1. A. A person shall not store or dispose of radioactive materials, transuranic contaminated waste or low-level waste in a disposal facility until the state has consented to or concurred in the creation of the disposal facility.

2. B. A person shall not store or dispose of spent fuel or high-level waste in a disposal facility until:

   1. (1) the state has consented to or concurred in the creation of the disposal facility; and
   2. (2) a repository, as defined in 42 U.S.C. Section 10101(18), is in operation.
3. C. The state, a political subdivision of the state or an entity or authority created by a joint powers agreement shall not issue, approve or certify a permit, contract, lease or license necessary for the construction or operation of a disposal facility for spent fuel or high-level waste until the conditions of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of Subsection B of this section are met.
4. D. As used in this section, "disposal facility" means an engineered surface, subsurface or underground facility designed primarily for the temporary, interim or permanent isolation of radioactive materials, radioactive waste or spent fuel other than tailings or other waste from the extraction, beneficiation or processing of ores and minerals.

History: 1978 Comp., § 74-4A-11.1, enacted by Laws 1981, ch. 374, § 6; 1991, ch. 2, § 8; 2023, ch. 25, § 3.

ANNOTATIONS

Compiler’s notes. — Pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, Laws 2023, ch. 25 did not pass with the required two-thirds vote of each house. Therefore, the effective date of Laws 2023, ch. 25, §§ 1 to 3 was June 16, 2023.

The 2023 amendment, effective June 16, 2023, prohibited the storage and disposal of radioactive materials, transuranic contaminated waste or low-level waste in a disposal facility until the state has consented to the creation of the disposal facility; prohibited the issuance or certification of a permit for the construction or operation of a disposal facility for spent fuel or high-level waste unless the state has consented to the creation of the disposal facility and a permanent repository is in operation, and revised the definition of "disposal facility"; in Subsection A, deleted "No" and added "A", after "person shall", added "not", after "store or dispose of radioactive materials", deleted "radioactive waste or spent fuel" and added "transuranic contaminated waste or low-level waste", after "until the state has", added "consented to or", and after "creation of the disposal facility", deleted "except as specifically preempted by federal law"; added new Subsections B and C; and in Subsection D, after "engineered", added "surface, subsurface or underground", and after "primarily for the", added "temporary, interim or permanent".

The 1991 amendment, effective January 30, 1991, substituted "facility" for "subterranean cavern" in the second sentence.