California Health and Safety Code § 115255

The provisions of the Southwestern Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact are as follows: Article 1. Compact Policy and Formation The party states hereby find and declare all of the following: (A) The United States Congress, by enacting the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act, Public Law 96-573, as amended by the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2021b to 2021j, incl.), has encouraged the use of interstate compacts to provide for the establishment and operation of facilities for regional management of low-level radioactive waste. (B) It is the purpose of this compact to provide the means for such a cooperative effort between or among party states to protect the citizens of the states and the states’ environments. (C) It is the policy of party states to this compact to encourage the reduction of the volume of low-level radioactive waste requiring disposal within the compact region. (D) It is the policy of the party states that the protection of the health and safety of their citizens and the most ecological and economical management of low-level radioactive wastes can be accomplished through cooperation of the states by minimizing the amount of handling and transportation required to dispose of these wastes and by providing facilities that serve the compact region. (E) Each party state, if an agreement state pursuant to Section 2021 of Title 42 of the United States Code, or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission if not an agreement state, is responsible for the primary regulation of radioactive materials within its jurisdiction. Article 2. Definitions As used in this compact, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply: (A) “Commission” means the Southwestern Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission established in Article 3 of this compact. (B) “Compact region” or “region” means the combined geographical area within the boundaries of the party states. (C) “Disposal” means the permanent isolation of low-level radioactive waste pursuant to requirements established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency under applicable laws, or by a party state if that state hosts a disposal facility. (D) “Generate,” when used in relation to low-level radioactive waste, means to produce low-level radioactive waste. (E) “Generator” means a person whose activity, excluding the management of low-level radioactive waste, results in the production of low-level radioactive waste. (F) “Host county” means a county, or other similar political subdivision of a party state, in which a regional disposal facility is located or being developed. (G) “Host state” means a party state in which a regional disposal facility is located or being developed. The State of California is the host state under this compact for the first 30 years from the date the California regional disposal facility commences operations. (H) “Institutional control period” means that period of time in which the facility license is transferred to the disposal site owner in compliance with the appropriate regulations for long-term observation and maintenance following the postclosure period. (I) “Low-level radioactive waste” means regulated radioactive material that meets all of the following requirements: (1) The waste is not high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or byproduct material (as defined in Section 11e(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2014(e)(2))). (2) The waste is not uranium mining or mill tailings. (3) The waste is not any waste for which the federal government is responsible pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 3 of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 2021c(b)). (4) The waste is not an alpha emitting transuranic nuclide with a half-life greater than five years and with a concentration greater than 100 nanocuries per gram, or Plutonium-241 with a conce

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