TEXAS LAW WOULD EXPAND WCS’ IMPORT CAPACITY

Texas state Sen. Kel Seliger (R) yesterday filed legislation that would seek to expand the amount of radioactive material from outside the Texas and Vermont Compact that Waste Control Specialists could dispose of 220,000 curies annually. That was the curie capacity that the Texas legislature set out for WCS for its first year of operations—ending April 26—and after that the annual non-compact disposal maximum was set to drop to 120,000 curies annually. While the bill would expand the amount of non-compact waste WCS could take on an annual basis, it would also do away with the current $500,000 cap on surcharges for disposal, bringing additional revenue to the state of Texas along with WCS’ increased disposal volumes. Read the legislation text here.

 

Seliger’s proposed legislation would also disallow WCS from accepting non-compact Class A waste, “and to the greatest extent practicable, [WCS] shall work with party state compact generators to support the export of low-level radioactive waste that has been designated Class A,” the legislation reads. The Class A rules are an attempt by the lawmaker to ensure that the site’s capacity is used for higher-margin Class B and C wastes that generate more money for WCS, and more surcharges for the state, upon disposal. The legislation would also put the pressure on WCS to begin volume reducing the material it disposes of on-site beginning in the operational year that kicks off April 27, 2015. “Beginning in operational year three, [WCS] must accept for disposal at the compact waste disposal facility nonparty compact waste that, if eligible for volume reduction, has been volume-reduced by at least a factor of three,” the proposed legislation reads.