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<< July 26, 1999 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sanctions, lawsuit possible after waste dump pullout
RALEIGH, NC -The General Assembly's decision to pull North Carolina out of a
seven-state
compact determined for years to build a low-level radioactive waste dump
could
prompt legal and financial troubles for the state.
Members of the Southeast Compact Commission scheduled to meet Tuesday in
Georgia could begin a process that could land North Carolina in court for
not
living up to its agreement to build the dump.
"From our viewpoint, no, this isn't over," said Ted Buckner, the compact's
associate director.
Compact members Florida and Tennessee want North Carolina to pay back $ 80
million plus interest of the $ 111 million spent on selecting and evaluating
the
Wake County site, Buckner said. Much of the $ 80 million came from waste
generators in the other compact states expecting to use the repository, he
said.
The compact was formed in 1983, with the states agreeing to rotate
responsibility for storing the low-level waste. North Carolina was chosen to
take the first 20-year stint, but the site is years behind schedule and over
budget.
State Rep. Joe Hackney, one of the biggest foes of the dump site, said
last
week's vote to pull out came after legislative leaders discussed possible
ramifications with the state Attorney General's office and Gov. Jim Hunt.
Reductions in the amount of waste generated nationally, along with the
rise
of for-profit disposal companies, has made the landfill unnecessary and
doomed
other multistate systems across the nation, he said.
Also, the site chosen near the Wake-Chatham county border was unsuitable
and
wouldn't have been licensable, according to Hackney.
"It's a result that I think was always in the cards," he said.
Hackney said that companies that generate low-level waste in North
Carolina
will continue to store some on site and send some to private firms.
A commission committee to meet Tuesday will evaluate the charges against
North Carolina, Buckner said. If that group decides the charges have merit,
the
committee will forward the case to the full commission, which could call a
hearing in which the two sides would present evidence.
The commission then would decide what action, if any, to take against
North
Carolina.
The commission has the power to impose such sanctions as barring
companies in
Tennessee from processing low-level waste from North Carolina, he said.
Other
action, such as forcing the state to pay back the $ 80 million, would
require
the compact to sue.
The compact states are Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia,
Florida,
Alabama and Mississippi. South Carolina pulled out of the compact because of
frustration over delays with the Wake County site.
South Carolina passed a law that banned North Carolina waste from a
Barnwell,
S.C., waste dump used by states across the country. In 1997, the compact
commission voted to cut off funds to North Carolina until the state
submitted a
plan to finance the facility. Hunt refused.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 1999
6 of 60 DOCUMENTS
Copyright 1999 Daily Press, Inc.
Daily Press
July 24, 1999, Saturday, Final
SECTION: State, Pg. C7
LENGTH: 468 words
HEADLINE: N.C. LEAVING RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL GROUP, MAY FACE PENALTY
BYLINE: KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C.
BODY:
North Carolina's split from a regional radioactive-waste group will
likely be
followed by efforts to force the state to build a disposal facility or repay
millions of dollars.
N.C. legislators voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to leave the Southeast
Compact
Commission, a seven- state group that shares responsibility for disposing of
the
region's low- level nuclear wastes.
But compact rules say a member state has to meet its obligations - such
as
building the waste facility as North Carolina agreed to do in 1986 - within
four
years of withdrawing. The commission could sue North Carolina to enforce
that
provision or try to get back its $80 million investment in the N.C. site.
Dr. Richard Hodes, the commission chairman, said Wednesday the compact
questions whether North Carolina can leave.
"However, regardless of whether North Carolina remains a member of the
compact, we firmly believe that the state is still obligated to build this
facility for the Southeast region," Hodes said.
In 1997 the commission cut off money for an N.C. waste site in Wake
County,
which was at least four years from opening. Last month Florida and Tennessee
moved to sanction North Carolina for not building the facility.
"The sense was that the level of effort wasn't what it should be for the
amount of money put into the project," said Mike Mobley, a commission member
from Tennessee. "We were trying to provide for a higher level of incentive
for
North Carolina to fulfill its commitment."
Going it alone, Mobley added, will be "very expensive and you'll have to
have a lot of good lawyers"
The state faces the prospect of repaying the compact, and spending
millions
more to develop a disposal site and fight legal challenges if it bans
out-of-state wastes. Courts have ruled such bans violate interstate commerce
laws.
Walter Sturgeon, executive director of the N.C. Low-level Radioactive
Waste
Management Authority, said the funding cuts, followed by the sanctions move,
forced North Carolina out of the compact.
"The compact pulled the funding," he said. "We were making good technical
progress. There were all indications the site would pass muster and was
licensable."
The bill passed Tuesday orders the authority to shut down the Wake site.
It also passed responsibility for "complying with North Carolina's
responsibilities" to a second appointed board, the state Radiation
Protection
Commission.
It is supposed to come up with a plan by next May.
Sen. Hamilton Horton, R- Forsyth, complained that the state is throwing
away
millions of dollars by leaving the compact.
"It is in the last days that we do things we get criticized for and
ashamed
of later," he said. "This has not been considered fully. This is just a lot
of
hysteria."
END >>
Applied Radwaste Management Inc.
