Calendar No. 180

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1287

[Report No. 106–98]

A BILL

To provide for the storage of spent nuclear fuel

tory, and for other purposes.pending completion of the nuclear waste reposiJUNE 24, 1999

Read twice and placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 180

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1287

[Report No. 106–98]

To provide for the storage of spent nuclear fuel pending completion of the

nuclear waste repository, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 24, 1999

Mr. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, reported the following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the

calendar

A BILL

To provide for the storage of spent nuclear fuel pending

completion of the nuclear waste repository, and for other

purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Nuclear Waste Policy

5 Amendments Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

7 For purposes of this Act—
2

S 1287 PCS

1 (1) the term ‘‘contract holder’’ means a party

2 to a contract with the Secretary of Energy for the

3 disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radio4 active waste entered into pursuant to section 302(a)

5 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C.

6 1022(a)); and

7 (2) the terms ‘‘Administrator’’, ‘‘civilian nuclear

8 power reactor’’, ‘‘Commission’’, ‘‘Department’’, ‘‘dis9 posal’’, ‘‘high-level radioactive waste’’, ‘‘Indian

10 tribe’’, ‘‘repository’’, ‘‘reservation’’, ‘‘Secretary’’,

11 ‘‘spent nuclear fuel’’, ‘‘State’’, ‘‘storage’’, ‘‘Waste

12 Fund’’, and ‘‘Yucca Mountain site’’ shall have the

13 meanings given such terms in section 2 of the Nu14 clear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).

15 TITLE I—STORAGE AND

16 DISPOSAL

17 SEC. 101. PROGRAM SCHEDULE.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President, the Secretary, and

19 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall carry out their

20 duties under this Act and the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

21 of 1982 by the earliest practicable date consistent with

22 the public interest and applicable provisions of law.

23 (b) MILESTONES.—

24 (1) The Secretary shall make a final decision

25 whether to recommend the Yucca Mountain site for
3

S 1287 PCS

1 development of the repository to the President by

2 December 31, 2001;

3 (2) The President shall make a final decision

4 whether to recommend the Yucca Mountain site for

5 development of the repository to the Congress by

6 March 31, 2002;

7 (3) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall

8 make a final decision whether to authorize construc9 tion of the repository by December 31, 2006; and

10 (4) As provided in subsection (c), the Secretary

11 shall begin receiving waste at the repository site at

12 the earliest practicable date after receiving author13 ization from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

14 (c) RECEIPT FACILITIES.—

15 (1) Concurrent with the submission of an appli16 cation for a construction authorization pursuant to

17 section 114(b) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of

18 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10134(b)), the Secretary shall

19 apply to the Commission for a license to receive and

20 possess spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

21 waste at surface facilities within the geologic reposi22 tory operations area for the receipt, handling, pack23 aging, and storage prior to emplacement.

24 (2) Concurrent with the issuance of the con25 struction authorization under section 114(b) of the
4

S 1287 PCS

1 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, the Commission

2 shall issue a license authorizing receipt and posses3 sion of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

4 waste at surface facilities within the geologic reposi5 tory operations area for the purposes in subsection

6 (c)(1). The Commission shall issue this license in ac7 cordance with such standards as the Commission

8 finds are necessary to protect the public health and

9 safety.

10 (d) NOTICE OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—If, at any time,

11 the Secretary, the President, or the Nuclear Regulatory

12 Commission determines that the Secretary, President, or

13 Commission, as appropriate, cannot meet a milestone

14 under subsection (b), the Secretary, President, or Com15 mission, as appropriate, shall immediately notify

16 Congress—

17 (1) that the deadline will not be met and the

18 reason it will not be met; and

19 (2) the date on which the milestone will be met.

20 SEC. 102. BACKUP STORAGE CAPACITY.

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—Subject to section 105(d), the

22 Secretary shall enter into a contract under this subsection

23 with any person generating or owning spent nuclear fuel

24 that meets the requirements of section 135(b)(1) (A) and
5

S 1287 PCS

1 (B) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C.

2 10155(b)(1) (A) and (B)) to—

3 (1) take title at the civilian nuclear power reac4 tor site to such amounts of spent nuclear fuel from

5 the civilian nuclear power reactor as the Commission

6 determines cannot be stored onsite; and

7 (2) transport such spent nuclear fuel to, and

8 store such spent nuclear fuel at—

9 (A) the repository site after the Commis10 sion has authorized construction of the reposi11 tory without regard to the Secretary’s Accept12 ance Priority Ranking Report or Annual Capac13 ity Report; or

14 (B) a privately owned and operated inde15 pendent spent fuel storage facility licensed by

16 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

17 SEC. 103. REPOSITORY LICENSING.

18 (a) Section 801 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 is

19 repealed.

