(a) Rules and regulations.--The Environmental Quality Board, exercising authority under section 1920-A of the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L. 177, No. 175),¹ known as The Administrative Code of 1929, shall have the power and its duty shall be to adopt regulations developed by the department for the implementation of this act. These regulations shall include, but are not limited to: generation, transportation, handling, separation, minimization, treatment and disposal of low-level radioactive waste; permit and license fees, standards and procedures; facility siting, including standards and siting regulations for new low-level waste incinerators and compactors and for the regional facility; facility design; manifest and reporting requirements; facility operational management; financial responsibility assurance; public participation; host and affected municipality benefits and guarantees; monitoring and inspection; compliance and enforcement; and any other regulatory requirements the department finds necessary or appropriate for the protection of the public health and the environment from low-level radioactive wastes, provided that the provisions of any siting regulations adopted under this section shall not apply to any commercial compactor facility which obtained a license from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission authorizing operation pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act prior to the effective date of this act.

(c) Procedure.--The board shall establish procedures, including appropriate public participation, governing the preliminary site approval process. The public participation process shall include at least one public information meeting and one public hearing held by the board in each potential host municipality and an opportunity for comment on the public record. The host municipality and host county shall have a minimum of 180 days from the receipt of funds under section 318(a)³ to offer comments during the public participation process established under this section.