Support the Texas Compact Commission Facility


On May 11, 2010, the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission (Texas Compact Commission) will consider rules to set up a procedure to consider the export and import of low-level radioactive waste into the Compact’s disposal site in western Andrews County. This undertaking involves a unique partnership:

  • The eight-member Texas Compact Commission, made up of gubernatorial appointees from the states of Vermont and Texas, will review export and import petitions and decide whether or not to grant those petitions.
  • The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the state’s lead environmental agency, after extensive study and review already has determined the type, volume and characteristics of any waste that might be approved for import or export.
  • Waste Control Specialists (WCS) is the company that has been selected by the Compact Commission and licensed by the TCEQ to operate the Compact disposal facility at its site in west Texas. Its operations are governed by the Compact Commission and TCEQ.


Throughout this entire process a small group of mostly Austin-based environmental extremists have opposed this project. They participated fully in the TCEQ hearings prior to TCEQ licensing WCS to dispose of the waste. And they have participated fully in the drafting of the export-import rules by the Texas Compact Commission.

But they are still not satisfied. Now they are resorting to scare tactics and misleading information in an attempt to stop this very important public project.

The Texas Compact needs to hear from you today in support of the export/import rules and its overall activities. Without your comments, the official record will not reflect the extensive and long-term support this project always has received in Andrews and throughout the Permian Basin.


Please send the Compact Commission your emails of support today using the form below. To use the reasons below in your message, click the checkbox next to the remarks you want to use and then hit “send.” You can check as many boxes as you want or write your own comments.

  1. I am in favor of the Texas Compact Commission’s proposed export/import rules because they will go a long way in solving the crisis of how to permanently dispose of low-level radioactive waste.

    The people of Andrews and the Permian Basin are proud to answer our nation’s call by supporting the environmentally safe disposal solution now proposed by the Texas Compact Commission and the operator of the facility, Waste Control Specialists. This new economic activity also will diversify our energy-based economy.

    I urge the Compact Commission to approve the export/import rules at its May 11 meeting in order to guarantee the existence of this permanent disposal option that we so desperately need. Thank you.
  2. The proposed disposal operations were licensed by the TCEQ after five years of thorough, rigorous scrutiny. Experts at the TCEQ exhaustively examined a broad ranges of topics including the site’s suitability, disposal facility design, disposal techniques and geology. By granting WCS a license, TCEQ has effectively declared the site protective of the public health and the environment. There is no reason why operations should not be allowed to begin.
  3. The Compact operations will not only create jobs and economic opportunities for the Permian Basin, just as WCS has done for the past 15 years, they will generate new revenue for Andrews County. The 5 percent Andrews County will receive as a result of the disposal activity will pay for roads, recreational facilities and public safety projects that will enhance the quality of life for all residents. We need this economic diversity to protect our economy from the boom-and-bust cycles of the oil and gas industry.
  4. Texas Water Development Board mappings – and hundreds of independent test borings - clearly demonstrate the Compact disposal site is not above or adjacent to any drinking water source. If there were potable water in that area it would have been tapped long ago. Eunice, N.M., the closest city to the site, pipes in its municipal water from Hobbs, N.M.
  5. The Texas Compact Commission has funding in place to conduct its operations and application fees contained in the proposed export/import rules will supply the funding necessary to adequately review all disposal requests.
  6. WCS has safely accepted waste by rail and road for years. Compact Commission waste will not present any new transportation challenges.
  7. Any waste eventually approved for importation must meet the stringent licensing requirements spelled out by TCEQ. The TCEQ will not allow any waste into the Texas Compact that does not meet the type, characteristics and volume the site is licensed to receive.
  8. Very exact state and federal rules currently exist that prevent waste from losing its identity and characteristics by mixing it with other waste. The precise type and ownership of all waste entering and leaving the Compact will be well documented.
  9. The WCS disposal facility is one of the – if not the – most characterized, analyzed, modeled and monitored sites in the entire county. The site is perfect for disposal because it sites atop hundreds of feet of almost impermeable red bed clay.
  10. The Compact facility is ideal for permanent waste disposal because of its unique geology (impermeable red bed clay and no drinking water present), arid climate and its isolation.
  11. The WCS site enjoys overwhelming support throughout the Permian Basin. This disposal facility is located where it is because the residents of this region want it here.


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