| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Waste Management |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York |
Key people | J.F. Lehman & Company, Owner |
Number of employees | 122 |
| Website | www.wcstexas.com |
Waste Control Specialists LLC (WCS) is a treatment, storage, & disposal company dealing in radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes. Developed and controlled by Texas billionaire investor Harold Simmons until his death at the end of 2013, the company was founded in Dallas, Texas in 1989 as a landfill operator, and awarded a unique license for disposal of low level radioactive waste in 2009. Its main operations are in Andrews County, Texas.
J.F. Lehman & Company (JFLCO) acquired Waste Control Specialists LLC from Valhi, Inc. in January 2018. The acquisition represents JFLCO's fourth platform investment in the environmental and technical services sector.[1][2]
WCS also has a strategic partnership with J.F Lehman & Company portfolio company NorthStar Group Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of specialized environmental and technical services for commercial and government end markets, to support domestic electric utilities in safely decommissioning nuclear power generation sites.[1][2]
In partnership with Orano the company pursued a license for a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF).[3] The license was issued in September of 2021.[4] The license was challenged in court by the State of Texas which contends the license is not legal and seeks to invalidate the licensing decision.[5] In August 2023 the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the NRC does not have the authority from Congress to license such a temporary storage facility that is not at a nuclear power station or federal site, nullifying the purported license.[6]