20 (b) Section 121 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of

21 1982 is amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘SEC. 121. (a) REPOSITORY LICENSING STAND23 ARDS.—The Commission shall establish standards for pro24 tection of the public and the environment from releases
6

S 1287 PCS

1 of radioactive materials or radioactivity from the reposi2 tory, consistent with the following:

3 ‘‘(1) RISK STANDARD.—The standard for pro4 tection of the public and environment from releases

5 of radioactive materials or radioactivity from the re6 pository after permanent closure shall limit the life7 time risk to the average member of the critical

8 group of premature death from cancer due to such

9 releases of approximately, but not greater than, 1 in

10 1000.

11 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF OVERALL SYSTEM

12 PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE.—The Commission shall

13 implement the standard in paragraph (1) by estab14 lishing, by rule, an overall system performance ob15 jective for expected annual dose to the average mem16 ber of the critical group. The Commission shall not

17 promulgate performance objectives for the repository

18 in the form of release limits or contaminant levels

19 for individual radionuclides discharged from the re20 pository.

21 ‘‘(3) ASSUMPTION AND FACTORS.—The Com22 mission shall specify, by rule, values for all of the

23 assumptions deemed necessary to apply the overall

24 system performance objective in a licensing pro25 ceeding for the repository, including reference bio-
7

S 1287 PCS

1 sphere and size characteristics of the critical group.

2 For purposes of establishing the overall system per3 formance objective in paragraph (2) and making the

4 findings in subsection (b), the Commission shall

5 not—

6 ‘‘(A) consider climate regimes that are

7 substantially different from those that have oc8 curred during the previous 100,000 years at the

9 Yucca Mountain site;

10 ‘‘(B) consider catastrophic events where

11 the health consequences of individual events

12 themselves to the critical group can be reason13 ably assumed to exceed the health consequences

14 due to the impact of the events on repository

15 performance; and

16 ‘‘(C) base the overall system performance

17 objective in paragraph (2) or the finding in sub18 section (b) on scenarios involving human intru19 sion into the repository following repository clo20 sure, although the Commission may consider

21 the consequences of an assumed human intru22 sion scenario to determine if repository per23 formance would be substantially degraded by a

24 single instance of human intrusion during the

25 first 1,000 years after repository closure.
8

S 1287 PCS

1 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section,

2 the term ‘critical group’ means a small group of peo3 ple that is—

4 ‘‘(A) representative of individuals expected

5 to be at highest risk of premature death from

6 cancer as a result of discharges of radionuclides

7 from the repository;

8 ‘‘(B) relatively homogeneous with respect

9 to expected radiation dose, which shall mean

10 that there shall be no more than a factor of 10

11 in variation in individual doses among members

12 of the group; and

13 ‘‘(C) selected using reasonable assumptions

14 concerning lifestyle, occupation, diet and eating

15 habits, technological sophistication, and other

16 relevant social and behavioral factors that are

17 based on reasonably available information on

18 inhabitants and conditions in the area within a

19 50-mile radius surrounding Yucca Mountain

20 when the group is defined.

21 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORM22 ANCE OBJECTIVE.—The Commission shall issue a con23 struction authorization, license to dispose of spent nuclear

24 fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the repository, and

25 license amendment to permit permanent closure of the re-
9

S 1287 PCS

1 pository, upon a finding of reasonable assurance, making

2 allowance for the time period, hazards, and uncertainties

3 involved, that for the first 10,000 years following closure

4 of the repository, the overall system performance estab5 lished pursuant to subsection (a) will be met. The finding

6 of reasonable assurance shall be based on regulatory in7 sight gained by the Commission through use of predictive

8 models, supported, to the extent deemed practicable by the

9 Commission, by data from field and laboratory tests, site10 specific monitoring, and natural analog studies and sup11 plemented, as necessary, by expert judgment.

12 ‘‘(c) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—The

13 promulgation of standards or criteria in accordance with

14 the provisions of this section shall not require the prepara15 tion of an environmental impact statement under section

16 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of

17 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) or any environmental review

18 under subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 102(2) of such

19 Act.’’.

20 (c) GUIDELINES.—Section 112(a) of the Nuclear

21 Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10132(a)) is amend22 ed by adding, at the end of the section, the following; ‘‘The

23 Secretary’s guidelines shall not be inconsistent with any

24 standards promulgated under section 121, and to the ex25 tent practicable, any conclusions of the Secretary regard-
10

S 1287 PCS

1 ing site suitability shall be based on an assessment of total

2 system performance of the repository.’’.

