FY 2000 National Defense Authorization Act Long-term Stewardship Report

While the primary focus of the report covers the period from now through the year 2006, the report provides a preliminary glimpse of what DOE's long-term stewardship obligations may be up to the year 2070. Long-term stewardship activities encompass monitoring, maintenance, record keeping, and other activities necessary to ensure protection of human health and the environment from hazards that may remain after cleanup, stabilization, or disposal of waste is completed. The estimated scope, cost, and schedule of those activities are summarized in the two-volume report: Volume I provides summary-level information, while Volume II provides site-level information.

Report to Congress on Long-Term Stewardship
Release No. R-01-025
Release Date: January 19, 2001

The Report to Congress on Long-Term Stewardship also will be available in hard copy through the:

DOE Center for Environmental Management Information
955 L'Enfant Plaza North, SW, Suite 8200
Washington, DC 20024, or by calling
1-800-7-EM-DATA (1-800-736-3282)

REPORT TO CONGRESS

"The conferees direct the Secretary of Energy to provide to the Armed Services Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, not later than October 1, 2000, a report on existing and anticipated long-term environmental stewardship responsibilities for those Department of Energy (DOE) sites or portions of sites for which environmental restoration, waste disposal, and facility stabilization is expected to be completed by the end of calendar year 2006. The report shall include a description of what sites, whole and geographically distinct locations, as well as specific disposal cells, contained contamination areas, and entombed contaminated facilities that cannot or are not anticipated to be cleaned up to standards allowing for unrestricted use. The report shall also identify the long-term stewardship responsibilities (for example, longer than 30 years) that would be required at each site, including soil and groundwater monitoring, record-keeping, and containment structure maintenance. In those cases where the Department has a reasonably reliable estimate of annual or long-term costs for stewardship activities, such costs shall be provided. The Secretary shall attempt to provide sufficient information to ensure confidence in the Department's commitment to carrying out these long-term stewardship responsibilities and to undertake the necessary management responsibilities, including cost, scope, and schedule. The conferees recognize that in many cases residual contamination will be left after cleanup or will be contained through disposal, and that such residual contamination and wastes will require long-term stewardship to ensure that human health and the environment are protected." (Conference Report on S.1059, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, Congressional Record, August 5, 1999.)