Things Getting A Bit Clearer

Ah. Had a short but rather illuminating meeting with one of our higher ups, partly in regard to the waste agreement the state and DOE reached last week (see http://misterfweem.blogspot.com/2008/07/unanswered-questions.html).

To sum up, I'll try to reproduce a quote that came from the meetings: "All doesn't mean all, but it means a lot more than it used to." I feel better about my understanding of the situation now. Prior to the agreement, the plan was to dig up 2.8 acres of waste here. The new agreement calls for a minimum of 5.7 acres, with the possibility of 7.4 acres, depending on what's found there.

Longetivity-wise, it does add some stability to the project. The current contract, which expires in 2012, will likely see the 2.8 acres dug up. Further contracts (or extensions) will see the rest get dug up, so it's likley at least another seven years (my number) will be added to the project before it's all buttoned up. That'll see me into my mid-40s, should I elect to stay here. So we'll see.

It's not what the pure environmentalists want -- they wanted Judge Lodge's interpretation of "All is all" to stick, and to see all the waste leave. It is, I think, a pretty good compromise, however, as it gets the nastiest stuff out of the state, and calls for continued vacuum treatment of VOCs indefinitely, as far as I can tell.

Yes, call me selfish for looking at it from an employemnt prospect first. I am one of the bungholes on this mile-long green monster with a bunghole every three feet that lives in the desert here, after all.