3 (d) CAPACITY.—Section 114 of the Nuclear Waste

4 Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10134) is amended—

5 (1) in subsection (b) by inserting at the end:

6 ‘‘In developing an application for authorization to

7 construct the repository, the Secretary shall seek to

8 maximize the capacity of the repository.’’, and

9 (2) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘The Commis10 sion decision approving the first such

11 application . . .’’ through the period at the end of

12 the sentence.

13 SEC. 104. NUCLEAR WASTE FEE.

14 The last sentence of section 302(a)(4) of the Nuclear

15 Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)(4)) is

16 amended to read as follows:

17 ‘‘The adjusted fee proposed by the Secretary shall be

18 effective upon enactment of a joint resolution or

19 other provision of law specifically approving the ad20 justed fee.’’

21 SEC. 105. SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, upon the re23 quest of any person with whom he has entered into a con24 tract under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy
11

S 1287 PCS

1 Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a), enter into a settlement

2 agreement with the contract holder to—

3 (1) relieve any harm caused by the Secretary’s

4 failure to meet the Department’s commitment, or

5 (2) settle any legal claims against the United

6 States arising out of such failure.

7 (b) TYPES OF RELIEF.—Pursuant to a settlement

8 agreement entered into under this section, the Secretary

9 may—

10 (1) take title to the contract holder’s spent nu11 clear fuel, notwithstanding section 302(a)(5) of the

12 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C.

13 10222(a)(5));

14 (2) provide spent nuclear fuel storage casks to

15 the contract holder;

16 (3) take title to and operate an existing dry

17 cask storage facility at the contract holder’s site;

18 (4) compensate the contract holder for the cost

19 of providing spent nuclear fuel storage at the con20 tract holders’ storage facility; or

21 (5) provide any combination of the foregoing.

22 (c) SCOPE OF RELIEF.—The Secretary’s obligation

23 to take title to a contract holder’s spent nuclear fuel, pro24 vide storage casks, or compensate a contract holder for

25 the cost of providing nuclear fuel storage under a settle-
12

S 1287 PCS

1 ment agreement under this section shall not exceed the

2 Secretary’s obligation to accept delivery of such spent fuel

3 under the terms of the Secretary’s contract with such con4 tract holder under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste

5 Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)) and the delivery

6 commitment schedule annexed thereto (including any oth7 erwise permissible assignment of rights under such sched8 ule).

9 (d) WAIVER OF CLAIMS.—(1) The Secretary may not

10 enter into a settlement agreement under subsection (a) or

11 a backup contract under section 102(a) with any contract

12 holder unless the contract holder—

13 (A) makes an election within 180 days after the

14 date of enactment of this Act to enter into a settle15 ment agreement, and

16 (B) as part of such settlement agreement,

17 waives any claim for damages against the United

18 States arising out of the Secretary’s failure to begin

19 disposing of such person’s high-level waste or spent

20 nuclear fuel by January 31, 1998.

21 (2) Nothing in this subsection shall be read to require

22 a contract holder to waive any future claim against the

23 United States arising out of the Secretary’s failure to meet

24 any new obligation assumed under settlement agreement

25 or backup storage agreement.
13

S 1287 PCS

1 (e) SOURCE OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding section

2 302(d) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42

3 U.S.C. 10222(d)), the Secretary may not make expendi4 tures from the Nuclear Waste Fund for any costs that

5 may be incurred by the Secretary pursuant to a settlement

6 agreement or backup storage contract under this Act

7 except—

8 (1) the cost of acquiring and loading spent nu9 clear fuel casks;

10 (2) the cost of transporting spent nuclear fuel

11 from the contract holder’s site to the repository; and

12 (3) any other cost incurred by the Secretary

13 pursuant to a settlement agreement or backup stor14 age contract that would have been incurred by the

15 Secretary under the contracts entered into under

16 section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of

17 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)) notwithstanding their

18 amendment pursuant to this Act.

19 (f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—(1) Nothing in this section

20 shall limit the Secretary’s existing authority to enter into

21 settlement agreements or address shutdown reactors and

22 any associated public health and safety or environmental

23 concerns that may arise.

24 (2) Nothing in this Act modifies or alters obligations

25 imposed upon the Federal Government by the United
14

S 1287 PCS

1 States District Court of Idaho in an order entered on Oc2 tober 17, 1995 in United States v. Batt (No. 91–0054–

3 S–EJL).

4 SEC. 106. ACCEPTANCE SCHEDULE.

5 The acceptance schedule shall be implemented in ac6 cordance with the following:

7 (1) PRIORITY RANKING.—Acceptance priority

8 ranking shall be determined by the Department’s

9 ‘Acceptance Priority Ranking’ report.

