IDAHO FALLS, Idaho —The Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) is expanding a critical disposal facility, employing lessons learned from two decades of operational success and the best of American technology to continue safely disposing of waste and enabling the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) to meet its commitments to the state of Idaho.
The Idaho CERCLA Disposal Facility (ICDF) has provided safe, cost effective and environmentally responsible disposal for contaminated waste generated by cleanup on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site.
CERCLA stands for Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, a law enacted by Congress in 1980 that requires stringent waste acceptance criteria, ensuring protection of the public and the underlying Snake River Plain Aquifer.
In 2020, ICP determined it would need to expand the landfill to dispose of a projected 340,000 cubic meters of waste — comparable in size to more than 150 hot air balloons — over the next several decades, far outpacing the ICDF’s remaining available disposal capacity of 90,000 cubic meters.
The ICDF’s new disposal cell and evaporation ponds will be constructed using multiple layers of liners made specifically for disposal of CERCLA-generated waste.
In addition, an engineered collection and detection system for leachate, or liquid that seeps through the landfill, is critical to the facility.
Together, that system and the liners significantly reduce the likelihood of water percolating through the landfill into the aquifer. Instead, that water will be diverted to the evaporation ponds.
Prior to the expansion project, a coordinated effort with EM identified several lessons learned to improve operations. For instance, the expansion will offer more operational space, better management of occasional spring snowmelt water surges, easier control of water levels by linking the new evaporation ponds with the original evaporation ponds, and the capability to dispose of larger debris while maintaining landfill safety.
Craig Reese, project manager with ICP contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition, recognizes the importance of environmental responsibility as his team constructs the new disposal area.
“Every aspect of the design, construction and future operation of the engineered Cell 3 landfill and leachate collection system focuses on environmental protection,” said Reese. “This includes learning from more than 20 years of operation that will allow us to fulfill our mission.”
-Contributor: Carter Harrison
