87R9377 SLB-D     By: Landgraf H.B. No. 2692       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the regulation of radioactive waste; reducing a   surcharge; reducing a fee.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:   ARTICLE 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS          SECTION 1.01.  DEFINITIONS. In this article:                (1)  "Combined facility" means the Texas compact waste   disposal facility, the federal waste disposal facility, and the   Resource Conservation and Recovery Act waste disposal facility in   Andrews County, Texas.                (2)  "Compact" means the Texas Low-Level Radioactive   Waste Disposal Compact.          SECTION 1.02.  FINDINGS. (a) Texas has entered into an   interstate compact with Vermont for the disposal of low-level   radioactive waste. The Texas Legislature passed the compact in   1993 (Chapter 460 (S.B. 1206), Acts of the 73rd Legislature,   Regular Session, 1993). The United States Congress ratified the   compact by passing the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal   Compact Consent Act, Pub. L. No. 105-236, in 1998. The compact   remains federal law today.          (b)  The compact mandates that Texas, as the host state,   develop and operate a facility for the disposal of low-level   radioactive waste generated within the party states. In exchange,   party states (not including the host state) contributed $25 million   to the host state.          (c)  Under the compact, the compact waste disposal facility   license holder (on behalf of Texas) has constructed a   state-of-the-art facility for the safe and secure disposal of   low-level radioactive waste. The compact waste disposal facility   site in Andrews County, Texas, was selected due to its location on   top of a ridge of 600-foot thick red bed clay in a semiarid and   sparsely inhabited area of West Texas, with annual rainfall of less   than 16 inches. The combined facility features the most   environmentally protective designs in the industry, with   below-grade disposal in lined cells that are constructed inside a   natural 600-foot formation of almost impermeable Dockum red bed   clay. No significant erosion has taken place at the site for the   past 60,000 years and there is no reason to expect significant   erosion at the site during the next 60,000 years.          (d)  The combined facility is used to dispose of low-level   radioactive waste that is generated by essential components of the   Texas economy and way of life, including:                (1)  Texas' world-renowned research institutions,   including its institutions of higher education, which generate   radioactive items such as lab equipment, cleaning materials,   personal protective equipment, and sample residuals;                (2)  the oil and gas industry, which generates   radioactive items such as downhole logging sources and naturally   occurring radioactive material from tank bottoms, filters, and pipe   scale;                (3)  the health care industry, in both rural and urban   settings, which generates radioactive items such as lab equipment,   cleaning materials, personal protective equipment, and sample   residuals;                (4)  the nuclear power plants located in Glen Rose and   Bay City, Texas, which generate radioactive items used for cleanup   of reactor water such as ion exchange resins and filters, personal   protective equipment, and various equipment that becomes   radioactive and that must be replaced or repaired;                (5)  the United States Department of Energy, including   its Pantex facility in Amarillo, which generates radioactive   materials from current operations such as protective equipment and   which generated radioactive items from past operations such as   building debris and contaminated soils; and                (6)  the State of Texas, including the Department of   State Health Services and the Texas Commission on Environmental   Quality.          (e)  The compact waste disposal facility license holder and   this state have benefited, and anticipate continuing to benefit,   from operation of the existing compact waste disposal facility in   Texas.          (f)  The market for radioactive waste disposal has changed   significantly since the original legislation for low-level   radioactive waste disposal in Texas was enacted, including improved   waste minimization strategies and increased competition for   radioactive waste disposal from other facilities including   Resource Conservation and Recovery Act disposal sites and municipal   landfills.          (g)  For the Texas compact waste disposal facility to remain   economically viable, updates to the economic and competitive   aspects of Texas legislation are required.   ARTICLE 2. RADIOACTIVE WASTE          SECTION 2.01.  Section 401.205, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:          (a-1)  In this subsection, "high-level radioactive waste"   has the meaning assigned by 42 U.S.C. Section 10101(12) and "spent   nuclear fuel" has the meaning assigned by 42 U.S.C. Section   10101(23). With the exception of on-site storage by operating   nuclear power reactors and operating nuclear test reactors located   on university campuses, a person, including the compact waste   disposal facility license holder, may not dispose of or store   high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel in this state.          SECTION 2.02.  Subchapter F, Chapter 401, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Sections 401.2065 and 401.2066 to read as   follows:          Sec. 401.2065.  RESERVED CAPACITY FOR PARTY STATE WASTE.   (a) The following are reserved for the exclusive use of party state   compact waste disposal in the compact waste disposal facility:                (1)  the greater of:                      (A)  three million total cubic feet; or                      (B)  the required volume identified by the   commission under Section 401.208; and                (2)  the greater of:                      (A)  two million total curies; or                      (B)  the required curie capacity identified by the   commission under Section 401.208.          (b)  Of the reserved volume and curie capacity described by   Subsection (a):                (1)  80 percent is reserved for compact waste generated   in the host state; and                (2)  20 percent is reserved for compact waste generated   in nonhost party states.          Sec. 401.2066.  CORRECTION FOR DECAY IN DETERMINING   CAPACITY. The commission shall correct for radioactive decay in   determining licensed disposal curie capacity in a compact waste   disposal facility under this subchapter.          SECTION 2.03.  