Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority
Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority
In 1981, the 67th Texas Legislature (Senate Bill 1177, Regular Session) created the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority (TLLRWDA) to select, prepare, construct, operate, maintain, decommission, close, and finance a disposal facility for wastes generated solely within the state. Legislation set the criteria TLLRWDA used to select a site. After multiple studies and refinement of the selection criteria, the TLLRWDA chose the 16,000-acre Faskin Ranch, near Sierra Blanca, for the state’s low-level radioactive waste disposal site. In the fall of 1998, the TLLRWDA’s license application to build, manage, and decommission a low-level radioactive site was denied by the then-Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. In 1999, the legislature decided to abolish the agency instead of asking the agency to locate another site (House Bill 2954, 76th Legislature, Regular Session). Since September 1999, the disposal of low-level radioactive waste has been managed by the private sector.
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority records, 1917, 1920, 1933-1999, undated, bulk 1992-1998
Creator: Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority
Title: Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority records
Dates: 1917, 1920, 1933-1999, undated
Abstract: The objectives of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Authority (TLLRWDA) were to update existing statutes governing radioactive materials and to establish a state-operated low-level radioactive waste disposal program. Records include correspondence, memorandums, environmental monitoring and experimental data, minutes and agenda, reports, studies, news clippings, maps and drawings, photographs, land records, contracts, publications, public relations materials, planning documents, board orders and resolutions, court documents, manuals, organizational charts, audio and video recordings, magnetic media, and other background material related to the various stages of the site selection process, dating 1917, 1920, 1933-1999, undated, bulk 1992-1998. Subjects include the site characterization and selection process, low-level radioactive waste disposal trends, waste management planning, public perception of TLLRWDA and similar entities, development of Hudspeth County infrastructure, legislation related to agency operations, geological features of Texas, collection and analysis of environmental data, status of the agency’s license application, quality assurance tasks and audits, TLLRWDA’s relationships to external entities, socio-economic impacts of the project, and environmental justice issues. Electronic records are present in addition to analog materials.
Please note these records are restricted and not publicly available in the TDA: The records may contain information that is confidential under the Texas Public Information Act (PIA) (Texas Government Code, Chapter 552) or other statutes. Restricted information, as outlined in the statutes, applies to both physical and electronic records. As laws change, statutory restrictions may be added to or removed from these records. See our Texas Public Information Act and Researching in the State Archives web page for the more common types of restrictions found in state government records and for information on how to submit a request for records.