10 (2) ACCEPTANCE RATE.—Beginning in the year

11 of the issuance of a license to receive and possess

12 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

13 under section 101(c), the Secretary’s acceptance rate

14 for spent nuclear fuel shall be no less than the fol15 lowing: 1,200 Metric Tons Uranium (MTU) in year

16 1 and 1,200 MTU in year 2, 2,000 MTU in year 3

17 and 2,000 MTU in year 4, 2,700 MTU in year 5,

18 and 3,000 MTU annually thereafter.

19 (3) OTHER ACCEPTANCES.—Subject to the con20 ditions contained in the license to receive and pos21 sess spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

22 waste issued under section 101(c), of the amounts

23 provided for in paragraph (2) for each year, not less

24 than one-sixth shall be—
15

S 1287 PCS

1 (A) spent nuclear fuel or civilian high-level

2 radioactive waste of domestic origin from civil3 ian nuclear power reactors that have perma4 nently ceased operation on or before the date of

5 enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

6 Amendments of 1999;

7 (B) spent nuclear fuel from foreign re8 search reactors, as necessary to promote non9 proliferation activities; and

10 (C) spent nuclear fuel and high-level radio11 active waste from research and atomic energy

12 defense activities, including spent nuclear fuel

13 from naval reactors;

14 Provided, however, That the Secretary shall accept

15 not less than 7.5 percent of the total quantity of fuel

16 and high-level radioactive waste accepted in any year

17 from the categories of radioactive materials de18 scribed in subparagraphs (B) and (C) in paragraph

19 (3). If sufficient amounts of radioactive materials

20 are not available to utilize this allocation, the Sec21 retary shall allocate this acceptance capacity to other

22 contract holders.

23 (4) EFFECT ON SCHEDULE.—The contractual

24 acceptance schedule shall not be modified in any way

25 as a result of the Secretary’s acceptance of any ma-
16

S 1287 PCS

1 terial other than contract holders’ spent nuclear fuel

2 and high-level radioactive waste.

3 TITLE II—TRANSPORTATION

4 SEC. 201. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.

5 (a) TRANSPORTATION READINESS.—The

6 Secretary—

7 (1) shall take such actions as are necessary and

8 appropriate to ensure that the Secretary is able to

9 transport safely spent nuclear fuel and high-level ra10 dioactive waste from any site where such spent nu11 clear fuel or high-level radioactive waste is generated

12 or stored to the Yucca Mountain site, using routes

13 that minimize, to the maximum practicable extent

14 consistent with Federal requirements governing

15 transportation of hazardous materials, transpor16 tation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radio17 active waste through populated areas; and

18 (2) as soon as is practicable following the enact19 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation

20 with the Secretary of Transportation and affected

21 States and tribes, and after an opportunity for pub22 lic comment, develop and implement a comprehen23 sive management plan that ensures safe transpor24 tation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radio-
17

S 1287 PCS

1 active waste from the sites designated by the con2 tract holders to the Yucca Mountain site.

3 (b) TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.—In conjunction

4 with the development of the logistical plan in accordance

5 with subsection (a), the Secretary shall update and mod6 ify, as necessary, the Secretary’s transportation institu7 tional plans to ensure that institutional issues are ad8 dressed and resolved on a schedule to support the com9 mencement of transportation of spent nuclear fuel and

10 high-level radioactive waste to the Yucca Mountain site no

11 later than December 31, 2006. Among other things, such

12 planning shall provide a schedule and process for address13 ing and implementing, as necessary, transportation rout14 ing plans, transportation contracting plans, transportation

15 training in accordance with section 202, public education

16 regarding transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high17 level radioactive waste, and transportation tracking pro18 grams.

19 (c) SHIPPING CAMPAIGN TRANSPORTATION

20 PLANS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop

22 a transportation plan for the implementation of each

23 shipping campaign (as that term is defined by the

24 Secretary) from each site at which spent nuclear fuel

25 or high-level nuclear waste is stored, consistent with
18

S 1287 PCS

1 the principles and procedures stated in Department

2 of Energy Order No. 460.2 and the Program Man3 ager’s Guide.

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A shipping campaign

5 transportation plan shall—

6 (A) be fully integrated with State and trib7 al government notification, inspection, and

8 emergency response plans along the preferred

9 shipping route or State-designated alternative

10 route identified under subsection (d) (unless the

11 Secretary certifies in the plan that the State or

12 tribal government has failed to cooperate in

13 fully integrating the shipping campaign trans14 portation plan with the applicable State or trib15 al government plans); and

16 (B) be consistent with the principles and

17 procedures developed for the safe transportation

18 of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation

19 Pilot Plant (unless the Secretary certifies in the

20 plan that a specific principle or procedure is in21 consistent with a provision of this Act).

