From 1993 until 1996 the Secretary deferred the land-transfer decision while (1) the Bureau completed a first supplement to the April 1991 environmental impact statement, (2) the National Academy of Sciences reviewed seven technical issues related to the Ward Valley site, and (3) Interior negotiated, with the state, the terms of a public hearing on the proposed facility and the land-transfer agreement. Interior Primarily Relied on Scientific Reports and Public Concerns in Deciding on a Second Supplement

When Interior announced in February 1996 that it would prepare the second supplement, it cited the Academy’s May 1995 report and new information about the migration of radioactive elements in the soil from the former disposal facility at Beatty as its basis for preparing the supplement. Although Interior also said it would address “nearby Indian sacred sites” in the supplement, it did not identify any such sites or sources of information on this issue. Thereafter, Interior relied on information obtained from the public, including environmental groups, Native Americans, and others, to select 10 more issues to address in the supplement and to expand the issue of sacred Indian sites to include a variety of issues pertaining to Native Americans. New Information on the Beatty Facility

In 1994 and 1995, the Geological Survey detected tritium and another radioactive element in the soil adjacent to a disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste located at Beatty, Nevada. Most of the Current Issues Were Previously Considered

Except for the Academy’s report and the new information about the Beatty facility, all of the issues that Interior will address in the second supplement had been considered earlier in the state’s licensing proceeding; in the state’s and the Bureau’s joint environmental impact statement; and in the Bureau’s first supplement of September 1993. The effect of the Ward Valley facility on Native Americans in the region is one example of an issue that had been addressed earlier by the state and the Bureau. Interior’s Reasons for the Supplement Are to Provide a Public Forum and Determine Site Suitability

The reasons Interior gave for its decision to prepare a second supplement were the impasse over land-transfer conditions and the age of the original environmental impact statement. Two other reasons for the second supplement, however, have shaped Interior’s actions on the Ward Valley issue for several years; specifically, Interior believes that it should provide a forum for resolving public concerns and independently determine if the site is suitable for a disposal facility. Consequently, California and US Ecology have sued Interior over, among other things, whether Interior has exceeded its authority with respect to radiological safety issues. . . responsibility under federal law regarding the suitability of the site. Whether an independent determination is within Interior’s discretion will be decided in the courts.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed the proposed transfer of federal land in Ward Valley, California to the state for use as a low-level radioactive waste disposal site, focusing on: (1) what sources of information the Department of the Interior relied on in deciding to prepare a second supplemental environmental impact statement and in selecting issues to address in the supplement; (2) whether the selected issues had been considered in earlier state or federal proceedings and, if so, whether they are being reconsidered on the basis of significant new information; and (3) what Interior's underlying reasons were for preparing the supplement.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) Interior cited a May 1995 report on the Ward Valley site by the National Academy of Sciences and information developed by its U.S. Geological Survey in 1994 and 1995 about the migration of radioactive elements in the soil from a former disposal facility at Beatty, Nevada, as its basis for preparing the second supplement; (2) it also stated that it would address nearby Indian sacred sites in the supplement; (3) after obtaining and analyzing information from the public, including environmental groups, Native Americans, and others, Interior decided to address 10 more issues in the supplement and to expand the issue of sacred Indian sites to include a variety of issues pertaining to Native Americans; (4) eleven of the 13 issues that Interior is addressing in the second supplement had been considered in California's licensing process and in previous environmental impact statements prepared by the state and Interior's Bureau of Land Management; (5) the other two issues, the findings and recommendations of the Academy and the information on the Beatty facility, are new; (6) the reasons cited by Interior for preparing a second supplement were an impasse with California over land-transfer conditions and the 5 years that had passed since the original environmental impact statement was issued in April 1991; (7) two other reasons, however, have shaped Interior's action on the Ward Valley issue over the last several years; (8) specifically, Interior believes that it should provide a forum for resolving public concerns and independently determine if the site is suitable for a disposal facility; (9) it should be noted that California has met all of the state's procedural and substantive requirements for licensing the proposed facility; (10) consequently, the state and US Ecology, the company licensed by the state to construct and operate the disposal facility, have sued Interior to determine, among other things, if Interior exceeded its authority regarding radiological safety matters, such as independently deciding on the site's suitability; and (11) thus, whether or not an independent determination of the site's suitability is within Interior's discretion will be decided in the courts.