Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
11/14/2014
AUSTIN, Texas—The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission needs to fill “some gaps of knowledge” in its rule update before bringing the drafts up for a vote, Commission Rules Committee Chair Linda Morris said at a public meeting held here this week. The Commission hopes to have a working copy of the rules for its December meeting so it can vote to publish them in the Texas Register. There had been hope at the September public meeting that a draft of the rules would be present for the meeting this week, but more information is needed, Morris said.
The Compact is currently undergoing a general rules update with a focus on better tightening its regulations on importation and exportation of waste. Also included in the update is a re-working of the Compact’s policy under rule §675.23, which adds language stating that the Compact’s policy is to “promote the health, safety, and welfare” of its citizens as well as to “distribute costs, benefits, and obligations among the party states.”
In September, EnergySolutions used this draft language to raise questions about the legitimacy of Waste Control Specialists’ ability to accept exempt waste in its RCRA hazardous waste landfill. EnergySolutions has argued the new language in the updated policy statement proved the WCS exempt waste cell was antithetical to Compact policy, bringing the exempt waste issue into a larger spotlight within the Compact’s rule update. WCS, for its part, has argued that the exempt waste does not affect the financials of Class A waste disposal, and may actually improve them. WCS also argued that the public safety issue was well-covered by TCEQ’s stringent regulatory requirements.
EnergySolutions’ concerns resulted in the question being added to the Compact rule update review, but Morris indicated this week that the Compact is only looking to make sure oversight and safety of exempt waste disposal is adequately covered in the Commission’s review. “We understand the concerns that the generators have, as well as the operator of the facility, so we want to try to work with them to make this process beneficial for the generators, not just Texas generators, but also the other states, so we want this process to work and represent everyone’s comments to the Commission,” Morris said on the exempt waste issue. “We have certainly reviewed the EnergySolutions comments and taken them into consideration, and we will look at their concerns also. There are some things we can’t help with, like the economic side of things, but the main thing we are looking at from a judicial standpoint is oversight, making sure everything is safe and accounted for. But, the economic side of it, that’s between EnergySolutions and WCS.”
