WSPC04707 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

O[~897 " There will be heavy pressure to aI/ow the import oj radiolUtive wastes Jrom outside the region to allY site we aI/ow to be built here. ~ ..-- , "- 8 ~"?~~ ",-'--. - ,~ . '-----:::.-0--- -, The Radioactive Road ~o Richland RADIOACTIVE WASfE FRO~ COLORADO may soon be on its way 10 a final rest~ iog place in Richland, Washingion. That's what will happen if the State of Colo- rado and Denver-based Rocky Mountain Low- By ROSS VINCENT Ch"pl~r Via--Cmlr (and. manbcr 01 Slt;11lI Oub's ~rW l-iu.an:b.l.\ MaIen.llsComrmuu i11doCGov. RomtI'5 lDw.~dR.>dio.octivt:WI9.l.Adv1sory~) Level Radioactive Waste Board (RMLRWB) have their way. The RM~WB consists of represematives from Colorado, i'o:evada, New ~exico and Wyoming who have fonned the Rocky Moun- tain Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compacl. It is now considering emering into a cOnlract with ItS CDUnlerpan in the northwest, the Northwest Low.Level Radioactive Waste Com- pact Commillee, 10 authorize the shipment or all "low-lever radioactive waste generated in our four slale area to Rich]and, Washington for uhimale disposal. The agreement raises serious policy ques- lions - and poses a significant dilemma - for Coloradans, especially for those of us in south~ ern Colorado and other rural areas lhat are the targets of radioactive waste disposal schemes. H Ihis proposal is approved, we may well be off the hook. Obviously; eastern Washington is not. Without some kind of arrangement like this proposal. some small and unwilling Co]o- rado community will almost certainly be forced to accept a radioactive waste dump in the ncar fUlure, or face Ihe prospect of fighting, and probably losing, a lega] baule. Because of fed- eral and state law, that is what will happen if this contract, or something very much like it, is not approved. The U.S. Congress adopted the federal low- level Radioactive Waste Policy Act Amend- ments, which resulted in shifting responsibility for dealing with low-level radioactive wastes from the waste. makers - where the responsi- bility clearly belongs - to the states. This fed- eral statute authorizes and encourages states to form regional interstate compacts to locate dis- posal sites for "low-level radioactive waste.~ (This is a legal term, not a scientific one.) States which fail to join in a compact or find some acceptable way to deal with wasle gener- ated within their borders are forced by federal law to assume title to and liabilit)' for an)' such waste. Because Colorado generators produce about three-quarters of the relatively small amount of1hese wastes generated in our four. state region, we are the state that would logi- cally be expected to supply the disposal site. That siting process would be a divisive politica] nightmare. Even worse, this region does not generate enough of these wastes to make such a facility economically attractive to the big waste disposal firms or waste generators. In order to allow radioactive waste genera- tors and disposers to take advantage of econo- mies of scale, there will be heavy pressure to allow, even encourage, the import of radioac- tive wastes from outside the four-slate compact region to any site we allow to be built here. Our site would certainly become at least a ma- jor regional facility, and quite possibly the new national radioactive waste disposal site. These unpleasant prospects prompted Go....ernor Romer and his staff to look for alternatives. This proposed contract is the result. The idea of shipping hazardous wastes over long distances for disposal in someone elses backyard presents moral and ethical questions. It inevitably results in increased risk to public health and the environment, and imposes those risks on people who have derived linle or no benefit from their generation. Yet the governor of Washington supports the idea, apparently because he believes it will strengthen the fed. era] compact process and help to counter mounting pressure on Congress to repeal or alter the federal law. If Congress we~ to change the law, the already existing site in his state could become a national disposal site by default. It seems clear that the impetus for the conlract is pushing both compact regions to.- ward approval withoUl a clear understanding of all the legal, political and environmental impli- cations of approval. There could be a benefit, however, from a detailed analysis and disclosure that appears to be a necessary requirement under the National En....ironmental Policy Act (NEPA), that is, an En....ironmentallmpact Statement subject to public scrutiny. The RMLRWB met in Denver on December 20th to review this proposed contract but did not approve it at that meeting. The record is still open for comments. Action is expected b)' early February, Chances are there will be no further notices of hearings by the R~ILR\VB. Copies of the proposed contract can be obtained from their Dem'er office at 1675 Broadway #400, Den....er, 80202. Their phone number is 303-825-1912. Call the office during business hours 10 ask for a copy of the contract and to be placed on their mailing list for future notices, Ask how to go aboUl submiuing written or oral comments on this contract. If you run into trouble, or if you submit comments, please let me know. Ross Vincent, P.O. Box 4375, Pueblo, CO SIDO}, (719) 561-}117,' PAGE 4 Feb. - Mar. 1991 PEAK & PRAIRIE