Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §4301, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 141, Pt. A, §6, is amended to read:

2. Costs. The Legislature finds that there are many uncertain future costs associated with nuclear power plants, including the costs of low-level and high-level waste disposal, decommissioning and long-term care. These costs will be borne by the consumers and reductions in these costs will serve to benefit consumers.

Sec. 2. 38 MRSA c. 14-C, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 664, §20 and 1995, c. 333, §6, is repealed.

Sec. 3. PL 1993, c. 400, §3 is repealed.

Sec. 4. Withdrawal from Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact. Pursuant to Sections 7.03, 7.04 and 7.05 of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact, the State of Maine hereby unilaterally and irrevocably withdraws from and terminates its agreements under that compact. The State of Maine takes this step due to:

1. The closure of the State's largest generator of low-level radioactive waste in 1997, obviating the need for Maine's membership in the compact; and

2. The inability to date of the State of Texas to cause a facility to be built in a timely manner pursuant to Section 4.04 of the compact.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This emergency legislation terminates the State's participation in an interstate compact with the states of Texas and Vermont for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated in the 3 states at a facility to be licensed and built in the State of Texas. Maine's withdrawal from the compact is made necessary by the likelihood that the decommissioning of the Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company nuclear power plant will be completed prior to the opening of any disposal facility in Texas

and by the fact that remaining low-level waste generators in this State produce an exceedingly small volume of waste that currently is accepted for disposal at facilities in South Carolina and Utah. In the absence of withdrawal from the compact, the customers paying for Maine Yankee's decommissioning could eventually be exposed to a $25,000,000 payment obligation for compact membership. This bill eliminates that risk.