22 (d) SAFE SHIPPING ROUTES AND MODES.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall evaluate

24 the relative safety of the proposed shipping routes

25 and shipping modes from each shipping origin to the
19

S 1287 PCS

1 repository compared with the safety of alternative

2 modes and routes.

3 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The evaluation under

4 paragraph (1) shall be conducted in a manner con5 sistent with regulations promulgated by the Sec6 retary of Transportation under authority of chapter

7 51 of title 49, United States Code, and the Nuclear

8 Regulatory Commission under authority of the

9 Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et

10 seq.), as applicable.

11 (3) DESIGNATION OF PREFERRED SHIPPING

12 ROUTE AND MODE.—Following the evaluation under

13 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall designate pre14 ferred shipping routes and modes from each civilian

15 nuclear power reactor and Department of Energy fa16 cility that stores spent nuclear fuel or other high17 level defense waste.

18 (4) SELECTION OF PRIMARY SHIPPING

19 ROUTE.—If the Secretary designates more than 1

20 preferred route under paragraph (3), the Secretary

21 shall elect a primary route after considering, at a

22 minimum, historical accident rates, population, sig23 nificant hazards, shipping time, shipping distance,

24 and mitigating measures such as limits on the speed

25 of shipments.
20

S 1287 PCS

1 (5) USE OF PRIMARY SHIPPING ROUTE AND

2 MODE.—Except in cases of emergency, for all ship3 ments conducted under this Act, the Secretary shall

4 cause the primary shipping route and mode or

5 State-designated alternative route under chapter 51

6 of title 49, United States Code, to be used. If a

7 route is designated as a primary route for any reac8 tor or Department of Energy facility, the Secretary

9 may use that route to transport spent nuclear fuel

10 or high-level radioactive waste from any other reac11 tor or Department of Energy facility.

12 (6) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

13 Following selection of the primary shipping routes,

14 or State-designated alternative routes, the Secretary

15 shall focus training and technical assistance under

16 section 202(c) on those routes.

17 (7) PREFERRED RAIL ROUTES.—

18 (A) REGULATION.—Not later than 1 year

19 after the date of enactment of the Nuclear

20 Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1999, the

21 Secretary of Transportation, pursuant to au22 thority under other provisions of law, shall pro23 mulgate a regulation establishing procedures for

24 the selection of preferred routes for the trans-
21

S 1287 PCS

1 portation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

2 radioactive waste by rail.

3 (B) INTERIM PROVISION.—During the pe4 riod beginning on the date of enactment of the

5 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999 and ending

6 on the date of issuance of a final regulation

7 under subparagraph (A), rail transportation of

8 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

9 waste shall be conducted in accordance with

10 regulatory requirements in effect on that date

11 and with this section.

12 SEC. 202. TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.

13 (a) PACKAGE CERTIFICATION.—No spent nuclear

14 fuel or high-level radioactive waste may be transported by

15 or for the Secretary under this Act except in packages that

16 have been certified for such purposes by the Commission.

17 (b) STATE NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall

18 abide by regulations of the Commission regarding advance

19 notification of State and tribal governments prior to trans20 portation of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive

21 waste under this Act.

22 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—

24 (A) STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES.—As pro25 vided in paragraph (3), the Secretary shall pro-
22

S 1287 PCS

1 vide technical assistance and funds to States

2 and Indian tribes for training of public safety

3 officials of appropriate units of State, local, and

4 tribal government. A State shall allocate to

5 local governments within the State a portion of

6 any funds that the Secretary provides to the

7 State for technical assistance and funding.

8 (B) EMPLOYEE ORGANIZATIONS.—The

9 Secretary shall provide technical assistance and

10 funds for training directly to nonprofit em11 ployee organizations, voluntary emergency re12 sponse organizations, and joint labor-manage13 ment organizations that demonstrate experience

14 in implementing and operating worker health

15 and safety training and education programs

16 and demonstrate the ability to reach and in17 volve in training programs target populations of

18 workers who are or will be directly engaged in

19 the transportation of spent nuclear fuel and

20 high-level radioactive waste or emergency re21 sponse or post-emergency response with respect

22 to such transportation.

