1. (a) Permit Required--No person shall export any low-level radioactive waste generated within a party state for disposal in a nonparty state unless the Commission has issued an export permit allowing the exportation of that waste pursuant to this rule.
2. (b) Petition Required--A generator, group of generators, or the host state proposing to export low-level radioactive waste to a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility outside the party states shall submit to the Commission a petition for an export permit.
3. (c) Form of Petition--The petition shall be in writing and on a form promulgated by the Commission and posted on the Commission's web page, or otherwise made readily accessible to generators and to the public.

4. (d) Petition Fees--

   1. (1) Export Petition Application Fee--A non-refundable, application fee of $500 shall accompany the petition, except that petitioners seeking to export 100 cubic feet or less shall pay an application fee of $50. Payments shall be made by check, money order or electronic transfer, made payable to the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission. No action shall be taken on any petition until the application fee is paid in full.

   2. (2) Export Petition Evaluation Fee. In accordance with a fee schedule adopted by the Commission, an export petition evaluation fee may be assessed based on the estimated time and expenses to be incurred in evaluating and acting on the petition, if the expense exceeds the export petition application fee. This estimated fee will be communicated to the applicant prior to any action by the Commission.

      1. (A) The fee schedule will be based on the estimated cost of evaluating the petition and may include, but not be limited to, these factors:

         1. (i) staff expenses;
         2. (ii) supplies;
         3. (iii) direct and indirect expenses;
         4. (iv) purchased services of consultants such as engineers, attorneys or consultants; and
         5. (v) other expenses reasonably related to the evaluation.
      2. (B) This fee will be due and payable within 30 days of issuance of fee bill.
      3. (C) A petitioner may appeal the assessment of the fee by requesting a public hearing before the Commission within 30 days of the assessment. Such hearing shall be held as soon as practicable after the request, but no longer than 45 days after the request is received by the Commission. The Commission's order shall be issued within 30 days after the hearing. If required by Commission order, payments are due within 30 days of the final order.
5. (e) Notice and Timing of Petition--A petitioner shall file an export petition with the Commission and receive approval by the Commission prior to export. The proposed export petition shall be accompanied by a certification by the disposal facility receiving the waste that the waste acceptance criteria have been met for the proposed waste importation. By electronic mail, the petitioner shall deliver to the Compact Facility operator a copy of the export petition (and any supplements or amendments thereto) at the time of filing with the Commission, and a copy shall also be delivered by Certified mail. Upon receipt, the Commission shall post the export petition to the Commission's web site and to the Texas Register. Any comments by the Compact Facility operator on the export petition shall be filed in writing with the Commission no later than 30 days after the date the petition was received by the Commission. By electronic mail, the Compact Facility operator shall deliver to the petitioner a copy of all comments (and any supplements or amendments thereto) submitted to the Commission at the time of filing with the Commission, and a copy shall also be delivered by Certified mail. The Commission shall distribute the export petition and comments received from the Compact Facility operator, petitioner, and public to other interested parties by mail or email for information and comment and shall post the export petition, comments received and other pertinent information on the Commission's web site. The Commission shall distribute the export petition and any comments received from the Compact Facility operator, or others, to the members of the Commission, and distribute comments from others to the Compact Facility operator and the petitioner.

6. (f) Review of Petition--After receiving the export petition and any comments that have been made thereon, the Commission at a meeting held no sooner than 60 days or later than 120 days after the date the export petition was filed with the Commission, shall act on the export petition utilizing the following factors:

   1. (1) The volume of waste proposed for exportation, the type of waste proposed for exportation, the approximate radioactivity of the waste, the specific radionuclides contained therein, the time period of the proposed exportation, and the location and name of the facility, which will receive the waste for treatment and ultimate disposal;
   2. (2) The policy and purpose of the Compact;
   3. (3) The availability of the Compact Facility for the disposal of the waste involved;
   4. (4) The economic impact on the Host County, the Host State, and the Compact Facility operator of granting the export permit;
   5. (5) The economic impact on the petitioner;
   6. (6) Whether the proposed disposal facility has authorization to import the waste into the region in which the disposal is to take place;
   7. (7) The existence of unresolved violations pending against the petitioner with any other regulatory agency with jurisdiction to regulate radioactive material, and any comments by the regulatory agency with which the petitioner has unresolved violations;
   8. (8) Any unresolved violation, complaint, unpaid fee, or past due report that the petitioner has with the Commission;
   9. (9) Any relevant comments received from the Compact Facility, the petitioner, the Host County, the Host State, or the public; and
   10. (10) Any other factor the Commission deems relevant to carry out the policy and purpose of the Compact.
7. (g) Decision by the Commission--The Commission may take one of the following actions on the export petition, in whole or in part: approve the export petition; deny the export petition; or approve the export petition subject to terms and conditions as determined by the Commission and as ultimately documented in the export permit.
8. (h) Terms and Conditions--The Commission may impose any terms or conditions on the export permit as is determined by the Commission.

9. (i) Permit Duration, Amendment, Revocation, Reporting, and Assignment.

   1. (1) An export permit shall be issued for the term specified in the permit and shall remain in effect for that term unless amended, revoked, or canceled by the Commission. The specified term in the export permit shall not authorize shipments of waste to occur more than 12 months from the date the export permit is issued.
   2. (2) The Commission may, on its own motion or in response to a petition for amendment from the permit holder of an export permit for which prior written notice has been given to the permit holder and the Compact Facility operator, add or delete requirements or limitations to the permit. The Commission may provide a reasonable time to allow the existing permit holder to make any changes necessary to comply with the additional requirements or limitations imposed by the Commission.
   3. (3) Not later than October 31 of each calendar year, a person who holds an export permit shall file with the Commission a report describing the amount and type of waste exported in the period from September 1 to August 31. The form of the report shall be prescribed by the Commission and shall be available on the Commission's web site, or may be obtained at a location that will be posted on the Commission's web site. Failure to timely file this report may result in denial of future export petitions.
   4. (4) An Export Permit is not assignable or transferable to any other person.
10. (j) Agreements to Export--Nothing in this subchapter shall limit the authority of the Commission to enter into agreements with the United States, other regional compact commissions, or individual states for the exportation or management of low-level radioactive waste. Nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to prohibit the storage or management of low-level radioactive waste by a generator, or its disposal pursuant to 10 CFR §20.302 (now 10 CFR §20.2002).
11. (k) Form of Export Permit--The Export Permit shall be on a form promulgated by the Commission and posted on the Commission's web site. The form may be amended by the Commission from time to time.
12. (l) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Commission shall receive but will not begin to process applications for exportation of waste under this section by a compact generator to a non-party state for disposal until such time as the Commission determines by vote taken pursuant to §3.02 of the Compact as compiled at §403.006, Texas Health and Safety Code that it has adequate resources to properly examine applications prior to issuing permits and thereafter to enforce the terms and conditions of such permits as are issued. During the period between the adoption of this rule and the required determination pursuant to §3.02 of the Compact, permits granted pursuant to the resolution adopted by the Commission on December 11, 2009 will continue to be in effect. If, in the judgment of the Commission, circumstances warrant, new permits may be granted under the terms of that same resolution until such time as the Commission makes the required determination under §3.02 of the Compact.
13. (m) Definitions--Terms used in this subchapter shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Compact.

Source Note:The provisions of this §675.21 adopted to be effective February 8, 2011, 36 TexReg 571.