Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 336 - RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCE RULES › Subchapter I - COMPACT WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY APPLICATION SELECTION PROCESS › Section 336.808 - Ownership of Land and Buildings

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) A
				  license application to receive, possess, and dispose of low-level radioactive
				  waste from others at the compact waste disposal facility may not be considered
				  administratively complete unless the applicant has acquired the title to and
				  any interest in land and buildings on which the facility or facilities are to
				  be located. Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of this section or for
				  land and buildings already owned in fee by the state or federal government, the
				  applicant must demonstrate ownership of an undivided interest in fee simple
				  title of the land and buildings, including the surface and mineral estates, on
				  which the land disposal facility or facilities are to be located.
(b) If an applicant is unsuccessful in
				  acquiring undivided ownership of the mineral estate in fee simple of the land
				  on which the facility or facilities are proposed to be located, the applicant
				  may, to the extent permissible under federal law, request an exemption of the
				  requirement under §
										336.5 of
				  this title (relating to Exemptions). The application for exemption must be
				  submitted with the license application in order to satisfy the requirements of
				  the administrative review of the application. In addition to the requirements
				  of §
										336.5 of
				  this title, the applicant must demonstrate that the surface use agreement is
				  permissible under federal law and consistent with the
Agreement Between
				  the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission And the State of Texas for
				  Discontinuance of Certain Commission Regulatory Authority and Responsibility
				  within the State Pursuant to Section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of
				  1954,
as amended. If the requirement of ownership of the mineral
				  estate in fee simple title is exempted under this subsection, the applicant
				  must have entered into a surface use agreement that restricts access to natural
				  resources, including slant drilling and subsurface mining, to the extent
				  necessary to prevent intrusion into the site. The surface use agreement shall
				  prohibit the use of the surface in the development and access of the natural
				  resources in perpetuity by the owner of the mineral estate, heirs, and
				  successors and shall be assigned to and be enforceable by the state or federal
				  government upon conveyance of the property under §
										336.710(2)
				  of this title (relating to Institutional Information).
(c) If an applicant cannot reach a surface
				  use agreement and cannot otherwise obtain fee simple title to the mineral
				  estate of the land on which the facility or facilities are proposed to be
				  located, the applicant may petition the commission under §
										1.8 of
				  this title (relating to Initiation of Proceeding) to request the attorney
				  general to institute condemnation proceedings as provided under Texas Property
				  Code, Chapter 21, to acquire fee simple interest in the mineral rights. The
				  petition to request initiation of condemnation proceedings shall include a
				  description of the communications between the applicant and the mineral estate
				  interest owner, a demonstration of the applicant's good faith effort to acquire
				  the mineral rights or to enter into a surface use agreement as provided in
				  subsection (b) of this section, an appraisal of the fair market value of the
				  mineral interest, a demonstration that the petitioner's application has been
				  selected as the application with the highest technical merit under §
										336.813(d)
				  of this title (relating to Evaluation of Applications), and a demonstration by
				  the applicant of the ability to pay for all costs in obtaining the mineral
				  interests in condemnation proceedings, including legal fees. The applicant
				  shall provide a copy of the petition under this subsection to the owner of the
				  mineral interest. If the petition is granted and the commission requests the
				  attorney general to initiate condemnation proceedings, the applicant shall pay
				  for all costs incurred by the commission in the process of obtaining the
				  mineral interests, whether or not the mineral interests are successfully
				  condemned.