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104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2899

To establish within the Department of Energy a National Test and Demonstration Center of Excellence at the Nevada Test Site, and for other

purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 25, 1996

Mrs. VUCANOVICH (for herself and Mr. ENSIGN) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on National Security, and in addition to the Committees on Science and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish within the Department of Energy a National

Test and Demonstration Center of Excellence at the

Nevada Test Site, 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 ‘‘National Center for

5 Excellence in Research and Development Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) Due to the end of the Cold War, the United

2 States has not recently conducted underground nu3 clear testing at the Department of Energy facility

4 known as the Nevada Test Site, Nevada, and the

5 United States does not plan to conduct such testing

6 in the foreseeable future.

7 (2) Because the world political situation is ever8 changing and dangerous, it is imperative that the

9 United States remain strong militarily and continue

10 to be a nuclear superpower.

11 (3) It is imperative that portions of the Nevada

12 Test Site be maintained in a full state of readiness

13 to ensure the capability of the nuclear arsenal of the

14 United States.

15 (4) The Nevada Test Site is in a beneficial loca16 tion for activities suitable for research and develop17 ment of emerging technologies that will be important

18 to the United States in the 21st century.

19 (5) Technology development carried out at the

20 Nevada Test Site should include both private-sector

21 and military projects.

22 (6) The Nevada Test Site can support the stew23 ardship of the Nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile,

24 the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, and the

25 technological competitiveness of the United States
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1 by providing the environment for nuclear and non2 nuclear test and demonstration experiments and

3 projects for government, industry, and academia.

4 (7) The Nevada Test Site can provide the infra5 structure to support industrial and civilian tests of

6 environmentally demanding projects and programs

7 in addition to maintaining its readiness capability in

8 support of the nuclear arsenal.

9 (8) The Nevada Test Site can support the test10 ing and demonstration of environmental clean-up

11 technologies by government and industry.

12 (9) The Nevada Test Site can support the test13 ing of alternative and renewable energy sources for

14 environmentally clean and economically competitive

15 replacements for traditional fossil energy sources

16 and uses in many parts of Nevada and in the United

17 States as a whole.

18 (10) The Nevada Test Site can provide support

19 for disarmament activities such as the demonstration

20 of rocket motor destruction technology and conven21 tional munitions destruction technology.

22 (11) The Nevada Test Site can support non23 proliferation experiments in disablement, nuclear

24 forensics, sensors, and verification and monitoring.
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1 (12) The Nevada Test Site can support treaty2 compliant experiments for stockpile stewardship pur3 poses.

4 (13) The size and remoteness of the Nevada

5 Test Site make the Nevada Test Site well-suited for

6 a multitude of activities associated with the restruc7 turing of the United States military.

8 (14) The Nevada Test Site can also support

9 non-proliferation, counter-proliferation, and counter10 terrorism activities.

11 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

12 It is the purpose of this Act—

13 (1) to ensure full operational readiness of the

14 underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastruc15 ture of the Nevada Test Site;

16 (2) to ensure an appropriate level of funds for

17 such readiness to be maintained;

18 (3) to create a National Test and Demonstra19 tion Center of Excellence at the Nevada Test Site

20 for the promotion of disarmament, demilitarization,

21 alternative and renewable energy sources, the non22 proliferation of nuclear weapons, counter-prolifera23 tion of nuclear weapons, sensor development, and

24 environmentally sensitive technologies; and
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1 (4) to ensure the availability of the Nevada

2 Test Site, within appropriate restrictions, for use by

3 private-sector industries seeking to make use of the

4 inherent qualities that make the Nevada Test Site

5 the greatest outdoor laboratory in the world.

6 SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF READINESS CAPABILITY OF NE7 VADA TEST SITE.

8 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount referred to in

10 paragraph (2) is hereby authorized to be appro11 priated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year

12 1995 and each fiscal year thereafter to maintain the

13 operational readiness of the underground nuclear

14 testing facilities and infrastructure of the Nevada

15 Test Site.

16 (2) AUTHORIZED AMOUNT.—The amount re17 ferred to in paragraph (1) is not less than the

18 amount appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for

19 fiscal year 1992 to maintain the operational readi20 ness of the underground nuclear testing facilities

21 and infrastructure of the Nevada Test Site.

