The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Operations Office (NNSA/NV) and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection completed the Mud Pit Strategy, Nevada Test Site (NTS), Nevada (DOE/NV, 2001) to document a systematic process for identifying and categorizing potentially contaminated mud pits located on the NTS, and systematically evaluating them for inclusion in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO). The objectives of this report are to summarize the process used to define the six mud pit categories, identify mud pits, discuss the mud pits that do not meet FFACO entry criteria, identify mud pits for proposed FFACO entry, and describe the general mud pit distribution. Underground nuclear testing conducted since 1951 at the NTS has produced mud pits that were used for the transfer and collection of drilling mud, rock cuttings, and drilling fluids. This report documents the execution of the strategy document by examining the identification process and documenting these results. For clarification purposes, this document uses the term ''entry'' to indicate inclusion of mud pits into the FFACO and ''exclusion'' to indicate those mud pits which do not meet the ''entry'' criteria defined in this report. Based on this criteria, 257 mud pits identified that have been proposed for FFACO entry were found in 14 separate areas of the NTS. Each of the 257 mud pits proposed for FFACO entry will need to be located in the field, photographed, and documented during future Industrial Sites Project, Preliminary Assessment activities. If the field review determines that a mud pit was misidentified or improperly categorized, the appropriate FFACO modification request will be submitted for review and approval.
