81-15,101.01. Selection of site; local monitoring committee; establishment; members; powers and duties; technical assistance; immunity from liability; Local Site Selection Cash Fund; Local Monitoring Committee Cash Fund; created; use; investment.

(1)(a) The developer shall send written notification by certified or registered mail to the Governor and the Legislature of the selection of three proposed sites by January 1, 1989. Within thirty days after such notification, a local monitoring committee shall be established for each proposed site area. The local monitoring committees shall only exist until a site is selected, except that the local monitoring committee for the selected site area shall continue to exist.

(b) The committees shall represent the citizens of the proposed site areas and maintain communication with the developer and the department to assure protection of public health and safety and the protection of the air, land, and water resources of the area. It is the intent of the Legislature that the local monitoring committees provide significant input concerning local needs and resources regarding all relevant aspects of the site selection and, after a site is selected, that the remaining local monitoring committee provide significant input concerning local needs and resources regarding all relevant aspects of the construction, operation, monitoring, closure, and custodial care of the facility. The functions and duties of the committees shall be established pursuant to rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the council.

(c) Each local monitoring committee shall have access to all monitoring data collected at the site and may contract with a geologist or any other technical expert who shall participate in the developer's onsite characterization and selection process. After a license is issued, the local monitoring committee may hire or contract with a qualified inspector as determined by the department. The inspector shall have the right of independent access to the facility and may inspect all records and activities at the site and carry out joint inspections with the department. The inspector shall report any violations to the department for appropriate action.

(2) The Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska shall provide without charge technical assistance to the local monitoring committee with the sampling, analysis, and testing provided for in this section, including, but not limited to, monitoring and performance of such sampling, analysis, and testing.

(3) Each local monitoring committee shall be composed of the following ten members, all of whom shall be residents of Nebraska:

(a) Two members selected from municipalities which have zoning jurisdiction within fifteen miles of the proposed site or, if there are no such municipalities, from the municipality in closest proximity to the proposed site, to be appointed by the chief executive officer of each municipality or by the governing body if there is no chief executive officer;

(b) Two members from the county in which the site is proposed, to be appointed by the governing body of the county. One member shall be an owner of real property that is within a three-mile radius of the proposed site, and one member shall be an at-large member;

(c) Two members appointed by the board of directors of the natural resources district in which the site is proposed; and

(d) Four members, to be appointed by the Governor, who reside within fifty miles of the proposed site, one of whom represents conservation, one of whom represents agriculture, one of whom is an at-large member, and one of whom is the chief of a fire department located within fifteen miles of the proposed site.

If the appointments required by subdivisions (a) through (c) of this subsection have not been made within thirty days after May 26, 1989, the Governor shall make such appointments. Appointment of a person ineligible to serve pursuant to the requirements of this section shall be considered the equivalent of not making an appointment.

(4) No member of a local monitoring committee shall be liable in any civil action for damages resulting from his or her acts of commission or omission arising out of and in the course of his or her rendering any services as such member in good faith. This section shall not grant immunity for the operation of a motor vehicle in connection with such services or to any member causing damages by willful and wanton acts of commission or omission.

(5) There is hereby created the Local Site Selection Cash Fund which shall be under the direction of the department. Fees or surcharges received pursuant to subdivision (1)(g) of section 81-15,104 shall be placed in the fund. The funds shall be appropriated equally among the committees and may be used for technical studies, determination of social and economic impact, and any other purpose deemed appropriate by such committees to the monitoring of the low-level radioactive waste site planning, construction, or maintenance to assure protection of the air, land, and water resources of the area. The committees shall file quarterly reports with the department verifying expenditures made pursuant to this subsection. The local monitoring committees may hire clerical staff and purchase supplies. The local monitoring committees may not hire professional or technical staff but may contract for professional or technical services.

(6) There is hereby created the Local Monitoring Committee Cash Fund which shall be under the direction of the department. Fees or surcharges received pursuant to subdivision (1)(h) of section 81-15,104 shall be placed in the fund. The fees and surcharges collected pursuant to subdivision (1)(h) of section 81-15,104 shall not exceed one hundred thousand dollars per year and shall be used by such local monitoring committee for all reasonable and necessary costs in order to carry out this section. The local monitoring committee may hire clerical staff and purchase office supplies. Except for a qualified inspector hired pursuant to subdivision (1)(c) of this section, the local monitoring committee may not hire professional or technical staff but may contract for professional or technical services.

(7) Any money in the Local Site Selection Cash Fund or the Local Monitoring Committee Cash Fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(8) The State Treasurer shall transfer the entire balance in the Local Monitoring Committee Cash Fund, including any investment income credited to the fund, to the General Fund as soon as possible after August 15, 2005.

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