Calendar No. 557

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2369

A BILL

To grant the consent of the Congress to amendLevel Radioactive Waste Compact. ments to the Central Midwest Interstate LowAUGUST 11, 1994

Reported without amendment
II

Calendar No. 557

103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 2369

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

Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

AUGUST 5, 1994

Mr. SIMON (for himself, Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN, and Mr. FORD) introduced the

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the

Judiciary

AUGUST 11, 1994

Reported by Mr. BIDEN, without amendment

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 1994’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CONSENT OF CONGRESS TO COMPACT AMEND2 MENTS.

3 In accordance with section 4(a)(2) of the Low-Level

4 Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 2021d(a)(2)),

5 the consent of the Congress is hereby given to amend6 ments made by the States of Illinois and Kentucky to the

7 Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste

8 Compact, which compact was consented to by the Con9 gress in section 224 of the Omnibus Low-Level Radio10 active Waste Interstate Compact Consent Act (Pub. L.

11 99–240; 42 U.S.C. 2021 note). The amendments to which

12 such consent is given are substantially as follows:

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

14 of the compact is amended to read as follows:

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

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

17 Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 2021), has pro18 vided for and encouraged the development of low-level ra19 dioactive waste compacts as a tool for managing such

20 waste. The party states also recognize that the manage21 ment of low-level radioactive waste is handled most effi22 ciently on a regional basis; and, that the safe and efficient

23 management of low-level radioactive waste generated with24 in the region requires that sufficient capacity to manage

25 such waste be properly provided.’’.
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1 (2) Section (k) of article II of the compact is

2 amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(k) ‘Low-level radioactive waste’ or ‘waste’ means

4 radioactive waste not classified as (1) high-level radio5 active waste, (2) transuranic waste, (3) spent nuclear fuel,

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

7 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. This definition shall

8 apply notwithstanding any declaration by the federal gov9 ernment, a state or any regulatory agency that any radio10 active material is exempt from any regulatory control.’’.

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

12 amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(q) ‘Regional facility’ means any facility as defined

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

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

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

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

18 compact are amended to read as follows:

19 ‘‘(a) There is created the Central Midwest Interstate

20 Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission. Upon the eligi21 ble states becoming party states, the Commission shall

22 consist of two voting Commissioners from each state eligi23 ble to be designated a host state under Article VI(b), one

24 voting Commissioner from any other party state, and for

25 each regional facility, one nonvoting Commissioner who is
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1 an elected official of local government and a resident of

2 the county where that regional facility is located. The Gov3 ernor of each party state shall notify the Commission in

4 writing of its Commissioners and any alternates.

5 ‘‘(b) Each voting Commissioner is entitled to one

6 vote. No action of the Commission is binding unless a ma7 jority of the voting membership casts its vote in the af8 firmative. In addition, no agreement by the Commission

9 under Article III(i)(1), Article III(i)(2), or Article III(i)(3)

10 is valid unless all voting Commissioners from the party

11 state in which the facility where waste would be sent is

12 located cast their votes in the affirmative.’’.

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

14 compact are amended to read as follows:

15 ‘‘(d) The Commission shall meet at least once annu16 ally and shall also meet upon the call of any voting Com17 missioner.

18 ‘‘(e) All meetings of the Commission and its des19 ignated committees shall be open to the public with rea20 sonable advance notice. The Commission may, by majority

21 vote, close a meeting to the public for the purpose of con22 sidering sensitive personnel or legal strategy matters.

23 However, all Commission actions and decisions shall be

24 made in open meetings and appropriately recorded. A roll
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1 call may be required upon request of any voting Commis2 sioner.’’.

3 (6) Section (g) of article III of the compact is

4 amended to read as follows:

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

6 The Commission may appoint or contract for and com7 pensate such staff necessary to carry out its duties and

8 functions. The staff shall serve at the Commission’s pleas9 ure with the exception that staff hired as the result of

10 securing federal funds shall be hired and governed under

11 applicable federal statutes and regulations. In selecting

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

13 adequate experience and formal training to carry out the

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

15 (7) Sections (i) and (j) of article III of the com16 pact are amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘(i) The Commission may:

18 ‘‘(1) Enter into an agreement with any person

19 to allow waste from outside the region to be disposed

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

21 agreement shall be effective unless and until ratified

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

23 waste would be sent for disposal.

