BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to protection of the Columbia river from contamination by improper storage or disposal of mixed radioactive and dangerous wastes and the release or threatened release of hazardous substances; adding new sections to chapter 70.105 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that contamination from mixed wastes improperly disposed in the soil at the federal Hanford nuclear reservation, or from mixed wastes stored at that facility in tanks that are out of compliance with the provisions of chapter 70.105 RCW and the federal resource conservation and recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6921 et seq., are contaminating the state's ground water and are moving towards the Columbia river. Leaks from the high-level nuclear waste tank systems pose unprecedented threats to our state's natural resources as well as the threat of catastrophic release of wastes and threat to human health.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 70.105 RCW to read as follows:

(1) No mixed wastes may be added to any storage tank or systems of storage tanks that have been found by the department not to be in compliance with this chapter, or that are the subject of any order, decree, or consent agreement for closure, characterization, monitoring, or remediation under this chapter or chapter 70.105D RCW, until the terms of such order, decree, or consent agreement have been fully complied with and the director certifies that the tanks or tank systems have been closed or are in full compliance with the requirements of this chapter for tanks storing dangerous waste.

(2) The director may by administrative order exempt from the prohibition in subsection (1) of this section mixed wastes that are generated as the result of remediation or closure activities pursuant to a consent agreement, order, or decree issued or entered into under this chapter or chapter 70.105D RCW.

(3) As used in this section and sections 3 and 4 of this act, "mixed waste" means a dangerous waste that contains both a nonradioactive hazardous component and source, spent nuclear, or by-product material subject to the federal atomic energy act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2014 et seq.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 70.105 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department by administrative order shall prohibit the disposal of any solid or dangerous waste or hazardous substances to a facility that the department has information leading to a reasonable belief may contain mixed wastes, where the facility does not meet the requirements of this chapter for the construction, operation, and permitting of dangerous waste disposal facilities, or that has not been fully characterized and is subject to monitoring for releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances under this chapter.

(2) The department shall not issue any permit for the construction and operation of a land disposal facility containing mixed wastes where the facility is contiguous to, in near proximity to, or that the department has identified plumes of contaminants in the soil or ground water beneath the facility from a hazardous substance release.

(3) No land disposal facility for wastes may be operated or constructed that is contiguous to, in near proximity to, or for which the department has identified plumes of contaminants in the soil or ground water beneath the facility from another facility containing mixed wastes, or where a hazardous substance release from such a land disposal facility has the potential for a release of hazardous substances that may reasonably be projected as having the potential to contaminate the ground water or soil under or in the immediate vicinity of a landfill containing mixed wastes.

(4) The director shall not segregate land disposal facility units contiguous to landfills containing mixed wastes in any permit issued under this chapter.

(5) The director may by administrative order exempt from the prohibition of this section against adding wastes to a landfill or solid waste management unit containing mixed wastes, those wastes that are generated as the result of remediation or closure activities pursuant to a consent agreement, order, or decree issued or entered into under this chapter or chapter 70.105D RCW if the director finds there is no reasonable alternative for disposal.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 70.105 RCW to read as follows:

No person may dispose of radioactive mixed waste in any landfill or land disposal unit at any location in the state unless such disposal is for wastes generated, released from, or stored at the facility as of the effective date of this section, and disposal is conducted pursuant to an order of the department, a decree entered into by the department for the remediation or closure of the facility, or an order of, or federal facility agreement entered into by, the United States environmental protection agency.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.