Published: 2015-07-09
Key Benefits:
The department is designated as the agency responsible for the issuance of licenses. In carrying out its duties under this section, the department may enter into an agreement with the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and other state and local agencies to conduct technical evaluations of license applications prior to issuance of licenses. The agreements shall also include provisions for conducting inspections in accordance with Section 115095.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
The authority of the department to issue licenses pursuant to Section 114990 is not affected by any requirements to conduct studies or planning efforts specified in Section 115005.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
The department shall, for the protection of public health and safety do all of the following:
(a) Develop programs for evaluation of hazards associated with use of sources of ionizing radiation.
(b) Develop programs, with due regard for compatibility with federal programs, for licensing and regulation of byproduct, source, and special nuclear materials, and other radioactive materials.
(c) Except as provided in Section 18930, adopt regulations relating to control of other sources of ionizing radiation.
(d) Issue any regulations that may be necessary in connection with proceedings under Article 4 (commencing with Section 115060).
(e) Collect and disseminate information relating to control of sources of ionizing radiation, including all of the following:
(1) Maintenance of a file of all license applications, issuances, denials, amendments, transfers, renewals, modifications, suspensions, and revocations.
(2) Maintenance of a file of all regulations relating to regulation of sources of ionizing radiation, pending or adopted, and proceedings thereon.
(3) Disseminate information regarding the evaluation of hazards associated with the use of sources of ionizing radiation.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as precluding the Division of Occupational Safety and Health from adopting and enforcing regulations relating to matters within its jurisdiction consistent with, in furtherance of, and designed to implement this chapter and the regulations adopted thereunder.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1) “Generate” means to produce or cause the production of, or to engage in an activity which otherwise results in the creation or increase in the volume of, low-level radioactive waste.
(2) (A) “Generator” means any person who, by his or her actions, or by the actions of his or her agent, employee, or independent contractor, generates low-level radioactive waste in the state.
(B) For purposes of this section, a person who provides for or arranges for the collection, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated by others is a generator only to the extent that his or her actions, or the actions of his or her agent, employee, or independent contractor, generate low-level radioactive waste.
(3) “Person” means an individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity, including any state, interstate, federal, or municipal governmental entity.
(4) “Waste” means material that is not in use and is no longer useful.
(5) “Generator category” includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:
(A) Nuclear powerplants.
(B) Reactor vendors or designers.
(C) Government.
(D) Medicine.
(E) Academia.
(F) Aerospace.
(G) Military.
(H) Research.
(I) Industrial gauges.
(J) Manufacturing.
(6) “Low-level radioactive waste” or “LLRW” has the same meaning as defined in Article 2 of the Southwestern Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact, as set forth in Section 115255.
(7) “Class” means the class of low-level radioactive waste. “Class A”, “class B”, and “class C” waste are those classes defined in Section 61.55 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(8) “Licensed LLRW disposal facility” means any of the three disposal facilities located at Barnwell, South Carolina; Clive, Utah; or Richland, Washington, that exist on January 1, 2003.
(b) The department shall, for the protection of public health and safety maintain a file of each manifest from each generator of LLRW that is sent to a disposal facility or to a facility subject to the Southwestern Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact, as set forth in Article 17 (commencing with Section 115250).
(c) The department shall, for the protection of public health and safety, maintain a file of all LLRW transferred for disposal to a licensed LLRW disposal facility during the reporting period, either directly or through a broker or agent, that shall meet all of the following conditions:
(1) Specify the category of generator, class, quantity by activity, and volume of LLRW, including an estimate of the peak and average quantities in storage, along with the identity of the generator, and the chemical and physical characteristics of that waste, including its half-life, properties, or constituents, and radionuclides present at, or above, the minimum labeling requirements, with their respective concentrations and amounts of radioactivity.
(2) Be updated annually, at minimum, to ensure an accurate and timely depiction of radioactive waste in the state.
(3) Include all of the following information in the file:
(A) The total volume, volume by class, and activity by radionuclide and class.
(B) The types and specifications of individual containers used and the number of each type transferred for disposal.
(C) The maximum surface radiation exposure level on any single container of LLRW transferred, the number of disposal containers that exceed 200 mR/hour, and the volume, class, and activity by radionuclide.
(D) The identification of each licensed LLRW disposal facility to which LLRW was transferred, either directly or through a broker or agent, and the volume and activity by class of LLRW transferred by each broker to each licensed LLRW disposal facility.
