The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it will provide Texas with multiple opportunities for input in potential updates to federal regulations that could enable disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state.
That would encompass the public comment period for an upcoming NRC draft regulatory basis for GTCC waste disposal and the rulemaking that could follow, NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki wrote in a June 5 letter to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
The letter, posted to the NRC website on Wednesday, responded to an April 26 letter from Abbott to Svinicki and Energy Secretary Rick Perry. In that letter, the governor said the Texas government must have a say in disposal of GTCC waste in the state.
Greater-Than-Class C is any radioactive waste with a radionuclide concentration greater than Class C low-level waste, which is designated as having the top concentration limit for shallow-land burial.
The Department of Energy is responsible for disposal of GTCC waste and the similar GTCC-like waste, a growing stockpile that already stands at about 6,000 cubic meters of sealed sources, scrap metal, and other materials now housed at commercial and government properties.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in January 2015 asked the NRC for clarity regarding its authority to license a facility for disposal of GTCC, GTCC-like, and transuranic waste. Texas is an agreement state to the federal agency, assuming some authority to license and regulate select radioactive materials.
Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists (WCS), under then-owner Valhi Inc., had petitioned the state agency to eliminate the prohibition on disposal of such wastes. The company was sold to private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Co. in January 2018., but remains keen to secure the business for disposal of GTCC and similar wastes at its Andrews County disposal facility.
In an October 2018 environmental assessment, DOE indicated it is leaning toward sending the waste to WCS’ Federal Waste Facility. It has not, though, formalized that position. In congressional testimony in May, then-Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White said the agency was waiting on action from Capitol Hill before proceeding.
The NRC would first have to update current federal regulations, under which it must provide an exemption for disposal of GTCC waste by any means other than a federally licensed geologic repository. The United States does not have such a facility.
The regulator in July expects to issue the draft regulatory basis that “will include the staff’s analysis of whether GTCC waste can be disposed through means other than deep geologic disposal, including near-surface disposal, and whether disposal of GTCC waste presents a hazard such that the NRC should retain authority over its disposal,” Svinicki wrote to Abbott. “The draft regulatory basis will also analyze whether, and under what conditions, near-surface GTCC disposal can be authorized on a generic basis without regard to any particular disposal location.”
The schedule for the draft document appears to have slipped in 2019. A senior NRC official indicated in March it was expected in the spring. In May, it appeared on track for a June release. The document could be finalized within six months of publication.
The NRC anticipates scheduling a 2019 hearing in Texas on the regulatory basis as part of the program to receive input from the state and other interested parties before finalizing the document, according to Svinicki.
Agency staff will then issue a recommendation on the necessity for a rulemaking on GTCC waste disposal. Should the commission order the rulemaking, Texas would have further opportunities for comment, Svinicki wrote. The rulemaking process would be expected to take two to three years.
Abbott’s office this week did not respond to a query regarding Svinicki’s letter.
In his April letter and elsewhere, the governor has appeared skeptical of radioactive waste disposal in Texas. Last week, he vetoed legislation that would have given Waste Control Specialists a two-year break on certain fees and charges for its radioactive waste disposal operations.
