July 14, 2004

Sent via U.S. Certified Mail

John Iani, Regional Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 10
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
 

Kwai Chan, Assistant Inspector General
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1301 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20460

SUBJECT: Evaluation Report:
Review of EPA's Response to Petition Seeking Withdrawal of Authorization for
Idaho's Hazardous Waste Program Report No. 2004-P-00006 (February 5, 2004)

Dear Messers. Iani and Chan,

The above Office of Inspector General (OIG) report responds to a September 13, 2001 petition from Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, Environmental Defense Institute and David B. McCoy (the "Petitioners"). As Petitioners, we formerly request, as stipulated in the IG report, additional information articulated below.

1. This Inspector General report required action by Region 10 EPA as follows:

"ACTION REQUIRED: In accordance with EPA Manual 2750, you, as the primary action official, are required to provide this office with a written response within 90 days of the final report date. The response should address all recommendations. For corrective actions planned but not completed by the response date, please describe the actions that are ongoing and provide a timetable for completion. Reference to specific milestones for these actions will assist in deciding whether to close this report in the assignment tracking system." ⁽¹⁾

If you [EPA Region 10 and/or EPA OIG ] have taken the above action we have not received any notice of or written copy of the required response. Kindly furnish us with the written response.

2. During 2002, the Region 10 posted on its website a News Release concerning the Petition filed by Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free, The Environmental Defense Institute and David B. McCoy. Rick Albright, Director of EPA's Region 10 Office of Waste and Chemicals Management stated that "... review of IDEQ's permitting and enforcement program shows that the state is performing in accordance with applicable hazardous waste regulations." ⁽²⁾ Another press release stated that David B. McCoy was confused about the law.

In our collective opinion, the Inspector General's Evaluation Report indicated serious deficiencies in the hazardous waste management program at INEEL as conducted by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. ⁽³⁾ We would appreciate a) your putting the report of the Inspector General on your website and b) doing a news release which covers the problems which the Inspector General found, which happen to be many of the concerns raised by citizen activists in this matter.

We believe that Region 10 has a duty to be fair in its coverage of this matter and that until now that fairness has certainly been lacking with respect to presenting the Inspector General's findings. We also believe that recognition is due for a definite public service performed by our filing of a complaint with the Inspector General so that the permitting and other deficiencies could be addressed and hopefully corrected. This was an effort that took over four years on our part. ⁽⁴⁾

3. The Inspector General's Evaluation Results (p. 3) states that the Region needs to ensure that IDEQ requires DOE to expeditiously move to resolve Part B permit application deficiencies for the HLLWE. Please provide all information available to show what the Region has done to ensure compliance with this goal and the data that it has received from the IDEQ to show compliance.

4. The Inspector General recommended that "The Region needs to ensure that IDEQ inspections include evaluations of the Process Equipment Waste Evaporator (PEWE) and its associated tanks to determine compliance with RCRA emissions requirements." Please provide us all information available to show what the Region has done to ensure compliance with this goal and the data that it has received from the IDEQ to show compliance.

5. The Inspector General recommended that "The Region needs to ensure that IDEQ inspections include evaluations of the ILWMS to determine compliance with waste characterization requirements." (Page 10). Please provide us all information available to show what the Region has done to ensure compliance with this goal and the data that it has received from the IDEQ to show compliance.

6. The Region agreed (p. 15) to designate the next inspection of the INEEL ILWMS as an oversight inspection, with a Region 10 EPA inspector participating on the inspection team in an oversight capacity. If this inspection has been performed, we would like to receive a copy of the data, comments and conclusion of that inspection.

We would appreciate a written response from you with respect to these subjects.

Thank you.

_______________________
David B. McCoy
2940 Redbarn Lane Idaho Falls, Idaho 83404
(208) 542-1449

___________________
Chuck Broscious, Executive Director, EDI
on behalf of
Environmental Defense Institute PO Box 220 Troy, ID 83871
208-835-5407  edinst@tds.net

and
Keep Yellowstone Nuclear Free P.O. Box 4757 Jackson, WY 83001 307-732-2040

CC: via email:
Nikki Tinsley, EPA Inspector General
Charles McCollum, EPA Divisional Inspector General
Michael Owen, EPA/IG Seattle
Jeff Hunt
Carolyn Copper
Phil Weihrouch
Madeline Mullen
Janet Kessler

Endnotes:
1. OIG report forward "Memorandum" from Carolyn Cooper to John Iani, 2/5/04

2. EPA Region 10 website, October 16, 2001, "EPA Corrects Activist's Misstatements," http://yosemite.epa.gov/r10/homepage.nsf. Also, Region 10 News Release, March 20, 2002, "EPA Denies Petition to Withdraw Idaho's Hazardous Waste Program."

3. The Inspector General found that:

IDEQ failed to exercise control by requiring permits for the Calciner.

IDEQ allowed Calciner operations from 1991 until 2001 closure although there was the inability to sample waste, establish emissions monitoring for radionuclides, and establish risk assessments for the workers and public.

Idaho has failed to demand a complete permit application for at least eight years up until the present for the High Level Liquid Waste Evaporator even though it identified "substantial issues" in the operation of the unit involving waste characterization. The IDEQ failed to make "timely permitting decisions ... protective of human health and the environment" for the HLLWE.

The IDEQ did not independently collect data or adequately conduct annual inspections to confirm whether or not the emissions from Process Waste Equipment Evaporator and associated tanks were safe.

The IDEQ failed to verify whether waste sampling activities were appropriate at the PEWE and another facility, the Liquid Effluent Treatment & Disposal unit prior to the treatment, storage or disposal of the hazardous wastes.

4. See Petitioners August 8, 2000 letter to Chuck McCollum, EPA Divisional Inspector General, and Gregory Friedman, Department of Energy Inspector General. http://www.environmental-defense-institute.org/publications