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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5527 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5527

  To accelerate the development, demonstration, and deployment of new 
  technologies and innovative solutions to address the environmental 
  cleanup mission of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 12, 2024

   Mr. Lujan introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To accelerate the development, demonstration, and deployment of new 
  technologies and innovative solutions to address the environmental 
  cleanup mission of the Department of Energy, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Combining Laboratory Expertise to 
Accelerate Novel Solutions for Minimizing Accumulated Radioactive 
Toxins Act of 2024'' or the ``CLEAN SMART Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
                Resources, and the Committee on Armed Services of the 
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Science, Space, and 
                Technology, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
                the Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Assistant secretary.--The term ``Assistant Secretary'' 
        means the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental 
        Management.
            (3) Chair.--The term ``Chair'' means the Chair of the 
        Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
            (4) Core national laboratories.--The term ``Core National 
        Laboratories'' means the Idaho National Laboratory, the Los 
        Alamos National Laboratory, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 
        the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Sandia National 
        Laboratories, and the Savannah River National Laboratory.
            (5) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
            (6) Director.--The term ``Director'' means Director of the 
        Office of Legacy Management.
            (7) Federal site life-cycle estimate.--The term ``Federal 
        site life-cycle estimate'' means the scope, cost, and schedule 
        profiles of work activities, including sunk costs and other 
        relevant metrics, of work activities pertaining to the cleanup 
        mission for an individual site of the Office of Environmental 
        Management.
            (8) Framework.--The term ``Framework'' means the Technology 
        Development and Deployment Framework developed pursuant to 
        section 5.
            (9) Memorandum.--The term ``Memorandum'' means the 
        memorandum of understanding entered into pursuant to section 
        4(c).
            (10) Network.--The term ``Network'' means the Network of 
        National Laboratories for Environmental Management and 
        Stewardship established under section 3.
            (11) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (12) Site.--The term ``site'' means any outstanding 
        defense- and non-defense-related nuclear waste site that is 
        undergoing environmental remediation and facility 
        decommissioning under the responsibility of the Office of 
        Environmental Management, and any site that is undergoing long-
        term maintenance and surveillance under the responsibility of 
        the Office of Legacy Management.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NETWORK OF NATIONAL LABORATORIES FOR 
              ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND STEWARDSHIP.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a steering 
committee to be known as the ``Network of National Laboratories for 
Environmental Management and Stewardship''.
    (b) Purpose.--The Network shall advance the scientific and 
technical expertise of the National Laboratory system in support of the 
environmental cleanup mission of the Office of Environmental Management 
and the long-term surveillance and maintenance mission of the Office of 
Legacy Management through support for research, development, 
demonstration, and deployment of treatment technologies, disposal 
methods, and other capabilities--
            (1) to minimize the impact of environmental contamination 
        and risks to public health and the environment from radioactive 
        and hazardous waste and materials from defense-related nuclear 
        activities;
            (2) to lower lifecycle cleanup costs for sites;
            (3) to accelerate cleanup schedules or reduce the timeframe 
        of site decommissioning; and
            (4) to address high-priority technical challenges in 
        cleanup operations, or otherwise improve the effectiveness and 
        safety of cleanup methods.
