2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 25 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT (§§ 25-1-101 — 25-59-106) › ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL (§§ 25-6.5-101 — 25-18.9-105) › Article 11 - RADIATION CONTROL (§§ 25-11-101 — 25-11-305) › Part 2 - URANIUM OR THORIUM FACILITIES (§§ 25-11-201 — 25-11-203) › Section 25-11-203 - Approval of facilities, sites, and shipments for disposal of radioactive waste

(1)
(a)
No facility shall be constructed or site approved for the disposal of radioactive waste originating or used outside Colorado unless such facility or site has been approved as provided in subsection (3) of this section.
(b)
(I)
A facility shall not dispose of or receive for storage incident to disposal or processing at the facility radioactive material, except for nonprocessing operational purposes such as radioactive standards, samples for analysis, or materials contained in fixed or portable gauges, unless the facility has received a license, a five-year license renewal, or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt of radioactive material, in accordance with sections
24-4-104
to
24-4-105
, C.R.S., for such receipt, storage, processing, or disposal of radioactive material and the license, license renewal, or license amendment approves that type of activity.
(II)
Nothing in this paragraph (b) applies to a contract for the storage, processing, or disposal of less than the sum of one hundred ten tons of radioactive material per source or to a contract for a bench-scale or a pilot-scale testing project or a contract for less than a de minimis amount of radioactive material as determined by the department for storage, processing, or disposal.
(III)
License amendments for the receipt of radioactive material at a facility are subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section except when the material is from an approved source and the amendment would not result in a change in ownership, design, or operation of the facility. License amendments not subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section are subject to subsection (4) of this section.
(2)
(a)
Any person desiring to have a facility or site referred to in subsection (1) of this section approved shall apply to the department of public health and environment for approval of such facility or site. The application shall contain such information as the department requires and shall be accompanied by an application fee determined by the board pursuant to the provisions of part 1 of this article.
(b)
In addition to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2), each proposed license, five-year license renewal, or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt of any radioactive material must include a written application to the department and information relevant to the pending application, including:
(I)
Transcripts of two public meetings hosted and presided over by a person selected upon agreement by the department, the board of county commissioners of the county where the facility is located, and the applicant. The applicant shall pay the reasonable, necessary, and documented expense of the meetings. The meetings shall not be held until the department determines that the application is substantially complete. The applicant shall provide the public with:
(A)
Pursuant to part 1 of article
70
of title
24
, C.R.S., at least two weeks' written notice before the first meeting and an additional two weeks' written notice before the second meeting;
(B)
At both meetings, summaries of the facility's license to receive, store, process, or dispose of the radioactive material and the nature of the radioactive material, and an opportunity to be heard; and
(C)
Access to make copies of a transcript of the meetings, and shall provide an electronic copy to the department in a manner that allows posting on the department's website within ten days after receipt from the transcription service.
(II)
An environmental assessment as defined in paragraph (c) of this subsection (2);
(III)
A response, if any, to the environmental assessment written by the board of county commissioners of the county in which the radioactive material is proposed to be received for storage, processing, or disposal at a facility and provided to the facility within ninety days after the first public meeting. Upon request of and documentation of the expenditure by the board, the applicant shall provide the board with up to fifty thousand dollars, as adjusted for inflation since 2003, which is available to the board for the reasonable and necessary expenses during the pendency of the application to assist the board in responding to the application, including to pay for an independent environmental analysis by a disinterested party with appropriate environmental expertise to assist the board in preparing its response. The board's response may consider whether the approval of the license, five-year license renewal, or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt or disposal of the radioactive material will present any substantial adverse impact upon the safety or maintenance of transportation infrastructure or transportation facilities within the county.
