Throughout its operation of the WIPP, DOE is to submit a recertification application to EPA every five years. EPA is to review the recertification applications to determine whether the facility remains in compliance with applicable standards, and the public is to have an opportunity to inspect and comment on the applications. By law, EPA must consider all relevant public comments before issuing a final recertification decision on the WIPP’s continued operation. In addition, EPA can inspect the WIPP and generator sites at any time to ensure compliance with the agency’s standards. EPA has the authority to modify, suspend, or revoke the certification with cause.
Permit Renewal by NMED
The hazardous waste disposal permit issued to DOE by NMED is effective for no more than ten years and, to ensure compliance, is subject to a mandatory review five years after issuance. Before the existing permit expires, DOE is to submit an application to renew the permit. Permit renewal follows the same procedures as an initial permit application, with opportunities for public comment before NMED issues a renewal. Besides requiring DOE to perform environmental monitoring, NMED will also conduct regular inspections of the WIPP to ensure compliance with the permit. As is the case with EPA, NMED can revoke the permit with cause.
Post-Closure Oversight of the WIPP
If and when the WIPP reaches its legal storage capacity (6.2 million cubic feet) in an estimated 35 years, it is precluded by current federal law from accepting more waste. The repository is to be sealed with backfill, cement, and other materials to isolate the waste from the accessible environment. Then begins the long-term process of keeping the waste isolated from the environment.
During the first hundred years or so after the repository is sealed, it is to be monitored, fenced, and guarded by DOE. But because it is difficult to predict which government institutions may evolve or disappear over many hundreds of years, DOE is also to use “passive” measures to warn future generations against disturbing the site. Drilling poses the greatest potential danger of releasing material from the repository. Monuments, berms, warning markers, and widely distributed records are to be designed to inform future generations of the contents of the site and to keep people from drilling into the WIPP site.