By: Landgraf, Dominguez (Senate Sponsor - Birdwell) H.B. No. 7          (In the Senate - Received from the House August 30, 2021;   August 31, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on   Natural Resources & Economic Development; September 1, 2021,   reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 1;   September 1, 2021, sent to printer.)Click here to see the committee vote     A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT     relating to the storage or disposal of high-level radioactive   waste.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 401.003, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by adding Subdivision (12-b) to read as follows:                (12-b)  "High-level radioactive waste" has the meaning   assigned by 42 U.S.C. Section 10101(12) and includes spent nuclear   fuel as defined by 42 U.S.C. Section 10101(23).          SECTION 2.  Section 401.0525, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:          (c)  With the exception of a permit for a facility located at   the site of currently or formerly operating nuclear power reactors   and currently or formerly operating nuclear research and test   reactors operated by a university, the commission may not under the   authority given to the agency under Section 301, 304, or 401 of the   Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Sections 1311, 1314, and 1341) issue a   general construction permit or approve a Stormwater Pollution   Prevention Plan under Section 26.040, Water Code, or issue a permit   under the Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Program   under Section 26.027, 26.028, or 26.121, Water Code, for the   construction or operation of a facility that is licensed for the   storage of high-level radioactive waste by the United States   Nuclear Regulatory Commission under 10 C.F.R. Part 72. Section   401.005 does not apply to this subsection.          SECTION 3.  Subchapter C, Chapter 401, Health and Safety   Code, is amended by adding Section 401.072 to read as follows:          Sec. 401.072.  DISPOSAL OR STORAGE OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE   WASTE. With the exception of storage at the site of currently or   formerly operating nuclear power reactors and currently or formerly   operating nuclear research and test reactors operated by a   university, a person, including the compact waste disposal facility   license holder, may not dispose of or store high-level radioactive   waste in this state.          SECTION 4.  Section 401.0525(c), Health and Safety Code, as   added by this Act, applies only to an application for a permit or   permit amendment submitted on or after the effective date of this   Act.          SECTION 5.  If any provision of this Act or its application   to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does   not affect other provisions or applications of this Act that can be   given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to   this end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.          SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives   a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as   provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this   Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this   Act takes effect on the 91st day after the last day of the   legislative session.     * * * * *