Waste Control Specialists, who is the only storage company of low-level nuclear waste in Texas, is pushing hard for House Bill 2692, sponsored by Rep. Brooks Landgraf of Odessa. The bill, while marketed by WCS as a ban on high-level nuclear waste in Texas, is actually a reduction in fees and surcharges for the company. It also would eliminate the current volume cap that WCS has to operate under.
Even though WCS said earlier this year that they would not pursue a high-level nuclear waste storage license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission if the state of Texas outlawed it, they have never redacted their license application from the NRC.
The passage of HB 2692 would save WCS 1.5 million dollars. That money should be going to a perpetual care fund that is set up in the event that Waste Control Specialists files bankruptcy (they have be plagued with financial concerns in the past) and the state must take over security and upkeep of the high-level waste site.
The House committee that first heard HB 2692 had many witnesses step up, including oil and gas company executives, environmentalists, and local residents. All opposed the bill but the committee passed the bill onto the House floor.
Lobbyists on behalf of WCS have been hired at the cost of a small fortune to sway Texas elected officials to vote yes on HB 2692. The total amounts to over half a million dollars.