(E) The identification of all brokers or agents to which LLRW was transferred and the volume and activity by class of the generator’s LLRW transferred by each broker or agent to each licensed LLRW disposal facility.
(F) The weight of source material by its type. For purposes of this paragraph, “type” includes, but is not limited to, natural uranium, depleted uranium, or thorium.
(G) The total number of grams of special nuclear material by radionuclide, and the maximum number of grams of special nuclear material in any single shipment by radionuclide.
(H) As complete a description as practicable of the principal chemical and physical form of the LLRW by volume and radionuclide, including the identification of any known hazardous properties, other than its radioactive property.
(I) For solidified or sorbed liquids, the nature of the liquid, the solidifying or sorbing agent used, and the final volume.
(J) For LLRW containing more than 0.1 percent by weight chelating agents, the identification of the chelating agent, the volume and weight of the LLRW and the weight percentage of chelating agent.
(K) For LLRW that was treated, either by the generator or its agent or independent contractor, in preparation for transfer to a licensed LLRW disposal facility described in paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) for the purpose of reducing its volume or activity by any method including reduction by storage for decay, or for the purpose of changing its physical or chemical characteristics in a manner other than by solidification or sorption of liquids, the file shall include a description of the treatment process.
(L) The volume, volume by class, and activity by radionuclide and class of that LLRW, if any, that the generator is holding at the end of the annual reporting period because the generator knows or has reason to believe that LLRW will not be accepted for disposal at any of the licensed LLRW disposal facilities. The file shall include a description of this LLRW.
(d) The department shall maintain a file on each generator’s LLRW stored, including specific radionuclides, total volume, volume by class, total activity, and activity by radionuclide and class of LLRW stored for decay and stored for later transfer, including the periods of time for both types of storage.
(e) (1) The department shall prepare an annual report, including a set of tables summarizing data collected from the activities and maintenance of files specified in subdivisions (c) and (d) to the department. These annual data tables shall contain information that summarizes and categorizes, by category, and if applicable, subcategory, of generator and location by county and identity of generator, the nature, characteristics and the total volume, volume by class, total activity and activity by radionuclide and class of LLRW generated, disposed of, treated, transferred, stored for later transfer, and stored for decay during each calendar year.
(2) The department shall note, in the set of tables prepared pursuant to paragraph (1), any generator for which data are lacking.
(f) The department shall make the information described in subdivisions (c) and (d) available to the public in a format that aggregates the information by county. The department shall not make public the identity and location of any site where LLRW is stored or used. The department may combine information from multiple counties if necessary to protect public security. Notwithstanding any other provision of law the department shall not make the report prepared pursuant to subdivision (e) available to the public, and the report is not subject to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 6 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(g) The department may make the information described in subdivisions (c) and (d) available upon request to any Member of the Legislature. No Member of the Legislature may disclose the identity or location of any site where LLRW is stored or used to any member of the general public.
(h) To meet the requirements of this section, each generator shall submit to the department the information included in Forms 540, 541, and 542, and any successor forms, of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, for each LLRW shipment. In addition, for purposes of subparagraph (L) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) and subdivision (d), each generator shall annually complete and submit to the department the information included on Forms 540, 541, and 542, and any successor forms, of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that describe the LLRW stored and shipped by the generator.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 62, Sec. 193. Effective January 1, 2004.)
In addition to the requirements imposed by Section 115000, the department shall develop an overall plan, in consultation with other state, regional, and federal agencies, for the management, treatment, and disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated within California. The plan shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following elements:
(a) Specific contingency plans to address the needs of the state for the short-term storage of low-level radioactive waste in the event of a precipitous closure of existing out-of-state commercial waste disposal facilities and to evaluate feasible alternatives for meeting the state’s needs. This element of the plan shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following factors:
(1) The amount and kinds of low-level radioactive waste generated by California licensees and current disposal locations.
(2) The size and nature of an interim storage facility required to meet California’s interim low-level radioactive waste disposal needs.
(3) The cost of developing and operating an interim storage site by the department or contracting organizations.
(4) Criteria for the siting of an interim storage site, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Proximity to population.
(B) Geologic stability.
(C) Proximity to ground or surface water.
(D) Availability of transportation.
(E) General public health and economic considerations.
This element of the plan shall be completed and submitted to the appropriate committees of each house of the Legislature on or before December 31, 1982.
