Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's Compliance With the Disposal Regulations; Alternative Provisions

The Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA" or "the Agency" or "we") is finalizing changes to the "Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's Compliance with the Disposal Regulations," ("Compliance Criteria") proposed August 9, 2002 (67 FR 51930-51946). Today, after considering public comments received in response to the proposed changes, we finalize the following actions: Addition of a mechanism to address minor changes to the provisions of the Compliance Criteria; changes to the approval process for waste characterization programs at Department of Energy (DOE) transuranic (TRU) waste sites; changes to the number of copies of compliance applications and reference materials submitted to EPA; and replacement of the term "process knowledge" with "acceptable knowledge." Today's action will maintain or improve our oversight at WIPP to ensure safe disposal of waste. Moreover, these changes do not modify the technical approach that EPA employs when conducting independent inspections of the waste characterization capabilities at DOE waste generator/storage sites. EPA is conducting this action in accordance with the procedures for substituting alternative provisions in the Compliance Criteria.