Demolition debris disposal facility enters next phase of construction

The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor UCOR have initiated the second phase of construction for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF).

The firm broke ground on the new onsite facility in 2023, and it is scheduled to begin accepting waste in the late 2020s. It will primarily accept demolition debris and soil. 

OREM’s current onsite disposal facility is nearing full capacity after 20 years of safe operations. However, hundreds of buildings are slated for demolition in the future at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The initial phase of construction, early site preparation, started in August 2023, and those activities are slated for completion this spring. The work involves moving Bear Creek Road and Haul Road.

The second construction phase focuses on a groundwater field demonstration study subproject. It involves tree felling, which began in recent weeks, earthwork and groundwater monitoring for two wet seasons.

The purpose of the subproject is to allow OREM to confirm its modeling by providing real-world data on how groundwater levels will adjust when EMDF’s construction begins. OREM and UCOR will use data captured from the study to inform and make any adjustments needed to the facility’s final design.

“The groundwater field demonstration gives us additional confidence and will inform final design choices for EMDF, and it is critical to maintaining our schedule and bringing this facility online to support cleanup in Oak Ridge,” said Mary Magleby, UCOR project manager for the EMDF project.

The concluding phase of this project will include completing the final design and constructing the facility’s first two disposal cells. There will be four disposal cells in total.

With oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, OREM will incorporate numerous engineering features into EMDF’s design to ensure the waste remains isolated from the environment. Additionally, OREM will continue sending all highly contaminated waste out of state for disposal.

UCOR awarded the $20 million subcontract for the groundwater field demonstration study to minority-owned small business CTI and Associates.

OREM operates four permitted landfills on the Oak Ridge Reservation to dispose of sanitary and construction debris waste, as well as the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF), an onsite disposal facility designed to receive low-level radioactive and mixed wastes generated from CERCLA cleanup. Each landfill uses strict waste acceptance criteria to determine what is allowable for disposal, and waste that does not meet those criteria is sent out of state for permanent disposal.