Prospects for Opening WIPP in Mid-1998 Are Uncertain

It is unclear whether DOE can accomplish all of the work needed to comply with EPA’s regulations for disposing of transuranic waste at WIPP on a schedule that would enable the Department to open the repository in April 1998. DOE does not expect to begin disposing of remote-handled waste until 2002. DOE Needs New Facilities and Equipment to Achieve Anticipated Disposal Rate

Looking beyond the first few years of WIPP’s operations to the 25- to 35-year period over which DOE expects to ship waste to WIPP and emplace the waste in the repository for permanent disposal, DOE will not be able to significantly increase the rate at which it emplaces transuranic waste in WIPP until it has (1) developed the facilities and equipment at each site for retrieving, processing, and packaging the waste for shipment and (2) procured more numbers and varieties of transportation containers. This reduction includes $4.4 billion in its environmental management programs. As of May 1996, however, DOE still needed to complete several important quality-assurance-related activities before it will be prepared to submit an application for a certificate of compliance. Status of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (GAO/T-RCED-88-63, Sept. 13, 1988).
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the proposed opening of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in 1998, focusing on how well DOE is positioned to begin filling the repository in its first few years of operation as well as over the long term.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) it is uncertain whether DOE can accomplish all of the work needed to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulations for disposing of transuranic waste at WIPP by April 1998; (2) before DOE can submit an application for a certificate of compliance to EPA, it must resolve various scientific issues; (3) due to the lack of available transportation containers and equipment at the storage sites for preparing waste for shipment and disposal, DOE will have limited disposal capability for the first several years of WIPP operations; (4) DOE does not expect to start disposing of remote-handled waste until 2002; and (5) it will cost DOE an estimated $11 billion over the next several decades to increase the rate at which it emplaces transuranic waste in WIPP.