Results of screening activities in salt states prior to the enactment of the Nationall Waste Policy Act

The identification of potential sites for a nuclear waste repository through screening procedures in the salt states is a well-established, deliberate process. This screening process has made it possible to carry out detailed studies of many of the most promising potential sites, and general studies of all the sites, in anticipation of the siting guidelines specified in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. The screening work completed prior to the passage of the Act allowed the Secretary of Energy to identify seven salt sites as potentially acceptable under the provisions of Section 116(a) of the Act. These sites were formally identified by letters from Secretary Hodel to the states of Texas, Utah, Mississippi, and Louisiana on February 2, 1983. The potentially acceptable salt sites were in Deaf Smith and Swisher Counties in Texas; Davis and Lavender Canyons in the Gibson Dome location in Utah; Richton and Cypress Creek Domes in Mississippi; and Vacherie Dome in Louisiana. Further screening will include comparison of each potentially acceptable site against disqualification factors and selection of a preferred site in each of the three geohydrologic settings from those remaining, in accordance with the siting guidelines. These steps will be documented in statutory Environmental Assessments prepared for each site to be nominated for detailed characterization. 9 references