West Valley Demonstration Project

The late Sen. Patrick Moynihan
visits West Valley

In 1980, Congress passed the West Valley Demonstration Project West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) [PDF] Act,creating a nearly 175–acre site within the 3,338–acre Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC).
The Act directed the DOE to:

• Carry out a demonstration project to solidify the high–level radioactive waste in the underground tanks.
• Transport the solidified waste to a federal repository for permanent disposal
• Dispose of low–level and transuranic waste
• Decontaminate and decommission the facilities used in the solidification process
• Solidification of the high level waste was completed in 2002. More than 98 percent of the liquid HLW was removed from the underground waste storage tanks and solidified into 19,000 drums of cemented low–level waste and 275 glass “logs.”
• In 2007, the 19,000 drums of cemented low-level waste were successfully shipped to the Nevada Test Site for disposal. The glass logs, which are contained in stainless-steel containers, are stored in a shielded cell in the former reprocessing plant. The tanks that stored the liquid HLW continue to contain liquids and sludge heels that were not economically feasible to remove during the solidification campaign. Efforts are now underway to dry the tanks (and secondary containment vaults) by installing a dehumidifying system. The system is scheduled to be in place by 2011.
• Recently, DOE accelerated WVDP clean–up activities through the acquisition of additional funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. West Valley received nearly $74 million over three years (federal fiscal years 2009–2011) under the Act.

West Valley Plant

As required by the WVDP Act, on November 3, 1980, DOE and NYSERDA entered into a Cooperative Agreement [PDF|4.42 MB] for carrying out its directive. Under the Agreement:

• DOE has the lead and controlling role in managing the Project, while NYSERDA participates on the Project and maintains the balance of the WNYNSC property surrounding the Project Premises.
• DOE has exclusive use and possession of approximately 175 acres of the including all the major facilities except the SDA.
• The Agreement also stipulates that the federal government will pay 90 percent of the WVDP costs with New York paying the remaining 10 percent. To date, New York State has spent approximately $310 million toward the Project's completion, making it the only state in the nation contributing to the cost of high–level waste cleanup.
• On August 17, 2010, a consent decree was ordered in federal court resolving many of the claims from a December 2006 lawsuit that NYSERDA, New York State and NYSDEC filed against the United States and the DOE. The settlement resolves issues over the allocation of respective responsibilities for the cost associated with cleanup activities at the Site.
• NYSERDA's participation helps keep the State informed of planned work and progress while ensuring that New York's interests are met.