§ 7012. Responsibilities of the Authority

(a) The Authority, while informing and consulting the public throughout, shall carry out the actions necessary to fulfill the requirements of the timetable in section 7002 of this chapter.

(b) The Authority must comply with the rules adopted by the Agency and with any fee approval conditions of the Public Utility Commission under sections 7020 through 7024 of this title, even if they impose requirements more stringent than federal requirements, and the Authority must obtain all applicable State and local permits for the disposal facility authorized by this chapter, except that the facility is not subject to certification under section 6605 of this title.

(c) If a low-level radioactive waste disposal facility is constructed by the Authority, the Authority shall provide for the operation, maintenance, and closure of the facility and shall provide for all necessary actions during the institutional control period. The Authority shall place information about the facility and the waste placed in the facility in appropriate State and local records.

(d) In performing the study to determine the appropriate permanent disposal technology for long-lived waste, required by subdivision 7002(a)(2) of this title, the Authority shall consider a deep-mined facility in-state, technologies not normally examined in the United States for disposal of low-level radioactive waste, and all other technologies reasonably available.

(e) In performing the study, required by subdivision 7002(a)(2) of this title, to determine the maximum appropriate separation of long-lived waste, the Authority shall consider the various techniques potentially available, their costs and incremental risks. The risks to be considered should include radiological and other risks to workers, the public, and the environment from the separation process and from the disposal of the separated wastes in the facility authorized by this chapter and in any expected permanent disposal facility for the long-lived waste.

(f) Prior to a decision to prepare a draft license application and the submission of that decision to the General Assembly, the Authority shall:

(1) conduct a social and economic impacts study to determine the short-term and long-term effects from the proposed disposal facility on the Vermont municipalities that contain, or that are adjacent to municipalities containing, the proposed site and determine the appropriate impact fees to be paid;

(2) prepare a report on the strengths and weaknesses of the site that has been characterized and comparing the site to the best potential alternative site as identified by the Authority;

(3) negotiate with the municipality or each municipality where the proposed site is located any impact fees, other payments, or conditions to be included in the proposal to be submitted to the voters and in the petition to be submitted to the General Assembly;

(4) hold at least one public hearing near each site; and

(5) obtain the consent of a majority of the voters, present and voting at a duly warned meeting, of the municipality, or of each municipality, where the proposed site is located.

(g) For any particular site, including the Yankee site, the Authority may perform any of the requirements of subsection (f) of this section as soon as appropriate.

(h) Prior to a decision to characterize another certified site, the report on the strengths and weaknesses of the previously characterized site must be completed. However, a decision to characterize another site will not prohibit a later decision to prepare a draft license for any previously characterized site, if otherwise appropriate.

(i) A petition to the General Assembly to prepare a draft license application must be accompanied by a proposed financing plan for legislative enactment to cover the construction costs of the facility, unless the Authority has opted to raise construction funds under the provisions of section 7015 of this chapter.

(j) The Authority in deciding on the specific disposal plan required by subdivision 7002(a)(20) of this title for the permanent disposal of the long-lived waste shall thoroughly examine all reasonable alternatives to leaving the waste at the disposal facility authorized by this chapter and the option of leaving it there shall not be given undue weight.

(k) The Authority shall advise, consult, and cooperate with the federal government and its agencies, the State and its other agencies, interstate agencies, other states, local governmental entities within this State, and private entities.

(l) The Authority initially shall prepare a budget in reasonable detail, allocating funds for the year, and shall periodically revise the budget, as necessary. The Authority shall keep an accurate account of all its activities and of all its receipts and expenditures. Prior to the first day of September in each year, the Authority shall submit a report of its activities for the preceding fiscal year to the Governor and to the General Assembly. The report shall set forth a complete operating and financial statement covering its operations during the year. The Authority shall cause an audit of its books and accounts to be made at least once in each year by a certified public accountant and its cost shall be considered an expense of the Authority and a copy shall be included in the annual report.

(m) The Auditor of Accounts of the State and the Auditor’s authorized representatives may at any time examine the accounts and books of the Authority including its receipts, disbursements, contracts, funds, investments, and any other matters relating to its financial statements.

(n) The Authority shall prepare an annual report on the quantities, characteristics, and any expected treatment of the low-level radioactive waste generated in Vermont during the calendar year and reasonably expected to be generated through the date anticipated by the Authority for the completion of the decommissioning of Vermont Yankee.

(o) The Authority shall administer a grant program for Vermont municipalities where a certified site is located which the Authority has decided to characterize and may administer a similar grant program for Vermont municipalities that are within five miles of such a site. The grants shall be subject to the approval of the Public Utility Commission and shall be used by the municipality to provide technical assistance and to otherwise assist the community to effectively participate in the consideration of the site for a disposal facility under this chapter.

(p) Prior to the commencement of operation of the disposal facility, the Authority shall establish a disposal fee, to be approved by the Public Utility Commission, for any waste that must be accepted by the facility for disposal on which the service fee has not been paid under subsection 7013(e) of this title or for which capacity has not been contracted for under section 7015. The disposal fee must cover, pro rata, all costs and expenses contemplated by this chapter.

(q) The Authority shall provide free of charge a copy of any public document within its possession, upon request, to any municipalities that contain, or that are adjacent to municipalities containing, an alternative site or the Yankee site. (Added 1989, No. 296 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 29, amended 1990; 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 41.)