II

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 167

To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JANUARY 5, 1995

Mr. JOHNSTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, 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 That the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 is amended

4 to read as follows:

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

6 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

7 ‘‘Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1995’’.

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

TITLE I—STORAGE AND DISPOSAL

Sec. 101. Interim storage.
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Sec. 102. Permanent disposal.

Sec. 103. Land withdrawal.

TITLE II—TRANSPORTATION AND STATE RELATIONS

Sec. 201. Multipurpose canisters.

Sec. 202. Railroad.

Sec. 203. Transportation requirements.

Sec. 204. State consultation and assistance.

Sec. 205. Preemption.

TITLE III—FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

Sec. 301. Budget priorities.

Sec. 302. Nuclear Waste Fund.

Sec. 303. Budget treatment.

Sec. 304. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

Sec. 305. Defense contribution.

TITLE IV—GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. NRC regulations.

Sec. 402. Judicial review of agency actions.

Sec. 403. Title to material.

Sec. 404. Licensing of facility expansions and transshipments.

Sec. 405. Siting a second repository.

Sec. 406. Financial arrangements for low-level radioactive waste site closure.

Sec. 407. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authorization.

TITLE V—NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

Sec. 501. Definitions.

Sec. 502. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

Sec. 503. Functions.

Sec. 504. Investigatory powers.

Sec. 505. Compensation of members.

Sec. 506. Staff.

Sec. 507. Support services.

Sec. 508. Report.

Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 510. Termination of the Board.

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 For purposes of this Act:

3 (1) The term ‘‘affected unit of local govern4 ment’’ means the unit of local government with ju5 risdiction over the site of the repository or interim

6 storage facility. Such term may, at the discretion of
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1 the Secretary, include other units of local govern2 ment that are contiguous with such unit.

3 (2) The term ‘‘atomic energy defense activity’’

4 means any activity of the Secretary performed in

5 whole or in part in carrying out any of the following

6 functions:

7 (A) Naval reactors development.

8 (B) Weapons activities including defense

9 inertial confinement fusion.

10 (C) Verification and control technology.

11 (D) Defense nuclear materials production.

12 (E) Defense nuclear waste and materials

13 byproducts management.

14 (F) Defense nuclear materials security and

15 safeguards and security investigations.

16 (G) Defense research and development.

17 (3) The term ‘‘civilian nuclear power reactor’’

18 means a civilian nuclear powerplant required to be

19 licensed under section 103 or 104b. of the Atomic

20 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134(b)).

21 (4) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Nuclear

22 Regulatory Commission.

23 (5) The term ‘‘Department’’ means the Depart24 ment of Energy.
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1 (6) The term ‘‘disposal’’ means the emplace2 ment in a repository of high-level radioactive waste,

3 spent nuclear fuel, or other highly radioactive mate4 rial with no foreseeable intent of recovery, whether

5 or not such emplacement permits recovery of such

6 waste.

7 (7) The term ‘‘engineered barriers’’ means

8 manmade components of a disposal system designed

9 to prevent the release of radionuclides into the geo10 logic medium involved. Such term includes the high11 level radioactive waste form, high-level radioactive

12 waste canisters, and other materials placed over and

13 around such canisters.

14 (8) The term ‘‘high-level radioactive waste’’

15 means—

16 (A) the highly radioactive material result17 ing from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel,

18 including liquid waste produced directly in re19 processing and any solid material derived from

20 such liquid waste that contains fission products

21 in sufficient concentrations; and

22 (B) other highly radioactive material that

23 the Commission, consistent with existing law,

24 determines by rule requires permanent isola25 tion.
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1 (9) The term ‘‘federal agency’’ means any Ex2 ecutive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5,

3 United States Code.

4 (10) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any Indian

5 tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or com6 munity of Indians recognized as eligible for the serv7 ices provided to Indians by the Secretary of the Inte8 rior because of their status as Indians, including any

9 Alaska Native village, as defined in section 3(c) of

10 the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.

11 1602(c)).

12 (11) The term ‘‘interim storage facility’’ means

13 a complex designed and constructed under section

14 101 for the receipt, handling, possession, safeguard15 ing, and storage of spent nuclear fuel prior to trans16 fer to a repository for the permanent disposal of

17 such spent nuclear fuel.

18 (12) The term ‘‘low-level radioactive waste’’

19 means radioactive material that—

20 (A) is not high-level radioactive waste,

21 spent nuclear fuel, transuranic waste, or by22 product material as defined in section 11e.(2)

23 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.