23 (C) TRAINING.—Training under this

24 section—
23

S 1287 PCS

1 (i) shall cover procedures required for

2 safe routine transportation of materials

3 and procedures for dealing with emergency

4 response situations;

5 (ii) shall be consistent with any train6 ing standards established by the Secretary

7 of Transportation under subsection (h);

8 and

9 (iii) shall include—

10 (I) a training program applicable

11 to persons responsible for responding

12 to emergency situations occurring

13 during the removal and transportation

14 of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

15 radioactive waste;

16 (II) instruction of public safety

17 officers in procedures for the com18 mand and control of the response to

19 any accident involving the waste; and

20 (III) instruction of radiological

21 protection and emergency medical per22 sonnel in procedures for responding to

23 an incident involving spent nuclear

24 fuel or high-level radioactive waste

25 being transported.
24

S 1287 PCS

1 (2) NO SHIPMENTS IF NO TRAINING.—

2 (A) There shall be no shipments of spent

3 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

4 through the jurisdiction of any State or the res5 ervation lands of any Indian tribe eligible for

6 grants under paragraph (3)(B) until the Sec7 retary has made a determination that personnel

8 in all State, local, and tribal jurisdictions on

9 primary and alternative shipping routes have

10 met acceptable standards of training for emer11 gency responses to accidents involving spent nu12 clear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, as

13 established by the Secretary, and unless tech14 nical assistance and funds to implement proce15 dures for the safe routine transportation and

16 for dealing with emergency response situations

17 under paragraph (1)(A) have been available to

18 a State or Indian tribe for at least 3 years prior

19 to any shipment: Provided, however, That the

20 Secretary may ship spent nuclear fuel and high21 level radioactive waste if technical assistance or

22 funds have not been made available because of

23 (i) an emergency, including the sud24 den and unforeseen closure of a highway or

25 rail line or the sudden and unforeseen need
25

S 1287 PCS

1 to remove spent fuel from a reactor be2 cause of an accident, or

3 (ii) the refusal to accept technical as4 sistance by a State or Indian tribe, or

5 (iii) fraudulent actions which violate

6 Federal law governing the expenditure of

7 Federal funds.

8 (B) In the event the Secretary is required

9 to transport spent fuel or high-level radioactive

10 waste through a jurisdiction prior to 3 years

11 after the provision of technical assistance or

12 funds to such jurisdiction, the Secretary shall,

13 prior to such shipment, hold meetings in each

14 State and Indian reservation through which the

15 shipping route passes in order to present initial

16 shipment plans and receive comments. Depart17 ment of Energy personnel trained in emergency

18 response shall escort each shipment. Funds and

19 all Department of Energy training resources

20 shall be made available to States and Indian

21 tribes along the shipping route no later than

22 three months prior to the commencement of

23 shipments: Provided, however, That in no event

24 shall such shipments exceed 1,000 metric tons

25 per year: Provided further, That no such ship-
26

S 1287 PCS

1 ments shall be conducted more than four years

2 after the effective date of the Nuclear Waste

3 Policy Amendments Act of 1999.

4 (3) GRANTS.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—To implement this sec6 tion, the Secretary may make expenditures

7 from the Nuclear Waste Fund to the extent

8 provided for in appropriation acts.

9 (B) GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF

10 PLANS.—

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

12 make a grant of at least $150,000 to each

13 State through the jurisdiction of which and

14 each federally recognized Indian tribe

15 through the reservation lands of which a

16 shipment of spent nuclear fuel or high-level

17 radioactive waste will be made under this

18 Act for the purpose of developing a plan to

19 prepare for such shipments.

20 (ii) LIMITATION.—A grant shall be

21 made under clause (i) only to a State or a

22 federally recognized Indian tribe that has

23 the authority to respond to incidents in24 volving shipments of hazardous material.
27

S 1287 PCS

1 (C) GRANTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF

2 PLANS.—

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Annual implemen4 tation grants shall be made to States and

5 Indian tribes that have developed a plan to

6 prepare for shipments under this Act

7 under subparagraph (B). The Secretary, in

8 submitting the annual departmental budg9 et to Congress for funding of implementa10 tion grants under this section, shall be

11 guided by the State and tribal plans devel12 oped under subparagraph (B). As part of

13 the Department of Energy’s annual budget

14 request, the Secretary shall report to Con15 gress on—

16 (I) the funds requested by States

17 and federally recognized Indian tribes

18 to implement this subsection;

19 (II) the amount requested by the

20 President for implementation; and

21 (III) the rationale for any dis22 crepancies between the amounts re23 quested by States and federally recog24 nized Indian tribes and the amounts

25 requested by the President.
28

S 1287 PCS

1 (ii) ALLOCATION.—Of funds available

2 for grants under this subparagraph for any

3 fiscal year—

4 (I) 25 percent shall be allocated

5 by the Secretary to ensure minimum

6 funding and program capability levels

7 in all States and Indian tribes based

8 on plans developed under subpara9 graph (B); and

10 (II) 75 percent shall be allocated

11 to States and Indian tribes in propor12 tion to the number of shipment miles

13 that are projected to be made in total

14 shipments under this Act through

15 each jurisdiction.

