[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 64 (Thursday, May 9, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4893-S4895]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE POLICY ACT

  Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I want to speak about a matter that 
affects my State of South Dakota, but also several States, including 
California. We are part of a compact under the Low-Level Radioactive 
Waste Policy Act. Governor Wilson of California, and Governor Janklow 
of my State, have had a very difficult time with the Secretary of the 
Interior on this matter.
  The original Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act gave the States 
the responsibility of developing permanent repositories for this 
Nation's low-level nuclear waste. Now the Clinton administration wants 
to take away that authority.
  For 8 years, South Dakota, as a member of the Southwestern Compact, 
along with North Dakota, Arizona, and California, has worked to fulfill 
its duties to license a storage site. It did the job.

  Ward Valley, CA, is the first low-level waste site to be licensed in 
the Nation. After countless scientific and environmental studies and 
tests, the State of California and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
approved Ward Valley as a safe and effective place to store the 
Southwestern Compact's low-level radioactive waste.
  However, there is one problem. Ward Valley is Federal land. It is 
managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The Southwestern Compact has 
requested that Ward Valley be transferred to the State of California. 
The Clinton administration refuses to take action. Instead, it has 
stalled again and again and again.
  I spoke with the chairman of the Energy Committee, Senator Murkowski, 
about this matter. He has introduced legislation to resolve the matter. 
But this is a tragic example of where the Secretary of the Interior for 
some reason is thwarting the intent of Congress and the intent of 
Governors of the States in the Southwestern Compact.
  Mr. President, the reason behind all this is that the extreme 
environmentalists do not want to store radioactive waste anywhere 
because of their antinuclear agenda. But strangely enough, this type of 
low-level radioactive waste has been used in medical treatments and 
other areas to benefit humanity. I find this a very tragic situation. 
The Secretary of the Interior is cooperating with the extreme 
environmentalists against the public interest.
  Nobody seems to know what is going on. What has the Secretary of the 
Interior done? He has stalled. First, he has

[[Page S4894]]

ordered a supplemental environmental impact statement. Then he ordered 
the National Academy of Sciences to perform a special report on the 
suitability of Ward Valley for waste storage. Each study presented the 
Southwestern Compact with a clean bill of health for Ward Valley, yet 
the administration still delays.
  Now the administration has ordered additional studies on the effects 
of tritium, studies the State of California already intended to 
perform, but not until a land transfer was complete. Also, I should 
note the National Academy of Sciences made no mention that such a study 
should be a prerequisite to this land transfer.
  Instead, the Academy believes this type of study should be ongoing, 
conducted in conjunction with the operation of the waste storage 
facility. Unfortunately, I suspect that even if California gives in to 
demands and performs these tests, the administration will think of new 
demands--anything to keep the Ward Valley waste site from becoming a 
reality.
  Who really benefits from these delays? No one. This is yet one more 
example of the Clinton administration's pandering to the environmental 
extremists, extremists intent on waging a war on the West and on the 
American people.
  Scientific evidence shows that Ward Valley is a safe location for 
low-level radioactive waste storage. Neither public health nor the 
environment will be at risk. In fact, most of the waste to be stored at 
Ward Valley is nothing more than hospital gloves and other supplies 
which may have come into contact with radioactive elements used by 
health care providers.
  By contrast, continued delays create risks both to public health and 
the environment. Currently, low-level waste is simply stored on site at 
hospitals, industries, or research institutions. In the four States of 
the Southwestern Compact, there are over 800 low-level radioactive 
waste sites. These sites were not meant to be permanent facilities. 
Thus, there have been no environmental studies, no long-term monitoring 
systems, nothing to guarantee safe storage of the waste.
  With no regional low-level radioactive waste sites available, South 
Dakota would be forced to transport its low-level radioactive waste 
across the country to a disposal facility in Barnwell, SC. Clearly, the 
costs of transporting this waste across the country would be great, 
from the monetary cost to the waste generators, to the legal 
ramifications, to transporting hazardous waste, to the potential 
Superfund liability incurred by the State and the generators.
  This is far too costly a price, one my State cannot continue to bear. 
That is why, Mr. President, I am a cosponsor of legislation pending in 
the Senate to convey Ward Valley to the State of California and to 
allow the construction of the Ward Valley low-level radioactive waste 
site to continue unimpeded. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee voted in favor of this bill.
  This legislation is ready for Senate action. This legislation is 
necessary only because politics got in the way of good science. 
Transferring lands such as Ward Valley is a common procedure for the 
administration. However, because of a political fight waged by 
environmental extremists, this conveyance has been held up for more 
than 2 years. This fight, this continued delay, will continue unless 
Congress acts.
  We have the opportunity to institute a rational approach to this 
process. By approving this legislation, we can allow the Southwestern 
Compact and the rest of the States to comply with the law we created. I 
urge my colleagues to support this legislation and to allow good 
science to prevail rather than politics.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that correspondence between 
Gov. Pete Wilson of California and South Dakota Governor Janklow 
regarding the Ward Valley low-level radioactive waste storage site be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                        State of South Dakota,

