§ 7020. State regulation; responsibilities and authority

(a) The Agency, after public comment and after consultation with the Public Utility Commission and the Department of Public Service, shall by rule establish the siting requirements, the screening and certification procedures and criteria, the separation, recoverability, and facility design standards, and the draft license review procedures and standards. These rules must at least include the minimum requirements of sections 7021, 7022, 7023, and 7024 of this title and be sufficient to protect the environment and the public health for the hazardous life of materials likely to be deposited in the disposal facility. The Agency shall by rule establish procedures and requirements for public comment under this chapter. The Agency shall also by rule establish procedures and requirements for reports and manifests from generators of low-level radioactive waste concerning the quantities, concentrations, characteristics, expected generation rates, packaging, storage conditions, and any other information reasonably necessary for the Agency and the Authority to carry out their responsibilities.

(b) The Public Utility Commission shall:

(1) approve the service fees and disposal fees set by the Authority under sections 7011(4)(K), 7012(p) and 7013(e) of this title;

(2) utilize procedures substantially similar to the rate-setting procedures in 30 V.S.A. chapter 5, including the procedures for temporary rates in section 226 of that chapter but not including the time limits of section 227 of that chapter;

(3) review and approve, during any fee approval proceeding, an amount for:

(A) expenses expected prior to the end of the operating life of Vermont Yankee, except construction costs;

(B) expenses, including ongoing capital costs, expected after the end of the operating life of Vermont Yankee;

(C) costs of the permanent disposal of the long-lived waste; and

(D) construction costs; and

(4) determine, after public hearing, adequate financial assurance requirements to be specified as a condition for approval of fees under this subsection.

(c) The Department of Public Service shall appear in all proceedings before the Public Utility Commission under this chapter and represent the interests of the people of the State. The Department of Public Service shall review and may present testimony on any issue, including the service or disposal fees, the costs of permanent disposal of the long-lived waste, the financial assurance requirements, and the relationship of these fees, costs, and requirements to the costs of decommissioning the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station.

(d) Rules adopted under this section must be at least as stringent as applicable federal standards, performance objectives, and requirements.

(e) No officers, departments, boards, agencies, divisions, and commissions of the State may render any services to the Authority that would compromise their ability to perform their regulatory functions under this chapter, but they shall cooperate with and provide any information available to them as may be requested by the Authority for the performance of its responsibilities if otherwise allowed by law.

(f) The Agency of Natural Resources, the Public Utility Commission and the Department of Public Service may allocate to the Authority the portion of the expenses incurred by them, including expenses from the use of additional personnel and regular employees, for all actions and proceedings authorized by this chapter. At least quarterly, the Agency and the Department of Public Service shall send to the Authority detailed statements showing the money expended, and the Authority shall pay those statements out of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Fund. (Added 1989, No. 296 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 29, 1990.)