Next RAM Transport and Disposal Seminar September 20-24, 1999, Knoxville TN
http://armnet.com/armonline 803.926.8558
- To: undisclosed-recipients:;
- Subject: Recent Barnwell News Articles
- From: mlewis@wm.com
- Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 11:48:39 -0400
July 26, 1999 ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sanctions, lawsuit possible after waste dump pullout
RALEIGH, NC -The General Assembly's decision to pull North Carolina out of a
seven-state
compact determined for years to build a low-level radioactive waste dump could
prompt legal and financial troubles for the state.
Members of the Southeast Compact Commission scheduled to meet Tuesday in
Georgia could begin a process that could land North Carolina in court for not
living up to its agreement to build the dump.
"From our viewpoint, no, this isn't over," said Ted Buckner, the compact's
associate director.
Compact members Florida and Tennessee want North Carolina to pay back $ 80
million plus interest of the $ 111 million spent on selecting and evaluating
the
Wake County site, Buckner said. Much of the $ 80 million came from waste
generators in the other compact states expecting to use the repository, he
said.
The compact was formed in 1983, with the states agreeing to rotate
responsibility for storing the low-level waste. North Carolina was chosen to
take the first 20-year stint, but the site is years behind schedule and over
budget.
State Rep. Joe Hackney, one of the biggest foes of the dump site, said last
week's vote to pull out came after legislative leaders discussed possible
ramifications with the state Attorney General's office and Gov. Jim Hunt.
Reductions in the amount of waste generated nationally, along with the rise
of for-profit disposal companies, has made the landfill unnecessary and doomed
other multistate systems across the nation, he said.
Also, the site chosen near the Wake-Chatham county border was unsuitable and
wouldn't have been licensable, according to Hackney.
"It's a result that I think was always in the cards," he said.
Hackney said that companies that generate low-level waste in North Carolina
will continue to store some on site and send some to private firms.
A commission committee to meet Tuesday will evaluate the charges against
North Carolina, Buckner said. If that group decides the charges have merit, the
committee will forward the case to the full commission, which could call a
hearing in which the two sides would present evidence.
The commission then would decide what action, if any, to take against North
Carolina.
The commission has the power to impose such sanctions as barring companies in
Tennessee from processing low-level waste from North Carolina, he said. Other
action, such as forcing the state to pay back the $ 80 million, would require
the compact to sue.
The compact states are Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida,
Alabama and Mississippi. South Carolina pulled out of the compact because of
frustration over delays with the Wake County site.
South Carolina passed a law that banned North Carolina waste from a Barnwell,
S.C., waste dump used by states across the country. In 1997, the compact
commission voted to cut off funds to North Carolina until the state submitted a
plan to finance the facility. Hunt refused.
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH
LOAD-DATE: July 26, 1999
6 of 60 DOCUMENTS
Copyright 1999 Daily Press, Inc.
Daily Press
July 24, 1999, Saturday, Final
SECTION: State, Pg. C7
LENGTH: 468 words
HEADLINE: N.C. LEAVING RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL GROUP, MAY FACE PENALTY
BYLINE: KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C.
BODY:
North Carolina's split from a regional radioactive-waste group will likely be
followed by efforts to force the state to build a disposal facility or repay
millions of dollars.
N.C. legislators voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to leave the Southeast Compact
Commission, a seven- state group that shares responsibility for disposing of
the
region's low- level nuclear wastes.
But compact rules say a member state has to meet its obligations - such as
building the waste facility as North Carolina agreed to do in 1986 - within
four
years of withdrawing. The commission could sue North Carolina to enforce that
provision or try to get back its $80 million investment in the N.C. site.
Dr. Richard Hodes, the commission chairman, said Wednesday the compact
questions whether North Carolina can leave.
"However, regardless of whether North Carolina remains a member of the
compact, we firmly believe that the state is still obligated to build this
facility for the Southeast region," Hodes said.
In 1997 the commission cut off money for an N.C. waste site in Wake County,
which was at least four years from opening. Last month Florida and Tennessee
moved to sanction North Carolina for not building the facility.
"The sense was that the level of effort wasn't what it should be for the
amount of money put into the project," said Mike Mobley, a commission member
from Tennessee. "We were trying to provide for a higher level of incentive for
North Carolina to fulfill its commitment."
Going it alone, Mobley added, will be "very expensive and you'll have to
have a lot of good lawyers"
The state faces the prospect of repaying the compact, and spending millions
more to develop a disposal site and fight legal challenges if it bans
out-of-state wastes. Courts have ruled such bans violate interstate commerce
laws.
Walter Sturgeon, executive director of the N.C. Low-level Radioactive Waste
Management Authority, said the funding cuts, followed by the sanctions move,
forced North Carolina out of the compact.
"The compact pulled the funding," he said. "We were making good technical
progress. There were all indications the site would pass muster and was
licensable."
The bill passed Tuesday orders the authority to shut down the Wake site.
It also passed responsibility for "complying with North Carolina's
responsibilities" to a second appointed board, the state Radiation Protection
Commission.
It is supposed to come up with a plan by next May.
Sen. Hamilton Horton, R- Forsyth, complained that the state is throwing away
millions of dollars by leaving the compact.
"It is in the last days that we do things we get criticized for and ashamed
of later," he said. "This has not been considered fully. This is just a lot of
hysteria."
END