The Crystalline Repository Project (CRP) of the Department of Energy's Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program is responsible for identifying sites which could be considered by the Department for construction and operation of the second deep geologic repository for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The CRP is currently evaluating exposed and near surface crystalline rock bodies in three geographic regions in an effort to identify potentially suitable rock bodies for continued evaluations and eventual field investigations.

The U.S. Geological Survey's program for geologic and hydrologic evaluation of physiographic provinces to identify areas potentially suitable for locating repository sites for disposal of high-level nuclear wastes was announced to the Governors of the eight States in the Basin and Range Province on May 6, 1981. Representatives of Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, were invited to cooperate with the Federal Government in the evaluation process.

The U.S. Geological Survey's program for geologic and hydrologic evaluation of physiographic provinces to identify areas potentially suitable for locating repository sites for disposal of high-level nuclear wastes was announced to the Governors of the eight States in the Basin and Range Province on May 6, 1981. Representatives of Arizona, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, were invited to cooperate with the Federal Government in the evaluation process.

Fifty-four objectives were identified to guide the screening of the Nevada Research and Development Area of the Nevada Test Site for relatively favorable locations for the disposal of nuclear waste in a mined geologic repository. The objectives were organized as a hierarchy composed of 4 upper-level, 12 middle-level, and 38 lower-level objectives. The four upper-level objectives account for broad national goals to contain and isolate nuclear waste in an environmentally sound and economically acceptable manner.

The Lake Superior region (Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and Minnesota) contains 41 Precambrian crystalline (medium- to coarse-grained igneous and high-grade mstamorphic) rock complexes comprising 64 individual but related rock bodies with known surface exposures. Each complex has a map area greater than 78 km2. About 54% of the rock complexes have areas of up to 500 km2, 15% fall between 500 km2 and 1000 km2, 19% lie between 1000 km2 and 2500 km2, and 12% are over 2500 km2. Crystalline rocks of the region vary widely in composition, but they are predominantly granitic.

This report summarizes the regional geologic and environmental characterizations that have been completed for the Permian region of study, and describes the procedure used to identify study areas for the next phase of investigation. The factors evaluated in the Permian region fall into three broad areas: health and safety, environmental and socioeconomic, and engineering and economic considerations.