|
Senate Bill 1504 |
Senate Author: Seliger et al. |
|
Effective: 9-1-11 |
House Sponsor: Lewis |
Senate Bill 1504 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact waste disposal facility license holder to accept for disposal at that facility certain approved nonparty low-level radioactive waste to the extent the acceptance does not diminish the disposal volume or curie capacity available to party states. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is required to assess a surcharge for the disposal of nonparty compact waste. The bill establishes authorizations, including rulemaking authority, requirements, and prohibitions relating to the disposal of nonparty compact waste.
The bill requires TCEQ to study the available volume and curie capacity of the compact waste disposal facility for the disposal of both party state compact waste and nonparty compact waste and to review the adequacy of the financial assurance mechanisms of the license holder that were approved before January 1, 2011. The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission is required to use the capacity study to anticipate the facility's future capacity needs. The bill sets out administrative provisions relating to the adoption and revision of compact waste disposal fees.
The bill authorizes the license holder, after TCEQ has granted approval to begin operating the compact waste disposal facility, to contract rates with nonparty compact waste generators for the disposal of nonparty compact waste and makes the rates and contract terms subject to review and approval by TCEQ's executive director. The bill requires TCEQ to only consider capital investment in property by the license holder that is used and useful to the facility in determining compact waste disposal fees and prohibits TCEQ from considering capital investment costs or related costs incurred before September 1, 2003, in determining disposal fees.
Current law authorizes the state to enter into a compact for the disposal of waste only if the compact meets certain conditions, among them a condition that limits the total volume of all waste to be disposed of in Texas that is based on an annual average of waste projected to be produced in Texas during a specified period. Senate Bill 1504 changes this condition to specify that the limit applies to party state waste and is based on the annual average of waste that is projected to be disposed of in Texas during that period. The bill establishes terms and conditions for a state to become a party state to the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact.
A holder of a license or permit that authorizes the storage, for more than one year at or adjacent to the compact waste disposal facility, of a radioactive waste or elemental mercury from other persons is required to remit a specified fee each quarter to TCEQ.