    (c) Duties.--At the direction of the Assistant Secretary and the 
Director, the Network and its participants shall--
            (1) leverage National Laboratory partnerships to develop 
        alternate treatment technologies, disposal methods, and other 
        capabilities to assist in the cleanup and long-term management 
        of sites, in order to improve the cost, timeframe, 
        effectiveness, and safety of cleanup methods;
            (2) identify and coordinate technical support resources and 
        capabilities to address emergent events associated with 
        environmental cleanup and long-term monitoring of sites and 
        facilitate the deployment of viable alternative treatment 
        technologies, disposal methods, and other capabilities;
            (3) conduct scalable performance testing, evaluation, 
        verification, and validation of alternate treatment 
        technologies, disposal methods, and other capabilities to 
        demonstrate the potential cost, safety, and performance 
        benefits of such capabilities in comparison to those currently 
        deployed in support of the environmental cleanup mission of the 
        Department;
            (4) conduct independent programmatic and technical reviews 
        of plans or activities of the Department at the national or 
        site level, including assessments of technology performance and 
        alignment with respect to the programmatic priorities of the 
        Office of Environmental Management and the Office of Legacy 
        Management;
            (5) collaborate with the contractors and staff of the 
        Department, other Federal agencies, academia, industry, and 
        other relevant entities to ensure best practices are being 
        exchanged and to identify opportunities for technology 
        transfer;
            (6) provide scientific and technical analysis to the 
        Department and to stakeholders, as directed by the Department, 
        regarding environmental cleanup, waste disposal, and long-term 
        stewardship policy options and issues;
            (7) provide an integrated science and technology 
        perspective to support near- and long-term strategic planning 
        for the Office of Environmental Management and the Office of 
        Legacy Management at sites, including conducting analyses of 
        alternative technologies and treatment methods and providing 
        input on their insertion into the cleanup mission;
            (8) coordinate and serve as a liaison among the Department 
        and contractors of the Department and the National Laboratories 
        with capabilities relating to the Office of Environmental 
        Management and the Office of Legacy Management that have been 
        developed and supported across all of the program offices of 
        the Department;
            (9) provide technical expertise to inform contract 
        decisions and language, research and development investments of 
        the Department, and technical feasibility of contractor 
        proposals consistent with all appropriate and applicable 
        compliance requirements to mitigate potential conflicts of 
        interest;
            (10) assist the Department in developing and maintaining 
        career pathway training opportunities in environmental 
        remediation science, with a focus on engaging historically 
        underserved or marginalized populations; and
            (11) other duties as determined by the Assistant Secretary 
        and Director.
    (d) Membership.--The Network shall be comprised of a representative 
from--
            (1) each Core National Laboratory;
            (2) each of the other National Laboratories with stewarded 
        competencies for research activities associated with the Office 
        of Environmental Management and the Office of Legacy 
        Management, including the Argonne National Laboratory, the 
        Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the Lawrence Berkeley 
        National Laboratory, the Lawrence Livermore National 
        Laboratory, the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the 
        SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory; and
            (3) other National Laboratories or entities at the request 
        of the Assistant Secretary or the Director.
    (e) Leadership and Responsibilities.--
            (1) Composition.--The leadership of the Network shall be 
        composed of--
                    (A) a liaison from the Office of Environmental 
                Management, designated by the Assistant Secretary, who 
                shall be responsible for National Laboratory 
                stewardship, coordination of resources, and guidance 
                and oversight of the Network regarding the needs of the 
                Office of Environmental Management;
                    (B) a liaison from the Office of Legacy Management, 
                designated by the Director, who shall work directly 
                with the Director and members of the Network to fulfill 
                the needs of the Office of Legacy Management;
                    (C) an Executive Director, who shall--
                            (i) be affiliated with 1 of the Core 
                        National Laboratories and appointed by the 
                        Network Chair and Network Co-Chair; and
                            (ii) work on behalf of all National 
                        Laboratories to coordinate the day-to-day needs 
                        of the Network;
                    (D) an official representative from each Core 
                National Laboratory, who shall be designated by the 
                respective Laboratory Director or Chief Research 
                Officer, and who shall be responsible for coordinating 
                and procuring the full complement of capabilities and 
                resources from the relevant National Laboratory in 
                order to fulfill its obligations with respect to the 
                Network; and
                    (E) ad hoc representatives, who are Federal 
                Government employees or employees of the management and 
                operating contractors of the National Laboratories, and 
                who may be--
                            (i) representatives of other National 
                        Laboratories, as needed based on the work 
                        undertaken by the Network; or
                            (ii) additional representatives from the 
                        Core National Laboratories, as needed and 
                        subject to the approval of the Network Chair 
                        and Network Co-Chair, with concurrence of the 
                        liaisons of the Office of Environmental 
                        Management and the Office of Legacy Management.
