I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2476 

To authorize the United States Department of Energy to remediate the 

Western New York Nuclear Service Center in the Town of Ashford, 

New York, and dispose of nuclear waste. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2007 

Mr. KUHL of New York introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To authorize the United States Department of Energy to 

remediate the Western New York Nuclear Service Center 

in the Town of Ashford, New York, and dispose of nuclear waste. 

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 ‘‘West Valley Remedi5 ation Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Federal Government has had the pri2 mary and central role in initiating, establishing, and 

3 providing material for spent nuclear fuel reprocess4 ing and waste burial operations at the Center. 

5 (2) The Federal Government has availed itself 

6 of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing operations at the 

7 Center, and has benefited from such operations to 

8 process and store at the Center radioactively con9 taminated materials generated in, and by, various 

10 Federal civilian and military programs. 

11 (3) Under the West Valley Demonstration 

12 Project Act, New York State has contributed over 

13 $200,000,000 toward site remediation, making New 

14 York the only State that has contributed toward the 

15 cleanup of a high-level radioactive waste site. 

16 (4) Since passage of the West Valley Dem17 onstration Project Act, substantial progress has been 

18 made in the remediation of radioactive wastes at the 

19 Center, but the remediation of the Center has not 

20 been completed. 

21 (5) The Federal Government agreed in 1987 to 

22 prepare an environmental impact statement con23 cerning closure for the post-vitrification phase of the 

24 West Valley Demonstration Project, as will be need25 ed for remediation of the Center, and has made subVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:35 May 31, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2476.IH H2476

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1 stantial progress since then in preparing such an en2 vironmental impact statement for the Center, includ3 ing the issuance of a draft environmental impact 

4 statement in 1996, but the environmental impact 

5 statement has not been completed. 

6 (6) The lack of certainty about Federal respon7 sibility for the remaining remediation necessary at 

8 the Center may impede progress toward completion 

9 of the cleanup. 

10 (7) Completion of the remaining remediation at 

11 the Center in a prompt, thorough, and effective 

12 manner, in full compliance with all applicable State 

13 and Federal laws and regulations, is in the best in14 terest of the United States, the Great Lakes region 

15 as a whole, the State and its citizens, and the Sen16 eca Nation of Indians and its members, which Na17 tion occupies ancestral territory downstream of the 

18 Center. 

19 (8) The facilities and contamination at the Cen20 ter are located on or in Pleistocene glacial deposits 

21 that are being actively eroded by nearby creeks that 

22 drain into the Great Lakes basin. To maintain the 

23 long-term stability of any facilities that may remain 

24 at the Center, active monitoring and maintenance of 

25 erosion controls and other engineered features will 


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1 be required for as long as any residual radioactive 

2 and hazardous waste and materials that may remain 

3 at the Center present a hazard to the public. 

4 (9) Public participation has been an important 

5 part of the work already done, and the planning now 

6 in progress, toward remediation of radioactive 

7 wastes at the Center. 

8 (b) PURPOSES.—(1) It is the intent of Congress that 

9 the Federal Government achieve complete remediation of 

10 all radioactive, solid, and hazardous waste contamination 

11 at the Center in a manner that is protective of the Great 

12 Lakes region and its residents and is consistent with all 

13 applicable State and Federal laws and regulations regard14 ing public health and safety. 

15 (2) This Act establishes exclusive Federal responsi16 bility for the complete remediation of the Center. 

17 (3) The Secretary shall employ the best current tech18 nologies and develop new state-of-the-art technologies and 

19 methodologies to accomplish the complete remediation of 

20 the Center. 

21 (4) This Act recognizes the importance of State, 

22 Tribal, and public involvement in the development, selec23 tion, enforcement, and monitoring of remedial actions un24 dertaken at the Center, to protect the health and safety 

25 of the citizens and environment of the Great Lakes region. 


