EPA’s Role at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Properly storing radioactive waste is essential to protecting human health and the environment from intense radioactivity that can last for thousands of years.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the nation's first facility for deep geological disposal of defense-related (TRU) radioactive waste. The WIPP does not dispose of high-level waste and spent fuel from commercial nuclear power generation. The WIPP was developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in southeastern New Mexico, about 26 miles east of Carlsbad.

EPA’s role is to ensure that activities at the WIPP do not endanger human health and the environment.

For all other information about the WIPP, explore U.S. Department of Energy’s WIPP.

On this page:

EPA’s Oversight Role
EPA’s Oversight Responsibilities
Resources

EPA's Oversight Role at the WIPP

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Land Withdrawal Act (LWA), signed by Congress in 1992, gave EPA authority to issue final regulations regarding the WIPP.

EPA’s regulations covering the WIPP are found in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 CFR), which contains all environmental regulations set by EPA:

40 CFR Part 191 sets environmental standards for public protection from the management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste and transuranic waste.
40 CFR Part 194 specifies criteria for the certification or recertification of the WIPP.

EPA headquarters coordinates most of EPA's actions under the LWA. These actions are detailed in the section below, EPA's Oversight Responsibilities. EPA will continue to regulate the WIPP until it closes.

EPA’s Region 6 Office based in Dallas, Texas is responsible for determining the WIPP's compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations other than the radioactive waste disposal standards. The Region 6 office coordinates with EPA headquarters on hazardous waste issues. Some transuranic radioactive waste intended for disposal at the WIPP also contains hazardous components, thus subjecting it to the regulations developed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

In addition, the State of New Mexico is authorized by EPA to carry out the state's base RCRA and mixed waste programs. The New Mexico Environment Department reviews permit applications for treatment, storage and disposal facilities for hazardous waste, under Subtitle C of RCRA.

EPA maintains several dockets that contain all publicly accessible documents related to regulatory decisions about the WIPP.

EPA’s Oversight Responsibilities at the WIPP

Certification and Recertification

Under the Land Withdrawal Act (LWA), EPA must certify that the WIPP facility, operated by DOE, complies with all waste disposal regulations (40 CFR Part 191, Subparts B and C) and WIPP compliance criteria (40 CFR Part 194). EPA is required to determine if the WIPP continues to comply with EPA disposal regulations during periodic recertifications.

Find out more about WIPP Certification and Recertification.

Continuing Compliance

The WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (LWA) requires EPA to determine whether the WIPP complies with other federal environmental, public health and safety regulations, such as the Clean Air Act and the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965. Every two years, DOE submits to EPA the Biennial Environmental Compliance Report (BECR), demonstrating that the WIPP complies with applicable Federal laws pertaining to public health and safety of the environment, including the regulations and permit requirements under such laws. EPA also reviews planned and unplanned changes at the WIPP to ensure that activities at the WIPP continue to comply with EPA’s radioactive waste disposal standards.

Find out more about WIPP Continuing Compliance.

Inspections and Quality Assurance

EPA headquarters staff, with assistance from EPA’s Region 6, conduct inspections and quality assurance (QA) audits of the WIPP site, waste generator sites, and National Laboratories.

WIPP site inspections are typically conducted on a periodic basis and consist of three components: emplacement inspection, monitoring inspection, and air emissions inspection.

EPA conducts inspections at waste generator sites to determine if DOE is properly tracking the waste and to ensure that it adheres to specified waste component criteria. Currently the waste destined for the WIPP is stored at DOE waste generator sites across the United States. Before the waste can be transported to the WIPP, EPA requires that it be identified or "characterized" as transuranic waste (TRU) to be eligible for disposal at the WIPP. While DOE is responsible for characterizing the waste at the generator sites, EPA approves the quality assurance (QA) programs and the waste characterization controls.

Find out more about Inspections and Quality Assurance at the WIPP.

Resources

If you have any questions about the WIPP, please contact us.