New York State Low Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission Minutes of Commission Meetings

Chronological by date of meeting.

The State Legislature created the New York State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission in 1986 (Chapter 673) under the management of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to provide for the safe disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated within the state. The five-member commission, appointed by the Governor, consists of a geologist, medical doctor, health physicist, professional engineer, and a private citizen designated chairperson. Members are to be competent and knowledgeable concerning low-level radioactive waste; the chairperson appoints an executive director.

The Commission was mandated to select a preferred disposal technology and site for the state's low-level radioactive waste disposal facility. Chapter 673 also required the NYSERDA to establish the facility by January 1, 1993, and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to promulgate regulations containing specific and detailed criteria for siting a low-level waste facility. Thus DEC would establish the criteria, the commission would choose the methodology and the site, and NYSERDA would actually build and operate the facility. Although the regulations were formulated, as of 1995 the commission had not determined either the method by which to dispose of low-level radioactive waste or the site on which the facility will be located.

This series consists of copies of minutes of the meetings of the New York State Low-Level Radioactive Waste Siting Commission. The minutes document actions, decisions, and policies made and developed by the commissioners not only at public meetings but also in private sessions during which the bulk of their work was accomplished. Information in the minutes typically includes names of members present, readings of minutes of previous meetings, reports from staff, project status reports from committees, discussion and review of proposed plans of action and proposed regulations, and presentations by private citizens in public meetings. The series also contains some monthly project status reports and project summaries, agendas, and press releases.

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