Public Health Labor & Environment Subcommittee- House & Senate

I like to call the meeting to order this is a House labor environment permanent subcommittee of public health. Eunan's means we'll get started the Carly Cooper is the new administrative assistant. She's over here. Okay still's been promoted to assistant to the administrator. Okay we can move forward with the item be. we'll I'm sorry I don't see. Thirty AM comments and the okay move without MC consideration to adopt August second meeting minutes. So adopted and. Motion. Any objection. I mean it's been adopted. D. discussing of act in ninety two of twenty twenty one which creates a study on the commercial application of existing technology to reclaim and repurpose spent nuclear fuel rods Representative Ladyman and Michael Gruppe if you'd like to. Come forward. If you would please introduce yourself for the record. Representative Jack Ladyman district fifty nine. Like a repair department of environment. You like to proceed. Well thank you Mr chairman of we will give you an update on this project there's been a lot of work that has been done since we had in our last meeting so we want to bring an update and I would ask Mr paypie would to fill you in on what's been going on. Thank you committee. you should have in your package exhibit D. which is a one page explanation of the events that have taken place in what. The goal is ultimately to go down the very bottom of the explanation our program effort under act ten ninety two the development of a program proposal to the department of energy to provide a green light for federal funding in the development of existing technologies for commercial use. So to that end we've been working toward getting the proper information in place. And identifying up player they can put the information into a package to take to the department of energy NDC. I'll be glad to answer any questions. Mr chairman could add one thing of. This particular act was presented at the southern states Energy Commission in Oklahoma City last month by a representative back and the that's a commission consisting of I think sixteen states thirteen or sixteen I think it's sixteen states. And the they've adopted this program as a model for their organization and are are are looking at this for additional funds or help to help implement so just wanna let committee know that thank you a representative paid did you have a question. Go ahead thank you so you said that you are working to identify a player that could assist in this have you had identified anybody yes Sir and the next item on the agenda we're going to address that the player this for health benefit information together okay so I guess my question would be if you identified one or multiple or well when we've identified is been working with that the University of Arkansas as well as Mister Womack in previous efforts and so they've got all the documentation together. And the proposed that we're asking for is ten thousand dollars. which within accumulate all information to a package to go to Washington with okay thank you thank you Mr. Any other questions. Okay anything else you all like to add. Irvin we've been dealing with this for several years and acting ninety two came along with the representative Ladyman and. Depreciate Mr letterman's the efforts and bringing this to the point of member to. Yes we can get it moved on to the next your action wishes department of energy thank you Sir just that one thing that you know we've had meetings with interested parties. And basically we struggle with you know how do we go after the money at the department of energy at the federal level. And and we need some engineering expertise to be able to put together the facts so that we can go to Washington and we're planning on meetings in Washington but we need to from the to put together facts be our technical expertise and that's what we're going to ask you for today. Okay. We appreciate you doing this this is something that definitely needs to be done. Will move on to a to me. On item may is the is the proposal that borough Broadwell core piece put together. Identifying the the amount for the fee which is ten thousand dollars. And for that package should be put together and coordination with the University of Arkansas John Womack and the previous work that Mr Ragland don't them. For the department of energy's presentation. Glad to take any questions. A representative Payton you have a question yes okay you're recognized thank you so this is a fee for them to put together a proposal I would assume what do we expect to be contained in the proposal. The information putting together would be site. The civic locations in the state of Arkansas where they could carry this out of the equipment issues that need to be addressed commercially and they have done previous work including this similar things together so instead of paying the we originally started almost three hundred thousand dollars two hundred ninety seven thousand eight ACT and through discussions and communications we're going to take all that information that they've been working on previously hampered ten thousand dollars we're just going to re package it. So looking down the road if I may Mister. looking down the road we're talking about construction of a facility. So. They're going to help identify sites where that may be constructed I would assume and then. When we find out. What the investment is towards. Building this facility and we expect that to be a hundred percent federally funded or or what. The other package that they're putting together is to go to the department of energy and receive the funding to do all the things that you're you just asked about the construction cost