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Interregional Cooperation
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The Midwest Compact
Commission regularly interacts
with other compacts and
states. Among the notable
activities and actions involving
other compacts and states
were the following:
The Commission continues to
participate actively in the
Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Forum (LLW Forum). The
LLW Forum is a national association
of representatives of
compacts, host states, unaffiliated
states, and states with
currently operating disposal
facilities, established to facilitate
the implementation of the
1985 Low-Level Radioactive
Waste Amendments Act. The
LLW Forum provides an
opportunity for compacts and
states to share information
and exchange views with officials
of federal agencies and
other interested parties. LLW
Forum participants also serve
as liaisons to other entities,
including the Conference of
State Radiation Control
Program Directors, the Conference
of State Legislatures,
and the Federal Facility
Compliance Act Task Force.
The Commission is represented
on the LLW Forum by its
Chair and Vice Chair.
During FY 98, the LLW Forum
was instrumental in the development
and adoption of the
uniform application of manifesting
procedures.
For a portion of the period,
Gregg Larson, former
Executive Director of the
Commission, served as
Convenor.
Midwest Compact region generators
have access to the
Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc.,
disposal facility in Barnwell,
South Carolina. The Barnwell
disposal facility is a full-service
disposal facility capable of
accepting Class A, B, and C
low-level radioactive waste.
There is no physical constraint
on continued acceptance of
waste at the facility. The current
operating license covers
enough remaining land to
accommodate at least twenty
more years of operation at current
disposal rates. An equivalent
amount of additional land
is available at the Barnwell
site, but is not included under
the present license.
South Carolina law imposes a
surcharge on disposal of low-level
radioactive waste at
Barnwell. The continued availability
of the Barnwell site to
Midwest Compact generators is
uncertain, and may be clarified
in FY 99.
In addition to Barnwell, generators
also have access to the
Envirocare of Utah, Inc., disposal
facility in Clive, Utah.
The Envirocare facility generally
accepts high volume, low
activity Class A waste that
does not exceed license limitations
on radionuclide concentrations.
Envirocare has over
300 million cubic feet of
unused capacity.
It is uncertain how long existing
disposal facilities in South
Carolina or Utah may be willing
or able to accept low-level
radioactive waste. If access to
these facilities were to be lost,
temporary waste storage by
generators would be necessary
during the interval of time
needed to secure or develop
disposal facilities elsewhere.
Although undesirable from a
waste management standpoint,
most utilities and large waste
generators have sufficient storage
capacity for periods of
time ranging from five to ten
years. Smaller generators may
also have similar waste storage
capacity, or could rely on vendors
for storage needs.
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P.O. Box 2659
Madison, WI 53701-2659
Phone: (608) 267-4793
FAX: (608) 267-4799
mwllrcw@midwestcompact.org