WIPP is permitted
Posted by John Tauxe on March 31, 1999 at 10:05:20:In Reply to: WIPP has no Permit???? posted by Joan Seeman on March 30, 1999 at 20:04:13:
Joan -
You are confusing WIPP's permit to dispose of transuranic waste under EPA's 40 CFR 191 (a permit which WIPP does have) with the permit, which has not yet been issued, from the State of New Mexico for mixed (radioactive and hazardous) waste. WIPP is operating under the former, and is not yet open to mixed waste, so to say that "...this facility is opening without a permit..." is simply wrong. Furthermore, such an action would be illegal.
I would presume that you, as a Coloradan, would not be in favor of storing the Rocky Flats waste at Rocky Flats, where it endangers the local water supply. Wouldn't you rather see the stuff safely locked away in WIPP?
Other points: The waste onsite at Rocky Flats has undergone extensive treatment. Perhaps it requires no FURTHER treatment before shipment. This is good. Get it out of there.
You say that "Normally, mixed waste is banned from landfills..." Yes, this is true, and for good reason. WIPP is not a landfill -- its performance far surpasses that of any landfill. That is exactly why it should be used. If WIPP is not allowed to operate, the stuff may well end up in a landfill, and you really do not want that!
DOE has determined nothing. It irks me that DOE says that it has done any sort of studies. DOE has sponsored studies done by others, by real scientists and environmentalists, but DOE did not do the work. Thank goodness. ;*)
If you read these studies, you will see that there is a strong technical basis behind the conclusion that WIPP waste will not migrate. The Salado Salt is 2000 ft thick, and has been sitting there for 500 million years (since the Permian). Can't beat that for geologic stability!!
- Permit Issue Joan Seeman 4/10/99 (1)
- bias John Tauxe 4/26/99 (0)