The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will provide Texas with multiple opportunities for input in potential development of a federal rule that could enable disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state.
That would encompass the public comment period for an upcoming NRC draft regulatory basis for GTCC waste disposition and the rulemaking that could follow, NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki wrote in a June 5 letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
The letter, posted to the NRC website on Wednesday, responded to an April 26 letter from Abbott to Svinicki and Energy Secretary Rick Perry. In that letter, the governor said the Texas government must have a say in disposal of GTCC waste in the state.
The Department of Energy is charged with disposal of GTCC waste and the similar GTCC-like waste, a growing stockpile that already stands at about 6,000 cubic meters of sealed sources, scrap metal, and other materials now housed at commercial and government properties.
In an October 2018 environmental assessment, DOE indicated it is leaning toward sending the waste to the Waste Control Specialists disposal facility in Andrews County, Texas. It has not, though, formalized that position.
The NRC would first have to update current federal regulations, under which GTCC waste generally must be disposed of via a geologic repository. The United States does not have such a facility.
The regulator in July expects to issue the draft regulatory basis that “will include the staff’s analysis of whether GTCC waste can be disposed through means other than deep geologic disposal, including near-surface disposal, and whether disposal of GTCC waste presents a hazard such that the NRC should retain authority over its disposal,” Svinicki wrote to Abbott.
The NRC anticipates scheduling a 2019 hearing in Texas on the regulatory basis as part of the program to receive input from the state and other interested parties before completing the final version, according to Svinicki.
Agency staff will then issue a recommendation on the necessity for a rulemaking on GTCC waste disposal. Should the commission order the rulemaking, Texas would have further opportunities for comment, Svinicki wrote.