            (2) Network chair and network co-chair.--
                    (A) Network chair.--The Laboratory Director for the 
                Savannah River National Laboratory shall--
                            (i) serve as Network Chair;
                            (ii) report to the Assistant Secretary and 
                        the Director; and
                            (iii) ensure the overall effectiveness and 
                        coordination of the Network.
                    (B) Network co-chair.--The Network Co-Chair shall 
                work with the Network Chair to ensure the overall 
                effectiveness of the Network and shall rotate annually 
                among the Directors and Deputy Directors of the Core 
                National Laboratories.
    (f) Participation of Nonmembers.--
            (1) Engagement.--The Network may engage stakeholders, such 
        as industry experts, educators, nonprofit stakeholders, and 
        advisory groups, for the purpose of receiving mission-relevant 
        information from such stakeholders.
            (2) Limitations on participation.--The Network shall 
        prevent the regular and systematic participation of 
        stakeholders at meetings of the Network, unless otherwise 
        authorized by this Act.
            (3) Limitations on nonmember input.--The engagement of 
        nonmembers shall be limited to the provision of individual 
        advice and recommendations, unless otherwise authorized by this 
        Act.
    (g) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in coordination 
with the Assistant Secretary and Director, shall submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees a report that includes a summary 
of--
            (1) the major activities of the Network during the prior 
        year;
            (2) the major science and technology efforts of the Office 
        of Environmental Management and the Office of Legacy Management 
        during the prior year; and
            (3) the state of technology adoption and alignment across 
        the Office of Environmental Management and the Office of Legacy 
        Management.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary--
            (1) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year 
        thereafter to support the development and implementation of 
        activities specified under subsection (c); and
            (2) $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year 
        thereafter to support the operation and coordination of the 
        Network.
    (i) Other Environmental Cleanup Challenges.--The Secretary, in 
consultation with the Assistant Secretary and the Director, may enter 
into an agreement with any Federal agency to utilize the capabilities 
of the Network to address radiological hazards and environmental 
contamination challenges at locations where the Office of Environmental 
Management and Office of Legacy Management do not have primary cleanup 
responsibilities, if and only if the agreement--
            (1) is subject to the availability of the existing 
        appropriations of the Department, except for those authorized 
        in subsection (h), and to the extent possible leverages 
        existing appropriations and resources from the Federal agency 
        with which the agreement is made;
            (2) does not utilize resources made available to support 
        the cleanup missions of the Office of Environmental Management 
        and the Office of Legacy Management; and
            (3) does not utilize the capabilities of the Network in a 
        manner that would prevent or otherwise limit the Network from 
        fulfilling responsibilities specified in subsection (c).
    (j) Inapplicability of Federal Advisory Committee Act.--Chapter 10 
of title 5 (commonly referred to as the ``Federal Advisory Committee 
Act''), shall not apply with respect to the Network or the activities 
of the Network.

SEC. 4. COORDINATION WITH OTHER DEPARTMENT OFFICES AND FEDERAL AGENCIES 
              ON ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, in cooperation with the Network, 
shall improve coordination across the Department and the Federal 
government on science and technology efforts applicable to the 
environmental cleanup mission of the Office of Environmental Management 
as necessary to procure sufficient expertise and resources to address 
the full range of research challenges and needs identified by the 
Office.
