The commission that controls which out-of-state radioactive waste may be buried in West Texas meets Oct. 22 in Andrews and votes on four requests to bring more of it in — from a Florida nuclear plant, a Michigan one, a materials processor and a waste treatment company added to the agenda at the last minute.
The waste at issue is low-level: contaminated tools, filters, resins, protective clothing and cut-up reactor hardware, not spent nuclear fuel, which the compact disposal facility is not licensed to bury. It goes to a site near the New Mexico line run by Waste Control Specialists, built to serve a compact of two states, Texas and Vermont. Anything from outside those two is an import, and each import needs this commission’s sign-off. The four on the agenda are from Florida Power & Light’s St. Lucie plant, DTE’s Fermi 2 plant in Michigan, the Toxco Materials Management Center and Diversified Scientific Services. The commission says the last of those was filed on time but left off the first version of the agenda by a technical failure at its own office, and that taking it up may require a vote to set aside the commission’s rules of procedure.
Two export applications run the other way, for waste leaving the compact for disposal elsewhere; they are filed by Bionomics and by Carthage Logistics & Environmental. Imports are the contested half of the commission’s work, because every cubic foot that comes in from outside Texas and Vermont uses space the two member states paid to create. The notice names no volumes, no isotopes and no dollar figures for any of the six applications, and gives no indication of how staff has recommended the commission vote. The supporting files are posted on the commission’s website under headings for import applications, amendments and export applications.
The number worth watching comes earlier in the meeting, when Waste Control Specialists reports on how much room is left at the site and on the construction schedule for new disposal cells. Capacity is the ceiling on everything the commission can approve, and it is the figure that has driven the argument over how much of the country’s low-level waste ends up in Andrews County. The company also reports on recent site operations and safety.
The commission meets in the Andrews County commissioners courtroom, in the county that hosts the site, and takes public comment near the top of the agenda rather than the end. People may speak in the room or raise a hand on the Zoom webinar, and the chair will take written comment emailed in advance.
Meeting at a glance
- When
- 9:00 AM, Thursday, October 22, 2026. The operative notice, TRD 2026006108, was filed October 14 at 4:10 p.m. and replaces TRD 2026006067 of October 13.
- Where
- Andrews County Commissioners Court, 201 North Main, Room 104, Andrews.
- Governing body & chair
- Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission — eight commissioners, six appointed by the governor of Texas and two by the governor of Vermont. Chairman Brandon T. Hurley.
- Format
- Open meeting, 13 numbered items, including one item carrying four import applications and one carrying two exports, plus an operator report and two committee reports. In person and by webinar; may close on any item.
- Live video
- Zoom webinar, registration required. A recording is posted afterward on the commission’s site. Contact Stephen Raines, 512-350-6241.
- Full agenda
- Secretary of State Open Meeting Viewer · tllrwdcc.org
Commissioners
- Brandon T. Hurley — chairman; Texas seat; Grapevine; attorney.
- John M. Salsman — vice chairman; Texas seat; Driftwood; UT Austin safety director.
- Ryan Anwar — Texas seat; Midland; owner, Midland Energy.
- Linda K. Morris — Texas seat; Waco; retired college safety department head.
- Jeff Mundy — Texas seat; Austin; attorney, natural resources.
- Sumana Nayak — Texas seat; Andrews; health care executive.
- Peter Bradford — Vermont seat; serves at that governor’s pleasure.
- Richard H. Saudek — Vermont seat; serves at that governor’s pleasure.
This roster is less firm than most. It comes from the commission’s own undated members page, checked October 14 against its annual report of January 31, 2025 and against the governor’s appointment releases. Hurley is identified as chairman from his signature on orders the commission issued in October 2025 and September 2026; the commission has posted no minutes since 2009, so attendance at its 2026 meetings could not be checked. Hurley’s and Mundy’s terms ran out September 1, 2025 and no reappointment or replacement was found; Texas officers serve until a successor qualifies, and Hurley was still signing as chairman in September 2026, but Mundy’s current service could not be confirmed from any dated source. The two Vermont seats rest on the 2025 annual report alone; Vermont’s own appointments page is years out of date and was not used. Confirm the roster with the commission before printing names.