
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