    (b) Interagency Working Advisory on Technology Excellence in 
Environmental Cleanup.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish an advisory 
        group to be known as the ``Interagency Advisory Group on 
        Technology Excellence in Environmental Cleanup'', which shall--
                    (A) coordinate relevant technology transfer 
                activities among the National Laboratories, the 
                Technology Transfer Working Group of the Department, 
                and other appropriate Federal agencies;
                    (B) facilitate the exchange of mission-relevant 
                information and best practices, including information 
                on technology transfer practices, developments in 
                environmental remediation science and treatment 
                methods, and alternative approaches to radioactive 
                waste management;
                    (C) identify and recommend technologies developed 
                within and outside of the jurisdiction of the 
                Department with potential applications for the Office 
                of Environmental Management;
                    (D) identify and recommend opportunities to utilize 
                the services and expertise of the Network to assist in 
                addressing cleanup challenges at locations where the 
                Office of Environmental Management does not have 
                cleanup responsibilities, as described in section 3(i); 
                and
                    (E) develop and disseminate to the public and 
                prospective technology partners information about 
                opportunities and procedures for technology transfer 
                with the Network.
            (2) Composition.--
                    (A) Members.--The Advisory Group shall be comprised 
                of representatives selected from--
                            (i) the Core National Laboratories;
                            (ii) the Office of Environmental 
                        Management;
                            (iii) the Office of Legacy Management;
                            (iv) the Office of Nuclear Energy;
                            (v) the Office of Science;
                            (vi) the National Nuclear Security 
                        Administration;
                            (vii) the Environmental Protection Agency;
                            (viii) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission;
                            (ix) the Bureau of Land Management;
                            (x) the National Park Service;
                            (xi) the Bureau of Indian Affairs;
                            (xii) the United States Forest Service;
                            (xiii) such other Federal agencies with 
                        relevant science and technology expertise, as 
                        the Secretary determines, including agencies 
                        within the Department involved in technology 
                        development relating to radioactive waste 
                        disposal or environmental remediation;
                            (xiv) State and Tribal governments;
                            (xv) academia; and
                            (xvi) the private sector.
            (3) Chair.--The Assistant Secretary shall serve as the 
        Chair of the Advisory Group.
            (4) Meetings.--The Advisory Group shall meet not less 
        frequently than once every 180 days.
            (5) Inapplicability of federal advisory committee act.--
        Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to 
        as the ``Federal Advisory Committee Act''), shall not apply 
        with respect to the Advisory Group or the activities of the 
        Advisory Group.
    (c) Partnership With Office of Science.--
            (1) Memorandum of understanding.--Not later than 1 year 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 
        Secretary and the Director of the Office of Science of the 
        Department shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to 
        facilitate improved coordination and cooperation between the 
        Office of Environmental Management and the Office of Science on 
        areas of basic research that are applicable to the 
        environmental cleanup mission of the Office of Environmental 
        Management.
            (2) Basic research needs workshops.--Not later than 180 
        days after the Memorandum takes effect, and on a periodic basis 
        thereafter, the Director of the Office of Science, in 
        coordination with the Assistant Secretary and the Network, 
        shall administer a workshop to solicit the input of relevant 
        Federal agencies, academia, industry, the National 
        Laboratories, and other relevant entities--
                    (A) to identify the major basic research needs of 
                the Office of Environmental Management; and
                    (B) to develop strategic research plans to advance 
                knowledge and technological capabilities to address the 
                basic research needs identified in subparagraph (A).
            (3) Reports.--
                    (A) Initial workshop report.--Not later than 180 
                days after the date of the initial workshop described 
                in paragraph (2), the Assistant Secretary and the 
                Director of the Office of Science shall submit to the 
                appropriate congressional committees a report 
                summarizing the major findings of the workshop, 
                including gaps in basic research knowledge relating to 
                the environmental cleanup mission of the Office of 
                Environmental Management.
                    (B) Not later than 1 year after the Memorandum 
                takes effect, the Assistant Secretary and the Director 
                of the Office of Science shall submit to the 
                appropriate congressional committees a report 
                summarizing the steps that the Office of Environmental 
                Management and the Office of Science have taken to 
                fulfill the obligations of the Memorandum.

