THE INEEL WATER INTEGRATION PROJECT:COORDINATING SURFACE WATER,VADOSE ZONE,AND GROUNDWATER ACTIVITIES AT THE INEEL

摘要

The U.S.Department of Energy,Idaho Operations Office(DOE-ID)places a high priority on the protection of groundwater and the Snake River Plain Aquifer from contaminants generated by operations at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory(INEEL).To this end,DOE-ID is developing a site-wide strategy to assess the impacts of INEEL contaminants on the vadose zone,and the Snake River Plain Aquifer beneath the INEEL and to understand the effects of temporal flow of surface waters on contaminant transport.Over the 50-year history of the INEEL a substantial amount data has been gathered on groundwater contamination,but there are uncertainties and data gaps in the current understanding of the inventory,distribution,and movement of contaminants in the subsurface.Uncertainty reduction is needed to fully evaluate and integrate the impacts of radioactive or otherwise hazardous releases to the Snake River Plain Aquifer and to efficiently mitigate these impacts in a cost effective manner. rnThe Water Integration Project has been established to develop a single comprehensive technical baseline(i.e.,an initial set of critical observations or data used to compare changes in the INEEL subsurface,including interactions between buried wastes,water infiltration and flooding events, and the aquifer.)Inherent to this task,the Project must coordinate and integrate with all INEEL programs and stakeholders to reach a common understanding of the assumptions applied to the technical baseline. rnThese objectives will be met by completion of the following five project tasks. rnA.Technical Baseline:Identify steps needed to establish a broad and complete subsurface technical baseline for the INEEL.This effort will include identifying and implementing methods for improving the quality and completeness of INEEL conceptual models, subsurface sampling data,numeric modeling input files and output results,geologic cross sections,well construction data,and other sources of INEEL subsurface information.As research and development advances are made,the technical baseline will be updated after new information has been thoroughly reviewed by appropriate internal and external technical experts. rnB.Focused Science and Technology Research:Establish a risk-prioritized groundwater research strategy that meets the needs of the Environmental Management Programs.This strategy will focus on identifying,prioritizing,and resolving gaps in the INEEL technical baseline that may prevent successful completion of INEEL EM projects. rnC.Stakeholder Involvement:Enhance the decision making process through open communications,active stakeholder involvement,and ongoing opportunities for stakeholders to influence DOE water management decisions. rnD.Program Integration:Establish a single,integrated groundwater/vadose zone management process for the INEEL.