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103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 3711

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

NOVEMBER 22, 1993

Mrs. VUCANOVICH introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to

the Committees on Armed Services, Science, Space, and Technology, and

Energy and Commerce

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 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The end of the Cold War has resulted in a

9 cessation of underground nuclear testing at the De-
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1 partment of Energy facility known as the Nevada

2 Test Site, Nevada.

3 (2) Because the world political situation is ever4 changing and dangerous, it is imperative that the

5 United States remain strong militarily and continue

6 to be a nuclear superpower.

7 (3) It is imperative that the Nevada Test Site

8 be maintained in a full state of readiness to ensure

9 the capability of the nuclear arsenal of the United

10 States.

11 (4) The Nevada Test Site is in a beneficial loca12 tion for activities suitable for research and develop13 ment of emerging technologies that will be important

14 to the United States in the 21st century.

15 (5) Technology development carried out at the

16 Nevada Test Site should include private-sector in17 dustries as well as military projects.

18 (6) The Nevada Test Site can support the stew19 ardship of the Nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile,

20 the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the

21 technological competitiveness of the United States

22 by providing the environment for nuclear and non23 nuclear test and demonstration experiments and

24 projects for government, industry, and academia.
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1 (7) The Nevada Test Site can provide the infra2 structure to support industrial and civilian tests of

3 environmentally demanding projects and programs.

4 (8) The Nevada Test Site can support the test5 ing and demonstration of environmental clean-up

6 technologies by government and industry and can

7 support the testing of alternative and renewable en8 ergy sources for environmentally clean and economi9 cally competitive replacements for traditional fossil

10 energy sources and uses in many parts of Nevada

11 and in the United States as a whole.

12 (9) The Nevada Test Site can provide support

13 for disarmament activities such as the demonstration

14 of rocket motor destruction technology and conven15 tional munitions destruction technology.

16 (10) The Nevada Test Site can support non17 proliferation experiments in disablement, nuclear

18 forensics, sensors, and verification and monitoring.

19 (11) The Nevada Test Site can support treaty20 compliant experiments for stockpile stewardship pur21 poses.

22 (12) The size and remoteness of the Nevada

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

24 a multitude of activities associated with the restruc25 turing of the United States military.
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1 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

2 It is the purpose of this Act—

3 (1) to ensure full operational readiness of the

4 underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastruc5 ture of the Nevada Test Site;

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

7 such readiness to be maintained;

8 (3) to create a National Test and Demonstra9 tion Center of Excellence at the Nevada Test Site

10 for the promotion of disarmament, demilitarization,

11 alternative and renewable energy sources, the non12 proliferation of nuclear weapons, sensor develop13 ment, and environmentally sensitive technologies;

14 and

15 (4) to ensure the availability of the Nevada

16 Test Site, within appropriate restrictions, for use by

17 private-sector industries seeking to make use of the

18 inherent qualities that make the Nevada Test Site

19 the greatest outdoor laboratory in the world.

20 SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF READINESS CAPABILITY OF NE21 VADA TEST SITE.

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

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

24 paragraph (2) is hereby authorized to be appro25 priated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year

26 1995 to maintain the operational readiness of the
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1 underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastruc2 ture of the Nevada Test Site.

3 (2) AUTHORIZED AMOUNT.—The amount re4 ferred to in paragraph (1) is the amount appro5 priated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year

6 1992 to maintain the operational readiness the un7 derground nuclear testing facilities and infrastruc8 ture of the Nevada Test Site, adjusted for inflation

9 using the Consumer Price Index.

10 (b) STAFFING LEVELS.—During fiscal year 1995,

11 the Secretary of Energy shall, to the maximum extent

12 practicable, maintain a staffing level at the Nevada Test

13 Site that is equal to the staffing level at the Nevada Test

14 Site during fiscal year 1992.

15 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE AS16 SESSMENT ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Energy,

17 through the Nevada Test Site Operations Office, shall

18 carry out any environmental and infrastructure activities

19 necessary to accommodate new projects and initiatives at

20 the Nevada Test Site.

21 SEC. 5. NATIONAL TEST AND DEMONSTRATION CENTER OF

22 EXCELLENCE.

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established

24 within the Department of Energy a National Test and

25 Demonstration Center of Excellence (hereafter in this Act
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1 referred to as the ‘‘Center’’), to be located at the Nevada

2 Test Site, Nevada.

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

4 to promote disarmament, demilitarization, alternative and

5 renewable energy sources, the non-proliferation of nuclear

6 weapons, sensor development, and environmentally sen7 sitive technologies.

8 (c) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ALTERNATIVE AND RE9 NEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.—The Center shall carry out

10 the following testing and demonstration activities that are

11 related to alternative and renewable energy sources:

12 (1) The characterization of solar and geo13 thermal resources at the Nevada Test Site.

14 (2) The development of alternative and renew15 able energy sources, including, as a goal of the Cen16 ter, the development and completion of two 100-

17 megawatt solar power plants by the year 2000.

18 (3) The conduct of a National Alternative19 Fueled Vehicles Program, the objective of which

20 shall be to demonstrate the regional use of natural

21 gas, electricity, and hydrogen as vehicle fuels.

22 (d) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO DISARMAMENT AND

23 DEMILITARIZATION.—The Center shall carry out testing

24 and demonstration activities that are related to changes

25 occurring in United States military as a result of the end
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1 of the Cold War, including testing and demonstration ac2 tivities with respect to—

3 (1) the demilitarization of large rocket motor

4 and conventional ordnance; and

5 (2) disarmament and demilitarization, gen6 erally.

7 (e) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO NUCLEAR STOCKPILE

8 STEWARDSHIP.—The Center shall carry out testing and

9 demonstration activities related to the stewardship of the

10 nuclear stockpile of the United States. Such activities shall

11 include—

12 (1) the conduct of treaty-compliant experi13 ments;

14 (2) the provision of support to the Department

15 of Energy nuclear weapons complex; and

16 (3) the conduct of programs for the Depart17 ment of Energy and the Department of Defense to

18 develop simulator technologies for nuclear weapons

19 design and effects, including advanced hydrodynamic

20 simulators, inertial confinement fusion test facilities,

21 and nuclear weapons effects simulators (such as the

22 Decade and Jupiter simulators).

23 (f) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO NON-PROLIFERATION.—

24 The Center shall carry out experiments related to the non25 proliferation of nuclear weapons, including experiments
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1 with respect to disablement, nuclear forensics, sensors,

2 and verification and monitoring.

3 (g) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL

4 TECHNOLOGIES.—The Center shall carry out testing and

5 demonstration activities related to the development of en6 vironmental technologies, including—

7 (1) the demonstration of technologies concern8 ing the remediation of toxic and hazardous chemi9 cals; and

10 (2) the conduct of training activities pertaining

11 to emergency response to radioactive, hazardous,

12 and toxic accidents and emergencies.

13 (h) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Center may carry out

14 the testing and demonstration of any other technology

15 which is appropriate for testing and demonstration at the

16 Nevada Test Site.

17 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 Except as provided in section 4, there is hereby au19 thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for

20 fiscal year 1995 such sums as may be necessary to carry

21 out this Act.

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