I

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4814

To grant the consent of the Congress to amendments to the Central Midwest

Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 22, 1994

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. BAESLER, Mr. YATES, Mr. BARLOW, Mr.

HASTERT, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. EWING, Mr. SANGMEISTER, Mr. HYDE,

Mr. PORTER, Mr. FAWELL, Mr. MICHEL, and Mr. MANZULLO) introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on

Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources

A BILL

To grant the consent of the Congress to amendments to

the Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive

Waste Compact.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Central Midwest Inter5 state Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Amendments

6 Consent Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CONSENT OF CONGRESS TO COMPACT AMEND2 MENTS.

3 The consent of the Congress is hereby given to

4 amendments made by the States of Illinois and Kentucky

5 to the Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive

6 Waste Compact, which compact was consented to by the

7 Congress in section 224 of the Omnibus Low-Level Radio8 active Waste Interstate Compact Consent Act (Pub. L.

9 99–240; 42 U.S.C. 2021 note). The amendments to which

10 such consent is given are substantially as follows:

11 (1) The 2d undesignated paragraph of article I

12 of the compact is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘The states party to this compact recognize that the

14 Congress of the United States, by enacting the Low-Level

15 Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 2021), has pro16 vided for and encouraged the development of low-level ra17 dioactive waste compacts as a tool for managing such

18 waste. The party states also recognize that the manage19 ment of low-level radioactive waste is handled most effi20 ciently on a regional basis; and, that the safe and efficient

21 management of low-level radioactive waste generated with22 in the region requires that sufficient capacity to manage

23 such waste be properly provided.’’.

24 (2) Section (k) of article II of the compact is

25 amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘k) ‘Low-level radioactive waste’ or ‘waste’ means ra2 dioactive waste not classified as (1) high-level radioactive

3 waste, (2) transuranic waste, (3) spent nuclear fuel, or

4 (4) by-product material as defined in Section 11e. (2) of

5 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. This definition shall apply

6 notwithstanding any declaration by the federal govern7 ment, a state or any regulatory agency that any radio8 active material is exempt from any regulatory control.’’.

9 (3) Section (q) of article II of the compact is

10 amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘q) ‘Regional facility’ means any facility as defined

12 in Article II(f) that is (1) located within the region, and

13 (2) established by a party state pursuant to designation

14 of that state as a host state by the Commission.’’.

15 (4) Sections (a) and (b) of article III of the

16 compact are amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘a) There is created the Central Midwest Interstate

18 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission. Upon the eligi19 ble states becoming party states, the Commission shall

20 consist of two voting Commissioners from each state eligi21 ble to be designated a host state under Article VI(b), one

22 voting Commissioner from any other party state, and for

23 each regional facility, one non-voting Commissioner who

24 is an elected official of local government and a resident

25 of the county where that regional facility is located. The
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1 Governor of each party state shall notify the Commission

2 in writing of its Commissioners and any alternates.

3 ‘‘b) Each voting Commissioner is entitled to one vote.

4 No action of the Commission is binding unless a majority

5 of the voting membership casts its vote in the affirmative.

6 In addition, no agreement by the Commission under Arti7 cle III(i)(1), Article III(i)(2), or Article III(i)(3) is valid

8 unless all voting Commissioners from the party state in

9 which the facility where waste would be sent is located

10 cast their votes in the affirmative.’’.

11 (5) Sections (d) and (e) of article III of the

12 compact are amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘d) The Commission shall meet at least once annually

14 and shall also meet upon the call of any voting Commis15 sioner.

16 ‘‘e) All meetings of the Commission and its des17 ignated committees shall be open to the public with rea18 sonable advance notice. The Commission may, by majority

19 vote, close a meeting to the public for the purpose of con20 sidering sensitive personnel or legal strategy matters.

21 However, all Commission actions and decisions shall be

22 made in open meetings and appropriately recorded. A roll

23 call may be required upon request of any voting Commis24 sioner.’’.
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1 (6) Section (g) of article III of the compact is

2 amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘g) The Office of the Commission shall be in Illinois.

