Re:Texas board votes down border nuclear dump - details

["Christepher A. McKenney" <cam1@nrc.gov>]

Glen Vickers wrote:

The only thing for certain is that Barnwell is performing a service for the
country

Actually, this is EXACTLY why the the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (as amended) was passed.  The three states with disposal sites (including SC w/ Barnwell) wanted the other states to also share the responsibility and not be the dumping ground for everyone.  The 'solution' that was in the federal legislation, in which States or compacts of States would procure disposal sites for the generator's in their state (or compact), was developed by the State Governors Association.  Additionally, in that law, was ability of States with burial sites to exclude acceptance of waste from States outside of their compact and, specifically, for the three operating sites (at that time), they could continue to accept waste from beyond their state or compact but access could be denied if the shipping state or compact was not making an effort to procure its own disposal sites (used on Michigan and North Carolina at least for a period of time, I believe).  

Barnwell's situation was that it was supposed to be the interim disposal site for the SouthEast Compact with North Carolina being the next host State.  NC would develop a new site by approximately 1991-4, at which time Barnwell would be closed.  The lack of progress by NC resulted in SC leaving the SouthEast Compact and the current situation.  SC could at any time, with limited notice, close its borders to any State's waste.  Texas (as the host state for its compact) and California (as the host state of its compact) have actually attempted to comply with the law (although they did miss the law's timeline) where the other states and compacts (except the Northwest Compact and the Rocky Mtn Compact who have access to Hanford) have either had tremendously slow progress, problems with the site's selected (does show they did give an effort to locate a site within their borders), or have decided to ignore the law and currently, their (and the generators' within those states) access i!
s at the whim of the SC Legislature and the Governor.

Chris McKenney
(These are my opinions, and, are not, necessarily, the official (or unofficial) position of the my management, the NRC, or the Commission.)
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