24 ‘‘(2) Enter into an agreement with any person

25 to allow waste described in Article VII(a)(6) to be
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1 treated, stored, or disposed of at regional facilities.

2 However, no such agreement shall be effective unless

3 and until ratified by a law enacted by the host state

4 of the regional facility to which the waste would be

5 sent for treatment, storage, or disposal.

6 ‘‘(3) Enter into an agreement with any person

7 to allow waste from outside the region to be treated

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

9 such agreement shall be revoked as a matter of law

10 if, within one year of the effective date of the agree11 ment, a law is enacted ordering such revocation by

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

13 treatment or storage.

14 ‘‘(4) Approve, or enter into an agreement with

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

16 ‘‘(5) Approve the disposal of waste generated

17 within the region at a facility in the region other

18 than a regional facility, subject to the limitations of

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

20 ‘‘(6) Require that waste generated within the

21 region be treated or stored at available regional fa22 cilities, subject to the limitations of Articles V(f),

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

24 ‘‘(7) Appear as an intervenor or party in inter25 est before any court of law or any federal, state or
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1 local agency, board or commission in any matter re2 lated to waste management. In order to represent its

3 views, the Commission may arrange for any expert

4 testimony, reports, evidence or other participation.

5 ‘‘(8) Review the emergency closure of a regional

6 facility, determine the appropriateness of that clo7 sure, and take whatever actions are necessary to en8 sure that the interests of the region are protected,

9 provided that a party state with a total volume of

10 waste recorded on low-level radioactive waste mani11 fests for any year that is less than 10 percent of the

12 total volume recorded on such manifests for the re13 gion during the same year shall not be designated a

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

15 In determining the 10 percent exclusion, there shall

16 not be included waste recorded on low-level radio17 active waste manifests by a person whose principal

18 business is providing a service by arranging for the

19 collection, transportation, treatment, storage or dis20 posal of such waste.

21 ‘‘(9) Take any action which is appropriate and

22 necessary to perform its duties and functions as pro23 vided in this compact.

24 ‘‘(10) Suspend the privileges or revoke the

25 membership of a party state.
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1 ‘‘(j) The Commission shall:

2 ‘‘(1) Submit within 10 days of its execution to

3 the governor and the appropriate officers of the leg4 islative body of the party state in which any affected

5 facility is located a copy of any agreement entered

6 into by the Commission under Article III(i)(1), Arti7 cle III(i)(2) or Article III(i)(3).

8 ‘‘(2) Submit an annual report to, and otherwise

9 communicate with, the governors and the appro10 priate officers of the legislative bodies of the party

11 states regarding the activities of the Commission.

12 The annual report shall include a description of the

13 status of the activities taken pursuant to any agree14 ment entered into by the Commission under Article

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

16 violation of any provision thereof, and a description

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

18 any waste from outside the region or waste described

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

20 disposed of in the region in the previous year.

21 ‘‘(3) Hear, negotiate, and, as necessary, resolve

22 by final decision disputes which may arise between

23 the party states regarding this compact.
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1 ‘‘(4) Adopt and amend, as appropriate, a re2 gional management plan that plans for the establish3 ment of needed regional facilities.

4 ‘‘(5) Adopt an annual budget.’’.

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

6 compact are amended to read as follows:

7 ‘‘(o) The Commission is a legal entity separate and

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

9 as a separate and distinct legal entity. Commissioners are

10 not personally liable for actions taken by them in their

11 official capacity.

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

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

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

15 conduct or liability resulting from any causal or other rela16 tionships.’’.

17 (9) Sections (b) and (c) of article V of the com18 pact are amended to read as follows:

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

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

21 generated within borders managed at regional facilities.

22 This right shall be subject to the provisions of this Com23 pact. All party states have an equal right of access to any

24 facility outside the region made available to the region by
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1 any agreement entered into by the Commission pursuant

2 to Article III(i)(4).

3 ‘‘(c) Party states or generators may negotiate for the

4 right of access to a facility outside the region and may

5 export waste outside the region subject to Commission ap6 proval under Article III(i)(4).’’.

