SC Advisory Group on Barnwell Site (newspaper article)

[Arminc01@aol.com]

THE STATE, Columbia, SC

HODGES: RETURN S.C. TO COMPACT
ADVISERS SAY GROUP NO SOLUTION TO WASTE WOES

Wednesday, December 16, 1998
Section: METRO/REGION, Page: B1

By ANDREW MEADOWS, Staff Writer

Gov.-elect Jim Hodges wants the state to rejoin the Southeast Compact, a
regional nuclear-waste disposal groupfrom which South Carolina withdrew in
1995.

Hodges' emerging policy is in sharp contrast to his advisers'
recommendation that South Carolina should forget the compact.

In a 5-2 vote Tuesday, Hodges' environmental transition committee
recommended closing the controversial Barnwell nuclear landfill to the
nation and letting other states solve their own nuclear-waste problems.

"South Carolina has done more than its fair share to get other states to
put facilities online," said Rep. Joe Neal, D-Richland. "This may be the
best thing we can do to force their hand."

Hodges, however, wants to pursue a cooperative approach to dealing with
low-level nuclear waste, said Nina Brook, Hodges' spokeswoman. "The
governor-elect's preference is to try and get the Southeast Compact going
again," Brook said. "The governor-elect would like to see an effort to put
that cooperative effort back in place."

Brook said Hodges doesn't have a time frame for rejoining the compact.

Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, intends to file a bill this month to have
South Carolina rejoin the compact. Rejoining the compact or closing
Barnwell to other states would have to be approved by the General Assembly.

As part of the seven-state compact system, Barnwell, which opened in the
early 1970s, was supposed to close at the end of 1995. The compact's next
landfill would then open in North Carolina.

But after just a few months in office, Republican Gov. David Beasley called
for a different course because North Carolina had fallen behind on finding
a new landfill site.

South Carolina withdrew from the regional partnership, banned North
Carolina from using Barnwell and opened the dump to all other states.

Under Beasley's plan, fees from Barnwell have been put toward education.
However, instead of the $140 million Beasley predicted would be generated
annually, Barnwell revenue has averaged $67 million a year, including $39
million in 1998.

To avoid the facility's higher fees, electric utilities have looked to
generate less waste. They also have stored waste on site at reactors.
Radioactive tools, clothing and reactor parts constitute low-level waste.

On the campaign trail, Hodges called the situation "Beasley's Barnwell
disaster."

Because of the site's importance to the nuclear industry, electric
utilities are watching the Barnwell debate closely. The facility is one of
three low-level nuclear-waste sites in the United States. It's the only one
east of the Mississippi River.

Paul Genoa, a project manager for the Nuclear Energy Institute, said
Barnwell is safe and should remain open to the nation.

"The chance of Barnwell closing is disturbing," Genoa said. "But I also
think it's naive to think that rejoining the compact will rejuvenate North
Carolina's siting process," as Leventis and some other officials expect.

In an effort to keep the landfill open, NEI and Chem-Nuclear Inc.,
Barnwell's operator, are working on a plan to sell future space at the
landfill and establish a $1 billion education trust fund with the proceeds.
The General Assembly would have to approve the plan.

Rep. Rick Quinn, R-Richland, said he favors rejoining the compact because
it gives South Carolina a voice at the negotiating table. Quinn was one of
two dissenting votes on the transition committee's recommendation to close
Barnwell.

He said if Barnwell closes to the rest of the nation, South Carolina will
permanently be in the nuclear-waste business. The state would always be
responsible for its own waste and would be excluded from using another
state's landfill, Quinn said.

"We need to force the compact states to negotiate," Quinn said, adding that
closing Barnwell to the nation without joining the compact could violate
the interstate commerce clause. "I'm all for closing Barnwell; I just favor
a different methodology."

Rep. Bob Sheheen, D-Kershaw, said the compact system has failed and South
Carolina shouldn't consider rejoining. Sheheen, leader of Hodges'
environmental transition committee, said North Carolina spent $100 million,
mostly generated by fees at Barnwell, and never got close to opening a
site.
____________________________________________________________________
Charles Smith
arminc01@aol.com
http://armnet.com/armonline
803.926.8558
Next Radioactive Material Transport and Disposal Seminar 
Las Vegas April 12-16, 1999
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