North Dakota Geological Survey

 

High-Level Radioactive Waste Advisory Council Meeting Minutes

Date: November 4, 2019
Location: DMR Conference Room, 1000 Calgary Avenue, Bismarck, ND

Meeting was called to order at 10:08 am. The meeting began with a welcome from Ed Murphy and the council members introduced themselves and the roll was taken.

Advisory Council attendees:
Representative Dan Ruby, District 38 Garland Erbele, Water Commission
Representative Mark Owens, District 37 David Glatt, Dept. of Environmental Quality
Senator Dale Patten, District 39 Kenneth Vein
Senator Jim Roers, District 46. Dean Pearson
Terry Steinwand, Game and Fish Rebecca Leier
Mylynn Tufte, Department of Health Ed Murphy, Geological Survey

Ed Murphy noted that 11 of the 13 voting Advisory Council members were in attendance and therefore there was a quorum. Council members not in attendance were Michelle Kommer, Department of Commerce and Bill Panos, Department of Transportation. Ron Henke, Department of Transportation, was seated at the table.

Additional people attending the meeting were presenters: Sandra DePountis, Assistant Attorney General; Representative Jon Nelson, District 14; Chris Joseph, Legislative Council; Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center (attending via phone); Dale Patrick, Department of Environmental Quality, and observers: Reice Haase, Governor’s Office; Mindy Austin, DMR; and Brock Wahl, DMR.

The first order of business was to select a Chair. Ed Murphy opened the floor for nominations and David Glatt made a motion to nominate Senator Jim Roers as Chair. Terry Steinwand seconded the motion. There were no other nominees. The motion was unanimously carried and Ed Murphy turned the meeting over to Chairman Roers.

The second order of business was a presentation by Assistant Attorney General Sandra DePountis to explain how the open records and open meetings laws work.

The third order of business was a presentation by Ed Murphy, Geological Survey, regarding NDCC 23-20.2 and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

The fourth order of business was a presentation by Representative Jon Nelson, District 14, regarding Senate Bill 2156, 65th Legislative Assembly of North Dakota.

The fifth order of business was a presentation by Chris Joseph, Legislative Council, regarding the legislative history of NDCC 38-23.

The meeting adjourned for lunch at 11:30 am.
The meeting resumed at 12:00 p.m.

The fifth order of business was a presentation by council member Rebecca Leier, representing Community Alliance, on the events surrounding the proposed deep test hole in Pierce County in late 2015 and early 2016. Rebecca then introduced Don Hancock.

The sixth order of business was a presentation by Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center, via conference call regarding the history of high-level radioactive waste in the U.S.

The seventh order of business was council member David Glatt, Department of Environmental Quality, introducing Dale Patrick, Department of Environmental Quality, regarding a presentation of DEQ’s radiation safety program and North Dakota’s low-level waste compacts.

Council Member Ed Murphy gave a short presentation on rules noting that seven pages of rules have been written with another 20 or 30 pages likely left to write. He thought it might take four or five months to complete the rules.

Chairman Roers noted that there had been talk of holding a future meeting in the city of Rugby, but questioned the additional time burden on the agency directors as well as the added travel costs since half of the council members reside in Bismarck. He asked Ed Murphy to send out a survey monkey to the council members this spring to find a meeting date in May that would work best and to ask their preference for the meeting location.

Chairman Roers adjourned the meeting at 2:15 pm.