By MARGARET S. KNOEPFLE

Whither goest low level radioactive wastes?

AT THE end of the spring legislative session, Illinois had three choices when it came to storing low level radioactive waste. It could join the Midwest compact for managing the waste on a regional basis. It could amend the compact to reflect some of the concerns of a state which might host a regional waste disposal site — since Illinois is a prime candidate. Or it could stay out of compacts altogether and go it alone. During the fall session, the General Assembly amended the compact, incorporating changes proposed by environmental groups and pushed through by Senate Democrats. These amendments included provisions for shared long-term liability by all compact states for problems at any disposal site, mandatory site rotation every 20 years, prohibition of land disposal of liquid wastes, public records centers, legislative approval in every state of the compact commission's management plan, and provisions for the development of disposal methods other than landfills. A companion piece of legislation is the Illinois Low-Level Waste Management Act which sets up a framework for the state to manage the wastes — whether it joins a regional compact or not — and provides for legislative input in deciding whether Illinois should stay in the Midwest compact if it is designated a host state. This plan could set the stage for Illinois going it alone on nuclear waste management — though at the risk of not being able to exclude wastes from the feds or other states. So far, Texas and California appear isolated like Illinois. Texas may go it alone. California has a waste management act committing it to develop a site and may seek a compact with Arizona.

Gov. James R. Thompson signed both pieces of legislation on December 15. This means Illinois is on the way to being responsible for the management of its own low level radioactive waste as mandated by the 1980 federal legislation. Currently the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates low level radioactive waste, but once the Illinois plan is approved by the feds, the Department of Nuclear Safety will be in charge. It also means that Illinois has its own version of a Midwest regional compact, the first in the nation to provide for comprehensive liability. But a compact with only one state in it is no compact at all. If Senate President Philip J. Rock and other legislative leaders fail to persuade eligible states to accept the Illinois amendments, the governor has said he will introduce legislation in the spring session to remove the changes. That would give Illinois one more chance to join the Midwest compact before the July 1984 deadline.

At this point some environmental groups would like the state to go it alone if the Midwest compact cannot be amended to address Illinois concerns. Dona Hoelscher of Citizens for a Better Environment said: "The compact is so poorly written, the hazards of entering it are so great, I would rather see Illinois handle its own wastes. If Illinois has to go it alone, it should do so rather than enter a bad compact."

So far, five states have signed the original compact: Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Minnesota. All of them have done so under the assumption that Illinois will be a host since it produces 40 percent of the waste generated in the region. So far none of them appears willing to make the Illinois changes. "In their view," said Don Etchison, director of the Illinois Department of Nuclear Waste, "the Illinois legislature is making unilateral changes to documents negotiated over 18 months. Those states saw us sitting down as equals with no one getting what they wanted."

There are still five states in addition to Illinois which could join the Midwest compact or accept the Illinois amendments. These include Delaware, Kentucky, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Of the still uncommitted states, Kentucky would like to add an amendment of its own. It is saddled with Maxey Flats, a closed-down, low level radioactive waste dump on which it is paying over $1 million a year to monitor plutonium leakage. Kentucky would like an amendment to the compact which says that any state which has a closed site that is being decommissioned cannot be designated as a host state. Edgemont, S.D., on the other hand, is interested in becoming a regional disposal center for low level radioactive waste. The state legislature, however, has not yet given its approval. Rumors are rife about what South Dakota will do. It could join the Midwest compact or the Rocky Mountain States Compact. It might also make a compact with North Dakota and then contract with the Midwest compact to handle its low level waste.

At present, the regional compacts which are making the most progress are those in which a waste disposal facility already exists or in which a state has volunteered to be the host state. The Southeast compact already has the Barnwell site in South Carolina; the Northwest compact has the Washington site in Hanford. Colorado has volunteered to be the host state for the Rocky Mountain states. The Northeast compact is having problems just like the Midwest: The states with low levels of radioactive waste have ratified the compact; those which produce a great deal of waste are slowing down and pressing the same concerns as Illinois.

2/February 1984/Illinois Issues