Lawmaker Resurrects Radioactive Waste Bill

AUSTIN (AP) — A Republican lawmaker has resurrected a radioactive waste bill that would allow a West Texas site to store more hazardous materials. San Angelo Representative Drew Darby on Tuesday incorporated the measure into another bill governing a radioactive storage site in Anderson County.

The measure allows the Waste Control Specialists’ nuclear waste facility to import materials with greater radioactivity from other states. The bill also encourages Texas companies to export lower-level waste. The facility was originally intended only to accept materials from Texas and Vermont, but lawmakers have expanded what materials it can accept.

Waste Control Specialists says it needs the changes to make the site profitable. The company’s owner Harold Simmons is one of the state’s largest political donors to Republican politicians. The original bill only changed accounting rules.