A state lawmaker this week filed a bill to ban storage of spent nuclear fuel in Texas even as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission works toward licensing an interim storage site in the Lone Star state.
H.B. 2692, introduced by State Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R) Wednesday, bars the storage of high-level radioactive waste within Texas borders. Spent fuel and waste stored onsite at nuclear power plants or test reactors on college campuses are exempt from this ban, according to the bill.
The measure accommodates storage of low-level radioactive waste from Texas’s interstate compact agreement with Vermont, however. Waste disposal facilities can accept “all compact waste that is presented to it and that is properly processed and packaged,” the bill said.
“My constituents are on board with low-level storage, as used rubber gloves and hospital gowns provide little reason for concern,” Landgraf said in a Thursday press release. “But high-level radioactive waste, like spent nuclear fuel, is a horse of an entirely different color.”
Low-level radioactive waste typically refers to irradiated equipment, soil, or other compact debris that can be easily disposed of, whereas high-level waste like spent nuclear fuel or its byproducts requires more careful storage.
Landgraf’s bill targets the proposed consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) at Waste Control Specialists’ existing site in Andrews County, Texas. The proposed CISF is currently undergoing an environmental impact review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
This marks the second time this year a state legislature has challenged planned interim storage facilities angling to accept spent nuclear fuel. The New Mexico state Senate advanced a bill through committee last month that took aim at Holtec International’s proposed interim storage facility there. New Mexico’s bill would create a statewide task force to negotiate with the federal government on Holtec’s proposed facility, which is also the subject of an NRC environmental review.
At deadline for RadWaste Monitor, H.B. 2692 hadn’t been assigned to a committee in the Texas State House of Representatives.
As for the proposed interim storage facilities, the commission has said their environmental impact reviews for both sites won’t be done until the summer. The NRC needs to finish those review before it can license either facility.
