35-11-1506. Legislative approval of the siting of high-level radioactive waste storage facilities; conditions.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, no construction may commence, nor shall any high-level radioactive waste storage facility be sited within this state, unless the legislature has enacted legislation approving the siting, construction and operation of the facility in accord with this section. Any authorization of a facility under this section shall not be considered to grant to any person an exclusive right or franchise to store high-level radioactive wastes within the state.

(b) In addition to any facility which meets the requirements of subsection (e) of this section, the legislature may authorize one (1) or more facilities under subsection (a) of this section if it finds that:

(i) The siting of a high-level radioactive waste storage facility within the state is in the best interests of the people of Wyoming;

(ii) The siting of a high-level radioactive waste storage facility within the state can be accomplished without causing irreversible adverse environmental, public health, social or economic impacts to the state as a whole, and specifically to the local area hosting the proposed storage facility;

(iii) The proposed benefits agreement is sufficient to offset any adverse environmental, public health, social or economic impacts to the state as a whole, and specifically to the local area hosting the proposed storage facility; and

(iv) Sufficient safeguards, by contractual assurances or other means, exist to provide that:

(A) The authorization to site, construct and operate any proposed storage facility shall be limited to no more than forty (40) years, provided that extensions may be granted if the legislature enacts legislation authorizing nuclear waste storage facilities to operate for more than forty (40) years;

(B) Any wastes in storage at any facility shall remain the property of the waste generator or civilian nuclear power reactor owner, until transferred to permanent storage or until the federal government takes title to the wastes under the provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 10101 et seq.;

(C) Conditions substantially equivalent to the licensing conditions imposed upon monitored retrievable storage facilities under 42 U.S.C. § 10168(d) existing as of March 1, 1995 shall be effective for any high-level radioactive waste storage facility authorized under this article; and

(D) There exists either a cooperative agreement between the state and the nuclear regulatory commission, or such other legally binding agreement for specific performance between the director and the applicant, which shall provide for state regulation of the facility.

(c) With permission of the governor and the management council, an applicant for either a monitored retrievable storage facility or an independent spent fuel storage installation may enter into a preliminary but nonbinding feasibility agreement and study with the director which shall be submitted to and reviewed by the director, governor and the management council. The public shall be afforded a thirty (30) day public comment opportunity to review the feasibility agreement prior to its submission to the governor and the management council. The purposes of this feasibility agreement and study are to allow the state to make a preliminary determination, whether, on the basis of the feasibility agreement and study, the proposed benefits substantially outweigh any adverse effects and to allow an applicant based on the state's preliminary review of any proposed benefit to determine whether or not a prudent investor, planner, builder and operator would decide to proceed with an application. Upon entering into a feasibility agreement, the applicant shall pay to the state a fee of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000.00). Effective July 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, the fee shall be adjusted for inflation by the department using the consumer price index or its successor index of the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, for the calendar year immediately preceding the date of adjustment. The fee shall be used by the department for costs attendant to the preliminary agreement. Excess funds collected may be used by the department to review an application submitted under W.S. 35-11-1502. Appropriate time shall be afforded the director, the governor, the management council and the applicant to prepare and to evaluate the preliminary agreement and study, but neither the state nor the applicant shall unnecessarily delay the feasibility agreement and study. The preliminary feasibility agreement and study shall not supersede nor replace other requirements under this act. This agreement and study shall set forth the following:

(i) The source and adequacy of the financing for the facility and the applicant's ability to fulfill the terms of any contract entered into regarding the siting, construction or operation of the facility. The information required under this paragraph shall include, but is not limited to, audited financial statements covering the five (5) year period prior to the feasibility agreement, a listing of all partners if the applicant is a partnership and a listing of all persons owning or controlling five percent (5%) or more of its stock if the applicant is a corporation;

(ii) Financial strengths of prospective storage customers;

(iii) The technical experience of the applicant and his associates in permitting before the nuclear regulatory commission, and in design, construction and operation of nuclear facilities;

(iv) The preliminary design plan and technical feasibility of the planned temporary fuel rod storage facility;

(v) The best estimate of a range of costs for the permitting, planning and construction of the facility, based upon available information;

(vi) The proposed storage capacity of the planned facility, necessary to give reasonable assurance of economic feasibility, with evidence to show that the proposed storage capacity will not adversely affect the health and safety of Wyoming people or the environment;

(vii) How the applicant will proceed with the facility to assure that its construction, operation and decommissioning will neither temporarily nor permanently adversely affect the health and safety of Wyoming people;

(viii) A best estimate of a time frame required to obtain the necessary permits, including nuclear regulatory commission licensing, design and construction, and a suggested time frame for decisions by Wyoming government to meet the target timetable;

(ix) An outline of transportation plans, including rail and highway;

(x) Substantial assurances that the facility is temporary, including options for that assurance including a time frame for the movement of the temporarily stored fuel rods to a permanent repository, delivery of the stored rods to reprocessing centers or to a purchaser, domestic or foreign, buying the rods for future reprocessing;

(xi) A range of benefits the nearby communities and the state might expect in return for temporarily storing the fuel rods, and a best estimate of when the benefits might begin to be received by the nearby communities and state;

(xii) A mutual review, by the state and applicant, of a range of taxes the state might reasonably impose on the facility and the fuel rods while they are in temporary storage including the annual acceptance taxes to be levied on fuel rods, based upon the kilograms of fuel rods stored at the Wyoming facility;

(xiii) A description of security measures that would be installed in and around the facility to isolate and protect it from intruders;

(xiv) A description of an emergency response procedure in the event of an unusual occurrence;

(xv) An outline of the information program an applicant would initiate to explain its plans to the community and state;

(xvi) A description of site suitability characteristics and evidence that the applicant's proposed site for the facility meets those characteristics;

(xvii) Evidence of support from nearby Wyoming communities for exploring the project.

(d) If the legislature authorizes the siting of a facility under subsection (a) of this section, the department shall issue a permit incorporating the conditions presented to the legislature including the benefits agreement. The issuance of the permit is not appealable to the environmental quality council. The permit shall also include a provision for payment by the permittee of inspection and review costs unless such costs are included in the benefits agreement.

(e) The legislature hereby authorizes the siting of temporary high-level radioactive waste storage facilities within this state subject to the following:

(i) A facility shall only be authorized if it is operated on the site of and to store the waste produced by a nuclear power generation facility operating within the state;

(ii) The applicant for the facility shall otherwise comply with the requirements of this act;

(iii) The department shall review the application submitted pursuant to W.S. 35-11-1502 and determine specifically if the facility meets the safety considerations in paragraph (b)(iv) of this section and any other potential safety or environmental concerns;

(iv) After preparation of the report under W.S. 35-11-1503 and public review under W.S. 35-11-1504, the department may authorize siting and construction of the facility;

(v) If a facility is authorized by the department under paragraph (iv) of this subsection, the benefits agreement shall be the agreement as negotiated with the applicant under W.S. 35-11-1503(d).