(b) A classification scheme for the separation of low-level waste that will facilitate the management, treatment, storage, and ultimate disposal of the waste. This classification scheme shall consider the matters as possible de minimis radiation levels for specific radionuclides, the quantity and specific activity of the material, its persistence, toxicity, chemical form, reactivity, and the principal radionuclides present. The classification scheme shall also include the specifications necessary to determine which classes of waste may or may not be accepted for storage in an interim storage facility established pursuant to Section 115045, that may or may not be held by the licensee for decay to specified residual radioactivity levels and that require long-term isolation from the environment, as the case may be, for the protection of the public health and safety. The department may require as a condition of licensure the submission of information necessary to determine the total amount of waste produced in each class of the classification scheme. The department may, by regulation, adopt the classification scheme establishing which wastes may or may not be accepted at an interim storage facility or at a treatment or disposal facility.
This element of the plan shall be completed and submitted to the appropriate committees of each house of the Legislature on or before December 31, 1982.
(c) Siting criteria for potential land burial disposal sites and treatment facilities within the state. In establishing these criteria, the department shall consider the following factors, including, but not limited to:
(1) The present and projected future uses of land, water, and natural resources.
(2) The proximity of the site to major population centers.
(3) The presence of active earthquake faults.
(4) Geologic and other natural barriers that protect against surface or groundwater contamination.
(5) The effectiveness of engineered barriers, waste treatment, and waste packaging in ensuring isolation of the waste from the environment.
(6) Transportation of radioactive materials as it relates to public health and safety.
(7) The relative economic impact of location and operation of treatment or disposal facilities.
This element of the plan shall be completed and submitted to the appropriate committees of each house of the Legislature on or before December 31, 1982.
(d) A plan of action to minimize the environmental, occupational, and public health impact of low-level radioactive waste and to protect the public health and safety by encouraging a reduction in the amount and toxicity of waste produced. This activity shall include conducting or having studies conducted that evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of (1) reducing the volume, reactivity, and chemical and radioactive hazard of the waste, (2) cleaning contaminated, nonactivated metals and other materials to permit their recycle and reuse, and (3) substituting nonradioactive or short-lived radioactive materials for those radionuclides that require long-term isolation from the environment. The results of these studies, along with the departmental recommendations for their implementation, shall be reported by the department to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on or before December 31, 1983.
(e) Within six months after September 28, 1983, the Governor shall direct the appropriate state agency or agencies, as determined by the Governor, to conduct and complete a study that identifies those regions of the state within which it is likely the criteria developed pursuant to subdivision (c) could be met. The state agency or agencies, so directed, may also request, when appropriate, the assistance of state or federal agencies or private organizations.
(Amended by Stats. 2004, Ch. 183, Sec. 228. Effective January 1, 2005.)
(a) The department shall not grant any license to receive radioactive material from other persons for disposal on land unless all of the following requirements are satisfied:
(1) The land on which the radioactive wastes are to be buried is owned by the federal or state government.
(2) The department determines that the site is consistent with the public health and safety.
(3) The applicant for the license will comply with the emergency regulations adopted by the department pursuant to subdivision (b).
(b) Not later than six months after September 28, 1983, the department shall adopt emergency regulations for the licensing of those persons engaged in the disposal of low-level radioactive waste and for implementing this section and Sections 115015, 115020, and 115030.
The emergency regulations shall be consistent with the federal regulations found in Sections 301 through 311, inclusive, of Part 20 of Title 10 and in Part 61 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Federal Register, Vol. 47, No. 28, page 57446, December 27, 1982) and shall be adopted solely for the purposes of clarifying and rendering specific, for application in California, these federal regulations and implementing this section and Sections 115015, 115020, and 115030.
(c) The emergency regulations specified in subdivision (b) shall be adopted by the department in accordance with Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, and for the purposes of that chapter, including Section 11349.6 of the Government Code, the adoption of these regulations is an emergency and shall be considered by the Office of Administrative Law as necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, and general welfare. Notwithstanding Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, any emergency regulations adopted by the department pursuant to this subdivision shall not be repealed by the Office of Administrative Law and shall remain in effect until revised or repealed by the department.
(d) The department may, by emergency regulation adopted in accordance with subdivision (c), establish and collect a fee for the issuance or renewal of a license specified in subdivision (a).
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
The department shall, by regulation, establish and collect a fee for the issuance or renewal of a license to dispose of low-level radioactive waste pursuant to this chapter. The fees collected shall be sufficient to cover the state’s cost in reviewing the application, issuing or renewing the license, and inspecting and conducting oversight of the licensee.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 513, Sec. 3. Effective January 1, 2003.)