4 The Commission may appoint or contract for and com5 pensate such staff necessary to carry out its duties and

6 functions. The staff shall serve at the Commission’s pleas7 ure with the exception that staff hired as the result of

8 securing federal funds shall be hired and governed under

9 applicable federal statutes and regulations. In selecting

10 any staff, the Commission shall assure that the staff has

11 adequate experience and formal training to carry out the

12 functions assigned to it by the Commission.’’.

13 (7) Sections (i) and (j) of article III of the com14 pact are amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘i) The Commission may:

16 ‘‘1) Enter into an agreement with any person

17 to allow waste from outside the region to be disposed

18 of at facilities in the region. However, no such

19 agreement shall be effective unless and until ratified

20 by a law enacted by the party state to which the

21 waste would be sent for disposal.

22 ‘‘2) Enter into an agreement with any person

23 to allow waste described in Article VII(a)(6) to be

24 treated, stored, or disposed of at regional facilities.

25 However, no such agreement shall be effective unless
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1 and until ratified by a law enacted by the host state

2 of the regional facility to which the waste would be

3 sent for treatment, storage, or disposal.

4 ‘‘3) Enter into an agreement with any person

5 to allow waste from outside the region to be treated

6 or stored at facilities in the region. However, any

7 such agreement shall be revoked as a matter of law

8 if, within one year of the effective date of the agree9 ment, a law is enacted ordering such revocation by

10 the party state to which the waste would be sent for

11 treatment or storage.

12 ‘‘4) Approve, or enter into an agreement with

13 any person for, the export of waste from the region.

14 ‘‘5) Approve the disposal of waste generated

15 within the region at a facility in the region other

16 than a regional facility, subject to the limitations of

17 Articles V(f) and VII(a)(6).

18 ‘‘6) Require that waste generated within the re19 gion be treated or stored at available regional facili20 ties, subject to the limitations of Articles V(f),

21 VII(a)(3) and VII(a)(6).

22 ‘‘7) Appear as an intervenor or party in interest

23 before any court of law or any federal, state or local

24 agency, board or commission in any matter related

25 to waste management. In order to represent its
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1 views, the Commission may arrange for any expert

2 testimony, reports, evidence or other participation.

3 ‘‘8) Review the emergency closure of a regional

4 facility, determine the appropriateness of that clo5 sure, and take whatever actions are necessary to en6 sure that the interests of the region are protected,

7 provided that a party state with a total volume of

8 waste recorded on low-level radioactive waste mani9 fests for any year that is less than 10 percent of the

10 total volume recorded on such manifests for the re11 gion during the same year shall not be designated a

12 host state or be required to store the region’s waste.

13 In determining the 10 percent exclusion, there shall

14 not be included waste recorded on low-level radio15 active waste manifests by a person whose principal

16 business is providing a service by arranging for the

17 collection, transportation, treatment, storage or dis18 posal of such waste.

19 ‘‘9) Take any action which is appropriate and

20 necessary to perform its duties and functions as pro21 vided in this compact.

22 ‘‘10) Suspend the privileges or revoke the mem23 bership of a party state.

24 ‘‘j) The Commission shall:
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1 ‘‘1) Submit within 10 days of its execution to

2 the governor and the appropriate officers of the leg3 islative body of the party state in which any affected

4 facility is located a copy of any agreement entered

5 into by the Commission under Article III(i)(1), Arti6 cle III(i)(2) or Article III(i)(3).

7 ‘‘2) Submit an annual report to, and otherwise

8 communicate with, the governors and the appro9 priate officers of the legislative bodies of the party

10 states regarding the activities of the Commission.

11 The annual report shall include a description of the

12 status of the activities taken pursuant to any agree13 ment entered into by the Commission under Article

14 III(i)(1), Article III(i)(2) or Article III(i)(3) and any

15 violation of any provision thereof, and a description

16 of the source, volume, activity, and current status of

17 any waste from outside the region or waste described

18 under Article VII(a)(6) that was treated, stored, or

19 disposed of in the region in the previous year.