Sections 401.207(e-2) and (g), Health and   Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:          (e-2)  The commission's executive director, on completion of   the study under Section 401.208, may prohibit the license holder   from accepting any additional nonparty compact waste if the   commission determines from the study that the capacity of the   facility will be limited, regardless of whether the capacity   required [limit] under Section 401.2065 is available [Subsection   (f) has been reached].          (g)  The commission shall assess a surcharge for the disposal   of nonparty compact waste at the compact waste disposal facility.   The surcharge is five [20] percent of the total contracted rate   under Section 401.2456 and must be assessed in addition to the total   contracted rate under that section.          SECTION 2.04.  Subchapter F, Chapter 401, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Section 401.2075 to read as follows:          Sec. 401.2075.  LIMITATION ON NONPARTY COMPACT WASTE. (a)   The compact waste disposal facility license holder may accept   nonparty compact waste at the facility only if:                (1)  the waste is authorized by the compact commission;   and                (2)  the facility has not less than three years' worth   of constructed capacity based on the average amount of party state   compact waste disposed in the compact waste disposal facility in   the preceding five years.          (b)  If the compact waste disposal facility does not have   sufficient constructed capacity as described by Subsection (a), in   order to be permitted to accept nonparty compact waste, the compact   waste disposal facility license holder must:                (1)  add constructed capacity sufficient to meet the   requirements of Subsection (a); or                (2)  file and have approved by the commission a bond   acceptable to the commission conditioned on the construction of   additional constructed capacity sufficient to meet the   requirements of Subsection (a).          (c)  If a utility operating a nuclear electric generation   facility in a party state has notified the federal commission that   the facility will be decommissioned, and the time-phased   decommissioning schedule and the Post-Shutdown Decommissioning   Activities Report indicate that low-level radioactive waste is to   be disposed of at the compact waste disposal facility, the compact   waste disposal facility license holder must have constructed   adequate disposal capacity at the time of the disposal of waste from   the decommissioning.          (d)  The compact waste disposal facility license holder must   obtain an amendment to the facility operating license to increase   the allowable curie capacity by two million curies when the compact   waste disposal facility has reached 80 percent of the total curies   for which the facility is licensed.          SECTION 2.05.  Section 401.215, Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          Sec. 401.215.  ACCEPTANCE OF LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.   Except as otherwise provided by this subchapter [Subject to   limitations provided by Sections 401.207 and 401.248], the compact   waste disposal facility shall accept for disposal all compact waste   that is presented to it and that is properly processed and packaged.          SECTION 2.06.  Section 401.2445, Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          Sec. 401.2445.  STATE FEE. The compact waste disposal   facility license holder each quarter shall transfer to the state   general revenue fund five percent of the gross receipts from[:                [(1) compact waste received at the compact waste   disposal facility; and                [(2)] any federal facility waste received at a federal   facility waste disposal facility licensed under Section 401.216.          SECTION 2.07.  Section 401.2456(b), Health and Safety Code,   is amended to read as follows:          (b)  Rates and contract terms negotiated under this section   are subject to periodic review [and approval] by the commission's   executive director to ensure that the compact waste facility   license holder's contracted rates and terms do not have a   long-term, adverse effect on the cumulative surcharges paid to the   host state and the host county [they meet all of the requirements of   this section].          SECTION 2.08.  Subchapter F, Chapter 401, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Section 401.2465 to read as follows:          Sec. 401.2465.  WASTE DISPOSAL FEE COMPARISON. (a)  The   compact waste disposal facility license holder shall conduct an   annual comparison of party state and nonparty state compact waste   disposal fees. The comparison must include:                (1)  an average party state disposal fee calculated by   dividing the total invoiced party state compact waste disposal fees   by the total volume of party state compact waste disposed; and                (2)  an average nonparty state disposal fee calculated   by dividing the total invoiced nonparty state compact waste   disposal fees by the total volume of nonparty state compact waste   disposed.          (b)  If the average party state disposal fee exceeds the   average nonparty state disposal fee, the compact waste disposal   facility license holder must issue a rebate for the preceding   year's fees to the party state generators in an amount sufficient to   reduce the average party state disposal fee after the rebate to $1   less than the average nonparty state disposal fee.          (c)  The compact waste disposal facility license holder   shall allocate the rebate issued under Subsection (b) according to   the fractional amount of the total compact waste disposal fees paid   by each generator based on the compact waste disposal facility   license holder's records for the preceding year.          (d)  Not more often than once per year, on written request of   a utility operating a nuclear electric generation facility in a   party state, the compact waste disposal facility license holder   shall:                (1)  retain an independent auditor, who must be   approved by the compact waste disposal facility license holder and   the utility making the request, to evaluate the computation of the   average compact waste disposal fee and rebate described by this   section; and                (2)  not later than the 30th day after the date the   license holder receives the final audit report, make a copy of the   report available to the requesting utility, the governor, the   lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,   and each standing committee of the legislature with jurisdiction   over environmental matters.          SECTION 2.09.  The following provisions of the Health and   Safety Code are repealed:                (1)  Sections 401.207(d-1), (d-2), (d-3), (e), (e-1),   (f), and (h-1); and                (2)  Sections 401.2456(c), (d), and (e).   ARTICLE 3. EFFECTIVE DATE          SECTION 3.01.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.