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House approves amended SB79 to update radioactive-waste surety rules and returns it to Senate
Summary
The Utah House passed First Substitute SB79 with unanimous support to modernize surety calculations for radioactive-waste facilities and extend financial-assurance clarity to adjacent unlicensed areas; sponsors said the changes respond to Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerns and are consensus-driven.
Representative McHale, the floor sponsor, told the House the bill updates an antiquated method for calculating surety for facilities that handle radioactive waste and extends coverage to unlicensed adjacent areas following feedback from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "This bill is a consensus bill," McHale said, adding the update replaces the inexact "RS means" tool with a more appropriate process.
The bill’s floor presentation explained that surety exists to ensure sufficient funds remain available to protect taxpayers if a facility operator goes out of business. The sponsor said the statutory change clarifies definitions for unlicensed areas and aligns financial-assurance tables applicable to Energy Solutions and other operators.
After brief discussion was waived, the House voted; the reading clerk announced First Substitute Senate Bill 79 had received 62 yay votes and 0 nay votes. The bill was amended on the floor and returned to the Senate for further consideration.
Representative McKell also moved to spread on the House Journal a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control and Energy Solutions and an accompanying table for financial assurances; that motion passed by voice vote and will be included in the official record.
Next steps: SB79, as amended by the House, will go back to the Senate for consideration of the House amendment.
