May 07, 1999
Las Vegas SUN

(Texas) House passes nuke dump bill

AUSTIN (AP) - The state and possibly private companies could store nuclear waste in huge above-ground vaults - rather than in underground dumps - under a bill given initial approval by the House Thursday.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, had threatened to kill it after an amendment that would allow private companies to run such facilities was added last week.

Chisum feared the amendment would open the door to the state becoming the nation's dumping ground for low-level radioactive waste.

After consulting with several attorneys Thursday, Chisum said he felt private companies will not be able to apply for permits to dispose of the waste underground, which had been his main worry.

"They would have to jump through the same hoops as the state," he said.

Companies would be able to apply to the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission for permits for above-ground storage, but operating those dumps would be too cumbersome for many of the companies that have shown interest, Chisum said.

Rep. Gary Walker, R-Plains, led the effort to allow private companies to apply for the permits.

"Overwhelmingly, the members voted that allowing private industry to hold a permit is a good idea," he said.

Walker said he still believes the bill would allow the companies to apply for the permits to dispose of waste below-ground as well as above ground. That point may be clarified by an attorney general's opinion or when the bill is sent to the Senate, he said.

He added there would be enough regulation by the TNRCC to keep the state from becoming a major dumping ground for waste.

The bill faces another House vote before moving to the Senate, where Chisum said he would fight any changes that would allow private companies to apply for below-ground permits.

The legislation comes after the state's unsuccessful $53 million search for an underground dump site to store low-level radioactive waste from Vermont, Maine and Texas.

As passed, the bill calls for the future waste site to go to a Texas county that holds a non-binding referendum stating it wants to be the host. Andrews and Haskell counties have expressed interest.

The TNRCC vetoed the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority's attempt to place an underground facility in Sierra Blanca because of a geologic fault line there.

That ruling followed months of protests by residents on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border who were concerned about the site's proximity to the Rio Grande.

According to a program summary by the agency, some 977 Texas institutions - including hospitals, electric utilities, and government facilities - are potential generators of low-level radioactive waste.

The nuclear waste disposal bill is HB1910.