HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1442

BYRepresentatives Rust, Unsoeld, H. Sommers, Hine, Jacobsen and Brekke

Transferring the state radiation control agency to the department of ecology.

House Committe on State Government

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (6)

      Signed by Representatives H. Sommers, Chair; Anderson, Vice Chair; O'Brien, Peery, Taylor and Walk.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (3)

      Signed by Representatives Baugher, Chandler and Hankins.

House Staff:Ken Conte (786-7135)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT FEBRUARY 1, 1988

BACKGROUND:

The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Department of Ecology (DOE) both have statutory responsibility to protect the public health and environment from the effects of exposure to harmful radiation.  In DSHS, these responsibilities lie with the Office of Radiation Protection, a division within the Office of Public Health.  The Office of Nuclear Waste Management and the Hanford Section of the Hazardous Waste Cleanup Division in DOE also perform radiation control activities.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES.  DSHS is designated as the state radiation control agency, charged with operating a regulatory and inspection program directed at sources, generators, and users of radioactive material in order to protect the public health and safety.  There are 5 sections within the Office of Radiation Protection (ORP) to carry out these responsibilities.

            oRadioactive Materials Section.  This section regulates and licenses the possession and use of radioactive materials in the state, and notifies local governments when licenses for use of such materials are applied for in their jurisdiction.

            oWaste Management Section.  This section has two components.  First, it licenses and inspects the site operator at the state's low level radioactive waste disposal facility at Hanford and inspects any waste coming into a permitted site.  Although permits for site users are now issued by the Office of Waste Management at DOE, the ORP can still suspend or reinstate these permits, hence close cooperation between the two programs is necessary.  The second function of the Waste Management Section is to license, inspect, and regulate uranium mills, including ensuring proper site reclamation and treatment of ore residue (tailings).  Washington State has signed agreements with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to carry out the responsibilities of programs under the Waste Management and Radioactive Materials Sections in accordance with federal guidelines.

            oX-Ray Section.  Under this section, the ORP registers, inspects, and completes safety reviews of radiation producing machines at medical, industrial, and research institutions to prevent unnecessary human exposure to radiation.

            oEnvironmental Protection Section.  This section monitors the level of radiation in the environment, particularly on the Hanford reservation, and verifies the accuracy of monitoring programs conducted by the federal government and radioactive materials licensees.  This section also works closely with DOE.

            oEmergency Response Section.  This section develops and maintains an emergency response capability for radiation accidents.  In the event of a radiation emergency, the State Health Officer is the principal decision maker in advising the public as to health risks.

The technical work of the ORP, such as monitoring radiation levels and testing for exposure to radiation, is performed using the radiation laboratory, a section of the public health laboratory of the Office of Public Health.

DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY.  In DOE, the Office of Nuclear Waste Management operates two programs, and a section of the Hazardous Waste Cleanup Division also deals with radioactive materials.

            oLow Level Radioactive Waste Management Program.  This program serves as the landlord of the Hanford disposal facility, and includes collecting fees from site users to provide for future maintenance of the site, and implementing the federal laws regarding disposal of low level radioactive waste.  The program also issues site use permits for waste generators, in close cooperation with the Office of Radiation Protection of DSHS.

            oHigh Level Nuclear Waste Management Program. This program provides technical and administrative support for the Nuclear Waste Board in its oversight of federal efforts to site a high-level waste repository at Hanford.  The Nuclear Waste Board consists of 6 agency heads, 8 members of the legislature, and the chair of the Nuclear Waste Advisory Council.  The Board's enabling statute is broadly enough written to infer other duties, but with the Congressional decision to site the repository in Nevada, the federal funding from the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP) which supports this program and the Board will terminate in March, 1988.

            oHanford Section.  Located in DOE's Hazardous Waste Cleanup Division, this section does the actual regulation of site use and cleanup on the Hanford reservation, including issuance of facilities and equipment permits.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  Waste Management and Environmental Protection.  The Waste Management and Environmental Protection activities of the state radiation control agency are transferred to the Department of Ecology.  This transfer includes the following duties and functions:  licensing, monitoring, and inspecting the site operator and waste deposited at the state low-level radioactive waste disposal at Hanford; developing, conducting, and verifying environmental radiation monitoring programs; and licensing, inspecting, and regulating uranium mills.

All employees, documents, equipment, and funds employed by the Department of Social and Health Services in carrying out the duties transferred become part of the Department of Ecology.

Radiation Laboratory.  All funds and credits used by the laboratory of the Office of Public Health which are associated with the functions transferred are transferred to the Department of Ecology.  However, laboratory employees, documents, and equipment remain under the Department of Social and Health Services.  The Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Ecology are to enter into interagency agreements so that necessary laboratory services are provided to the Department of Ecology.

If any question arises during the transfer of personnel, property, or funds, the Director of Financial Management is to determine their proper allocation.  No existing collective bargaining agreements or units are altered by the transfer.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  Rather than transferring the entire state radiation control agency from the Department of Social and Health Services to the Department of Ecology, only the functions and duties of the Waste Management and Environmental Protection programs are transferred.

All funds, credits, employees, and equipment used in carrying out these duties and functions are transferred to the Department of Ecology, with the exception of the personnel and equipment of the laboratory of the Office of Public Health.

The original bill transfers all employees and equipment in the Public Health Laboratory which carry out radiation control activities to the Department of Ecology, and allows an additional year for such a transfer to take place.  The substitute bill transfers only the funds and credits associated with the laboratory work, and states that provision of laboratory services needed by the Department of Ecology is to be through interagency agreements between the Department of Ecology and the Department of Social and Health Services.

The statutory membership of the Nuclear Waste Board remains unaltered in the substitute bill.

Fiscal Note:      Requested February 1, 1988.

Effective Date:The bill takes effect on June 30, 1988.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Representative Nancy Rust, prime sponsor; Sarah McCoy, Puget Sound SANE; Jill Bailie, Bailie Land and Cattle; and Gerald Pollett, Heart of America Northwest.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Thelma Struck, Assistant Secretary, Department of Social and Health Services; Terry Husseman, Assistant Director, Department of Ecology; Barry Bede, U.S. Ecology; and Joe Daniels, Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The Department of Ecology also has a mandate to protect the public health, and the duties carried out by the Office of Radiation Protection within the Department of Social and Health Services are more similar to those usually performed by DOE. There is a need to give radiation control a higher status, improved funding, and increased visibility to restore public confidence and trust in nuclear programs.  Combining radiation control in a single agency gives a single point for outside contact and is a better way to utilize the personnel and funding currently available.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      Radiation monitoring is to protect human health and safety from exposure to radioactivity.  Several programs being transferred are tied to the health care industry, or to protection of the public in an emergency, and need oversight by the medical community and the State Health Officer.  In combining environmental management and public health responsibilities, resources and attention could get directed away from health protection.  Hanford-related functions could be transferred to DOE, particularly in light of the large loss of funding to support Hanford programs.  Oversight of the lease at the low- level waste disposal site and the monitoring of the site operator should be kept in separate agencies.