22 (b) STAFFING LEVELS.—The Secretary of Energy

23 shall maintain a staffing level at the Nevada Test Site

24 that the Secretary considers sufficient to carry out activi25 ties under this Act in addition to any other activities con-
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1 ducted by the Department of Energy at the Nevada Test

2 Site.

3 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENTS AND ACTIVI4 TIES.—The Secretary of Energy, through the Nevada Test

5 Site Operations Office, shall carry out any infrastructure

6 assessments and activities necessary to accommodate new

7 projects and initiatives at the Nevada Test Site.

8 SEC. 5. NATIONAL TEST AND DEMONSTRATION CENTER OF

9 EXCELLENCE.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

11 within the Department of Energy a National Test and

12 Demonstration Center of Excellence (hereafter in this Act

13 referred to as the ‘‘Center’’), to be located at the Nevada

14 Test Site, Nevada.

15 (b) PURPOSE.—It shall be the purpose of the Center

16 to promote disarmament, demilitarization, alternative and

17 renewable energy sources, the nonproliferation of nuclear

18 weapons, counter-proliferation of nuclear weapons, sensor

19 development, and environmentally sensitive technologies.

20 (c) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ALTERNATIVE AND RE21 NEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.—The Center shall carry out

22 the following testing and demonstration activities that are

23 related to alternative and renewable energy sources:

24 (1) The characterization of solar and geo25 thermal resources at the Nevada Test Site.
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1 (2) The development of alternative and renew2 able energy sources, including, as a goal of the Cen3 ter, the development and completion of two 100-

4 megawatt solar power plants by the year 2000.

5 (3) The conduct of a National Alternative6 Fueled Vehicles Program, the objective of which

7 shall be to demonstrate the regional use of natural

8 gas, electricity, and hydrogen as vehicle fuels.

9 (d) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO DISARMAMENT AND

10 DEMILITARIZATION.—The Center shall carry out testing

11 and demonstration activities that are related to changes

12 occurring in United States military as a result of the end

13 of the Cold War, including activities—

14 (1) that involve the demilitarization of large

15 rocket motor and conventional ordnance;

16 (2) that assist in disarmament and demilitariza17 tion, generally; and

18 (3) that test and demonstrate the nonmilitary

19 application of technologies and resources the mili20 tary application of which has decreased or otherwise

21 changed due to disarmament and demilitarization.

22 (e) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO NUCLEAR STOCKPILE

23 STEWARDSHIP.—The Center shall carry out testing and

24 demonstration activities related to the stewardship of the
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1 nuclear stockpile of the United States. Such activities shall

2 include—

3 (1) the conduct of experiments that assist in

4 monitoring compliance with international agreements

5 on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons;

6 (2) the provision of support to the Department

7 of Energy nuclear weapons complex;

8 (3) the conduct of programs for the Depart9 ment of Energy and the Department of Defense to

10 develop simulator technologies for nuclear weapons

11 design and effects, including advanced hydrodynamic

12 simulators, inertial confinement fusion test facilities,

13 and nuclear weapons effects simulators; and

14 (4) the conduct of the stockpile stewardship

15 program established pursuant to section 3138 of the

16 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

17 1994 (107 Stat. 1946; Public Law 103–160).

18 (f) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO NONPROLIFERATION.—

19 The Center shall carry out experiments related to the non20 proliferation of nuclear weapons, including experiments

21 with respect to disablement, nuclear forensics, sensors,

22 and verification and monitoring.

23 (g) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO COUNTER-PROLIFERA24 TION.—The Center shall carry out experiments related to

25 the counter-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
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1 (h) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL

2 TECHNOLOGIES.—The Center shall carry out testing and

3 demonstration activities related to the development of en4 vironmental technologies, including—

5 (1) the demonstration of technologies concern6 ing the remediation of toxic and hazardous chemi7 cals; and

8 (2) the conduct of training activities pertaining

9 to emergency response to hazardous and toxic acci10 dents and emergencies.

11 (i) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Center may carry out

12 the testing and demonstration of any other technology

13 which, in the determination of the Secretary of Energy,

14 is appropriate for testing and demonstration at the Ne15 vada Test Site.

16 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 Except as provided in section 4, there is authorized

18 to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal

19 year 1997 such sums as may be necessary to carry out

20 this Act.

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