A bill proposing to ban high-level nuclear waste storage in Texas, which previously died in the state legislature, is getting a second wind during a special session, with some minor alterations.
State Rep. Brooks Landgraf’s (R) reintroduced measure, which passed the Texas House’s environmental regulation committee on a 6-2 vote Monday, aims to prevent high-level nuclear waste like spent fuel from finding its home in the Lone Star State. The measure would amend Texas’s health and safety code to ban anyone from transporting or storing of high-level waste (HLW) in the state, including at Waste Control Specialists’ (WCS) compact waste disposal facility in Landgraf’s district.
Landgraf’s new bill removes language about fee reductions for low-level waste disposal facilities, which was a topic of contention in an iteration of his measure that died in Austin earlier this year.
The WCS site in Andrews County, Texas is the proposed home of Interim Storage Partners’ (ISP) interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. ISP, a joint venture between Dallas-based WCS and the U.S. arm of French nuclear services company Orano, is currently waiting on a final go-ahead from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to start building that site.
Now that it’s through the committee, which Landgraf chairs, the measure should next hear debate on the state House floor. At deadline Tuesday for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing no debate had been scheduled.
This is Landgraf’s second attempt at getting an HLW ban through the state legislature. An earlier version of his measure was kicked back into committee in May after a parliamentary fracas prevented a vote from taking place.
As a possible Texas HLW ban once again looms on the horizon, ISP is closer than ever to getting federal approval for its proposed interim storage site. NRC staff July 30 recommended in an environmental review that the ISP site get a license. The commission has said that it should make a final decision in September.
