DOE official says agency will monitor groundwater issues

Wednesday, May 17, 2000 | 10:32 a.m.

The environmental manager for the Nevada Test Site says he intends to resolve groundwater monitoring issues raised by the state of Nevada.

"We're going to follow our strategy with the (groundwater) program to try to identify the contaminant boundary," said Carl Gertz, environmental manager for the test site. His comments came in response to questions about a letter he received last week from Paul Liebendorfer, chief of the state Environmental Protection Division's Federal Facilities Bureau.

Liebendorfer has told the Energy Department that its computer models lack data for predicting when radioactive groundwater stemming from nuclear test cavities could migrate off the test site. His concerns are similar to those expressed last year by an independent review panel.

Liebendorfer's letter reminded Gertz that federal regulations require the DOE to seek sufficient funding to collect data and meet its program or face fines.

Gertz said he hopes his staff can address the state's concerns, adding that fines would be counter-productive.

Gertz said the test site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, has a lower priority in terms of environmental cleanup than other contaminated areas in the nation's nuclear weapons complex such as the Hanford facility near Richland, Wash.