Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 20 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (§§ 20-2-101 — 20-86-113) › Subtitle 2 - HEALTH AND SAFETY (§§ 20-6-101 — 20-38-113) › Chapter 21 - RADIATION PROTECTION (§§ 20-21-201 — 20-21-603) › Subchapter 2 - IONIZING RADIATION (§§ 20-21-201 — 20-21-222) › Section 20-21-207 - State Radiation Control Agency - Powers and duties generally

(a)
For the protection of the occupational and public health and safety, the State Radiation Control Agency shall:
(1)
Develop programs for evaluation and control of hazards associated with the use of sources of ionizing radiation;
(2)
Develop programs, with due regard for compatibility with federal programs, for regulation of radioactive material and for regulation of radiation equipment;
(3)
Formulate, adopt, promulgate, and repeal codes and rules which may provide for licensing or registration relating to control, storage, or disposal of sources of ionizing radiation with due regard for compatibility with the regulatory programs of the United States Government;
(4)
Issue such orders or modifications as may be necessary in connection with proceedings under this subchapter. This power is intended for use in conjunction with any licensing or registration authority;
(5)
Advise, consult, and cooperate with other agencies of the state, the United States Government, other states and interstate agencies, political subdivisions, and groups concerned with control of sources of ionizing radiation;
(6)
Have the authority to accept and administer loans, grants, or other funds or gifts, conditional or otherwise, in furtherance of its functions, from the United States Government and from other sources, public or private;
(7)
Encourage, participate in, or conduct studies, investigations, training, research, and demonstrations relating to control of sources of ionizing radiation; and
(8)
Collect and disseminate information relating to control of sources of ionizing radiation, including:
(A)
Maintenance of a file of all license or registration applications, issuances, denials, amendments, transfers, renewals, modifications, suspensions, and revocations;
(B)
Maintenance of a file of general license registrants possessing sources of ionizing radiation requiring registration under this subchapter and any administrative or judicial action pertaining thereto; and
(C)
Maintenance of a file of all rules and regulations relating to regulation of sources of ionizing radiation, pending or promulgated, and proceedings thereon.
(b)
(1)
The State Radiation Control Agency is authorized to acquire by purchase, acceptance, or condemnation, for and on behalf of the State of Arkansas, any lands, buildings, and grounds where radioactive by-products and wastes produced by industrial, medical, agricultural, scientific, or other organizations can be concentrated, stored, or otherwise disposed of in a manner consistent with public health and safety.
(2)
The State Radiation Control Agency may exercise its power to condemn as prescribed by law for condemnation by the Arkansas Department of Transportation in §
27-67-301
et seq.
(3)
The State Radiation Control Agency shall not approve any application for a license to receive radioactive waste from other persons for disposal on land not owned by the state or the United States Government.
(c)
(1)
(A)
For licensed activities involving commercial burial of radioactive waste, the State Radiation Control Agency shall, and for other classes of licensed activity the State Radiation Control Agency may, establish by rule standards and procedures to ensure that the licensee will provide an adequate surety or other financial arrangement to permit the completion of all requirements established by the State Radiation Control Agency for the decontamination, closure, decommissioning, and reclamation of sites, structures, and equipment used in conjunction with such licensed activity, in case the licensee should default for any reason in performing such requirements.
(B)
(i)
All sureties required under subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this section that are forfeited shall be paid to the State Radiation Control Agency for deposit by the Treasurer of State in a special fund called the "Radiation Site Closure and Reclamation Fund".
(ii)
All moneys in the Radiation Site Closure and Reclamation Fund are appropriated to and may be expended by the State Radiation Control Agency as necessary to complete such requirements on which licensees have defaulted.
(iii)
Moneys in the Radiation Site Closure and Reclamation Fund shall not be used for normal operating expenses of the State Radiation Control Agency.
(2)
(A)
The State Radiation Control Agency shall allow the Secretary of the Department of Health or his or her authorized representative to require a licensee to deposit funds on an annual, semiannual, or quarterly basis into a trust fund established for the exclusive purpose set out in this subdivision (c)(2).