                                        Pierre, SD, April 2, 1996.
     Hon. Pete Wilson,
     Governor, State of California, State Capitol, Sacramento, CA.
       Dear Governor Wilson: Thank you for your letter concerning 
     the Southwestern Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact 
     and the site of the facility in Ward Valley. While the site 
     in Ward Valley is currently owned by the federal Bureau of 
     Land Management, the bureau has for about 10 years declared 
     its intent to sell to California.
       I, too, am concerned and upset with the continuing needless 
     delays imposed by the U.S. Department of Interior on the Ward 
     Valley land transfer. California has made tremendous efforts 
     attempting to comply with the federal Low-Level Radioactive 
     Waste Disposal Act and its Amendments. While these efforts 
     have resulted in the issuance of the first license to 
     construct a new low-level disposal site in this nation's 
     recent history, implementation of this license has been set 
     back again and again by the federal government. If these 
     delays cause our generators within the Southwestern Compact 
     to ship wastes across the United States to Barnwell, South 
     Carolina for disposal, I fully agree that the federal 
     government must comply with those stipulations you set forth 
     in your letter.
       Study after study has shown the proposed facility in Ward 
     Valley to be protective of human health and environmentally 
     safe. The US Congress had it right the first time; the 
     Southwestern Compact can solve the problem of disposal of the 
     low-level radioactive wastes generated within its states. 
     But, we can do it only if the federal government will 
     transfer the site and let us get on with it.
       While I agree that the latest actions of the US Department 
     of the Interior appear to confirm the notion that the Clinton 
     Administration is trying to usurp the states' duly delegated 
     power to regulate low-level waste disposal, I am still hoping 
     the transfer can occur soon. If the delays by the Department 
     of the Interior were to result in repeal of the Low-Level 
     Radioactive Waste Disposal Act and place the responsibility 
     for trying to manage this problem on the federal government, 
     that would be a huge step backwards.
       Thank you again for your letter and for your efforts on 
     behalf of the entire state of California and the other states 
     in the Southwestern Compact to develop a responsible and safe 
     disposal site for low-level waste.
           Sincerely,
                                               William J. Janklow,
     Governor.
                                                                    ____



                                         Governor Pete Wilson,

                                Sacramento, CA, February 16, 1996.
     Hon. William J. Janklow,
     Governor, State of South Dakota, 500 East Capitol Avenue, 
         Pierre, SD 85007
       Dear Bill: As the host state for the Southwestern Low-Level 
     Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact, California has labored 
     diligently for ten years to establish a regional disposal 
     facility in accordance with the federal Low-Level Radioactive 
     Waste (LLRW) Policy Act. This facility would serve generators 
     of LLRW in your state and the other compact states. In the 
     absence of this facility, these generators have no assured 
     place to dispose of their LLRW.
       To fulfill its obligations, California carefully screened 
     the entire state for potential sites, evaluated candidate 
     sites and selected Ward Valley from those candidates as the 
     best site in California for the regional disposal facility. 
     Although the site is on federal land, the Bureau of Land 
     Management has for about ten years now declared its intent to 
     sell it to California. We identified a qualified commercial 
     operator to apply for a license to construct and operate a 
     facility at that site, and took steps to acquire this land 
     from the federal government. We subjected the application for 
     the license to a scrupulous review to ensure that the 
     facility would satisfy in every respect the health and safety 
     requirements established by the Nuclear Regulatory 
     Commission.
       A comprehensive Environmental Impact Report was prepared 
     for the project, and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
     and Supplemental EIS were prepared for the land transfer. We 
     subsequently became the first state to license a regional 
     disposal facility under the LLRW Policy Act, and have 
     successfully concluded our defense of the license and related 
     environmental documents in the state courts. In short, 
     California has in good faith done all it can to fulfill its 
     obligations to your state under the Compact and federal law.
       The sole obstacle to the completion of this project is the 
     failure of the U.S. Department of the Interior to transfer 
     the Ward Valley site to California. After abruptly cancelling 
     the agreed-to transfer almost completed by former Secretary 
     Manuel Lujan, Interior Secretary Babbitt has created a series 
     of procedural delays ostensibly based upon this own health 
     and safety concerns. He demanded a public hearing, then 
     abruptly cancelled it. He asked the National Academy of 
     Sciences (NAS) to review site opponents' claims, then ignored 
     NAS conclusions that these claims are unfounded and that the 
     site is safe. He has unreasonably and unlawfully demanded 
     that California agree to continued Department of the Interior 
     oversight of the project after the transfer. Now, according 
     to the attached press release, he intends to have the 
     Department of Energy conduct independent testing at Ward 
     Valley, and then will require another Supplemental EIS before 
     deciding upon the conditions for transfer.
       Every person and organization which has anxiously followed 
     California's decade-long effort has concluded from this 
     latest set of demands that the Clinton Administration

