Review of New York State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Process (1996) / Chapter Skim
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2 Federal and State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Acts
2 Federal and State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Acts
Pages 17-34
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From page 17... ...
The New York State Legislature enacted a state law in 1986 to comply with the federal laws. This law mandated an aggressive effort to site and develop an LLRW disposal facility in the state.
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From page 18... ...
· New York State Legislature ends work of Siting Commission NOTE: CAIR = Candidate Area Identification Report; DEC = New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; NRC = National Research Council; NYCRR = New York Code of Rules and Regulations; ROPSI = Report on Potential Sites Identification; SESR = Statewide Exclusionary Screening Report; Siting Plan = Plan for Selecting Sites for Disposal of Low-Level Radioactive Wastes.
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From page 19... ...
The West Valley site was closed after the disposal trenches filled with water. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation regulations now prohibit waste disposal in unlined trenches (Title 6, Part 382 of the New York Code of Rules and Regulations, Regulation of Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities: Certification of Proposed Sites and Disposal Methods, Section 382.31(a)
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After a thorough study, concluded in April 1984, the New York State Energy Office recommended that the state not loin a regional compact but instead enact legislation, with adequate appropriations, to establish a two-year process to identify a site for permanent LLRW disposal within New York. In 1985 only New Jersey and Connecticut joined the Northeast Interstate Low-Leve} Radioactive NVaste Compact.
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From page 21... ...
LLRW generators in states that failed to meet the milestones of the 1985 Amendments Act were subject to being assessed a penalty surcharge or denied access to existing disposal facilities. The milestones and associated penalties are described below.
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The court upheld the constitutionality of the act and the authority of the compacts to prohibit disposal of out-of-region wastes; however, it struck down the provision that required states to take title to and possession of their wastes. The court reasoned that this provision exceeded the powers of Congress and that it was inconsistent with the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.6 Implementation of the 1985 Amendments Act From 1986 to late 1992, the three states and compacts with existing disposal facilities worked together to enforce the surcharge and access penalties mandated by the 1985 Amendments Act.
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, soil and debris from cleanup of contaminated sites, liquid scintillation wastes, and certain other types of low-activity, low-level radioactive wastes. NEW YORK STATE LLRW MANAGEMENT ACT OF 1986 In July 1986 the governor of New York signed the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Act (hereafter referred to as the "1986 State Act")
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From page 25... ...
Development Authority. The legislature directed the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to design and operate the disposal facility; to participate in preparation of a draft environmental impact statement on facility design, construction, operation, and closure; to apply to DEC for permits to build, operate, and eventually close the facility; and to apply to the New York State Department of Labor for a license to handle radioactive materials.
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From page 26... ...
The legislature directed the DEC to promulgate regulations specifying criteria for identification of a disposal site and disposal method; certify compliance with these regulations; prepare a final environmental impact statement on facility design, construction, operation, and closure; and approve or deny permits for construction and operation. The DEC was also required to promulgate regulations on financial assurance requirements for LLRW disposal facility operators and to make recommendations about the nature and form of state assistance to local communities.
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. To the extent the commission determines that different disposal methods are appropriate for different categories of low-level radioactive waste with differing physical or chemical characteristics, the commission may select more than one disposal method to be utilized at each particular site.
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The act distributed the responsibilities for public participation among the Siting Commission, New York State Department of Health, and the Advisory Committee. The Siting Commission was required to keep the public informed of its activities in developing the draft environmental impact statement .
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Technical Guidelines The 1986 State Act provided the Siting Commission with several technical guidelines for siting a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The relevant text from the act is given below: The commission shall take into account the following factors in the selection of the permanent disposal facility site or sites and disposal method or methods:
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From page 30... ...
the nature of the probable environmental impacts, including the predictable adverse effects on the natural environment and ecology, scenic, historic, cultural and recreational values, water and air quality, and wildlife; c) the potential for avoidance or mitigation of harm from the unanticipated release of low-level radioactive waste or contaminated materials; d)
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States that have met these criteria are called "agreement states." Because New York has been an agreement state since 1962, a tow-level radioactive waste disposal facility in the state would be licensed by the New York State Department of Labor, the agreement state agency.
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may seek 7Title 6, Part 382, New York Code of Rules and Regulations, Regulation of LowLevel Radioactive Waste Facilities: Certification of Proposed Sites and Disposal Methods.
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ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION The 1986 State Act imposed a strict schedule on the Siting Commission and other state agencies in order to keep New York in compliance with the federal 1985 Amendments Act. The Siting Commission was directed to select a permanent disposal facility "after consideration of all relevant public health and safety, environmental and economic factors" (L.
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From page 34... ...
Subsequent chapters show that the compressed schedules in combination with insufficient strategic planning were detrimental to the effectiveness and credibility of the Siting Commission's work and contributed to the failure of the siting process.
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