Jeremy L. Dillon
RW Monitor
5/15/2015
The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission late last week opened up to public comment its proposed rules update on importing and exporting waste, initiating a 45 day public comment period before the Commission votes to finalize the rules. Should no action be taken by the public, the earliest the rules can be enacted is June 7, but Compact Executive Director Leigh Ing said last month that the Compact will address any outstanding issues and vote on a final rule, which she expects to go into effect sometime in September. The Texas Compact is currently undergoing a general rules update with a focus on better tightening its regulations on importation and exportation of waste. Also included in the update is a reworking of the Compact’s policy under rule §675.23, which adds language stating that the Compact’s policy is to “promote the health, safety, and welfare” of its citizens as well as to “distribute costs, benefits, and obligations among the party states.”
The proposed rule includes clarifying language to help make the export and import process easier for both the Compact and for generators. Among the changes, the proposed rules would remove all the isotopes reporting, streamline the amendment process, change the origin reporting process, and align the exporting process more closely to the importing process. The update does not include, however, §675.24, the section regarding the importation of exempt waste to Waste Control Specialists’ RCRA hazardous waste landfill, known as the management rule, which still needs more work.
According to the posting, the proposed rules would not have any fiscal implications for the state and the public. “Leigh Ing, the Commission’s Executive Director, has determined that, for the first five-year period the proposed rules are in effect, no fiscal implications are anticipated for the Commission or for units of state or local government as a result of the administration or enforcement of the proposed rules,” the posting said. “Ms. Ing has also determined that, for each year of the first five years the proposed rules would be in effect if adopted, the public benefit anticipated from the changes seen in the proposed rules will be increased clarity of purpose and greater operational efficiency. It is anticipated that businesses and individuals will have no additional economic costs as a result of their compliance with the proposed rules.”