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1 (5) This Act shall replace and supersede the West 

2 Valley Demonstration Project Act. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 For purposes of this Act: 

5 (1) The term ‘‘Center’’ means— 

6 (A) the Western New York Nuclear Service 

7 Center in West Valley, New York; and 

8 (B) all land, roads, structures, including 

9 buildings, fixtures, containers, and radioactive, 

10 hazardous, and solid waste and nuclear material 

11 at the Western New York Nuclear Service Cen12 ter, including the reprocessing and storage fa13 cilities, equipment, above-ground and under14 ground tanks, solidified radioactive waste, and 

15 radioactive and nonradioactive wastes and ma16 terials in the State and Commission licensed 

17 disposal areas, located within the legal bound18 aries of the Western New York Nuclear Service 

19 Center. 

20 (2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Nuclear 

21 Regulatory Commission. 

22 (3) The term ‘‘hazardous waste’’ means any 

23 solid waste designated as hazardous waste under 40 

24 CFR Part 261 or as may be subsequently defined as 

25 such by the Environmental Protection Agency, any 


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1 solid waste designated as a hazardous waste under 

2 the State program authorized by the Environmental 

3 Protection Agency pursuant to the Solid Waste Dis4 posal Act, and any waste material designated as a 

5 hazardous waste under any other State statute or 

6 regulation. 

7 (4) The term ‘‘high level radioactive waste’’ 

8 means the high level radioactive waste which was 

9 produced by the reprocessing at the Center of spent 

10 nuclear fuel. Such term includes both liquid wastes 

11 which are produced directly in reprocessing, dry 

12 solid material derived from such liquid waste, and 

13 any such other material the Commission designates 

14 as high level radioactive waste for purposes of pro15 tecting public health and safety. 

16 (5) The term ‘‘License Termination Rule’’ 

17 means the rule of the Commission published at 62 

18 Federal Register 39058. 

19 (6) The term ‘‘low level radioactive waste’’ 

20 means radioactive waste not classified as high level 

21 radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, transuranic 

22 waste, or byproduct material as defined in section 11 

23 e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 

24 (7) The term ‘‘nuclear materials’’ means any 

25 special nuclear material, source material, or byprodVerDate Aug 31 2005 22:35 May 31, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2476.IH H2476

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1 uct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 

2 1954 and 10 CFR Part 40, or other such material 

3 as the Commission may subsequently designate as 

4 special, source, or byproduct nuclear material. 

5 (8) The term ‘‘radioactive waste’’ means low 

6 level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, and high 

7 level radioactive waste. 

8 (9) The term ‘‘remediation’’ means activities or 

9 processes used to remove, destroy, degrade, trans10 form, immobilize, or treat radioactive, solid, or haz11 ardous waste. 

12 (10) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

13 of Energy. 

14 (11) The term ‘‘solid waste’’ means any mate15 rial that is designated as solid waste under 40 CFR 

16 Part 261 or as may be subsequently defined as such 

17 by the Environmental Protection Agency, under the 

18 State program authorized by the Environmental 

19 Protection Agency pursuant to the Solid Waste Dis20 posal Act, or under any other State statute or regu21 lation. 

22 (12) The term ‘‘State’’ means the State of New 

23 York. 

24 (13) The term ‘‘transuranic waste’’ means ma25 terial contaminated with elements which have an 


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1 atomic number greater than 92, including neptu2 nium, plutonium, americium, and curium, and which 

3 are in concentrations greater than 10 nanocuries per 

4 gram, or in such other concentrations as the Com5 mission may prescribe to protect the public health 

6 and safety. 

7 SEC. 4. REMEDIATION OF THE CENTER. 

8 (a) The Secretary shall take all actions necessary to 

9 remediate the Center in a manner that is timely, protective 

10 of human health and the environment, consistent with the 

11 License Termination Rule, and consistent with all applica12 ble requirements of Federal and State law, including clo13 sure and post-closure requirements set forth in Federal 

14 or State environmental laws, and the provisions of this 

15 Act. As part of such remediation, the Secretary shall de16 contaminate and decommission— 

17 (1) the tanks and other facilities of the Center 

18 in which the high level radioactive waste solidified 

19 under the West Valley Demonstration Project Act 

20 was stored; 

21 (2) the facilities used in the solidification of the 

22 waste; and 

23 (3) any material and hardware used in connec24 tion with the West Valley Demonstration Project. 


