The US Department of Energy (DOE) is faced with a immense challenge in effectively implementing a program to mitigate and manage the environmental impacts created by current operations and from past activities at its facilities. The current regulatory framework and public interest in the environmental arena have made operating DOE facilities in an environmentally responsible manner a compelling priority. This paper provides information on the results of a project funded by DOE to obtain a better understanding of the regulatory and institutional drivers in the hazardous waste market and the costs and timeframes required for remediation activities. Few realize that before remediating a hazardous waste site, a comprehensive planning process must be conducted to characterize the nature and extent of site contamination, calculate the risk to the public, and assess the effectiveness of various remediation technologies. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and others have found that it may take up to 7 years to complete the planning process at an average cost of $1.0 million per site. While cost information is not yet available for DOE sites, discussions with hazardous waste consulting firms indicate that average characterization and assessment costs will be 5 to 10 times this amount for …

A weekly publication, the Texas Register serves as the journal of state agency rulemaking for Texas. Information published in the Texas Register includes proposed, adopted, withdrawn and emergency rule actions, notices of state agency review of agency rules, governor's appointments, attorney general opinions, and miscellaneous documents such as requests for proposals. After adoption, these rulemaking actions are codified into the Texas Administrative Code.

The Secretary of Energy established independent Tiger Teams to conduct environment, safety, and health (ES H) compliance assessments at US Department of Energy (DOE) facilities. This report presents the assessment of the Feed Materials Production Center (FMPC) at Fernald, Ohio. The purpose of the assessment at FMPC is to provide the Secretary with information regarding current ES H compliance status, specific ES H noncompliance items, evaluation of the adequacy of the ES H organizations and resources (DOE and contractor), and root causes for noncompliance items. Areas reviewed included performance under Federal, state, and local agreements and permits; compliance with Federal, state and DOE orders and requirements; adequacy of operations and other site activities, such as training, procedures, document control, quality assurance, and emergency preparedness; and management and staff, including resources, planning, and interactions with outside agencies.