Alliance urges public to watch nuclear waste bill, SB 2037

Senate Bill 2037, which addresses the transportation, storage and disposal of nuclear waste in North Dakota passed the Senate on Feb. 18. It was initially heard by the Joint Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 4, 2019, and several amendments were made before it came to the floor. Now it’s headed to the House. 

Proponents of the bill say it is necessary to clean up outdated language in existing state law, set guidelines and define a process for the state to respond if the federal government ever designates North Dakota as a repository for high-level radioactive waste.

The North Dakota Community Alliance (NDCA), a group of concerned citizens and landowners, is urging the public to pay attention to this bill. Rebecca Leier, a member of the North Dakota Community Alliance, said she is concerned about the “sweeping powers” that would be given to the Industrial Commission with this bill. The alliance prefers that legislators retain oversight. However, Rep. Jon Nelson from Rugby, who is working with alliance members to draft amendments to the bill, said that legislators are not likely to approve that suggestion.

While not something most of us think about every day, the topic of nuclear waste is nothing new. “Last session we introduced a bill to have the local counties involved with radioactive waste coming into our state. It passed the Senate but ran into trouble in the House. The House turned the bill into an interim study, which is where this bill came from,” commented Senator Jerry Klein, Fessenden who represents District 1, which extends into Pierce County.

Much further back than that, in 1979, the Legislative Assembly passed Senate Bill 2214, (Chapter 23-20.2 of the Century Code) which placed the jurisdiction over the storage or disposal of nuclear wastes with the Industrial Commission. At that time, the Industrial Commission maintained authority over drilling, boring, excavating, construction and regulation of radioactive waste facilities to prevent contamination and pollution of surface and ground water sources and the environment. It set a permitting process in place which said that a permit may not be issued until after notice, a hearing and payment of a fee for each permit being considered, and the commission was given the authority to deny the application.

The federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 established a comprehensive national program for the safe, permanent disposal of highly radioactive wastes. The act also set up responsibility for establishing policies that funded and established siting, construction and repository operation schedules while providing reasonable assurance that the public and environment would be adequately protected.

Time went on, with little discussion of the storage or disposal of nuclear waste, until 2016. The Battelle Memorial Institute teamed up with the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) in a federally funded project to determine whether it would be feasible to bury high-level radioactive nuclear waste deep underground.

 The potential site was selected based on a set of criteria including its proximity to active earthquake zones, the presence of solid crystalline rock, and the distance away from oil and gas drilling sites. Incidentally, the selected study site was is Pierce County.

 Problems began when local officials learned about it through an article published in the Bismarck Tribune. The opposition to the project escalated, despite the assurance from officials at the United States Department of Energy that the project didn’t involve nuclear waste but was rather, “all about the science.” Alliance members at the time said they knew the project was just a test but they were looking ahead to what the project meant for Pierce County it the test was successful.

 The officials from the Department of Energy were not able to persuade the 300 persons attending the Pierce County Commission meeting. The commissioners finalized their opposition to the project, saying it came down to a matter of trust. Battelle Memorial Institute withdrew their plans to drill two holes up to five kilometers deep into the granite bedrock after strenuous objections from residents of rural Pierce County. The Pierce County residents say they were afraid the study would open the door to nuclear waste being stored in their county.

 In 2017, the North Dakota Senate Bill 2156 amended Section 23-20.2-09(1) of the Century Code to include: a county’s zoning approval may not preclude the disposal development if approved by the Legislative Assembly, but may regulate the size, scope and location.

Also in 2017, the Joint Energy and Natural Resource Committee began receiving testimony regarding the recommendation of SB 2037.

 Testimony from a representative from the Environmental Health Section of the State Department of Health indicated three types of radioactive material: high-level, low-level and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials, also known as TENORM.

 According to the testimony, North Dakota does not have any authority or role in regulating high-level radioactive materials because that regulatory authority belongs to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC.) The NRC regulates the production of radioactive source materials, nuclear reactors, nuclear materials, and radioactive waste, and also licenses high-level radioactive waste repositories.

The NRC doesn’t stand alone in their responsibility. The Department of Energy is responsible for designing, constructing, operating and decommissioning permanent disposal facilities for high-level radioactive waste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency developed standards for the protection of the general environment from offsite releases of radioactive material in repositories.

North Dakota generates about 12 to 14 tons of TENORM per quarter, presumably from the oil and gas industries. This waste is tracked according to state regulations, but the state does not generate high-level radioactive materials. In order to manage the disposal of such waste, North Dakota is a member of a four state compact (which also includes South Dakota, Arizona, and California), and works with a site located in Texas which accepts low-level waste on an annual basis.

The North Dakota Association of Counties made testimony regarding local input and location of high-level radioactive waste material deposits in the state and indicated local input and control is critical to this exceptionally sensitive area. According to the testimony, North Dakota counties were not prepared in 2016.

SB 2037 has moved through the Senate Joint Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has passed the Senate and will now be heard in the North Dakota House of Representatives in March. This bill will establish state-wide permitting procedures and a disapproval process for private companies and the Department of Energy by seeking future exploration, study and engagement in storage and disposal of high-level radioactive waste in the state of North Dakota.

NDCA supports the proposed amendments to the bill that passed the Senate. These amendments include increased bond requirements and permitting fees, increased landowner notification and increased time for a comment period. It also includes the submission of a position paper from county governments and the creation of a High-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Council, which would be comprised of a cross section of legislators and experts from across the state.

Information about the bill, amendments, time and dates of committee hearings for the bill are available on the North Dakota Community Alliance Facebook page, website and the North Dakota Legislature website.