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1 (b) The Secretary shall be responsible for all costs 

2 associated with such remediation. 

3 SEC. 5. RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL REQUIREMENTS. 

4 (a) The Secretary shall, as soon as feasible, transport 

5 the high level radioactive waste at the Center to an appro6 priate Federal repository for permanent disposal. Pending 

7 such transportation, the Secretary shall take appropriate 

8 measures to safeguard such waste and ensure its safe stor9 age in a manner consistent with public health and safety 

10 and Commission regulations or orders. 

11 (b) The Secretary shall, as soon as feasible, in accord12 ance with applicable law, including applicable licensing re13 quirements, dispose of low level radioactive waste and 

14 transuranic waste currently located at the Center and such 

15 radioactive waste as may in the future be generated as 

16 a result of the remediation authorized by this Act. 

17 (c) For purposes of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 

18 1982, all high level radioactive waste at the Center shall 

19 be considered waste generated by atomic energy defense 

20 activities. For purposes of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 

21 Land Withdrawal Act, any transuranic waste at the Cen22 ter shall be considered radioactive waste generated by 

23 atomic energy defense activities. 


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1 SEC. 6. REGULATION BY THE COMMISSION. 

2 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 

3 Commission shall regulate the remediation of radioactive 

4 waste and nuclear materials at the Center as set forth in 

5 this section. The Commission is authorized to promulgate 

6 such new or revised rules as it may deem necessary and 

7 appropriate to assume such responsibility. 

8 (b)(1) Not later than 2 years after the date of enact9 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop and submit 

10 to the Commission for review and approval a decommis11 sioning plan that meets the criteria set forth in the Li12 cense Termination Rule and that addresses the radioactive 

13 wastes and nuclear materials at the Center. 

14 (2) Prior to any preliminary or final decision made 

15 by the Commission on the Secretary’s plan, the Commis16 sion shall provide a reasonable opportunity for the State 

17 to review, comment on, and concur or not concur with the 

18 decommissioning plan submitted by the Secretary and any 

19 modifications to such plan. 

20 (3) The Secretary shall implement the decommis21 sioning plan approved by the Commission. 

22 (c) In making its determination, the Commission 

23 shall apply the process and criteria set forth in the License 

24 Termination Rule. The Commission shall further apply the 

25 procedures provided in its regulations for the approval and 


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1 enforcement of decommissioning plans to the decommis2 sioning plan for the Center. 

3 (d) Upon assumption of possession by the Secretary, 

4 as provided for in section 9, all licenses and permits for 

5 facilities at the Center issued by the Commission shall be 

6 held in abeyance until the completion of the radiological 

7 remedial action program authorized by this Act. 

8 (e) Upon completion of the radiological remedial ac9 tion program authorized by this Act, or sooner upon re10 quest of the New York State Energy Research and Devel11 opment Authority, the Secretary shall assist the New York 

12 State Energy Research and Development Authority in ap13 plying to the Commission to terminate, for the entire Cen14 ter or such portions of the Center as may qualify, the li15 cense issued by the Commission. 

16 (f) If, after application of the License Termination 

17 Rule to all portions of the Center, the entire Center is 

18 not released for unrestricted use, the Center, or if appro19 priate a portion or portions thereof, shall be maintained 

20 by the Secretary, or such other Federal agency as the 

21 President may designate. The Secretary or such other 

22 agency shall apply for a license or licenses from the Com23 mission and the Commission shall apply such procedures 

24 and standards as the Commission would normally employ 

25 to issue licenses for such materials so as to protect the 


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1 public health and safety and the environment. If the re2 quirements of such a licensing process cannot be met, the 

3 Secretary shall conduct such additional radiological reme4 dial action as shall be needed to qualify for a license. 

5 (g) The Secretary shall submit to the Commission 

6 safety analysis reports and such other information as the 

7 Commission may require to identify any danger to the 

8 public health and safety which may be presented by the 

9 remediation required under this Act or the conditions at 

10 the Center. 

11 (h) The Secretary shall afford the Commission access 

12 to the Center to enable the Commission to carry out the 

13 activities assigned to it under this Act. 