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

8 amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘(f) Waste originating from the Maxey Flats nuclear

10 waste disposal site in Fleming County, Kentucky shall not

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

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

13 responsibility of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and such

14 waste shall not be subject to the provisions of Articles

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

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

17 amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(b) If all regional facilities required by the regional

19 management plan are not developed pursuant to Article

20 VI(a), or upon notification that an existing regional facil21 ity will be closed, the Commission may designate a party

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

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

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

25 on low-level radioactive waste manifests for any year is
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1 more than 10% of the total volume recorded on such mani2 fests for the region during the same year. In determining

3 the 10% exclusion, there shall not be included waste re4 corded on low-level radioactive waste manifests by a per5 son whose principal business is providing a service by ar6 ranging for the collection, transportation, treatment, stor7 age or disposal of such waste, or waste described in Article

8 VII(a)(6).’’.

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

10 repealed.

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

12 amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(e) Any party state designated as a host state may

14 request the Commission to relieve that state of the respon15 sibility to serve as a host state. The Commission may re16 lieve a party state of this responsibility upon a showing

17 by the requesting party state that no feasible potential re18 gional facility site of the type it is designated to host exists

19 within its borders or for other good cause shown and con20 sistent with the purposes of this Compact.’’.

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

22 compact are amended to read as follows:

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

24 located within its borders shall notify the Commission in

25 writing of its intention and the reasons. Notification shall
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1 be given to the Commission at least five years prior to

2 the intended date of closure. This Section shall not pre3 vent an emergency closing of a regional facility by a host

4 state to protect its air, land and water resources and the

5 health and safety of its citizens. However, a host state

6 which has an emergency closing of a regional facility shall

7 notify the Commission in writing within 3 working days

8 of its action and shall, within 30 working days of its ac9 tion, demonstrate justification for the closing.

10 ‘‘(m) If a regional facility closes before an additional

11 or new facility becomes operational, waste generated with12 in the region may be shipped temporarily to any location

13 agreed on by the Commission until a regional facility is

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

15 stored in a party state with a total volume of waste re16 corded on low-level radioactive waste manifests for any

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

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

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

20 waste recorded on low-level radioactive waste manifests by

21 a person whose principal business is providing a service

22 by arranging for the collection, transportation, treatment,

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

24 Article VII(a)(6).’’.
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1 (15) Sections (o) through (q) of article VI of

2 the compact are amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(o) The host state shall create an ‘Extended Care

4 and Long-Term Liability Fund’ and shall allocate suffi5 cient fee revenues, received pursuant to Article VI(i), to

6 provide for the costs of:

7 ‘‘(1) decommissioning and other procedures re8 quired for the proper closure of a regional facility;

9 ‘‘(2) monitoring, inspection and other proce10 dures required for the proper extended care of a re11 gional facility;

12 ‘‘(3) undertaking any corrective action or clean13 up necessary to protect human health and the envi14 ronment from radioactive releases from a regional

15 facility; and

16 ‘‘(4) compensating any person for medical and

17 other expenses incurred from damages to human

18 health, personal injuries suffered from damages to

19 human health and damages or losses to real or per20 sonal property, and accomplishing any necessary cor21 rective action or clean-up on real or personal prop22 erty caused by radioactive releases from a regional

23 facility; the host state may allocate monies in this

24 Fund in amounts as it deems appropriate to pur25 chase insurance or to make other similar financial
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1 protection arrangements consistent with the pur2 poses of this Fund; this Article VI(n) shall in no

3 manner limit the financial responsibilities of the site

4 operator under Article VI(o), the party states under

5 Article VI(p), or any person who sends waste to a

6 regional facility, under Article VI(q).

7 ‘‘(p) The operator of a regional facility shall purchase

8 an amount of property and third-party liability insurance

9 deemed appropriate by the host state, pay the necessary

10 periodic premiums at all times and make periodic pay11 ments to the Extended Care and Long-Term Liability

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

13 the host state reasonably determines is necessary to pro14 vide for future premiums to continue such insurance cov15 erage, in order to pay the costs of compensating any per16 son for medical and other expenses incurred from damages

17 to human health, personal injuries suffered from damages

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

19 property, and accomplishing any necessary corrective ac20 tion or clean-up on real or personal property caused by

21 radioactive releases from a regional facility. In the event

22 of such costs resulting from radioactive releases from a

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

24 extent possible, seek to obtain monies from such insurance
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1 prior to using monies from the Extended Care and Long2 Term Liability Fund.

