2000 Annual Report

March 2001

New Jersey Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility Siting Board

P.O. Box 415

Trenton, New Jersey

08625-0415

2000 Accomplishments:

• The Siting Board held 11 public meetings in the year 2000.
• The Board prepared a budget to reflect the resources needed for its continuing legislative mandates. These include: monitoring the disposal alternatives in the nation for the purpose of determining the future need for a disposal facility in New Jersey, providing educational materials regarding low-level radioactive waste to the public, and supporting the activities of the Northeast Interstate LLRW Management Compact Commission. The FY-01budget was adopted on March 9, 2000.
• A group of Board members and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) staff worked with the Northeast Compact to admit the State of South Carolina to our compact. Members of the Board held a separate meeting with New Jersey generators of LLRW to discuss pending South Carolina legislation and the Northeast Compact rule for acceptance of a new state. The FY-00 Disposal Fund budget was revised and approved after public comment to include a one time $4.2 million transfer to the Northeast Compact as New Jersey's partial payment to be used as an incentive for South Carolina to join the compact. An additional $800,000 was transferred from New Jersey's share of rebate money from the Department of Energy. As of July 1, 2000, South Carolina joined the compact and the compact is now known as the Atlantic Compact. The generators of LLRW in New Jersey and Connecticut now have long-term access to the disposal facility in Barnwell, South Carolina, and South Carolina is able to exclude waste not generated in New Jersey, Connecticut or South Carolina.
• The Technical Subcommittee worked with NJDEP staff in writing an update to the New Jersey Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Plan, 1996 Update. After two public meetings to accept comments, the 2000 Update was approved by the Board in September. It was distributed to New Jersey legislators, New Jersey municipalities, New Jersey radiation safety officers, and interested parties.
• A workshop on the uses of radioactive materials, "I'm Radioactive, Are You?" was presented to 15 middle school science teachers in July in West Windsor. NJDEP staff worked with four handpicked science teachers to facilitate the 3p days of theory, games, demonstrations, discussions, films and handouts. A tour of the Bristol-Myers Squibb research facility using radioactive materials was also included. NJDEP staff made presentations on the uses and safety considerations of radioactive material and radioactivity and participated in group discussions.
• NJDEP staff provided consultation on Siting Board issues at the League of Municipalities annual convention, and at the New Jersey Science Teachers Association annual convention.
• The finance subcommittee determined what surplus funds would be available for refunds to the generators, assuming budgets for Board operations until June 2002. The proposed FY-02 budget includes that $2 million of the fees collected from generators of LLRW in New Jersey be returned to the generators in the fall of 2001 in the same proportion as each contributed to the fund.

2001 Agenda:

• The Board will continue to interact with and support the activities of the Atlantic Compact in its role to ensure safe reliable disposal of LLRW produced in this region.
• In addition, the Board will continue to monitor the overall national developments in the management of low-level radioactive waste and to keep New Jersey generators aware of any new developments.
• The Board is working with the New Jersey State Legislature to amend the New Jersey Siting Act to terminate the Siting Board by June 30, 2002 since disposal facility oversight is now the responsibility of South Carolina. Required LLRW activities will be transferred to the NJDEP.
• The Board will continue to track the management of LLRW in New Jersey, including annual projections of the disposal volume from New Jersey generators. This will be used by the Atlantic Compact to allocate sufficient disposal volume for compact generators.
• The Board will seek to promote greater public knowledge of the management of LLRW. Although safe management technologies now exist for handling, storing, and disposing of this waste, the general public has not reached a level of understanding and confidence that this can be accomplished in a manner that protects public health and safety. To partially satisfy this goal, Board members and NJDEP staff will work with select science teachers to develop and present summer workshops. These workshops will assist middle school science teachers in the delivery of grade-level appropriate factual information about radiation and radioactive waste disposal in support of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards in Science.

New Jersey Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Fund

Expenditures for Fiscal Year 2000 (July 1, 1999 – June 30, 2000)

Siting Board Operations		$ 4,470,776.69
Staff (Salaries, Fringe & Indirect)	$ 243,396.73
Office Administration & Equipment	$ 6,340.16
Public Outreach, Exhibits & Conferences	$ 21,039.80
Professional Services from State Departments, Office of the Attorney General		$ 46,142.00
Other Professional Services		$ 2,327.16
"Atlantic Compact"		$ 4,200,000.00
Northeast Compact Commission		$ 94,350.00
TOTAL EXPENDITURES		$ 4,613,595.85

   

The members of the New Jersey Low-Level

Radioactive Waste Disposal Facility Siting Board

• Paul E. Wyszkowski, P.E., Chair, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, retired manager
• Marlen Dooley, Esq. or Gerald P. Nicholls, Ph.D., New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, representing Commissioner Robert C. Shinn, Jr.
• Michael F. Lakat, New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services, representing Commissioner Christine Grant
• Bonnie Magnuson, League of Women Voters
• Richard J. McGoey, Enercon Services, Inc, representing GPU Nuclear
• Robert P. McKeever, Global Power Systems, Inc.
• Leland Merrill, Ph.D., Former Trustee, New Jersey Audubon Society
• James A. Shissias, Public Service Electric & Gas
• Theodore J. Stahl, M.D., Clinical Professor of Radiology and Medicine UMDNJ, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• K. David Steidley, Ph.D., St. Barnabas Medical Center
• Joseph Stencel, Ph.D., Rutgers University, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering

The members of the Waste Advisory Committee

• Richard K. Olsson, Ph.D., Rutgers University, Emeritus Professor of Geology
• James Clancy, Public Service Electric & Gas
• Thomas M. Dempsey, P.E., Enercon Services, Inc, representing GPU Nuclear
• William G. Dressel, Jr., New Jersey State League of Municipalities
• Donald L. Fauerbach, New Jersey Conference of Mayors
• Leslie G. London, Esq., McManimon & Scotland
• William McGrath, Bristol-Myers Squibb
• Lauren H. Moore, Atlantic County Planning Department
• Herbert W. Roeschke, Cumberland/Salem Department of Health
• John M. Simon, Esq., Wolff & Samson