DOE/ORO/2327 Oak Ridge Reservation Annual Site Environmental ...

Oak Ridge Reservation
3.3.9 RCRA Underground Storage Tanks
Underground storage tanks (USTs) containing petroleum and hazardous substances are regulated
under Subtitle I of RCRA (40 CFR 280). TDEC has been granted authority by EPA to regulate USTs
containing petroleum under TDEC Rule 1200-1-15; however, hazardous-substance USTs are still
regulated by EPA.
ETTP has two USTs registered with TDEC under Facility ID Number 0730088.
3.3.10 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Compliance Status
CERCLA, also known as Superfund, was passed in 1980 and was amended in 1986 by the Superfund
Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). Under CERCLA, a site is investigated and remediated if
it poses significant risk to health or the environment. The EPA National Priorities List (NPL) is a
comprehensive list of sites and facilities that have been found to pose a sufficient threat to human health
and/or the environment to warrant cleanup under CERCLA.
In 1989, the ORR was placed on the NPL. In 1992, the ORR Federal Facility Agreement among EPA,
TDEC, and DOE became effective and established the framework and schedule for developing,
implementing, and monitoring remedial actions on the ORR. Decontamination and decommissioning of
surplus facilities is the prime mission of ETTP. The on-site CERCLA Environmental Management Waste
Management Facility (EMWMF), located in Bear Creek Valley, is used for disposal of waste resulting
from CERCLA cleanup actions on the ORR. The EMWMF is an engineered landfill that accepts lowlevel
radioactive, hazardous, asbestos, and PCB wastes and combinations of the aforementioned wastes in
accordance with specific waste acceptance criteria under an agreement with state and federal regulators.
3.3.10.1 ORNL RCRA-CERCLA Coordination
The ORR Federal Facility Agreement is intended to coordinate the corrective action processes of
RCRA required under the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments permit with CERCLA response
actions.
RCRA groundwater monitoring data is reported yearly to TDEC and EPA in the annual CERCLA
Remediation Effectiveness Report (DOE 2008a) for the ORR.
Periodic updates of proposed construction and demolition activities and facilities at ETTP have been
provided to managers and project personnel from the TDEC DOE Oversight Division and EPA Region 4.
A CERCLA screening process is used to identify proposed construction and demolition projects and
facilities that warrant CERCLA oversight. The goal is to ensure that modernization efforts do not impact
the effectiveness of previously completed CERCLA environmental remedial actions and that they do not
adversely impact future CERCLA environmental remedial actions.
3.3.11 Toxic Substances Control Act Compliance Status
3.3.11.1 Polychlorinated Biphenyls
As required by 40 CFR 761.205, Department of Energy (DOE) notified the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters on April 3, 1990, that the East Tennessee Technology Park
(ETTP) is a generator with on-site storage, a transporter, and an approved disposer of PCB wastes.
PCB waste generation, transportation, disposal, and storage at ETTP is regulated under the EPA ID
number TN0890090004. In 2009, ETTP operated approximately 35 PCB waste storage areas in generator
buildings and RCRA-permitted storage buildings at ETTP for longer-term storage of PCB/radioactive
wastes when necessary. The continued use of authorized PCBs in electrical systems and/or equipment
(e.g., transformers, capacitors, rectifiers) is regulated at ETTP. The majority of equipment at ETTP that is
regulated under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) has been disposed. However, some of the
ETTP facilities continue to use (or store for future reuse) PCB-contaminated equipment (i.e.,
transformers).
3-14 East Tennessee Technology Park