the planning the building the design work. That would all be funded by the department of energy so basically the ten thousand is for them to put it in a package that's presentable to the federal government for to give authority to do this that's correct represent pain what what we have to have a for we can go fill out an application for department of energy we have to have you know mission goals sizing of a facility and then but you know outcomes what we're gonna be the outcomes we won't be able to get that funding unless we have those details documented formally to submit to the department of energy and this particular engineering firm they've had experience of with that the PCB facility down rate they worked on that they've had national experience in this area and they have worked closely with the University of Arkansas Mr pace said so I think they're a good fit and not only that they they work in the field so they understand the problem with nuclear waste and they they personally want to help fix that problem great M. one last follow up where they from where's this company from. Fortunate great thank you thank you Mr yes Sir GoLocal. You senator Bledsoe you're recognized for a question. Thank you Mr chairman just for my own edification what are they doing with the waist now. It is sitting in a parking lot in energy. One in Russellville. Well the answer is nothing okay the the and that's not just in Arkansas that's worldwide basically there are a few projects going on in other countries but basically they're not doing anything and and that's really what the primary reasons that this is needed because we have to address this problem because it just continues to grow every day we have nowhere to go with it. All right that sounds like a good idea thank you. Senator Solomon you're recognized for a question thank you Mr chair so I'm not familiar with is how does one bit out you know often they have a one one bid to project they say will a total projects going to be a hundred million will charge a ten percent you get a number how does how do you build this out. Are you talking about the if the department of energy comes through with the money ten thousand dollars seems like a nice round number so that we go say Hey guys we like you do this this may go yet ten thousand sounds good we'll charge you ten thousand there's gonna be some structure that one bases a bid on and generally they often they do it on the total cost of the project will be a ten percent V. or something along so how do you come up with ten thousand dollars well that's that's really good question is one that we struggle with and as Mr pace said we started out with two hundred and ninety thousand dollars was was what they recommended but. We're not getting a a construction project is ace we're buying an answering service so it's really hard to define that for you can be at it so what you look for someone who's qualified and then we've had meetings with them and talk to them about their expertise look at the personnel they have the ability to do it they give us an estimate so we will not exceed that ten thousand dollars it's going to be based on your we're going to spend X. number of hours with why number of of professionals there's got to be a formular to how we get to ten thousand so what's that formular what that we through the negotiations and discussions at the university of Arkansas and with Mister Womack and with the Mr Braswell. We took all the information that they currently have put together over the last several years. Instead if we re package that information and you have to take a trip to Washington how much would that cost. In a camera with a bigger of approximately ten thousand dollars that's how that was done simply that was earned just curious again on their negotiation that we say we say seven they say fifteen regarding eleven we started to ninety seven when it goes to the house so it would work out quite a bit well it was just the way we re packaged it and took the information it was our existing and have them put that package together it would be sufficient to go to the Department okay all right thank you thank you Mr. Senator Hammer you're recognized for a question thank you Mr little bit behind assisting on with the the disposal of the nuclear waste from the nuclear power plant is that what this is all about. It's about the recycling of that material the recycling of that particular. And this may be totally unrelated but I've heard. Wind out there about an effort also for the recycling of the batteries that are in the automobiles like to test look the project out there I would just like to put this thought in your mind that issue do this maybe you might want to partner up with that idea that if you're gonna be in another kind of two totally different creatures but if there's some way efforts could be combined that that could be done I think that would be just something maybe to throw on the mix of things. Thanks. Any other questions. Good Mr chairman is no more questions I would ask the department of energy and environment to enter into a contract with Roland Braswell engineering. for ten thousand dollars to complete this work. I don't think that would require a vote this is not a budget change but is that correct Mr price. Is there any discussion on the motion. You're recognized representation. Well I would just say that as a subcommittee we have the authority to recommend that the department of energy do this so I would second that recommendation. Without any objection. The consider that motion adopted. Thank you. Thank you all thank you Committee. The that concludes our meeting today the next meeting of public health will be December sixth at ten AM. we are adjourned.