DO E/EtS-0082 UC-70

FINAL

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT

Defense Waste Processing Facility Savannah River Plant Aiken, S.C.

February 1982

U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secreta~ for Defense Programs Office of Defense Waste and Byproducts Management Washington, D.C. 20585 COVER SHEET

RESPONSIBLE AGENCY: U.S. Oepartinentof Energy

ACTIVITY: Final Environmental Impact Statement, Oefense Waste Processing Facility, Savannah River Plant, Aiken, S.C.

CONTACT: Additional information concerning this statement can be obtained from: Mr. T. B. Hindman, Director, ATTN: FEIS for OWPF, Waste Management Project Office, OepaPtmEnt of Energy, Savannah River Project Office, p.O. BOX A, Aiken, S.C. 29801. (803) 725-2566.

For general information on DOE’s EIS process contact: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Protection, Safety and Emergency Preparedness, U.S. Department of Energy, ATTN: Robert J. Stern, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, O.C. 20585. (202) 252-4600.

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is to provide environmental input into both the selection of an appropriate strategy for the permanent disposal of the high-level (HLw) currently stored at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) and the subsequent decision to construct and operate a Oefense Waste Processing Facility (OWPF) at the SRP site. The SRP is a major U.S. Department of Energy (OOE) installation for the production of nuclear materials for national defense. Approximately B3 x 102 ma (22 million gal) of HLW currently are stored in tanks at the SRP site. The proposed OWPF would process the liquid HLW generated by SRP operations into a stable form for ultimate disposal. This EIS assesses the effects of the proposed insnobi!izationproject on land use, air quality, water quality, ecological systems, health risk, cultural resources, endangered species, wetlands protection, resource depletion, and regional social and economic systems. The radiological and nonradiological risks of transporting the insnobi1ized wastes are assessed. The environmental impacts of disposal alternatives have recently been evaluated in a previous EIS and are therefore only summarized in thls EIS. FOREUORO

The purpose of this Environmental Impact Statment (EIS) is to provide environmental input into both the selection of an appropriate strategy for the permanent disposal of the high- ● level radioactive wastes currently stored at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) and the subse- quent decision to construct and operate a Oefense Waste Processing Factlity (OUPF) at the SRP site. The proposed OWPF would process the liquid high-level radioactive waste generated by SRP operations into a stable form for ultimate disposal. The SRP is a major U.S. Department of Energy (ME) installation for the production of nuclear materials for national defense. The high-level waste has been and is continuing to be safely stored in underground tanks. Continuous survei1lance and maintenance of the tanks ensure isolation of the waste from the environment. $~~ximately 83 x 10’ m’ (22 million gal) of high-level waste currently are stored in these

In May 1977, the Energy Research and Oevelo~ent Administration (EROA) described technical alternatives for processing SRP wastes together with preliminary cost estimates but did not evaluate fully the environmental impacts associated with long-tern’management of these wastes.1 A Final mvi?o?vnental Infpact Statement -- Long-Tern Management of Defense High-Level Radio.z.tiue Waste (Research and Development Progm for.Irwnobi Zia.tion), Saumnah RiOOP pl~t ( Report 00E/EIS-0023) was issued in November 19792 to present the environmental implications of con- tinuing a large research and development (R&O) progrm directed toward the insnobi1ization of these wastes. The decision of OOE to continue the imimbi1ization R&O program was announced (n February 1980.s

The R&O on ins