(c)
As used in paragraph (b) of this subsection (2), "environmental assessment" means a report and assessment submitted to the department by a facility upon and in connection with application for a license, a five-year license renewal, or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt of radioactive material, proposing to receive any radioactive material for storage, processing, or disposal at a facility that addresses the impacts of the receipt for storage, processing, or disposal of the radioactive material. The environmental assessment shall contain all information deemed necessary by the department, and shall include, at a minimum:
(I)
The identification of the types of radioactive material to be received, stored, processed, or disposed of;
(II)
A representative presentation of the physical, chemical, and radiological properties of the type of radioactive material to be received, stored, processed, or disposed of;
(III)
An evaluation of the short-term and long-range environmental impacts of such receipt, storage, processing, or disposal;
(IV)
An assessment of the radiological and nonradiological impacts to the public health from the application;
(V)
Any facility-related impact on any waterway and groundwater from the application;
(VI)
An analysis of the environmental, economic, social, technical, and other benefits of the proposed application against environmental costs and social effects while considering available alternatives;
(VII)
A list of all material violations of local, state, or federal law at the facility since the submittal date of the previous license application or license renewal application;
(VIII)
For an application for a license or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt of the radioactive material for storage, processing, or disposal at the facility, a demonstration that:
(A)
There are no outstanding material violations of any state or federal statutes, compliance orders, or court orders applicable to the facility, and any releases giving rise to any such violation have been remediated;
(B)
The operator, after a good-faith review of the facility and its operations, is not aware of any current license violation at the facility;
(C)
There are no current releases to the air, ground, surface water, or groundwater that exceed permitted limits; and
(D)
No conditions exist at the facility that would prevent the department of energy's receipt of title to the facility pursuant to the federal "Atomic Energy Act of 1954",
42 U.S.C. sec. 2113
;
(IX)
A list of all necessary permits and any changes to local land use ordinances that are needed to construct or operate the facility; and
(X)
For sites or facilities placed on the national priority list pursuant to the federal "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980",
42 U.S.C. sec. 9605
, a copy of the most recent five-year review and any associated updates that have been issued by the United States environmental protection agency.
(3)
(a)
Upon receipt of an application or notice as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the department of public health and environment shall notify the public and forward a copy of the application or notice to the governor and the general assembly, as appropriate.
(b)
(I)
No facility or site referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section shall be constructed or approved by the department of public health and environment unless the governor and the general assembly have approved such facility or site.
(II)
The governor and the general assembly, in making their determination, shall consider criteria developed by the department of public health and environment for disposal of radioactive wastes pursuant to section
25-11-103(3)
in approving or disapproving the proposed facility or site.
(c)
(I)
In deciding whether to approve a license, five-year license renewal, or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt of radioactive material, the department shall consider the transcripts of the public meetings held pursuant to subparagraph (I) of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section, the facility's license, any environmental assessment or analysis performed pursuant to this section, the facility's compliance with the financial assurance requirements of section
25-11-110
, and the board of county commissioners' response to the environmental assessment prepared pursuant to subparagraph (III) of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section. The department shall deny or approve the application as a whole.
(II)
The department may order reasonable mitigation measures to address any substantial adverse impacts to public health or the environment or transportation infrastructure or transportation facilities within the county attributable solely to approval of the license, five-year license renewal, or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt of the radioactive material.
(III)
The applicant shall demonstrate that if the license, five-year license renewal, or license amendment pertaining to the facility's receipt of the radioactive material is approved, then the receipt, storage, processing, and disposal of radioactive material will:
(A)
Be conducted such that the exposures to workers and the public are within the dose limits of part 4 of the department's rules pertaining to radiation control for workers and the public;
(B)
Not cause releases to the air, ground, or surface or groundwater that exceed permitted limits; and
(C)
Not prevent transfer of the facility to the United States in accordance with
42 U.S.C. sec. 2113
upon completion of decontamination, decommissioning, and reclamation of the facility.
(IV)
No facility may be permitted as a hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility under part 3 of article
15
of this title.
(V)
(A)
The department shall publish a determination as to whether an application submitted pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section is substantially complete within forty-five days after receipt of the application.
(B)
The department shall convene the first public meeting required by subparagraph (I) of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section within forty-five days after publication of its determination that the application is substantially complete. The department shall convene the second such public meeting within thirty days after giving public notice of a draft decision as described in sub-subparagraph (C) of this subparagraph (V).
(C)
The department shall initiate a final public comment process by posting on the department's website an initial draft decision to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application submitted under paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section, along with all required final technical and environmental impact analyses conducted by the department, all requests from the department seeking information from the applicant, all of the applicant's responses, all public comments, a draft license for any proposed approval, and any additional information that may assist the public review of the department's draft decision.
(D)
After review of all final public comments, the department shall issue a final draft decision and provide affected parties, including the applicant in the case of approval with conditions or denial, an opportunity to request an adjudicatory hearing in accordance with section
24-4-105
, C.R.S. If no party seeks a hearing, the final draft decision becomes final agency action. If any party seeks a hearing, resolution of all material issues of fact, law, or discretion presented by the record and the appropriate order, sanction, relief, or denial of the material issues must be through an initial decision of a hearing officer or administrative law judge. The applicant shall pay all reasonable, necessary, and documented expenses of the hearing. Upon issuance of the initial decision of the hearing officer or administrative law judge, and after any allowable appeal to the executive director, the department shall issue within a reasonable time a final decision to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application. The final decision is subject to judicial review pursuant to section
24-4-106
, C.R.S.
