Past uranium enrichment operations and support activities generated hazardous, radioactive, mixed (both hazardous and radioactive), and non-chemical (sanitary) waste. Past operations also resulted in soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination. Environmental investigations have been conducted since the 1980s to understand the extent of contamination.
Superfund National Priorities List (NPL)
Following environmental investigations of the entire site, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant was placed on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) in 1994. Sites on the NPL must be cleaned up in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). CERCLA is a United States federal law designed to identify, investigate and cleanup hazardous wastes sites that may pose a threat to human health or the environment.
Federal Facility Agreement (FFA)
In accordance with CERCLA, DOE worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (KDEP) to establish the Federal Facility Agreement (FFA). The FFA established the framework for cleanup at Paducah, instituted enforceable milestones, and coordinated site-specific cleanup requirements for achieving comprehensive site cleanup, including stakeholder involvement under CERCLA and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
The FFA directs the comprehensive remediation of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. It contains requirements for implementing investigations of known or potential releases of hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants, or hazardous wastes or hazardous constituents, selection and implementation of appropriate remedial and removal actions and establishing priorities for action and development of schedules, consistent with the established priorities, goals and objectives of this agreement.
Decision 2029
A key aspect of PPPO’s Strategic Vision is an effort underway to work cooperatively with U.S. EPA Region 4 and the Commonwealth of Kentucky to re-align the regulatory approach at Paducah to a more holistic, integrated approach successfully used at Portsmouth. PPPO has proposed to integrate and accelerate the Paducah clean-up decisions for Environmental Media, D&D and Waste Disposition to 2029. The Decision 2029 plan is projected to accelerate final clean-up decisions by up to 25 years. This initiative will maintain focus on the TCE source at C-400 while streamlining the regulatory process to maximize an integrated project portfolio strategy. The plan will reduce more than 50 regulatory decision documents to five decisions, assuring consistent and aligned Applicable or Relevant and Appropriate Requirements.