The WIPP Land Withdrawal Act

The current statutory definition of transuranic waste is contained in the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act of 1992 (WIPPLWA, 1992). Specifically ... 

Subsequently, committees of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed various versions of a WIPE land withdrawal bill. On October 30, 1992, the WIPE legislation was signed into law. Among its key provisions, the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (Public Law 102-579) established prerequisites for initial receipt and permanent disposal of TRU wasfes af WIPP. On September 23, 1996, the National D ense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104-201) was signed into law. This law contained amendments (Amendment 4085) to the 1992 WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, the import of which is discussed in Section 16.2.4.2. 

On April 8, 1996, the New Mexico Attorney General filed a petition for the review of 40 CPR 194 (Civil Action No. 96-1107 filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit). This petition was ultimately consolidated with two other similar petitions filed by two environmental groups and two individuals (Civil Action No. 96-1108) and the Texas Attorney General (Civil Action No. 96-1109). The petitions alleged violations by EPA of the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act and the Administrative Procedure Act in promulgating the WIPP compliance criteria. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit denied the petitions and the final criteria remained as promulgated. 

The EPA cerhfication of WIPP imposes limits on the radionuclide inventory of the TRU waste as well as on specific waste components that affect the long-term properties of the repository (e.g., gas generation). As specified in the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, EPA will continue to regulate WIPP until it closes (Public Law 102-579, as amended by Public Law 104-201). EPA will conduct a recertification every five years until closure to determine whether WIPP continues to comply with the radioactive waste disposal standards. DOE is required by regulation to report changes in activities or in conditions that have the potential for any releases from the repository. EPA may conduct inspections of activities at the WIPP repository and at other WIPP-related facilities (laboratories, waste generating, and storage sites) to verify continued compliance with the radioactive waste disposal standards. 

RCRA establishes a comprehensive "cradle-to-grave" scheme for regulating hazardous wastes. As amended by the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984, the centerpiece of RCRA is an ambitious set of land disposal restrictions (LDRs). The LDRs prohibit land disposal of particular wastes as of specified dates unless such disposal is carried out in accordance with regulations issued by EPA. In 1996, DOE submitted a final No-Migration Variance Petition to EPA seeking a waiver from the LDR to dispose of mixed waste at WIPE However, the 1996 amendments to the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (Public Law 104-201) included a provision exempting WIPP mixed waste from the LDRs. This provision obviated the need for DOE to receive EPA approval of the pending petition. 

State of New Mexico-DOE, 1987). This modification required all waste shipments to WIPE to be completed in packages that NRC has certified for use. Similarly, the WIPE Land Withdrawal Act states that TRU waste may be transported to WIPP only in packagings certified by NRC (Public Law 102-579, as amended by Public Law 104-201). 

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