There were seven special and regular meetings of the Commission during the fiscal year. There were also four meetings of the Facility Review Committee and the Annual Information Forum was held in conjunction with the 1998 Annual Meeting. Except for the Commission's Mid-Year Meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, all meetings were held in Lincoln, Nebraska.
A Special Teleconference Meeting of the Commission was held on July 16, 1997, for the purpose of taking action on several LLRW Export Applications. During the meeting, the Commissioners approved 12 export applications. The Alternate Nebraska Commissioner voted "no" on some of the export application approvals, contending that the no vote in effect "vetoed" the Commission approval. This action was similar to the action taken by the Nebraska Commissioner at the 1997 Annual Commission Meeting regarding some export applications.
The Fall Meeting of the Commission on September 17, 1997 was held to receive public comment on the project and to conduct Commission business. Among the actions taken during the meeting were the approval of several llrw export applications; acceptance of the 1996-1997 Audit of the Commission conducted by the Commission's Accountant; approval of the fourth quarter funding request of US Ecology; and the acceptance of several reports to the Commission. The Commission recessed the Commission meeting until October 2, 1997 to receive and consider amendments to the funding contract with the Commission's major generators of llrw and the work contract with the Commission's developer, US Ecology. During the October 2nd, meeting, which was conducted via teleconference, the Commission approved respective amendments to the two Commission contracts. The Major Generator / CIC contract continued project funding through the issuance of the state's draft evaluation documents or April 1, 1998. Further extensions of the funding agreement must receive additional CIC and Major Generator action.
The Commissioners met for the Mid-Year Meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas on January 28, 1998. During the meeting Host State representatives, Major Generator representatives, US Ecology representatives, and Commission representatives discussed a review of Options and Alternatives, as called for in the contract between the Commission and US Ecology. During the discussion a representative of Chem Nuclear Systems Inc., reported on the status of the long term access initiative for access to the Barnwell, South Carolina LLRW disposal facility. Commission approval was granted to the 1998 Pre-Construction Work Plan, and the 1998 first quarter funding request of US Ecology. The Commission also approved two export applications and received general public comment.
The Spring Meeting of the Commission was held on March 18, 1998. The meeting included an executive session to receive legal advice from the Commission's outside legal counsel. In addition to receiving several reports and public comment, the Commission took action to approve two export applications and the US Ecology second quarter funding request.
On April 13, 1998 an Emergency Telephone Meeting of the Commission was held to take action on extending the project funding contract between the Commission and the Compact's Major Generators. The Commission approved extending the funding contract until May 15, 1998.
On May 13, 1998 a Special Telephone Meeting of the Commission was held to take action on extending the project funding contract between the Commission and the Compact's Major Generators and approving amendments to the Major Generator funding contract and the US Ecology work contract. The Commission approved extending the funding contract until June 15, 1998, and also approved the 7th amendment to the Commission / Major Generator contract and the 5th amendment to the Commission / US Ecology contract.
On June 17, 1998 the Commission's Annual Meeting was called to order for business. The Commission received general public comment and various reports. There was action taken by the Commissioners to ratify Commission approval, given at the May 13, 1998 Special Telephone Meeting, for the Major Generator funding commitment and the developer project work contracts. The Major Generator contract amendment, among other things, committed an additional $6.1 million of funding through January, 1999, and amended the method of calculating and collecting surcharges for payment of pre-licensing costs.
During the meeting, the Commission passed a resolution stating that the Host State Commissioner acted without authority in filing a lawsuit against the Commission's outside Legal Counsel and requested him to dismiss his lawsuit.
The Commission's developer said during the meeting that the Host State Regulators could be in a position to release the final license application evaluation documents this summer and a proposed license decision shortly thereafter. This activity would start the 90 day public comment process and the public hearing on the licensing decision. There were no export applications for Commission consideration. The Commission approved the US Ecology Third Quarter Funding Request of approximately $2 million.
The Commission approved a reduced (35%) administrative budget for the 1998-99 fiscal year. The budget recognizes a reduction in the Project Manager's work efforts from full time to quarter time and the elimination of the Public Information / Education Officer position. This change in work efforts of the staff is a realization of the appropriate Commission staffing levels at this point of the license application review process. The Commission approved a reduction in the export application fees for the 1998-99 fiscal year due to the reduction on the expense side of the budget. The expense side of the budget is approximately $493,500.00, and the revenue side of the budget is approximately $492,000.00. The Commission staff is expected to operate within the budget and not incur any budget deficits.
The Commissioner from Arkansas was re-elected as the 1998-99 Commission Chairman for a second consecutive term. Pursuant to Commission Rules, this will be the Arkansas Commissioner's last term as Chairman until all of the member states have again served as Chairman.