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     has no intention of transferring land to California for our 
     regional disposal facility. I cannot help but agree. There is 
     no scientific basis for further testing prior to construction 
     or legal requirement for a Supplemental EIS. These demands 
     are purely political, and made for the sole purpose of 
     delaying, if not terminating, the Ward Valley project. It is 
     clear that, once these demands are met, more demands will be 
     made. In short, because President Clinton doesn't trust the 
     states to assume the obligations which Governor Clinton asked 
     Congress to give the states, he has proven that the LLRW 
     Policy Act does not work. Faced with this lack of political 
     will to implement the policy he himself once supported, many 
     now question the wisdom of expending further resources in a 
     futile effort to further that policy.
       The intransigence of the Clinton Administration in 
     connection with the Ward Valley land transfer leaves me few 
     options as Governor of California. The Ward Valley site is 
     clearly the best site in California for LLRW disposal, a fact 
     upon which my predecessor Governor Deukmejian and former 
     President Bush agreed. All other sites, including the 
     alternative site in the Silurian Valley, present potential 
     threats to public safety not found at the Ward Valley site. 
     The Silurian Valley site is also located on federal land, and 
     there is no reason to believe that the Clinton Administration 
     has any greater motivation to transfer that site.
       Consequently, to continue the effort to establish a 
     regional disposal facility, California would need to identify 
     a site on privately-owned land which would be technically 
     inferior to War Valley and would be unlikely to license in 
     accordance with California's and my own uncompromisingly high 
     standards for the protection of public health and safety. For 
     these reasons, I would personally oppose identifying any 
     other potential disposal site in California.
       Therefore, as Governor of California, I am compelled to 
     inform you that, because the Clinton Administration has made 
     compliance with our obligations impossible, California will 
     be unable to provide a regional disposal site for your state 
     and the other states of the Compact during the tenure of this 
     president. California will continue to seek title to the Ward 
     Valley land, but will devote greater resources to a repeal of 
     the LLRW Policy Act, and to the enactment of federal 
     legislation making the federal government responsible for the 
     disposal of LLRW.
       The Department of the Interior has formally announced that 
     California's LLRW generators are not harmed by its 
     interference with the opening of the Ward Valley LLRW 
     disposal facility because they have access to the disposal 
     facility in Barnwell, South Carolina. Given the public safety 
     threat to the good citizens of South Carolina, and the 
     additional costs and exposure to liability to users, I find 
     this suggestion questionable. Nevertheless, in order to make 
     this an even marginally acceptable solution, I am calling 
     upon the federal government to do all of the following:
       Assume responsibility for assuring continued access for all 
     California generators of LLRW to Barnwell;
       Subsidize the amount of any transportation costs to 
     Barnwell which exceed transportation costs to Ward Valley;
       Ensure that California generators obtain any necessary 
     permits for transportation across the United States and to 
     Barnwell;
       Indemnify California generators and transporters for any 
     liability which might result from the necessity to transport 
     California waste from coast to coast; and most importantly,
       Hold California generators, including the University of 
     California and other state entities, harmless form any 
     federal or state cleanup related (Superfund or CERCLA) 
     liability which they might potentially incur as a result of 
     using a waste facility which is on a substantially less 
     protective site than Ward Valley and which has already 
     experienced tritium migration to groundwater.
       If LLRW generators in your state have problems with storage 
     or with use of Barnwell similar to those of California 
     generators, I urge you to join with me in demanding similar 
     relief.
           Sincerely,
     Pete Wilson.

                          ____________________