Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1137 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Seliger S.B. No. 1137
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact
7	7	waste disposal facility.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 401.053, Health and Safety Code, is
10	10	amended to read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 401.053. CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR LOW-LEVEL
12	12	RADIOACTIVE WASTE. The department shall use the [may establish a]
13	13	classification system for low-level radioactive waste that is
14	14	established by the federal commission [based on radiological,
15	15	chemical, and biological characteristics and on physical state] so
16	16	that low-level radioactive waste can be managed safely and
17	17	compatibly.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 401.207, Health and Safety Code, is
19	19	amended by amending Subsections (e), and (e-2) and adding
20	20	Subsection (1) to read as follows:
21	21	(e) The compact waste disposal facility license holder may
22	22	not collect a fee under this section or enter into a contract for
23	23	the disposal of nonparty low-level radioactive waste that has been
24	24	designated as Class A low-level radioactive waste under 10 C.F.R.
25	25	Section 61.55 and commission rule unless the waste is
26	26	containerized. The compact waste disposal facility license holder
27	27	may, before September 1, 2027, collect a fee for and dispose of
28	28	nonparty compact radioactive waste in an amount not to exceed:
29	29	(1) 2.75 million curies; or
30	30	(2) an amount greater than the amount under
31	31	Subdivision (1) as specified by the license holder if the Texas
32	32	Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission determines
33	33	that the license holder has shown good cause for the greater amount,
34	34	considering:
35	35	(A) the existing limits in the facility license,
36	36	including radioactivity and volume limits in curies and cubic feet;
37	37	(B) the as-built disposal capacity available in
38	38	the facility to party state generators;
39	39	(C) any expansion of the facility's disposal
40	40	capacity that is actively under construction;
41	41	(D) the potential effects of the proposed limit
42	42	increase on the performance assessment of the facility;
43	43	(E) the potential effects of the proposed limit
44	44	increase on the health and safety of the employees; and
45	45	(F) any other factor considered relevant by the
46	46	Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission[:
47	47	[(1) not more than the greater of:
48	48	[(A) 1.167 million curies of nonparty compact
49	49	waste; or
50	50	[(B) an amount of nonparty compact waste equal to
51	51	30 percent of the initial licensed capacity of the facility; and
52	52	[(2) not more than 275,000 curies of nonparty compact
53	53	waste in any fiscal year].
54	54	(e-2) The commission's executive director, on completion of
55	55	a [the] study under Section 401.208, may prohibit the license holder
56	56	from accepting any additional nonparty compact waste if the
57	57	commission determines from the study that the capacity of the
58	58	facility will be limited, regardless of whether the limit under
59	59	Subsection (e)[(f)] has been reached.
60	60	(1) This section does not restrict or alter the authority of
61	61	the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission
62	62	under this chapter or Chapter 403 to approve the importation of
63	63	nonparty compact waste to this state.
64	64	SECTION 3. Sections 401.208(a), (c), and (e), Health and
65	65	Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
66	66	(a) At least once every four years, the [The] commission
67	67	shall conduct a study on the available volume and curie capacity of
68	68	the compact waste disposal facility for the disposal of party state
69	69	compact waste and nonparty compact waste.
70	70	(c) The [Not later than December 1, 2016, the] commission
71	71	shall submit a final report of the results of the study to the
72	72	standing committees of the senate and the house of representatives
73	73	with jurisdiction over the disposal of low-level radioactive waste.
74	74	(e) The commission may conduct a study described by
75	75	Subsection (a) at any time [after December 1, 2012,] if the
76	76	commission determines that a study is necessary.
77	77	SECTION 4. Section 401.216(a), Health and Safety Code, is
78	78	amended to read as follows:
79	79	(a) [The commission may license the compact waste disposal
80	80	facility license holder to dispose of federal facility waste.] The
81	81	commission may license federal facility waste disposal only at a
82	82	separate and distinct facility that is operated exclusively for the
83	83	disposal of federal facility waste and that is adjacent to the
84	84	compact waste disposal facility.
85	85	SECTION 5. Chapter 403, Health and Safety Code, is amended
86	86	by adding Section 403.0056 to read as follows:
87	87	Sec. 403.0056. COMPACT FACILITY CAPACITY. (a) In this
88	88	section, "compact facility," "generator," "operator," and "party
89	89	state" have the meanings assigned by Section 2.01, Texas Low-Level
90	90	Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact (Section 403.006 of this code).
91	91	(b) The operator shall reserve disposal capacity in the
92	92	amounts of four million cubic feet and three million curies for
93	93	party state compact waste. The reserved capacity and curies are
94	94	immediately set aside for party sate compact waste. The commission
95	95	and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall ensure
96	96	that:
97	97	(1) the reservation is maintained until the completion
98	98	of decommissioning of all of the nuclear electric generation
99	99	facilities in the party states; and
100	100	(2) 20 percent of the volume and curie capacity
101	101	reserved for party states is allotted to compact waste generated in
102	102	Vermont.
103	103	(c) For the purposes of operator licensing decisions based
104	104	on storage capacity, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
105	105	shall consider the disposal capacity reserved for party state
106	106	compact waster under Subsection (b) as disposed.
107	107	(d) When the compact facility reaches 90 percent of its
108	108	as-built disposal capacity as measured by volume or curie, the
109	109	operator shall discontinue accepting waste from nonparty states
110	110	until:
111	111	(1) construction is completed on a new disposal cell
112	112	that provides a least an additional one million cubic feet of
113	113	airspace capacity, as certified and stamped by an individual
114	114	licensed as an engineer under Chapter 1001, Occupations Code; or
115	115	(2) the operator executes a performance bond or other
116	116	instrument of financial assurance determined to be acceptable by
117	117	the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that is conditioned
118	118	on the completion of a new disposal cell at the compact facility.
119	119	SECTION 6. The following sections of the Health and Safety
120	120	Code are repealed:
121	121	(1) Section 401.005;
122	122	(3) Sections 401.207(d-1), (d-2), (d-3), and (f);
123	123	(4) Sections 401.216(b), (c), and (e); and
124	124	(5) Section 401.2455.
125	125	SECTION 7. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
126	126	shall submit the first report required under Section 401.208,
127	127	Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, not later than
128	128	December 1, 2020.
129	129	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
130	130	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
131	131	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
132	132	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
133	133	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.