The department may limit the number of licenses issued pursuant to Sections 114990, 115010, and 115020 authorizing the receipt of radioactive material from other persons for disposal on land.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
(a) All applicants filing a statement of capabilities and notice of intention to file an application for a license to receive radioactive materials from other persons for disposal on land shall file the statement and notice within three months after the department adopts the emergency regulations specified in subdivision (b) of Section 115010. Within 45 days after the termination of that three-month filing period, the department shall evaluate the statements of capabilities and notices of intent. The director shall determine, within that 45-day period, whether the department has received one or more statements and notices that are likely to result in the filing of an application for a license satisfying the requirements of Section 115010.
(b) If the director determines, within the 45-day period specified in subdivision (a), that the department has received one or more statements of capabilities and notices of intent which are likely to result in the filing of an application for a license, the department shall, within the 45-day period, select one of the applicants who filed the statement of capabilities and notice of intent to file a license application as a license designee.
(c) The department shall adopt emergency regulations establishing procedures for the review and evaluation of the statements of capabilities and notices of intent, as specified in subdivision (a), and for the selection of a license designee, as specified in subdivision (b). These emergency regulations shall be adopted by the department in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 115010 and shall include procedures for soliciting, evaluating, ranking, and designating license designees and for selecting alternative license designees based upon the ranking.
(d) The department may solicit additional statements of capabilities and notices of intent if a license designee withdraws or becomes ineligible for licensing, or if a license is issued and is then suspended, revoked, or terminated.
(e) The department may, by emergency regulations adopted in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 115010, establish and collect a fee for filing a statement of capabilities and notice of intent.
(f) The department may require that a person selected as a license designee pursuant to this section post a bond of up to one million dollars ($1,000,000) to guarantee that the person will carry out the activities connected with completing the license application and obtaining the license. The department shall, by emergency regulation adopted in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 115010, establish standards for the forfeiture of the bond.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
(a) If, within 45 days after the termination of the three-month filing period specified in subdivision (a) of Section 115020, the director determines that the department has not received a statement of capabilities and a notice of intent to file an application for a license to receive radioactive materials from other persons for disposal on land that is likely to result in the filing of an application that satisfies the requirements of Section 115010, the director shall notify the Secretary of the Resources Agency.
(b) Within one year after receiving the notification specified in subdivision (a), the Secretary of the Resources Agency shall file with the department an application for a license to receive radioactive materials from other persons for disposal on land at a site within a region identified pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 115005 and that is owned, operated, or both, by the state.
(c) (1) Upon the request of the Resources Agency, the Director of Finance may provide a loan from the General Fund to the Resources Agency for the purposes of implementing this section. The Resources Agency shall repay any loans made pursuant to this section pursuant to the terms and conditions prescribed by the Department of Finance, including interest at the rate set by the Pooled Money Investment Board pursuant to Section 16314 of the Government Code.
(2) The Director of Finance shall not provide more than two million dollars ($2,000,000) pursuant to this subdivision during the 1983–84 fiscal year. The amount for loans in the 1984–85 fiscal year, and subsequent fiscal years, shall be specified annually in the Budget Act and the total of all loans made pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000).
(d) If a radioactive materials disposal site that is owned, operated, or both, by the state is established pursuant to this section, the Secretary of the Resources Agency shall establish a schedule of fees to be charged each person who disposes of radioactive materials at the site. The schedule of fees shall be set at an amount sufficient to reimburse the state for any costs incurred in developing, constructing, and operating the site.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
The department may require that all schedules of fees charged for the disposal of radioactive material by a person owning or operating a site licensed pursuant to Section 115010 are to be submitted to the department prior to their implementation. The department may determine, following a public hearing and based upon written findings, if the fees to be charged are reasonable and may require the owner or operator to modify the fee schedule if so determined by the department.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
In addition to the fees authorized to be levied pursuant to Section 115065, the department may, by regulation, set fees to be paid for the disposal in the state of low-level radioactive waste, set in an amount sufficient to pay the costs of the regulatory activities specified in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (E) of Article 4 of the Southwestern Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact, as specified in Section 115255.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
(a) The license designee shall file periodic financial reports with the department as directed by the department. These reports shall provide detailed information on past and projected expenditures for development and operation of the low-level radioactive waste disposal site according to programmatic function, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Program management.
(2) Candidate sites selection.
(3) Site characterization.
(4) Environmental.
(5) Public and agency involvement.
(6) Licensing and permitting.
(7) Site development.
(8) Land acquisition.
(9) Financing.
(10) Operations.
