Texas must have a say in approval of disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott said in an April 26 letter to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki.
Proceedings underway at both federal agencies could ultimately open the door for disposal of the nation’s stockpile of GTCC and GTCC-like waste at the Waste Control Specialists’ property in Andrews County, Texas. Those efforts could also “culminate in a reclassification of LLRW, with some or all of the GTCC waste inventory arbitrarily becoming Class C LLRW without Texas having any say in the matter,” Abbott wrote.
The governor told Perry, his immediate predecessor, and Svinicki that he would oppose boosting the amount or concentration of radioactivity allowed for disposal at Waste Control Specialists. That raises the question regarding Abbott’s position on the company’s plans to store spent nuclear fuel on its property, one industry source said by email this week.
“That is obviously open for interpretation,” the source wrote. “If one opposes GTCC, then it seems logical that they would absolutely oppose higher level wastes like Spent Nuclear Fuel.”
Abbott’s office did not respond by deadline Friday to questions on his letter. There was also no comment from the Energy Department and Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists, which operates a 14,000-acre complex near the Texas-New Mexico border for disposal of LLRW and other waste types.
The NRC said only it would “respond directly to NRC-specific portions of that letter, as appropriate, through our normal process.”
The United States today holds a stockpile of roughly 6,000 cubic meters GTCC and GTCC-like waste, spread around the country at commercial and DOE nuclear sites. That amount is ultimately expected to double, and DOE is responsible for its disposal.
Greater-Than-Class C waste is any form of low-level waste with radionuclide concentrations greater than those for Class C material as classified by federal regulations. Class C is considered the most hazardous form of low-level radioactive waste.
The GTCC designation covers sealed sources, scrap metal, and wastes nuclear operations such as Energy Department cleanup of the West Valley Site in New York state and decommissioning of power plants.
Greater-Than-Class C-like waste refers to low-level and non-defense transuranic wastes produced or owned by DOE. This material is stored at locations including the Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee.
The Energy Department in 2016 designated generic commercial sites and/or its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico as the preferred disposal method for GTCC waste. In an October 2018 environmental assessment, it suggested the material could be shipped to Waste Control Specialists’ Federal Waste Facility.
Meanwhile, the NRC is expected in June to issue the draft version of a regulatory basis that could set up a change in regulations to allow disposal of GTCC waste by near-surface or other means. A potential rulemaking would be expected to take two to three years, John Tappert, director of the NRC’s Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, said in March.
Currently, the NRC must approve any option beyond geologic disposal. The United States does not yet have a geologic repository for its nuclear waste.
Under its prior and current ownership, Waste Control Specialists has made clear its interest in securing the business for disposal of GTCC waste. The company’s query to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality led that agency in January 2015 to ask the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about state authority to license disposal of GTCC, GTCC-like, and transuranic wastes. That, in turn, initiated the NRC process that could lead to the disposal rulemaking.
“Texas is ready to work cooperatively with our federal partners to safely manage the use and disposal of radioactive materials,” Abbott wrote. “In the spirit of that relationship, please consider measures to allow for state approval of any changes you would propose to the regulatory framework for LLRW or wastes of greater radioactivity.”
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said in March it would have to update state regulations on radioactive substances before the waste could be shipped to Waste Control Specialists. No approval proceeding was underway at the time, and there was no update this week.
Disposal of Greater-Than-Class C waste is one avenue Waste Control Specialists is pursuing to increase revenue, after losing millions of dollars for prior owner Valhi Inc. before its January 2018 to private equity firm J.F. Lehman.
The company, in partnership with the U.S. arm of French nuclear firm Orano, has also applied for a 40-year NRC license to store up to 40,000 metric tons of spent fuel at a new facility on its property. The agency expects to complete its technical review of the license application next summer, but the timeline for a final decision on the project is less clear.
The project has drawn opposition from environmental and anti-nuclear groups, along with oil and gas extraction interests in the region that worry about potential harm to their operations.