14 SEC. 7. NEW YORK STATE INVOLVEMENT. 

15 (a) The Secretary shall consult with the New York 

16 State Department of Environmental Conservation, and 

17 any such other agency as the Governor of the State may 

18 designate, in carrying out this Act. Not later than 1 year 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

20 enter into an agreement with the State to establish ar21 rangements for consultation with the State regarding re22 mediation of the Center, and, if the Center is not remedi23 ated to allow unrestricted use, consultation on mainte24 nance of licensed portions of the Center. 


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1 (b) The agreement entered into under subsection (a) 

2 shall include provisions for— 

3 (1) the State’s review and comment on data 

4 and draft documents; and 

5 (2) the Secretary’s response to the State’s com6 ments. 

7 (c) The Secretary shall provide the State access to 

8 the Center, at all reasonable times, for the purpose of pro9 tecting the public health and safety and the environment. 

10 This shall include access to collect samples, take measure11 ments, and observe ongoing activities and conditions. 

12 SEC. 8. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. 

13 (a) Pursuant to obligations under the National Envi14 ronmental Policy Act of 1969, the Secretary shall prepare 

15 any environmental impact statement for decommissioning 

16 or long-term stewardship of the Center in cooperation with 

17 the Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, 

18 and such other Federal and State agencies as may be ap19 propriate, and shall do so as a continuation of the environ20 mental impact statement process commenced by notice of 

21 intent issued in 1988. 

22 (b) The Secretary shall issue a revised draft environ23 mental impact statement within 2 years after the date of 

24 enactment of this Act. 


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1 (c) The environmental impact statement process re2 ferred to in subsections (a) and (b), including records of 

3 decision by the Secretary and the Commission, shall be 

4 completed as soon as reasonably practicable. 

5 (d) The Secretary shall hold and undertake meetings 

6 on a quarterly basis at a location at or near the Center, 

7 to which members of the local educational, scientific, and 

8 political communities shall be invited, so that the Sec9 retary can advise such participants of the status of the 

10 environmental impact statement process, including current 

11 results, and in order to receive public comment. 

12 (e) The Secretary shall make available to any member 

13 of the public, at a public reading room at the Center, for 

14 inspection, upon reasonable notice, at reasonable hours 

15 and without payment of a fee or charge, those documents 

16 related to the preparation of the environmental impact 

17 statement referred to in this section, including background 

18 information subject to disclosure under section 552 of title 

19 5, United States Code (popularly known as the Freedom 

20 of Information Act), that are requested in writing by such 

21 member of the public. Copies of any such documents shall 

22 be provided by the Secretary upon the payment of the 

23 charges provided for under such section 552. 


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1 SEC. 9. ASSUMPTION OF POSSESSION AND TRANSFER OF 

2 TITLE. 

3 (a) Not later than 30 days after execution of the Co4 operative Agreement provided for in section 10, the Sec5 retary shall assume exclusive use and possession of the 

6 entire Center. 

7 (b) Upon completion of all remediation required 

8 under this Act, or 20 years after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, whichever comes sooner, the Secretary shall 

10 take title to any land or facilities at the Center that have 

11 not been approved by the Commission for release for unre12 stricted use, and title to all radioactive and nonradioactive 

13 wastes and materials located at any such portions of the 

14 Center in accordance with all applicable Federal and State 

15 laws and requirements. 

16 (c) So long as the Secretary remains in possession 

17 or holds title to the Center, or any portion thereof, neither 

18 the Secretary nor any other person or entity, including 

19 any governmental entity, shall transport or allow the 

20 transport of any solid, hazardous, or radioactive waste to 

21 the Center for the purpose of storing, treating, or dis22 posing of such waste at the Center. 

23 SEC. 10. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT. 

24 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a Cooperative 

26 Agreement with the New York State Energy Research and 


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1 Development Authority, or such other agency as the Gov2 ernor of the State shall designate, which shall contain the 

3 following: 

4 (1) Such provisions as may be necessary to ef5 fectuate the possession and transfer of title provi6 sions contained in section 9 and to facilitate the re7 lease and transfer to third parties of 

8 uncontaminated portions of the Center, as appro9 priate. 