16 (4) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR SHIP17 MENTS.—Funds under paragraph (1) shall be pro18 vided for shipments to a repository, regardless of

19 whether the repository is operated by a private enti20 ty or by the Department of Energy.

21 (5) MINIMIZING DUPLICATION OF EFFORT AND

22 EXPENSES.—The Secretaries of Transportation,

23 Labor, and Energy, Directors of the Federal Emer24 gency Management Agency and National Institute of

25 Environmental Health Sciences, the Nuclear Regu-
29

S 1287 PCS

1 latory Commission, and Administrator of the Envi2 ronmental Protection Agency shall review periodi3 cally, with the head of each department, agency, or

4 instrumentality of the Government, all emergency re5 sponse and preparedness training programs of that

6 department, agency, or instrumentality to minimize

7 duplication of effort and expense of the department,

8 agency, or instrumentality in carrying out the pro9 grams and shall take necessary action to minimize

10 duplication.

11 (d) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary shall con12 duct a program to educate the public regarding the trans13 portation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

14 waste, with an emphasis on those States, units of local

15 government, and Indian tribes through whose jurisdiction

16 the Secretary plans to transport substantial amounts of

17 spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste.

18 (e) USE OF PRIVATE CARRIERS.—The Secretary, in

19 providing for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel and

20 high-level radioactive waste under this Act, shall contract

21 with private industry to the fullest extent possible in each

22 aspect of such transportation. The Secretary shall use di23 rect Federal services for such transportation only upon a

24 determination by the Secretary of Transportation, in con25 sultation with the Secretary, that private industry is un-
30

S 1287 PCS

1 able or unwilling to provide such transportation services

2 at a reasonable cost.

3 (f) COMPLIANCE WITH TRANSPORTATION REGULA4 TIONS.—Any person that transports spent nuclear fuel or

5 high-level radioactive waste under the Nuclear Waste Pol6 icy Amendments Act of 1999, pursuant to a contract with

7 the Secretary, shall comply with all requirements gov8 erning such transportation issued by the Federal, State,

9 and local governments, and Indian Tribes, in the same

10 way and to the same extent that any person engaging in

11 that transportation that is in or affects interstate com12 merce must comply with such requirements, as required

13 by section 5126 of title 49, United States Code.

14 (g) EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.—Any person engaged

15 in the interstate commerce of spent nuclear fuel or high16 level radioactive waste under contract to the Secretary

17 pursuant to this Act shall be subject to and comply fully

18 with the employee protection provisions of section 20109

19 of title 49, United States Code (in the case of employees

20 of railroad carriers) and section 31105 of title 49, United

21 States Code (in the case of employees operating commer22 cial motor vehicles), or the Commission (in the case of all

23 other employees).

24 (h) TRAINING STANDARD.—
31

S 1287 PCS

1 (1) REGULATION.—No later than 12 months

2 after the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste

3 Policy Amendments Act of 1999, the Secretary of

4 Transportation, pursuant to authority under other

5 provisions of law, in consultation with the Secretary

6 of Labor and the Commission, shall promulgate a

7 regulation establishing training standards applicable

8 to workers directly involved in the removal and

9 transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

10 radioactive waste. The regulation shall specify min11 imum training standards applicable to workers, in12 cluding managerial personnel. The regulation shall

13 require that the employer possess evidence of satis14 faction of the applicable training standard before

15 any individual may be employed in the removal and

16 transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

17 radioactive waste.

18 (2) SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION.—If the

19 Secretary of Transportation determines, in promul20 gating the regulation required by paragraph (1),

21 that existing Federal regulations establish adequate

22 training standards for workers, then the Secretary

23 of Transportation can refrain from promulgating ad24 ditional regulations with respect to worker training

25 in such activities. The Secretary of Transportation
32

S 1287 PCS

1 and the Commission shall, by Memorandum of Un2 derstanding, ensure coordination of worker training

3 standards and to avoid duplicative regulation.

