CHAPTER 446
NUCLEAR ENERGY
Table of Contents
Sec. 22a-135. (Formerly Sec. 19-408a). Duties of Department of Environmental Protection re nuclear energy and radiation. Fees. Reporting of nuclear incidents.
Sec. 22a-135. (Formerly Sec. 19-408a). Duties of Department of Environmental Protection re nuclear energy and radiation. Fees. Reporting of nuclear incidents. (a) The Department of Environmental Protection shall: (1) Review the plans for
and operation of safety programs at nuclear plants; (2) make recommendations to the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission concerning third-party inspection of components and
construction of nuclear plants for the purpose of improving quality assurance plans and
programs; (3) require the immediate reporting to the Commissioner of Environmental
Protection or his designee, which may be another state agency, by licensees of the United
States Nuclear Regulatory Commission which operate nuclear power generating facilities in this state as soon as the licensee has knowledge or, in the exercise of reasonable
care should have had knowledge of (A) any release of radiation which is unplanned,
unmonitored or which exceeds design standards and specifications established by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and (B) any occurrence, incident or other abnormal
circumstance, unless it is immediately evident that such occurrence, incident or circumstance is not required to be reported within twenty-four hours or sooner to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission; (4) monitor radiation originating from nuclear plants and perform tests to detect any buildup of radioactivity in the soil, water, plants or animals of
the state; (5) review the training and education of workers at nuclear plants to insure
awareness of the possible risks of cancer and future genetic effects; (6) represent the
interests of the state in federal and state regulatory hearings and other administrative
actions concerning nuclear plants which affect the state; (7) intervene in federal proceedings and petition federal agencies for revision of existing regulations where appropriate;
(8) conduct periodic on-site evaluations of the effectiveness and enforcement of federal
regulations for the packaging and transportation of radioactive material; (9) study plans
for, and hazards inherent in the decommissioning of Connecticut nuclear plants including the possible future use of land now in use by a nuclear power facility; (10) study
the storage problems posed by high level wastes; (11) study and, in cooperation with
the state police, monitor the security of nuclear plants to assure that the dangers from
sabotage and terrorism are minimized; (12) monitor sources of ionizing radiation, microwave radiation and radioactive materials within the state; (13) review the state emergency plan for radiation safety; and (14) investigate out-of-state potential radiological
hazards which may have a significant adverse effect upon the health or safety of the
people of the state. The commissioner shall charge each of the four nuclear-powered
commercial electric power generating plants an annual fee of sixty thousand dollars for
monitoring radiation released from such plants. Nuclear fuels radiation facilities shall
pay an annual fee of fifteen thousand dollars for monitoring such plants.
(b) In addition to the reporting required of a licensee pursuant to the provisions of
subdivision (3) of subsection (a) of this section, the department may require the reporting
immediately or within such time period as the department may designate of any additional occurrence, incident or other abnormal circumstance which is not required to be
reported within twenty-four hours or sooner to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The department shall adopt regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to carry out the
provisions of this subsection.
(P.A. 78-214, S. 1, 4; P.A. 80-351, S. 1, 5; P.A. 90-231, S. 4, 28; P.A. 91-369, S. 22, 36; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6,
S. 121; P.A. 05-288, S. 100.)
History: P.A. 80-351 replaced previous Subdiv. (3) in Subsec. (a) which had required immediate report to department
"by nuclear facilities of any incidents required to be reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission" with more specific
provisions and added Subsec. (b) re additional reports which may be required; Sec. 19-408a transferred to Sec. 22a-135
in 1981; P.A. 90-231 amended Subsec. (a) to require facilities to pay annual fees and provided that on and after July 1,
1993, the fees shall be prescribed by regulations; P.A. 91-369 amended Subsec. (a) to restate commissioner's authority to
adopt regulations setting the fees required by this section; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a) to increase
annual monitoring fee for generating plants from forty thousand to sixty thousand dollars and annual monitoring fee for
nuclear fuels radiation facilities from ten thousand to fifteen thousand dollars and to delete provisions re regulations to
prescribe amount of fees, effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 05-288 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), effective July
13, 2005.