(1) The department is designated as the radiation control agency of this state. (2) Pursuant to rules adopted as provided in section 25-11-104, the department shall issue licenses pertaining to radioactive materials, prescribe and collect fees for such licenses, and require registration of other sources of radiation. No other agency or branch of this state has such power or authority. (3) The department shall develop and conduct programs for evaluation and control of hazards associated with the use of radioactive materials and other sources of radiation, including criteria for disposal of radioactive wastes and materials to be considered in approving facilities and sites pursuant to part 2 of this article. (4) The department may institute training programs for the purpose of qualifying personnel to carry out the provisions of this part 1 and may make said personnel available for participation in any program of the federal government, other states, or interstate agencies in furtherance of the purposes of this part 1. (5) In the event of an emergency relating to any source of radiation that endangers the public peace, health, or safety, the department has the authority to issue such orders for the protection of the public health and safety as may be appropriate, including orders to lay an embargo upon or impound radioactive materials and other sources of radiation in the possession of any person who is not equipped to observe or who fails to comply with this part 1 or any rules promulgated under this part 1. (6) The department or its duly authorized representatives has the power to enter at all reasonable times, in accordance with applicable state or federal regulations, into the areas in which sources of radiation are reasonably believed to be located for the purpose of determining whether or not the owner, occupant, or licensee is in compliance with or in violation of this part 1 and the rules promulgated under this part 1, and the owner, occupant, or person in charge of such property shall permit such entry and inspection. (7) (a) In order to provide for the concentration, storage, or permanent disposal of radioactive materials consistent with adequate protection of the public health and safety, the state, through the department, may acquire by gift, transfer from another state department or agency, or other transfer any and all lands, buildings, and grounds suitable for such purposes. Any such acquisition shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph (h) of this subsection (7). (b) The state, through the department, may, by lease or license with private persons or corporations, provide for the operation of sites or facilities, for the purposes stated in paragraph (a) of this subsection (7), in, under, and upon lands and grounds acquired under said paragraph (a) in accordance with rules and regulations established by the department; but no lease or license shall be authorized except with the prior approval of the state engineer. The department may permit the conduct thereon of other related activities involving radioactive materials not contrary to the public interest, health, and safety. Each such lease or license shall cover only one site or facility and shall provide for a term up to ninety-nine years, which shall be renewable. Each such lease or license shall provide for the payment to the state of a fee based upon the quantity of radioactive material stored in the lands covered thereby. Such fee shall be established at such rate that interest on the sum of all fees reasonably anticipated as payable under any lease or license shall provide an annual amount equal to the anticipated reasonable costs to the state of such maintenance, monitoring, and other supervision of the lands and facilities covered by such lease or license, following the term thereof, as are required in the interest of the public health and safety. In arriving at the rate of the fee, the department shall consider the nature of the material to be stored, the storage space available, estimated future receipts, and estimated future expenses of maintenance, monitoring, and supervision. (c) Said lease shall include a payment in lieu of taxes which shall be paid over to local governmental units in compensation for loss of valuation for assessment. Said payment shall be adjusted annually to conform with current mill levies, assessment practices, and value of land and improvements. (d) All fees provided in this section shall be paid quarterly, as accrued, to the department, which shall receipt for the same and shall transmit such payment to the state treasurer and take his receipt therefor. (e) The department may require, as a condition to the issuance of any lease or license under paragraph (b) of this subsection (7), that the lessee or licensee give reasonable security for the payment of the amount of all fees reasonably anticipated during the full term of such lease or license, and the department may also require, as a condition to the issuance of any lease or license, that the lessee or licensee post a bond or other security under such regulation as the department may prescribe to cover any tortious act committed during the term of the lease or license. (f) Prior to the issuance of any lease or license under paragraph (b) of this subsection (7), the department, at the expense of the applicant, shall hold a public hearing on the application, in the area of the proposed site or facility, after reasonable public notice. (g) The operation of any and all sites and appurtenant facilities established for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this subsection (7) shall be under the direct supervision of the department and shall be in accordance with rules and regulations adopted under section 25-11- 104. (h) It is recognized by the general assembly that any site used for the concentration, disposal, or storage of radioactive material and the contents thereof will represent a continuing and perpetual responsibility involving the public health, safety, and general welfare and that ownership of said site and its contents must ultimately be reposed in a solvent government, without regard for the existence of any particular agency, instrumentality, department, division, or officer thereof. To this end and subject only to the terms of any lease or license issued under paragraph (b) of this subsection (7), all lands, buildings, and grounds acquired by the state under paragraph (a) of this subsection (7) which are used as sites for the concentration, storage, or disposal of radioactive materials shall be owned in fee simple absolute by the state and dedicated in perpetuity to such purposes, and all radioactive material received at such facility, upon permanent storage therein, shall become the property of the state and shall be in all respects administered, controlled, and disposed of, including transfer by sale, lease, loan, or otherwise, by the state, through the department, unless the general assembly shall designate another agency, instrumentality, department, or division of the state so to act. (8) The state board of health shall prescribe, revise periodically as appropriate, and provide for the collection of fees from any person for radiation control services provided by the department.
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