20 ‘‘3) Hear, negotiate, and, as necessary, resolve

21 by final decision disputes which may arise between

22 the party states regarding this compact.

23 ‘‘4) Adopt and amend, as appropriate, a re24 gional management plan that plans for the establish25 ment of needed regional facilities.
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1 ‘‘5) Adopt an annual budget.’’.

2 (8) Sections (o) and (p) of article III of the

3 compact are amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘o) The Commission is a legal entity separate and

5 distinct from the party states and is liable for its actions

6 as a separate and distinct legal entity. Commissioners are

7 not personally liable for actions taken by them in their

8 official capacity.

9 ‘‘p) Except as provided under Article III(n), Article

10 III(o), Article VI(p) and Article VI(q), nothing in this

11 compact alters liability for any action, omission, course of

12 conduct or liability resulting from any causal or other rela13 tionships.’’.

14 (9) Sections (b) and (c) of article V of the com15 pact are amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘b) Other than the provisions of Article V(f) and

17 VII(a)(6), each party state has the right to have all wastes

18 generated within borders managed at regional facilities.

19 This right shall be subject to the provisions of this Com20 pact. All party states have an equal right of access to any

21 facility outside the region made available to the region by

22 any agreement entered into by the Commission pursuant

23 to Article III(i)(4).

24 ‘‘c) Party states or generators may negotiate for the

25 right of access to a facility outside the region and may
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1 export waste outside the region subject to Commission ap2 proval under Article III(i)(4).’’.

3 (10) Section (f) of article V of the compact is

4 amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘f) Waste originating from the Maxey Flats nuclear

6 waste disposal site in Fleming County, Kentucky shall not

7 be shipped to any facility in Illinois for storage, treatment

8 or disposal. Disposition of these wastes shall be the sole

9 responsibility of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and such

10 waste shall not be subject to the provisions of Articles

11 IX(b)(3) and (4) of this compact.’’.

12 (11) Section (b) of article VI of the compact is

13 amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘b) If all regional facilities required by the regional

15 management plan are not developed pursuant to Article

16 VI(a), or upon notification that an existing regional facil17 ity will be closed, the Commission may designate a party

18 state as a host state. A party state shall not be designated

19 as a host state for any regional facility under this Article

20 VI(b) unless that state’s total volume of waste recorded

21 on low-level radioactive waste manifests for any year is

22 more than 10% of the total volume recorded on such mani23 fests for the region during the same year. In determining

24 the 10% exclusion, there shall not be included waste re25 corded on low-level radioactive waste manifests by a per-
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1 son whose principal business is providing a service by ar2 ranging for the collection, transportation, treatment, stor3 age or disposal of such waste, or waste described in Article

4 VII(a)(6).’’.

5 (12) Section (c) of article VI of the compact is

6 repealed.

7 (13) Section (e) of article VI of the compact is

8 amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘e) Any party state designated as a host state may

10 request the Commission to relieve that state of the respon11 sibility to serve as a host state. The Commission may re12 lieve a party state of this responsibility upon a showing

13 by the requesting party state that no feasible potential re14 gional facility site of the type it is designated to host exists

15 within its borders or for other good cause shown and con16 sistent with the purposes of this Compact.’’.

17 (14) Sections (l) and (m) of article VI of the

18 compact are amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘l) A host state intending to close a regional facility

20 located within its borders shall notify the Commission in

21 writing of its intention and the reasons. Notification shall

22 be given to the Commission at least five years prior to

23 the intended date of closure. This Section shall not pre24 vent an emergency closing of a regional facility by a host

25 state to protect its air, land and water resources and the
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1 health and safety of its citizens. However, a host state

2 which has an emergency closing of a regional facility shall

3 notify the Commission in writing within 3 working days

4 of its action and shall, within 30 working days of its ac5 tion, demonstrate justification for the closing.

