Recent IG Report Secured by Casey Revealed Lack of Records, Confirmed that Previous Remediation Plan Significantly Underestimated Material Buried at Site / In Letter to Key Officials Casey Calls for MOU to Be Completed In Reasonable Timeframe
Washington, DC- Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced that he has sent a letter to key federal officials at the Department of Energy, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging them to finish a key memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will allow a cleanup of the Shallow Land Disposal Area (SLDA) in Armstrong County to go forward. A recently released Inspector General’s report on the site revealed that the previous remediation plan significantly underestimated the material buried at the site. Without a comprehensive MOU among the agencies with jurisdiction, a new cleanup cannot begin.
“Finalizing this memorandum of understanding will lay out a roadmap to finally begin a full and complete cleanup of the SLDA,” Senator Casey said. “I’m urging the relevant federal agencies to move forward in an appropriate timeframe to get this MOU done so the remediation process can move forward.”
The text of Senator Casey’s letter is below:
Dear Secretary Moniz, Chairman McFarlane, Assistant Secretary Darcy:
I write to urge you to finalize the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will allow the remediation of the Shallow Land Disposal Area (SLDA) in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania to continue. In June of 2012, I requested an investigation by the NRC’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) into the oversight of the remediation activities at the SLDA. On March 6, 2014, I received the investigation report from the OIG. One of the issues brought to light in the investigation was the slow pace of the remediation project.
The findings of the report concluded that despite the fact that waste disposal at the SLDA site ended in 1970, remediation is still far from complete. Remediation of the site was still in the early stages of the administrative approval process when, in response to legislative action, responsibility for cleanup at the site was transferred from NRC to USACE. This transfer was prescribed in a 2001 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for coordination, remediation, and decommissioning of several FUSRAP sites. It was not until August of 2011 that USACE finally began on-site remediation. This work was terminated after one month due to contractor deviations from protocol and the discovery of material beyond the scope of the remediation plan. Since then, your respective agencies have been in the process of developing a supplemental MOU to clarify responsibilities and procedures. While you construct the MOU, I urge you to consider all possible contingencies. It is paramount that you finalize the MOU in an expeditious manner so that the project can move forward.
The residents of Armstrong County have waited long enough for remediation to resume at this site. I urge you to complete the MOU as quickly as practicable and devote sufficient resources to the remediation of the SLDA. Thank you for your attention to my concerns. I request that you keep me updated as to your progress.
Sincerely,
Robert P. Casey, Jr.
United States Senator
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