EM, Regulators Reflect on Recent Success, Strategies to Maintain Momentum

Management representatives from the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and OREM contractor UCOR serve on a leadership team that sets programmatic goals for the cleanup mission. They gathered for a meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, recently to discuss how to maintain cleanup momentum in Oak Ridge.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Leadership from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and cleanup contractor UCOR recently gathered for a meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where continued partnership was one of the key topics of the day.

Nearly five years ago, the organizations signed a regulatory partnership framework designed to avoid delays, resolve technical issues and aid decision-making and approvals needed to conduct cleanup operations in Oak Ridge.

"We determined we needed a process that allowed us to be more efficient, and we put that in place," said Jeaneanne Gettle, EPA Region 4 acting administrator. "As a result, we've seen an increase in collaboration and the ability to find effective solutions where we have differences of opinion initially. We have a way to elevate issues that are particularly critical and get resolution."

Pictured from left: Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Manager Jay Mullis, UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 Acting Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner David Salyers share insights and perspective in a panel at the Tennessee Environmental Network Show of the South.

Since implementing that process, OREM's cleanup accounts for 24% of all completed cleanup tasks at federal sites nationwide. That number also equates to 49% of all completed cleanup tasks in EPA's Region 4, which includes most of the southeastern U.S.

"Nobody is accomplishing across the board what's happening in Oak Ridge," said Jay Mullis, OREM manager. "That involves everything from getting cleanup done to brownfield and reindustrialization development, support from the community, and engagement with the regulators. You don't see that anywhere else."

The strengthened partnerships are resulting in tangible results and crucial decisions that are allowing OREM to finish cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) and continue meaningful progress at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

One of the most impactful successes from the partnership framework is the approval of three records of decision over the past two years.

One decision, signed in 2022, allowed field work to begin on the Environmental Management Disposal Facility. The facility will provide the waste disposal capacity needed to complete cleanup at Y-12 and ORNL.

A regulatory partnership framework is helping key Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management projects move forward, such as the Environmental Management Disposal Facility. Regulators signed a record of decision for the facility in 2022 that enabled field work to get underway.

Two other decisions, signed this spring, provide guidance on the approved remediation methods to address contaminated groundwater at ETTP. That work marks the final phase of cleanup at the former uranium enrichment complex as OREM works to complete its mission at the site and transfer all remaining parcels to the community for beneficial reuse.

These mounting successes have validated the revised approach developed in 2020, and now each organization is working to identify areas for continued improvement to maintain that momentum in the years ahead.

-Contributor: Ben Williams