593 



ity. This decision was made strictly on the basis that this particu- 

 lar research activity, which could not be justified on a continuing 

 basis at this time for these particular project needs. 

 [The statement of Mr. Coffman follows:] 



Prepared Statement of Frank E. Coffman, Director, Office of Terminal Waste 

 Disposal and Remedial Action, U.S. Department of Energy 



The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy in past has funded limit- 

 ed studies to examine the technical, environmental, engineering, and institutional 

 feasibility for ocean disposal of low-level wastes generated by the DOE's remedial 

 action programs. These studies have aided us in comparing alternative costs and 

 risks of the ocean disposal alternative with shallow land disposal. The Department 

 considers that we now have adequate information on the ocean disposal alternative 

 for planning our remedial action program in the coming years. Accordingly, the 

 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy is bringing all of its studies on 

 the ocean disposal of low-level wastes to an orderly termination. No future work is 

 planned in fiscal year 1985 and the minimum work to bring the project to comple- 

 tion will be conducted in fiscal year 1984. 



Waste from remedial action activities in Middlesex, New Jersey, are currently 

 stored on DOE property at the former Middlesex Sampling Plant. Because of the 

 physical proximity of this site to ocean ports, the Middlesex waste has been used in 

 our recent studies of the ocean disposal option. Our current plan for disposal of this 

 material is shallow land burial at a site in New Jersey to be agreed upon by the 

 State of New Jersey and DOE. Ocean disposal also is included as an option for anal- 

 ysis in preparation of an EIS for disposal of low-level waste stored at the DOE Niag- 

 ara Falls, New York, site. 



The Department of Energy continues to evaluate alternative methods for han- 

 dling low-level commercial nuclear wastes. As mandated by the Low Level Waste 

 Policy Act of 1980, commercial low-level wastes are the responsibility of the States. 

 The Department is unaware of any current efforts by States to dispose of commer- 

 cial low-level wastes in the oceans or marine environment. 



As you are aware. Section 424 on the Highway Improvement Act of 1982 (Public 

 Law 97-44), which became law on January 6, 1983, imposed a 2-year moratorium on 

 the issuance of permits by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

 Agency (EPA) for the ocean dumping of low-level radioactive waste. Following the 2- 

 year period, no permit may be issued without the preparation by the permit appli- 

 cant of a Radioactive Material Disposal Impact Assessment. 



Mr. D' Amours. Thank you very much. 



I am pleased to hear that DOE is taking that position with re- 

 spect to low-level ocean disposal, but I wonder how EPA responds 

 specifically to the phasing out of DOE support for the MERL facili- 

 ty, and there does seem to be a lack of coordination here. 



Would Mr. Davies or Mr. Sjoblom, reply? 



Mr. Sjoblom. Well, the program in one sense was a cooperative 

 effort between EPA and the Department of Energy. However, EPA 

 is clearly interested in this in any event. There were two parts to 

 the work that I described in my testimony. One, to integrate a con- 

 sideration of low-level radioactivity waste disposal into the overall 

 EPA hazard assessment program. 



This is done through the Narragansett lab. The other work relat- 

 ing to that was the research work in the large mesocosm tanks lo- 

 cated at the nearby University of Rhode Island. 



It was this work that the DOE and the EPA were jointly plan- 

 ning to fund. 



However, it is my intent to continue what we can to continue 

 this work. 



Mr. D' Amours. Mr. Davies, do you have any additional com- 

 ments? 



