WARD VALLEY -BEYOND LICENSING

Low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal site development in California has been proceeding for over a decade. When the California Department of Health Services issued a license for the proposed Ward Valley LLRW disposal facility on September 16, 1993, it represented a significant step in implementation of a new generation of national LLRW disposal facilities. While limited scope land transfer hearings were on the horizon, project beneficiaries were confident that the disposal site would be operational by 1995. Since then, however, political initiatives championed by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) have clouded the federal land transfer process and left the commencement date of operations indeterminent. This paper chronicles the recent events effecting development of the Ward Valley facility. Efforts by the biomedical community, waste generators most effected by delays, to promote a workable compromise to allow facility operations on a limited basis are summarized. These efforts are aimed at Clinton administration officials responsible for current delays, who apparently have not recognized the importance of the Ward Valley facility to California's economy, nor the national ramifications of their actions. The current status of judicial challenges to the Ward Valley license and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documentation is also provided. Timely resolution of these challenges is particularly important because the Secretary of the Interior has tied federal land transfer to their outcome. Aside from the political turmoil, there are several key licensing and regulatory aspects of the Ward Valley project that must be and are being maintained in order to ensure project viability. These are discussed within the context of the political delays.