4 (3) TRAINING STANDARDS CONTENT.—(A) If

5 training standards are required to be promulgated

6 under paragraph (1), such standards shall, among

7 other things deemed necessary and appropriate by

8 the Secretary of Transportation, provide for—

9 (i) a specified minimum number of hours

10 of initial off site instruction and actual field ex11 perience under the direct supervision of a

12 trained, experienced supervisor;

13 (ii) a requirement that onsite managerial

14 personnel receive the same training as workers,

15 and a minimum number of additional hours of

16 specialized training pertinent to their manage17 rial responsibilities; and

18 (iii) a training program applicable to per19 sons responsible for responding to and cleaning

20 up emergency situations occurring during the

21 removal and transportation of spent nuclear

22 fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

23 (B) The Secretary of Transportation may speci24 fy an appropriate combination of knowledge, skills,
33

S 1287 PCS

1 and prior training to fulfill the minimum number of

2 hours requirements of subparagraphs (i) and (ii).

3 (4) EMERGENCY RESPONDER TRAINING STAND4 ARDS.—The training standards for persons respon5 sible for responding to emergency situations occur6 ring during the removal and transportation of spent

7 nuclear and high level radioactive waste shall, in ac8 cordance with existing regulations, ensure their abil9 ity to protect nearby persons, property, or the envi10 ronment from the effects of accidents involving spent

11 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

12 (5) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to

13 be appropriated to the Secretary of Transportation,

14 from general revenues, such sums as may be nec15 essary to perform his duties under this subsection.

16 TITLE III—DEVELOPMENT OF

17 NATIONAL SPENT NUCLEAR

18 FUEL STRATEGY.

19 SEC. 301. FINDINGS.

20 (a) Prior to permanent closure of the geologic reposi21 tory in Yucca Mountain, Congress must determine wheth22 er the spent fuel in the repository should be treated as

23 waste subject to permanent burial or should be considered

24 an energy resource that is needed to meet future energy

25 requirements;
34

S 1287 PCS

1 (b) Future use of nuclear energy may require con2 struction of a second geologic repository unless Yucca

3 Mountain can safely accommodate additional spent fuel.

4 Improved spent fuel strategies may increase the capacity

5 of Yucca Mountain.

6 (c) Prior to construction of any second permanent

7 geologic repository, the nation’s current plans for perma8 nent burial of spent fuel should be re-evaluated.

9 SEC. 302. OFFICE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL RESEARCH.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

11 an Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel Research within the Of12 fice of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology of the De13 partment of Energy. The Office shall be headed by the

14 Associate Director, who shall be a member of the Senior

15 Executive Service appointed by the Director of the Office

16 of Nuclear Energy Science and Technology, and com17 pensated at a rate determined by applicable law.

18 (b) ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR.—The Associate Director

19 of the Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel Research shall be re20 sponsible for carrying out an integrated research, develop21 ment, and demonstration program on technologies for

22 treatment, recycling, and disposal of high-level nuclear ra23 dioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, subject to the gen24 eral supervision of the Secretary. The Associate Director

25 of the Office shall report to the Director of the Office of
35

S 1287 PCS

1 Nuclear Energy Science and Technology. The first such

2 Associate Director shall be appointed within 90 days of

3 the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999.

4 (c) GRANT AND CONTRACT AUTHORITY.—In car5 rying out his responsibilities under this Section, the Sec6 retary may make grants, or enter into contracts, for the

7 purposes of the research projects and activities described

8 in (d)(2).

9 (d)(1) DUTIES.—The Associate Director of the Office

10 shall involve national laboratories, universities, the com11 mercial nuclear industry, and other organizations to inves12 tigate technologies for the treatment, recycling, and dis13 posal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

14 waste.

15 (2) The Associate Director of the Office shall:

16 (A) develop a research plan to provide rec17 ommendations by 2015;

18 (B) identify promising technologies for the

19 treatment, recycling, and disposal of spent nuclear

20 fuel and high-level radioactive waste;

21 (C) conduct research and development activities

22 for promising technologies;

23 (D) ensure that all activities include as key ob24 jectives minimization of proliferation concerns and
36

S 1287 PCS

1 risk to health of the general public or site workers,

2 as well as development of cost-effective technologies;

3 (E) require research on both reactor- and accel4 erator-based transmutation systems;

5 (F) require research on advanced processing

6 and separations;

7 (G) encourage that research efforts include par8 ticipation of international collaborators;

9 (H) be authorized to fund international collabo10 rators when they bring unique capabilities not avail11 able in the United States and their host country is

12 unable to provide for their support;

13 (I) ensure that research efforts with this Office

14 are coordinated with research on advanced fuel cy15 cles and reactors conducted within the Office of Nu16 clear Energy Science and Technology.

17 (e) REPORT.—The Associate Director of the Office

18 of Spent Nuclear Fuel Research shall annually prepare

19 and submit a report to the Congress on the activities and

20 expenditures of the Office that discusses progress being

21 made in achieving the objectives of paragraph (b).