DOE Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) is building a new landfill to dispose of their radioactive, hazardous, and toxic wastes in Oak Ridge. They are running out of available space at the current landfill, the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF). DOE calls the new landfill the "Environmental Management Disposal Facility" or "EMDF". Like the EMWMF, the EMDF was approved under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Also known as “Superfund,” CERCLA governs the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. 

On September 30, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC)  signed a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF). The ROD explains how the DOE, EPA, and TDEC selected onsite disposal as the best way to manage soil and building demolition debris generated by future environmental cleanups on the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR). The new landfill will only accept waste from ORR cleanups managed under CERCLA, also known as Superfund. These cleanups and associated waste disposal will protect human health and the environment, comply with applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs), and allow beneficial reuse of property on the ORR, particularly at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12).

The official administrative record is maintained by DOE. If you have additional questions, please contact our Oak Ridge Field Office.