Record of Decision (ROD): West Valley Demonstration Project Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement (WVDP WM EIS) (DOE/EIS-0337, December 2003), (June 16, 2005). In the WVDP WM EIS, DOE considered alternatives for the management of WVDP low-level radioactive waste (LLW), mixed (radioactive and hazardous) LLW (MLLW), transuranic (TRU) waste, and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). To make progress toward fulfilling its responsibilities under the WVDP Act, DOE needs to disposition the wastes that are either currently in storage at the site or that will be generated at the site over the next ten years. DOE evaluated three alternatives for the management of the wastes: 1) A No Action Alternative (Continuation of Ongoing Waste Management Activities), 2) Alternative A (Off-site Shipment of HLW, LLW, MLLW, and TRU Wastes to Disposal), and 3) Alternative B (Off-site Shipment of LLW and MLLW to Disposal, and Shipment of HLW and TRU Waste to Interim Storage [prior to disposal]). Based on the analysis of the potential impacts documented in the EIS, implementation of any of the alternatives would result in very low impacts to human health and the environment.

DOE has decided to partially implement Alternative A, the preferred alternative, for the management of WVDP LLW, MLLW, and HLW that are either currently in site over the next ten years:

DOE will ship LLW and MLLW off site for disposal in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, including permit requirements, waste acceptance criteria (WAC), and applicable DOE Orders. DOE will dispose of LLW and MLLW at commercial sites (such as Envirocare, a commercial radioactive waste disposal site in Clive, Utah), one or both of two DOE sites (the Nevada Test Site [NTS] in Mercury, Nevada; or the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington), or a combination of commercial and DOE sites, consistent with DOE's February 2000 decision regarding LLW and MLLW disposal. Disposal of WVDP LLW and MLLW at Hanford would be subject to the limits DOE has imposed upon non-Hanford waste receipts in its June 2004 decision regarding waste management at the Hanford Site, and contingent upon the resolution of ongoing Hanford litigation in which a preliminary injunction has been entered against shipping off site LLW and MLLW to Hanford. Record of Decision for the Department's Waste Management Program: Treatment and Disposal of Low-Level Waste and Mixed Low- Level Waste; Amendment of the Record of Decision for the Nevada Test Site, 65 FR 10061, February 25, 2000. Record of Decision for the Solid Waste Program, Hanford Site, Richland, Washington: Storage and Treatment of Low-Level Waste and Mixed Low-Level Waste; Disposal of Low-Level Waste and Mixed Low-Level Waste, and Storage, Processing and Certification of Transuranic Waste for Shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, 69 FR 39449, June 30, 2004.

Consistent with the Waste Management Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement High-Level Waste Record of Decision, 64 FR 46661, August 26, 1999, DOE will store canisters of vitrified HLW at the WVDP site until transfer to a geologic repository. Contingent upon issuance of a license by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to construct and operate the repository and the execution of a disposal contract between DOE and the State of New York, DOE plans to dispose of the canisters there when the repository becomes available. DOE is deferring a decision on the disposal of WVDP TRU waste, pending a determination by DOE that the waste meets all statutory and regulatory requirements for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

Copies of the WVDP WM EIS and this Record of Decision (ROD) may be obtained by calling (716) 942-2152 or (800) 633-5280 (toll-free), by sending an e-mail request to: sonja.allen@wvnsco.com, or by mailing a request to: Mr. Daniel W. Sullivan, EIS Document Manager, DOE West Valley Area Office, 10282 Rock Springs Road, WV-49, West Valley, New York 14171-9799. This ROD is available on the DOE NEPA Web site, http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/pub_rods_toc.html and the WVDP Web site, http://www.wv.doe.gov. The WVDP WM EIS is available at the WVDP Web site and through DOE's NEPA Web site at: http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/eis/eis0337/index.html. Questions concerning WVDP waste management activities can be submitted by calling (716) 942-2152 or (800) 633-5280 (toll-free), by sending an e-mail request to: sonja.allen@wvnsco.com, or by mailing them to: Mr. Daniel W. Sullivan at the above address. [For additional information, see the ROD in the Federal Register, 70 FR 35073, June 16, 2005].