AIKEN, S.C. - On March 2, 2017, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), State, and DOE cleanup project management and staff from the DOE sites in EPA Region 4 - Oak Ridge, Paducah, and Savannah River Site - met at the Savannah River Site (SRS) at the invitation of Manager Jack Craig to discuss their common environmental cleanup challenges and successes. The facilitated meeting continued the dialogue begun at the first meeting, convened in August 2016 at EPA Region 4 headquarters by regional Superfund Division Director Franklin Hill. Leaders from EPA's Federal Facilities Restoration & Reuse Office and DOE's Office of Environmental Management also participated in the workshop at SRS.
“The goal was to build upon the national dialogue between DOE, EPA and the states," said Jack Craig, DOE-Savannah River Manager. “We welcome opportunities to increase mutual understanding among the parties with respect to the regional Environmental Management program and to share best practices and identify opportunities to streamline interactions between the agencies."
Specifically, the parties discussed prioritizing cleanup tasks; organizational roles and responsibilities for remedial decision-making and milestone-setting within DOE, EPA, and state agencies; and project-level communication and decision-making. The focus of discussions was to provide best practices and lessons learned that can be used to improve existing processes. The site teams will apply outcomes discussed at the March meeting toward identification of priorities in support of the FY19 DOE budget formulation before reconvening the regional group.
"I found the meeting to be beneficial to EPA, States and DOE. The workshop provided all parties a platform to come together and discuss budget challenges, priorities and opportunities to enhance our communication and collaboration at the management and project team level," shared Franklin Hill, EPA Region 4 Superfund Division Director. “I look forward to coming together again with my counterparts in September, to continue the dialogue on how we can identify efficiencies and cleanup opportunities to move these complex sites forward."
A tour of SRS for the participants took place preceding the workshop on March 1. The tour included cleanup overviews and stops at H Tank Farm, Saltstone Disposal Facility, Salt Waste Processing Facility, Defense Waste Processing Facility and the Site’s decontaminated and decommissioned R Reactor. Another meeting of the group, to be hosted by the DOE-EM Portsmouth Paducah Project Office, is planned in September in Lexington, KY.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
