Public comment period begins on disposal site ruling

Patrick Mcdonald

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Public comment period begins on disposal site ruling

■ Rule could open radioactive waste disposal in Andrews up to 36 states.

By Kathleen Thurber

– Midland Reporter Telegram

Staff Writer

People will have through Dec. 26 to provide feedback to a rule published by the

Compact Commission this weekend that could allow radioactive waste to be shipped

from around the country to Andrews County for storage.

As proposed, the rule would give up to 36 states the ability to apply for the disposal of

low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists site in Andrews County.

Presently the guidelines allow only Texas and Vermont — both states initially part of the

compact that was established in 1998 — to ship waste there.

A 5-2 vote taken by the commission at a Nov. 13 meeting in Midland allowed for the

publishing of the rule that was first posted Friday in the Texas Register for public review.

Comments being submitted on the document must be e-mailed or postmarked by

midnight on Dec. 26, said Margaret Henderson, interim executive director of the

commission.

Officials at Waste Control Specialists said they’re pleased the process is moving along

and they hope to start construction of their disposal facility in December. The Texas

WCS

One of the disposal pits at Waste Control Specialists in western Andrews County

is shown in this undated MRT file photo.

MRT file photo

Commission on Environmental Quality still is reviewing WCS’ building plans after the

company received a license for waste disposal in 2009.

“What we’re excited about is as soon as we get the word from TCEQ, we’re going to

start construction,” WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said. “This process is 20 years in

the making.”

Those in opposition argue the rule puts Texans in danger. They say the comment period

should be longer than 30 days and the adoption of the rules should be put on hold at

least until the Legislature convenes in January.

“We oppose the expansion because of the risk. If there is a leak at the facility there could

well be contamination of one or (more) of the aquifers,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, director

of Public Citizen in Austin. “There is a significant risk of transporting that much waste

through virtually every major city in Texas — some of it would come through Midland.”

If the rules are approved, requests for waste disposal in Andrews County would be

considered by the commission on a case-by-case basis.

Waste eligible for disposal would include test tubes and beakers from research facilities

as well as protective gear such as booties and jackets that have come into contact with

waste at hospitals and power facilities.

“This material exists and is being stored in every city in Texas, mostly in hospitals,” Mc-

Donald said.

WCS has spent six years conducting geological studies, testing the ground and

perfecting their own processes to ensure the storage will be safe, he said.

The guidelines published Friday have been under consideration for months. Before

November it was last looked at in June when commissioners agreed to revise the rule

before final publication. At that point they’d received more than 1,000 comments from

individuals on both sides.

The comment period taking place now is the last step before the rule is accepted.

Commissioner Bob Gregory, one of the dissenting voters on Nov. 13, said then he felt

like the process was moving too quickly.

Other commissioners and WCS staff disagree.

“I believe this commission has gone well beyond the statutory requirements and has

done an exemplary job in considering these rules in the most transparent and inclusive

way possible,” Chairman of the Compact Commission Mike Ford said at the Nov. 13

hearing.

Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, filed a bill last session that would have required the

proposal to first go through the Legislature. He said by expanding potential disposal to

so many states the rule goes against the purpose of the Compact Commission.

“It totally violates the original intents of establishing compacts all over the country,”

Burnam said. “It’s like an open door ... it is preposterous.”

The federal government first urged states to create disposal facilities or enter into

compacts in the 1980s to deal with waste created.

Burnam said he worries WCS will take care of the waste for the next decade or so but

then when they decide to leave, the state will be left disposing of the nation’s waste —

something it has no knowledge of how to do properly. “We’re going to get stuck with the

bill,” he said.

McDonald said the commission would look at WCS’ capacity before approving other

states to bring waste in so that Texas and Vermont won’t run out of space for their own

waste. He said WCS is in for the long-term.

Several Andrews residents agree and say the company and any expansion is an asset

to their community.

“Most people, when they come out to the site and when they get the information and

when they see the geology reports, they are satisfied,” McDonald said.

Karen Hadden, executive director of the Austin-based Sustainable Energy and

Economic Development Coalition, disagrees. She said the rule essentially provides a

discount rate to dozens of states wanting to dispose of waste without having to take on

risk within their own borders. Unfortunately, she said most Texans aren’t aware of the

proposed rule and the danger she believes it poses to the state’s water supply and its

overall well-being.

“A lot of people don’t fully understand what is going on, hopefully they will figure it out

soon before it’s too late,” Hadden said.

McDonald said being lowlevel, the waste is not damaging on first touch and even if

involved in an accident during transport, wouldn’t create a catastrophe through one-time

exposure.

“It’s not making contact with it that would be harmful. It’s if you took it and put it on your

bedside table and slept next to it for a year,” McDonald said.

If building plans are approved by the TCEQ, construction of the WCS facility will be

financed by a $75 million bond passed in May of 2009 by Andrews County voters. The

county issued the bonds on Nov. 8 and will loan the money to WCS who will pay the

funds back at no cost to taxpayers. The facility could be completed by late 2011.

———

Kathleen Thurber can be reached at [e-mail].