Agencies agree to expand INL Site disposal facility
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and State of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (IDEQ) have agreed to expand an existing waste disposal facility at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site.
The signed Explanation of Significant Differences for Operable Unit 3-13 Record of Decision for an Additional Cell at the ICDF (DOE/ID˗12043), and a responsiveness summary addressing comments received during the public comment period (hereafter referred to as the ICDF ESD), is available in the Administrative Record at https://idahoenvironmental.com/ARIR under the Document ID: DOE/ID-12043.
To continue implementation of the cleanup mission at the INL Site, the agencies have agreed to increase the capacity of the existing Idaho CERCLA Disposal Facility (ICDF) and construct an additional disposal cell and leachate management system (i.e., evaporation ponds) in the vicinity of the existing facility to allow for future on-site Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) waste disposal. Like the current landfill, the new disposal cell would also have strict waste acceptance criteria, including a prohibition of off-site waste, which would determine the waste constituents and amounts of material that can be disposed. The additional cell will be comparable in design and construction of the existing landfill (disposal cell) and will meet the applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements of state and federal regulations.
The ICDF disposal cell, prior to the approval of the ICDF ESD, had a disposal capacity of 390,000-cubic meters (m3) and provided onsite disposal for CERCLA wastes while providing long-term protection of human health and the environment. This facility consolidates waste from many areas of the 890-square-mile INL site, reducing the footprint into a single, managed, and controlled area. The ICDF landfill and evaporation ponds were designed and constructed with underlying geosynthetic liners, leak-collection sumps, and leak-detection systems, and are compliant with Subpart C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 USC 6901 et seq.). On-site disposal of CERCLA-generated waste and construction of the ICDF was the selected remedy by the Operable Unit 3-13 Record of Decision. Disposing of CERCLA-generated waste at the ICDF reduces potential risk of groundwater contamination and has saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars versus shipping the material out of state across public highways for off-site disposal.
Since opening in 2003, the ICDF has accepted low-level and mixed low-level waste soil and debris from on-site CERCLA remediation activities that must meet specific waste acceptance criteria. The facility is prohibited from receiving or disposing of any waste from outside of the INL Site.
Located in the south-central portion of the INL Site, the existing ICDF disposal cell of 390,000 m3 is about 80 percent full. Without increasing the capacity, the ICDF disposal cell would reach capacity in 2025. The ICDF ESD authorized the increase of the existing cell by 140,000 m3 (replacing clean contour soils with waste disposal) and this increased disposal capacity will be used to dispose of soils and lightweight debris materials. Once filled, the existing disposal cell will be covered with a cap designed to prevent water from infiltrating into the disposed waste. The ICDF ESD also authorized the construction of a new disposal cell of 530,000 m3 total (390,000 m3 cell with a 140,000m3 waste contour volume). The new landfill cell is projected to start receiving waste in 2026 and will be designed to have an operational life of at least 25 years.