10 (2) Provisions for the Secretary to assist the 

11 New York State Energy Research and Development 

12 Authority, or such other agency as the Governor of 

13 the State may designate, in making such permit or 

14 license applications as may be necessary to carry out 

15 this Act. 

16 (3) Sharing with the New York State Energy 

17 Research and Development Authority, or such other 

18 agency as the Governor of the State shall designate, 

19 of information and plans relevant to the remediation 

20 of the Center by the Secretary and to license or per21 mit applications as may be necessary to carry out 

22 this Act. 

23 (4) Indemnification of the State, and any rel24 evant instrumentality of the State that may hold 

25 title to the Center, by the Secretary against any 


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1 claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including rea2 sonable attorney’s and expert witness’ fees) or liabil3 ities, arising out of or resulting from the perform4 ance by the Secretary or the Secretary’s agents or 

5 contractors of (or failure to perform) the Secretary’s 

6 obligations under this Act. 

7 SEC. 11. REPEAL OF THE WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION 

8 PROJECT ACT. 

9 Upon assumption of exclusive use and possession of 

10 the entire Center by the Secretary, as provided for in sec11 tion 9, the West Valley Demonstration Project Act is re12 pealed. 

13 SEC. 12. APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) To implement the requirements of this Act, there 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

16 $110,000,000 for each fiscal year until the remediation 

17 of the Center required by section 4 is completed. After 

18 the remediation of the Center is completed, there are au19 thorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year thereafter 

20 such sums as are necessary for the Secretary to carry out 

21 the activities required under this Act and any licenses or 

22 permits concerning the Center issued to the Secretary 

23 under Federal or State law. 

24 (b) There are authorized to be appropriated to the 

25 Secretary an additional amount of 5 percent of the 


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1 amount appropriated under subsection (a) for each fiscal 

2 year, to be paid to the West Valley Central School District, 

3 in the month of September, and the Town of Ashford, 

4 West Valley Fire District No. 1, and Cattaraugus County, 

5 in the month of January, in such proportions as such enti6 ties would normally receive in taxes. After the remediation 

7 of the Center is completed and until such time as all Cen8 ter property is released for unrestricted use, there are au9 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary an additional 

10 amount of $3,000,000 for each fiscal year, to be paid to 

11 the local entities set forth above in the same proportions. 

12 This payment is to offset the hardship suffered by the 

13 community as a result of the use of the Center property 

14 for the management of radioactive waste generated by the 

15 Federal Government. 

16 (c) The authority of the Secretary to enter into con17 tracts under this Act shall be effective for any fiscal year 

18 only to such extent or in such amounts as are provided 

19 in advance by appropriation acts. 

20 SEC. 13. NO EFFECT ON OTHER AUTHORITIES. 

21 (a) This Act in no way preempts or otherwise limits 

22 the force or scope of any otherwise applicable Federal or 

23 State laws, regulations, or treaties, unless specifically so 

24 provided in this Act. 


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1 (b) This Act shall not supersede or repeal the Stipula2 tion of Compromise Settlement entered into by the United 

3 States and the Department of Energy on May 27, 1987, 

4 in the matter captioned Coalition on West Valley Nuclear 

5 Wastes v. Department of Energy in the Western District 

6 of New York, Civil Case No. 86–1052–C, and this Act 

7 shall not diminish or alter the terms of that Stipulation. 

8 (c) Nothing in this Act shall affect in any way the 

9 Secretary’s obligations to comply with the Department of 

10 Energy American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Gov11 ernment Policy, and Executive Order 13175 on Consulta12 tion and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments, or 

13 any other policy or order that ensures effective implemen14 tation of a government to government relationship be15 tween the Unites States and tribal governments, including 

16 fulfillment of trust obligations and equal protection meas17 ures arising from Department of Energy actions which 

18 may potentially impact American Indian traditional, cul19 tural, and religious values and practices, natural re20 sources, and treaty and other federally-recognized and re21 served rights. 

Æ 


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