Draft - Area Recommendation Report for the Crystalline Repository Project, Overview

The draft Area Recommendation Report (ARR) for the Crystalline<br/>Repository Project identifies portions of crystalline rock bodies as<br/>proposed potentially acceptable sites for the Nation&#39;s second repository<br/>for deep geologic burial of high-level radioactive waste and spent<br/>nuclear fuel. This overview provides a brief summary of that report.<br/>The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) evaluated available geologic and<br/>environmental data for 235 crystalline rock bodies in the North Central,<br/>Northeastern, and southeastern Regions to identify preliminary candidate<br/>areas. Further evaluation of these preliminary candidate areas resulted<br/>in the selection of 12 areas as proposed potentially acceptable sites.<br/>The process used for these evaluations and the narrowing of crystalline<br/>rock bodies under consideration is in accordance with the General<br/>Guidelines for the Recommendation of sites for Nuclear Waste Repositories<br/>(DOE Siting Guidelines), which were developed pursuant to the requirement<br/>of section 112 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA). This<br/>process is described in the Region-to-Area Screening Methodology for the<br/>Crystalline Repository Project.<br/>The 12 proposed potentially acceptable sites are located in the<br/>States of Georgia (1), Maine (2), Minnesota (3), New Hampshire (1), North<br/>Carolina (2), Virginia (2), and Wisconsin (1). Portions of the proposed<br/>potentially acceptable site in Wisconsin are located within the Menominee<br/>and Stockbridge--Munsee Indian Reservations and portions of one of the<br/>sites in Maine are located within the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indian<br/>Reservations.<br/>The data, analyses, and rationale pertaining to the identification of<br/>the 12 proposed potentially acceptable sites are presented in the draft<br/>ARR. The analyses presented in the draft ARR demonstrate that the<br/>evidence available for each proposed potentially acceptable site supports<br/>(i) a finding that the site is not disqualified under Appendix III of the<br/>DOE Siting Guidelines and (ii) a decision to proceed with the continued<br/>investigation of the site on the basis of the favorable and potentially<br/>adverse conditions identified to date. Once the draft ARR is finalized,<br/>potentially acceptable sites in crystalline rock will be formally<br/>identified by the Secretary of Energy, in accordance with the DOE Siting<br/>Guidelines. These potentially acceptable sites will be investigated and<br/>evaluated in more detail during the area phase of the siting process and<br/>considered along with other candidate sites in a progressive narrowing<br/>process to finally choose the site of the second repository in 1998.<br/>Eight additional areas, which meet the requirements for identification as<br/>potentially acceptable sites, will retain their designation as candidate<br/>areas DOE may identify any or all as potentially acceptable sites during<br/>ARR finalization or area phase investigations if it is determined that<br/>other areas are required to meet program requirements.