(b) The license designee shall file reports with the department, as directed by the department, that identify, quantify, and explain major causes of actual and projected cost overruns and cost underruns with regard to the cost projections provided in the statement of capabilities and notice of intent.
(c) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this section is to identify minimum financial reporting requirements for the costs of developing and operating the state’s low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. This section does not limit the authority of the department to require the license designee to furnish any additional information that the department determines to be necessary to fulfill its duties under this chapter, including Section 115030.
(Amended by Stats. 2006, Ch. 538, Sec. 432. Effective January 1, 2007.)
(a) The department is authorized, pursuant to subdivision (d), to establish and operate, or contract for the establishment and contract for operation, of one or more low-level radioactive waste interim storage facilities for the exclusive use of persons located in California who are licensed by the department or the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(b) In addition to the fees authorized to be levied pursuant to Section 115065, the department is authorized to set and collect fees, by regulation, to be paid by generators in California of low-level radioactive waste in an amount sufficient to support the development and operation of the facilities including the surveillance and repair of damaged packages, maintenance of the facilities, decontamination, decommissioning, and postclosure maintenance of these facilities, recordkeeping systems, and other activities as the department finds necessary to ensure the safe operation of such a facility. In no event shall any fee be set in an amount that exceeds the amount reasonably necessary to implement this section. The department is also authorized to require the operators or the users of the facilities to post bonds or possess adequate insurance as may be reasonably necessary to protect the state against such liabilities as storage and ultimate disposal costs for abandoned waste and against claims arising out of accidents or failures of the storage facility.
(c) All users of any facility operated pursuant to this section must all meet state and federal orders, requirements, or regulations for handling and management of low-level radioactive waste including those prescribed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 115005.
(d) No low-level radioactive waste interim storage facility may be established pursuant to subdivision (a) until all of the following occurs:
(1) The department has fulfilled the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 115005 and has submitted its findings to the Legislature.
(2) The establishment of the interim storage facility is consistent with the elements of the low-level radioactive waste disposal plan specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 115005.
(3) The department files a notice with the Legislature, while in session, 60 days before establishing the facility.
(e) In addition to any other grounds authorizing the department, or any person with whom it contracts, to cease the operation of a low-level radioactive waste interim storage facility, any such facility shall cease accepting low-level radioactive waste for interim storage (1) no later than five years after the date it commences operating or (2) if the director determines that an alternate disposal site is available to California licensees in the western region of the United States, whichever event occurs first.
(f) Within seven years of commencing operation of any interim storage facility all wastes stored at the facility shall be transferred to a permanent land burial disposal site or permanently disposed of by some other treatment or means of disposal and the facility shall be closed and thereafter, to the extent necessary, as determined by the department, decontaminated and decommissioned.
(g) This section shall remain in effect for a period of eight years from the date of the establishment of a low-level radioactive waste interim storage facility pursuant to this section, and as of that date is repealed. The director shall report the date the facility is established to the appropriate committees of each house of the Legislature and the Legislative Counsel Bureau.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996. Repealed as of date prescribed by its own provisions.)
The Governor shall negotiate and enter into interstate agreements, interstate compacts, or agreements with compacts, for the purpose of establishing access to, or maintaining access to, land disposal facilities for low-level radioactive waste generated in California. The terms of the agreement or compact may include, but are not limited to, a provision that the other parties to the agreement or compact will have reciprocal access to California permanent disposal facilities, when operational.
The Governor shall report to the Legislature on the status of these negotiations within four months after September 28, 1983, and every four months thereafter, until an agreement or compact is entered into or the negotiations are terminated.
Any agreement or compact that proposes membership for California in a compact made pursuant to the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. Secs. 2021b to 2021d, inclusive) or any interstate agreement or agreement with a compact that includes a provision that the other parties to the agreement will have reciprocal access to California permanent disposal facilities, when operational, shall be submitted to the Legislature for ratification by statute.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
The director shall appoint, in consultation with the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly, an advisory committee to advise the department regarding methods for minimizing the environmental impact of low-level wastes, criteria for siting low-level waste treatment and burial facilities, alternatives to land burial of low-level waste, and waste classification schemes.
The committee shall include representatives from the field of medicine, and from research, industrial, environmental, and public health organizations, who have demonstrated expertise and experience with radioactive materials, waste management, the health effects of exposure to low-level waste, or the environmental impact associated with the storage of low-level waste. The director shall appoint to the advisory committee the director of environmental health of the county where a low-level waste disposal facility is sited.
(Added by Stats. 1995, Ch. 415, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1996.)