3 ‘‘(q) All party states shall be liable for the cost of

4 extended care and long-term liability in excess of monies

5 available from the Extended Care and Long-Term Liabil6 ity Fund, as set forth in Article VI(n) and from the prop7 erty and third-party liability insurance as set forth in Arti8 cle VI(o). A party state may meet such liability for costs

9 by levying surcharges upon generators located in the party

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

11 proportionate share of the total volume of waste placed

12 in the regional facility by generators located in each such

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

14 the party states with a right of contribution between the

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

16 party state with a total volume of waste recorded on low17 level radioactive waste manifests for any year that is less

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

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

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

21 the compact are redesignated as sections (c) through

22 (p), respectively.

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

24 adding at the end the following new section:
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1 ‘‘(q) Any person who sends waste from outside the

2 region or waste described in Article VII(a)(6) for treat3 ment, storage or disposal at a regional facility shall be

4 liable for the cost of extended care and long-term liability

5 of that regional facility in excess of the monies available

6 from the Extended Care and Long-Term Liability Fund

7 as set forth in Article VI(n) and from the property and

8 third-party liability insurance as set forth in Article VI(o).

9 The extent of the liability for the person shall be based

10 on the proportionate share of the total volume of waste

11 sent by that person to the regional facility.’’.

12 (18) Section (a)(6) of article VII of the com13 pact is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(6) establishes any right to the treatment,

15 storage or disposal at any facility in the region or

16 provides any authority to prohibit export from the

17 region of waste that is owned or generated by the

18 United States Department of Energy, owned or gen19 erated by the United States Navy as a result of the

20 decommissioning of vessels of the United States

21 Navy, or owned or generated as the result of any re22 search, development, testing or production of any

23 atomic weapon; or’’.

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

25 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(d) No person who provides a service by arranging

2 for collection, transportation, treatment, storage or dis3 posal of waste from outside the region shall be allowed

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

5 unless specifically permitted under an agreement entered

6 into by the Commission in accordance with the require7 ments of Article III(i)(1).’’.

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

9 is amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘(c) The Commission is formed upon the appoint11 ment of the Commissioners and the tender of the member12 ship fee payable to the Commission by the eligible states.

13 The Governor of Illinois shall convene the initial meeting

14 of the Commission. The Commission shall cause legislation

15 to be introduced in the Congress which grants the consent

16 of the Congress to this compact, and shall take action nec17 essary to organize the Commission and implement the pro18 visions of this compact.’’.

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

20 is amended to read as follows:

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

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

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

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

25 compact. The Congress shall have an opportunity to with-
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1 draw such consent every 5 years. Failure of the Congress

2 affirmatively to withdraw its consent has the effect of re3 newing consent for an additional 5 year period. The con4 sent given to this compact by the Congress shall extend

5 to the power of the region to ban the shipment of waste

6 into the region pursuant to Article III(i)(1) and to pro7 hibit exportation of waste generated within the region

8 under Article III(i)(4).’’.

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

10 amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(b) Unless authorized by the Commission pursuant

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

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

14 ‘‘(1) for any person to deposit at a facility in

15 the region waste from outside the region;

16 ‘‘(2) for any facility in the region to accept

17 waste from outside the region;

18 ‘‘(3) for any person to export from the region

19 waste that is generated within the region;

20 ‘‘(4) for any person to dispose of waste at a fa21 cility other than a regional facility;

22 ‘‘(5) for any person to deposit at a regional fa23 cility waste described in Article VII(a)(6); or

24 ‘‘(6) for any regional facility to accept waste de25 scribed in Article VII(a)(6).’’.
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1 (23) Article IX of the compact is amended by

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

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

4 (b) the following new section:

5 ‘‘(c) It is a violation of this compact for any person

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

7 facility if such treatment or storage is prohibited by the

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

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