6 ‘‘m) If a regional facility closes before an additional

7 or new facility becomes operational, waste generated with8 in the region may be shipped temporarily to any location

9 agreed on by the Commission until a regional facility is

10 operational, provided that the region’s waste shall not be

11 stored in a party state with a total volume of waste re12 corded on low-level radioactive waste manifests for any

13 year which is less than 10% of the total volume recorded

14 on the manifests for the region during the same year. In

15 determining the 10% exclusion, there shall not be included

16 waste recorded on low-level radioactive waste manifests by

17 a person whose principal business is providing a service

18 by arranging for the collection, transportation, treatment,

19 storage or disposal of such waste, or waste described in

20 Article VII(a)(6).’’.

21 (15) Sections (o) through (q) of article VI of

22 the compact are amended to read as follows:

23 ‘‘o) The host state shall create an ‘Extended Care

24 and Long-Term Liability Fund’ and shall allocate suffi-
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1 cient fee revenues, received pursuant to Article VI(i), to

2 provide for the costs of:

3 ‘‘1) decommissioning and other procedures re4 quired for the proper closure of a regional facility;

5 ‘‘2) monitoring, inspection and other procedures

6 required for the proper extended care of a regional

7 facility;

8 ‘‘3) undertaking any corrective action or clean9 up necessary to protect human health and the envi10 ronment from radioactive releases from a regional

11 facility; and

12 ‘‘4) compensating any person for medical and

13 other expenses incurred from damages to human

14 health, personal injuries suffered from damages to

15 human health and damages or losses to real or per16 sonal property, and accomplishing any necessary cor17 rective action or clean-up on real or personal prop18 erty caused by radioactive releases from a regional

19 facility; the host state may allocate monies in this

20 Fund in amounts as it deems appropriate to pur21 chase insurance or to make other similar financial

22 protection arrangements consistent with the pur23 poses of this Fund; this Article VI(n) shall in no

24 manner limit the financial responsibilities of the site

25 operator under Article VI(o), the party states under
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1 Article VI(p), or any person who sends waste to a

2 regional facility, under Article VI(q).

3 ‘‘p) The operator of a regional facility shall purchase

4 an amount of property and third-party liability insurance

5 deemed appropriate by the host state, pay the necessary

6 periodic premiums at all times and make periodic pay7 ments to the Extended Care and Long-Term Liability

8 Fund as set forth in Article VI(n) for such amounts as

9 the host state reasonably determines is necessary to pro10 vide for future premiums to continue such insurance cov11 erage, in order to pay the costs of compensating any per12 son for medical and other expenses incurred from damages

13 to human health, personal injuries suffered from damages

14 to human health and damages or losses to real or personal

15 property, and accomplishing any necessary corrective ac16 tion or clean-up on real or personal property caused by

17 radioactive releases from a regional facility. In the event

18 of such costs resulting from radioactive releases from a

19 regional facility, the host state should, to the maximum

20 extent possible, seek to obtain monies from such insurance

21 prior to using monies from the Extended Care and Long22 Term Liability Fund.

23 ‘‘q) All party states shall be liable for the cost of ex24 tended care and long-term liability in excess of monies

25 available from the Extended Care and Long-Term Liabil-
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1 ity Fund, as set forth in Article VI(n) and from the prop2 erty and third-party liability insurance as set forth in Arti3 cle VI(o). A party state may meet such liability for costs

4 by levying surcharges upon generators located in the party

5 state. The extent of such liability shall be based on the

6 proportionate share of the total volume of waste placed

7 in the regional facility by generators located in each such

8 party state. Such liability shall be joint and several among

9 the party states with a right of contribution between the

10 party states. However, this Section shall not apply to a

11 party state with a total volume of waste recorded on low12 level radioactive waste manifests for any year that is less

13 than 10% of the total volume recorded on such manifests

14 for the region during the same year.’’.

15 (16) Sections (d) through (q) of article VI of

16 the compact are redesignated as sections (c) through

17 (p), respectively.