SEC. 5. PROGRAM MANAGEMENT PROTOCOLS OF THE OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL 
              MANAGEMENT.

    (a) In General.--At the request and direction of the Assistant 
Secretary, the Network shall provide an integrated science and 
technology perspective to assist the Office of Environmental Management 
in implementing and enhancing established, technology-focused strategic 
plans, roadmaps, and program management protocols as necessary to 
incorporate leading program management practices and facilitate safe, 
timely, and cost-efficient cleanup of sites.
    (b) Technology Development and Deployment Framework.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall direct the Network, in 
        coordination with the Assistant Secretary, to develop and 
        update biennially a framework to be known as the ``Technology 
        Development and Deployment Framework'' that outlines--
                    (A) the key science and technology objectives of 
                the Office of Environmental Management; and
                    (B) an integrated strategy to assist the Office of 
                Environmental Management in--
                            (i) selecting safe, effective, and cost-
                        efficient approaches to resolve technically 
                        complex challenges or reduce the cost, time, 
                        and scope associated with the cleanup mission;
                            (ii) advancing the development, 
                        demonstration, and deployment of new 
                        innovations, such as alternate treatment 
                        technologies, disposal methods, and other 
                        capabilities; and
                            (iii) maximizing the benefits of existing 
                        research and technology investments.
            (2) Objectives.--The Framework shall complement and support 
        existing program management protocols, strategic plans, and 
        roadmaps of the Office of Environmental Management and, at 
        minimum, shall--
                    (A) emphasize support for a wide of range of 
                research and technology development activities, 
                including--
                            (i) applied technology research and 
                        technology development programs that seek to--
                                    (I) improve existing technologies 
                                or mature early concept and emerging 
                                technologies as specified under section 
                                4406A(a) of the Atomic Energy Defense 
                                Act (50 U.S.C. 2586a(a)); and
                                    (II) pursue breakthrough 
                                innovations or improvements to the 
                                cleanup mission that substantially 
                                lower lifecycle cleanup costs and 
                                schedules or address technically 
                                complex cleanup challenges, as 
                                specified under section 4406A(b) of the 
                                Atomic Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 
                                2586a(b));
                            (ii) basic research;
                            (iii) scientific studies and technical 
                        issue resolution to support evaluation and 
                        selection of technologies for insertion into 
                        the cleanup mission; and
                            (iv) research that addresses both near-
                        term, site-specific needs and long-term, 
                        program-wide needs;
                    (B) summarize the major focus areas and objectives 
                of the science and technology efforts of the Office of 
                Environment Management;
                    (C) detail plans to leverage relevant advances and 
                expertise in other technology development programs 
                across the Department, the National Laboratories, 
                academia, private industry, and other technology 
                providers; and
                    (D) support the development or maintenance of a 
                workforce pipeline that leverages the capabilities of 
                institutions of higher education, especially those 
                serving minority or historically underserved 
                populations.
    (c) Corrective Action Plans.--Section 4713 of the Atomic Energy 
Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2753) is amended by inserting at the end the 
following:
    ``(e) Corrective Action Plans for Defense Environmental Cleanup 
Projects.--If a root cause analysis for a defense environmental cleanup 
project is required under the project management protocols of the 
Department of Energy or under subsection (c)(3), then--
            ``(1) the site contracting entity, in consultation with the 
        site manager and Assistant Secretary, shall develop a 
        corrective action plan to address the underlying causes for the 
        cost or schedule change identified in the analysis; and
            ``(2) the Secretary, at the conclusion of the corrective 
        action plan, shall--
                    ``(A) conduct an independent review that includes 
                an assessment and validation of the efficacy of the 
                corrective measures utilized;
                    ``(B) submit to the appropriate congressional 
                committees the outcome of the assessment described in 
                subparagraph (A); and
                    ``(C) certify to the appropriate congressional 
                committees that program management measures are in 
                place to manage the cost and schedule of the project 
                and mitigate against future cost overruns.''.
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