AN ACT Relating to low-level radioactive waste surcharges; and amending RCW 43.200.170 and 43.200.080.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. Section 3, chapter 2, Laws of 1986 and RCW 43.200.170 are each amended to read as follows:

The governor may assess surcharges and penalty surcharges on the disposal of waste at the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The surcharges may be imposed up to the maximum extent permitted by federal law. Moneys received under this section shall be deposited in the general fund. All moneys retained by the state under this section in excess of five million dollars during a fiscal year shall be transferred to the perpetual maintenance fund.

Sec. 2. Section 8, chapter 19, Laws of 1983 1st ex. sess. as amended by section 1, chapter 2, Laws of 1986 and RCW 43.200.080 are each amended to read as follows:

The director of ecology shall, in addition to the powers and duties otherwise imposed by law, have the following special powers and duties:

(1) To fulfill the responsibilities of the state under the lease between the state of Washington and the federal government executed September 10, 1964, covering one thousand acres of land lying within the Hanford reservation near Richland, Washington. The department of ecology may sublease to private or public entities all or a portion of the land for specific purposes or activities which are determined, after public hearing, to be in agreement with the terms of the lease and in the best interests of the citizens of the state consistent with any criteria that may be developed as a requirement by the legislature;

(2) To assume the responsibilities of the state under the perpetual care agreement between the state of Washington and the federal government executed July 29, 1965 and the sublease between the state of Washington and the site operator of the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. In order to finance perpetual surveillance and maintenance under the agreement and site closure under the sublease, the department of ecology shall impose and collect fees from parties holding radioactive materials for waste management purposes. The fees shall be established by rule adopted under chapter ((~~34.04~~)) 34.05 RCW and shall be an amount determined by the department of ecology to be necessary to defray the estimated liability of the state under the perpetual care agreement and the sublease. Such fees shall reflect equity between the disposal facilities of this and other states. All such fees, when received by the department of ecology, shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall act as custodian. The perpetual maintenance fund is created in the the state treasury. The treasurer shall place the money in a special ((~~account~~)) fund which may be designated the "perpetual maintenance ((~~account~~)) fund." ((Appropriations are required to permit expenditures and payment of obligations from this account, and the condition of the account and its administration shall be reported biennially to the legislature by the director.)) The perpetual maintenance fund shall be comprised of a site closure account, which shall be exclusively available to reimburse the site operator or the state licensing agency for decommissioning and final closure of the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, and a perpetual surveillance and maintenance account, which shall be used by the state after appropriation by the legislature to meet post-closure surveillance and maintenance obligations. All moneys currently administered by the department of ecology for closure of the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility shall be transferred to the site closure account within the perpetual maintenance fund. All future moneys contributed to the perpetual maintenance fund shall be equally directed to the site closure account and the perpetual surveillance and maintenance account. The condition of the fund and its administration shall be reported biennially to the legislature by the director. Moneys in the perpetual maintenance ((~~account~~)) fund shall be invested by the state investment board in the same manner as other state moneys. Any interest accruing as a result of investment shall accrue to the perpetual maintenance ((~~account~~)) fund. Additional moneys specifically appropriated by the legislature or received from any public or private source may be placed in the perpetual maintenance account((~~. The perpetual maintenance account shall be used exclusively for surveillance and maintenance costs, or for otherwise satisfying surveillance and maintenance obligations~~));

(3) To assure maintenance of such insurance coverage by state licensees, lessees, or sublessees as will adequately, in the opinion of the director, protect the citizens of the state against nuclear accidents or incidents that may occur on privately or state-controlled nuclear facilities;

(4) To institute a user permit system and issue site use permits, consistent with regulatory practices, for generators, packagers, or brokers using the Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. The costs of administering the user permit system shall be borne by the applicants for site use permits. The site use permit fee shall be set at a level that is sufficient to fund completely the executive and legislative participation in activities related to the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management; and

(5) To make application for or otherwise pursue any federal funds to which the state may be eligible, through the federal resource conservation and recovery act or any other federal programs, for the management, treatment or disposal, and any remedial actions, of wastes that are both radioactive and hazardous at all Hanford low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities.