Andrews County To Vote On Funding Nuke Site

The company, which was issued a low-level radioactive waste disposal license in January by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, already stores the material at the site about 30 miles west of the city of Andrews and 370 miles west of Dallas.

The waste will come from Texas and Vermont and from sites run by the federal government.

Waste Control has stored, treated and disposed of hazardous waste at the 1,400-acre Andrews site since 1997. The new disposal facility will be within the 1,400 acres.

Chuck McDonald, a spokesman for Waste Control Specialists, said it and its parent company, Valhi Inc., have invested $225 million in the site. The company has no debt right now, and one of the few viable options for expansion is the municipal bond market, McDonald said.

"It's an unprecedented time financially ... the timing turned out to make it difficult to access traditional financing," he said.

Rhonda Stark said it's Valhi's credit rating that's making it turn to taxpayers, while Waste Control officials are saying they can't get loans because of the tight credit markets.