18 (17) Article VI of the compact is amended by

19 adding at the end the following new section:

20 ‘‘q) Any person who sends waste from outside the re21 gion or waste described in Article VII(a)(6) for treatment,

22 storage or disposal at a regional facility shall be liable for

23 the cost of extended care and long-term liability of that

24 regional facility in excess of the monies available from the

25 Extended Care and Long-Term Liability Fund as set forth
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1 in Article VI(n) and from the property and third-party li2 ability insurance as set forth in Article VI(o). The extent

3 of the liability for the person shall be based on the propor4 tionate share of the total volume of waste sent by that

5 person to the regional facility.’’.

6 (18) Section (a)(6) of article VII of the com7 pact is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘6) establishes any right to the treatment, stor9 age or disposal at any facility in the region or pro10 vides any authority to prohibit export from the re11 gion of waste that is owned or generated by the

12 United States Department of Energy, owned or gen13 erated by the United States Navy as a result of the

14 decommissioning of vessels of the United States

15 Navy, or owned or generated as the result of any re16 search, development, testing or production of any

17 atomic weapon; or’’.

18 (19) Section (d) of article VII of the compact

19 is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘d) No person who provides a service by arranging

21 for collection, transportation, treatment, storage or dis22 posal of waste from outside the region shall be allowed

23 to dispose of any waste, regardless of origin, in the region

24 unless specifically permitted under an agreement entered
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1 into by the Commission in accordance with the require2 ments of Article III(i)(1).’’.

3 (20) Section (c) of article VIII of the compact

4 is amended to read as follows:

5 ‘‘c) The Commission is formed upon the appointment

6 of the Commissioners and the tender of the membership

7 fee payable to the Commission by the eligible states. The

8 Governor of Illinois shall convene the initial meeting of

9 the Commission. The Commission shall cause legislation

10 to be introduced in the Congress which grants the consent

11 of the Congress to this compact, and shall take action nec12 essary to organize the Commission and implement the pro13 visions of this compact.’’.

14 (21) Section (e) of article VIII of the compact

15 is amended to read as follows:

16 ‘‘e) This compact becomes effective July 1, 1984, or

17 at any date subsequent to July 1, 1984, upon enactment

18 by the eligible states. However, Article IX(b) shall not

19 take effect until the Congress has by law consented to this

20 compact. The Congress shall have an opportunity to with21 draw such consent every 5 years. Failure of the Congress

22 affirmatively to withdraw its consent has the effect of re23 newing consent for an additional 5 year period. The con24 sent given to this compact by the Congress shall extend

25 to the power of the region to ban the shipment of waste
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1 into the region pursuant to Article III(i)(1) and to pro2 hibit exportation of waste generated within the region

3 under Article III(i)(4).’’.

4 (22) Section (b) of article IX of the compact is

5 amended to read as follows:

6 ‘‘b) Unless authorized by the Commission pursuant

7 to Article III(i), or otherwise provided in this compact,

8 after January 1, 1986 it is a violation of this compact:

9 ‘‘1) for any person to deposit at a facility in the

10 region waste from outside the region;

11 ‘‘2) for any facility in the region to accept

12 waste from outside the region;

13 ‘‘3) for any person to export from the region

14 waste that is generated within the region;

15 ‘‘4) for any person to dispose of waste at a fa16 cility other than a regional facility;

17 ‘‘5) for any person to deposit at a regional fa18 cility waste described in Article VII(a)(6); or

19 ‘‘6) for any regional facility to accept waste de20 scribed in Article VII(a)(6).’’.

21 (23) Article IX of the compact is amended by

22 redesignating sections (c) and (d) as sections (d)

23 and (e), respectively, and by inserting after section

24 (b) the following new section:
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1 ‘‘c) It is a violation of this compact for any person

2 to treat or store waste at a facility other than a regional

3 facility if such treatment or storage is prohibited by the

4 Commission under Article III(i)(6).’’.

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