§6939c Mixed waste inventory reports and plan

Summary

The Energy Secretary must, no later than 180 days after October 6, 1992, send two reports to the EPA Administrator and to each Governor where the Department of Energy stores or makes mixed waste. One report must list every mixed waste by State and facility and describe each waste type, how much is stored now (separating wastes that are barred from land disposal from those that are not), how much is expected to be made in the next 5 years, any waste-reduction steps taken, whether the waste has been tested and its hazardous-waste code or not, how the code was chosen (testing or process knowledge), where the waste comes from, what treatment methods are required for the hazardous part, and whether radioactive content changes how those methods work. The other report must list available treatment technologies and capacities for those wastes, describe the treatment units used to calculate capacity (and their number and location), list other units that could be used and explain why they were not counted, describe proposed units and their expected availability dates, and, for wastes with no known treatment, explain why and what new approaches are needed. The EPA and each State then have 90 days after getting the reports to send comments to the Energy Department, and the Department must consider and publish those comments before issuing a final report. States and the EPA may also ask for more information. For each DOE facility that makes or stores mixed waste (unless it is already covered by a permit, agreement, or order), the Energy Secretary must make and submit a plan to develop treatment capacity and technology to meet hazardous-waste treatment standards. Plans must show schedules for permits, contracts, construction, testing, startup, and handling backlogs when technology exists, or schedules, funding needs, and research steps when no technology exists. If the plan would separate radioactive materials, it must estimate waste volumes and compare costs with and without separation. Plans may call for on-site, regional, or centralized treatment. If a State has authority over land-disposal bans and hazardous-waste regulation and is EPA-authorized, the plan goes to that State for review; otherwise it goes to the EPA Administrator. The reviewer must consult other States and the public and must approve, modify, or disapprove the plan within 6 months of receipt. Approved plans will be enforced by an order from the State or the EPA. Plans must be made public when submitted and before approval, and any revisions follow the same process. A State may waive the plan requirement if it reaches an agreement with the Energy Secretary and issues an order enforcing that agreement; violations of such agreements are subject to waiver of sovereign immunity. Within 6 months after October 6, 1992, the Energy Secretary must publish a schedule for when the plans will be submitted. The Secretary must also send progress reports to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce at 12, 24, and 36 months after October 6, 1992. Those reports must list which plans were sent, the review status, how many enforcement orders are in effect, and, for the first two reports, which plans the Secretary expects to submit in the next 12 months.