(B)
The Perpetual Maintenance Fund shall be defined so as to embrace each of the following:
(i)
A source of revenue to provide for the continuing long-term surveillance, maintenance, and other care of a radioactive waste concentration, storage, and disposal site as described in subsection (b) of this section or a source of revenue to provide for the continuing long-term surveillance, maintenance, and other care of a formerly licensed activity still containing or having associated with it radioactive material, the activity having ceased to operate by reason of default, abandonment, or decommissioning;
(ii)
The Perpetual Maintenance Fund shall have two (2) inputs:
(a)
Fees which are contributed by the lessee or licensee resulting from the operation of concentrating, storing, or disposing of radioactive material as set forth in subsection (b) of this section; and
(b)
(1)
Moneys accrued as interest on a trust fund established by a licensee.
(2)
All trust fund moneys including moneys accrued as interest on the trust fund, shall be automatically transferred to the Perpetual Maintenance Fund in the event of default, abandonment, or decommissioning;
(iii)
Moneys in the Perpetual Maintenance Fund shall be appropriated to the State Radiation Control Agency for use in a way consonant with this subchapter, including such items as long-term site surveillance, maintenance, and other care; and
(iv)
All licensee contributions to the Perpetual Maintenance Fund shall be payable to the secretary and deposited by the Treasurer of State.
(C)
(i)
To provide for the proper care and surveillance of licensed sites subject to subdivision (c)(2)(B)(i) of this section, the state shall have the right to acquire by gift, transfer, purchase, or condemnation from another government agency or private person any lands, buildings, and grounds necessary to fulfill the purposes of this section.
(ii)
Any gift, transfer, purchase, or condemnation shall be subsequently subject to be approved and accepted by the state.
(D)
(i)
The funds required by this subdivision (c)(2) shall be established at such rate that interest on the sum of all funds reasonably anticipated as payable shall provide an annual amount equal to the anticipated reasonable costs necessary to maintain, monitor, and otherwise supervise and care for the lands and facilities as required in the interest of public health and safety.
(ii)
In arriving at the rate of funds to be deposited, the State Radiation Control Agency shall consider the nature of the licensed material, size and type of activity, estimated future receipts, and estimated future expenses of maintenance, monitoring, and supervision.
(E)
(i)
Recognizing that ultimate responsibility to protect the public health and safety must be reposed in a solvent government, without regard to the existence of any particular agency or department, all lands, buildings, and grounds acquired by the state under subdivision (c)(2)(C) of this section shall be owned in fee simple absolute by the state for purposes stated in subdivision (c)(2)(C) of this section.
(ii)
All radioactive material received at the site and located therein at time of acquisition of ownership by the state becomes the property of the state.
(F)
(i)
If a person licensed by any governmental agency other than the State of Arkansas desires to transfer a site to the state for the purpose of administering or providing long-term care, a lump-sum deposit shall be made to a trust fund.
(ii)
The amount of the deposit shall be determined by the secretary, taking into consideration the factors stated in subdivision (c)(2)(D) of this section.
(3)
The sureties or other financial arrangements and funds required by subdivisions (c)(1) and (2) of this section shall be established in amounts sufficient to ensure compliance with those standards, if any, established by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission pertaining to closure, decommissioning, reclamation, and long-term site surveillance and care of such facilities and sites.
(4)
All state, local, or other governmental agencies or subdivisions shall be exempt from the requirements of subdivisions (c)(1) and (2) of this section.
(5)
The State Radiation Control Agency may by contract, agreement, lease, or license with any person, including another state agency, provide for the decontamination, closure, decommissioning, reclamation, surveillance, or other care of a site subject to this subsection as needed to carry out the purposes of this section.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 268,§ 3, eff. 7/28/2021.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 5023, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 5022, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 5021, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 910,§ 5020, eff. 7/1/2019.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 707,§ 61, eff. 8/1/2017.
Acts 1961 (2nd Ex. Sess.), No. 8, § 4; 1969, No. 115, § 1; 1975, No. 382, § 1; 1983, No. 19, §§ 4 [4A], 5; A.S.A. 1947, § 82-1515.