Criteria for the Certification and Recertification of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's Compliance With the Disposal Regulations: Recertification Decision

With this notice, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recertifies that the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) continues to comply with the "Environmental Standards for the Management and Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel, High- Level and Transuranic (TRU) Radioactive Waste." EPA initially certified that WIPP met applicable regulatory requirements on May 18, 1998, and the first shipment of waste was received at WIPP on March 26, 1999. Today's action represents the first instance of EPA's periodic evaluation of WIPP's continued compliance with the disposal regulations and WIPP Compliance Criteria. The compliance criteria implement and interpret the disposal regulations specifically for WIPP. As directed by Congress in the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA), this "recertification" will occur five years after the WIPP's initial receipt of TRU waste (March 26, 1999), and every five years thereafter until the end of the decommissioning phase. For each recertification-- including the one being announced with today's action--DOE must submit documentation of the site's continuing compliance with the disposal regulations to EPA for review. In accordance with the WIPP Compliance Criteria, documentation of continued compliance was made available in EPA's dockets, and the public was provided at least a 30-day period in which to submit comments. In addition, all recertification decisions must be announced in the Federal Register, as this first recertification is today. According to the WIPP LWA, Section 8(f), these periodic recertification determinations are not subject to rulemaking or judicial review. Today's action is not a reconsideration of the decision to open WIPP. Rather, recertification is a process that evaluates changes at WIPP to determine if the facility continues to meet all the requirements of EPA's disposal regulations. The recertification process ensures that WIPP's continued compliance is demonstrated using the most accurate, up-