The members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday unanimously approved the next steps in revising state regulations to reduce one charge for disposal of low-level radioactive waste in a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists.
The vote by the three-member panel sets up publication and a hearing on the amendment to the section of the Texas Administrative Code with rules on radioactive substances.
If eventually approved by the commission, the curie inventory charge for the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility would be cut from $0.40 per millicurie (1/1000th of a curie) to $0.05 per millicurie.
That would be the maximum rate paid by waste generators in the members of the compact (Texas and Vermont) and the minimum rate paid for waste from any other state. Waste Control Specialists hopes the charge reduction will help spur business.
None of the commissioners indicated opposition to the proposal, though Commissioner Bobby Janecka questioned the transparency of the rulemaking.
“Because it was initiated by the executive director, rather than initiated as a full rate application, I think that there’s a bit of a gap in terms of public transparency, or the ability to see the executive director’s review,” he said during Wednesday’s meeting, which was conducted by teleconference. “I’ll observe that, having reviewed the particular backup materials in this item, I remain confident … that executive director staff did find this rate as proposed to be fair, just, reasonable, and sufficient to maintain the financial viability of the compact waste disposal facility.”
Janecka worked at TCEQ as manager of the Radioactive Materials Division before being appointed to the commission last September by Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
The rulemaking is scheduled for publication in the Texas Register on April 24, followed by a hearing tentatively set for May 18. Based on that schedule, public comment would be accepted through May 26, with adoption of the rule on July 1.