(4)
(a)
(I)
At least ninety days before a facility proposes to receive, store, process, or dispose of radioactive material in a license application or amendment that is not subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section and for which a material acceptance report has not already been filed with the department, the facility shall notify the department, and the department shall notify the public and the board of county commissioners of the county in which the facility is located, of the specific radioactive material to be received, stored, processed, or disposed of. The notice must include:
(A)
A representative analysis of the physical, chemical, and radiological properties of the radioactive material;
(B)
The material acceptance report that demonstrates that the radioactive material does not contain hazardous waste characteristics not found in uranium ore;
(C)
A detailed plan for transport, acceptance, storage, handling, processing, and disposal of the material;
(D)
A demonstration that the material contains technically and economically recoverable uranium, without taking into account its value as disposal material;
(E)
The existing location of the radioactive material;
(F)
The history of the radioactive material;
(G)
A written statement by the applicant describing any preexisting regulatory classification of the radioactive material in the state of origin that describes all steps taken by the applicant to identify the classification;
(H)
A written statement from the United States department of energy or successor agency that the receipt, storage, processing, or disposal of the radioactive material at the facility will not adversely affect the department of energy's receipt of title to the facility pursuant to the federal "Atomic Energy Act of 1954 ",
42 U.S.C. sec. 2113
;
(I)
Documentation showing any necessary approvals of the United States environmental protection agency; and
(J)
An environmental assessment as defined in paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section, which may incorporate by reference relevant information contained in an environmental assessment previously submitted for the facility.
(II)
For radioactive material that would otherwise be subject to the "Low-level Radioactive Waste Act", part 22 of article
60
of title
24
, C.R.S., the facility's notice must also include written documentation that the Rocky Mountain low-level radioactive waste board has been notified that the radioactive material is being considered for disposal in the subject facility.
(b)
Within thirty days after the department's receipt of notice pursuant to subparagraph (I) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (4), the department shall determine whether the notice is complete.
(c)
Once the department determines that the notice is complete, the department shall publish the notice on its website and provide a sixty-day public comment period for the receipt of written comments concerning the notice. A public hearing may be held, at the department's discretion, at the operator's expense.
(d)
Within thirty days after the close of the written public comment period provided by paragraph (c) of this subsection (4), the department shall approve, approve with conditions, or deny the receipt, storage, processing, or disposal as described in the notice based on whether the material proposed for receipt, storage, processing, or disposal at the facility complies with the facility's license and meets the standards established pursuant to subparagraph (III) of paragraph (c) of subsection (3) of this section.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 79,§ 8, eff. 8/5/2015.
Amended by 2014 Ch. 327,§ 3, eff. 8/6/2014.
L. 79: Entire part added, p. 1067, § 8, effective July 1. L. 94: (2) and (3) amended, p. 2791, § 527, effective July 1. L. 97: (3)(b) amended, p. 1023, § 44, effective August 6. L. 2002: Entire section amended, p. 231, § 2, effective April 5. L. 2003: (1)(b), (2)(b), (2)(c), and (3)(c) amended and (4) added, p. 2190, § 2, effective June 3. L. 2010: (1)(b)(III), (2)(b)(I)(C), (3)(a), (3)(c)(V), and (4) amended and (2)(c)(VII), (2)(c)(VIII), (2)(c)(IX), and (2)(c)(X) added, (HB 10-1348), ch. 388, pp. 1820, 1823, §§ 5, 6, effective June 8. L. 2014: IP(2)(b), IP(2)(b)(I), (2)(b)(III), (3)(c)(V)(B), and (3)(c)(V)(C) amended and (3)(c)(V)(D) added, (SB 14-192), ch. 327, p. 1445, § 3, effective August 6. L. 2015: (1)(b), IP(2)(b), (2)(b)(I)(B), (2)(b)(III), IP(2)(c), (2)(c)(I), (2)(c)(II), IP(2)(c)(VIII), (3)(c)(I), (3)(c)(II), IP(3)(c)(III), (3)(c)(V)(D), and (4)(a) amended, (HB 15-1145), ch. 79, p. 224, § 8, effective August 5.
For the legislative declaration contained in the 1994 act amending subsections (2) and (3), see section 1 of chapter 345, Session Laws of Colorado 1994.