24 2014(e)(2)); and
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1 (B) the Commission, consistent with exist2 ing law, classifies as low-level radioactive waste.

3 (13) The term ‘‘Office’’ means the Office of Ci4 vilian Radioactive Waste Management established in

5 section 304.

6 (4) The term ‘‘package’’ means the primary

7 container that holds, and is in contact with, solidi8 fied high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel,

9 or other radioactive materials, and any overpacks,

10 that are used for the transportation, storage, or dis11 posal of such waste, spent fuel, or other materials.

12 (15) The term ‘‘Program Approach’’ means the

13 Secretary’s plan for site characterization activities

14 described in the Yucca Mountain Technical Imple15 mentation Plan for Fiscal Year 1995.

16 (16) The term ‘‘repository’’ means a complex

17 designed and constructed under section 102 for the

18 permanent geologic disposal of high-level radioactive

19 waste and spent nuclear fuel, including both surface

20 and subsurface areas at which high-level radioactive

21 waste and spent nuclear fuel handling activities are

22 conducted.

23 (17) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

24 of Energy.
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1 (18) The term ‘‘site characterization’’ means

2 activities, whether in a laboratory or in the field, un3 dertaken to establish the geologic condition and the

4 ranges of the parameters of a candidate site relevant

5 to the location of a repository, including borings,

6 surface excavations, excavations of exploratory

7 shafts, limited subsurface lateral excavations and

8 borings, and in situ testing needed to evaluate the

9 suitability of a candidate site for the location of a

10 repository, but not including preliminary borings and

11 geophysical testing needed to assess whether site

12 characterization should be undertaken.

13 (19) The term ‘‘spent nuclear fuel’’ means fuel

14 that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor fol15 lowing irradiation, the constituent elements of which

16 have not been separated by reprocessing.

17 (20) The term ‘‘storage’’ means retention of

18 high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or

19 transuranic waste with the intent to recover such

20 waste or fuel for subsequent use, processing, or dis21 posal.

22 (21) The term ‘‘Waste Fund’’ means the Nu23 clear Waste Fund established in section 302(c).
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1 (22) The term ‘‘Yucca Mountain site’’ means

2 the area in the State of Nevada described in section

3 103(b).

4 TITLE I—STORAGE AND DISPOSAL

5 SEC. 101. INTERIM STORAGE.

6 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall construct

7 and operate a facility for the interim storage of high-level

8 radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel at the Yucca

9 Mountain site.

10 (b) NRC LICENSING.—The Secretary shall apply to

11 the Commission for a license to store high-level radioactive

12 waste and spent nuclear fuel in the interim storage facil13 ity. The Commission shall amend its regulations for licens14 ing independent spent fuel storage installations as appro15 priate to carry out the purposes of this section. The Com16 mission shall act expeditiously on the Secretary’s applica17 tion and shall license the facility in accordance with the

18 provisions of this Act and the Commission’s regulations

19 for licensing independent spent fuel storage installations

20 as amended.

21 (c) DURATION OF THE LICENSE.—The Commission

22 shall license storage of high-level radioactive waste and

23 spent nuclear fuel at the facility for an initial term of 100

24 years from the date of issuance of the license and may,
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1 upon application by the Secretary, renew the license for

2 additional terms.

3 (d) CAPACITY.—The interim storage facility shall

4 provide sufficient capacity to store spent nuclear fuel from

5 civilian nuclear power reactors until the Secretary is able

6 to transfer the spent fuel to the repository, and shall be

7 expandable if operation of the repository is delayed.

8 (e) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—(1)

9 Construction and operation of the interim storage facility

10 shall be considered a major Federal action significantly

11 affecting the quality of the human environment for pur12 poses of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

13 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The Secretary shall submit an

14 environmental impact statement on the interim storage fa15 cility to the Commission with the license application.

16 (2) For purposes of complying with the requirements

17 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and this

18 section, the Secretary need not consider the need for the

19 interim storage facility or alternative sites or designs in

20 the environmental impact statement.

21 (3) The Secretary’s environmental impact statement

22 and any supplements thereto shall, to the extent prac23 ticable, be adopted by the Commission in connection with

24 the issuance by the Commission of a license for storage

25 of spent nuclear fuel at the interim storage facility. To
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1 the extent such statement is adopted by the Commission,

2 such adoption shall be deemed to also satisfy the respon3 sibilities of the Commission under the National Environ4 mental Policy Act of 1969.

5 (f) EXPEDITED ACTIONS.—The Secretary shall begin

6 storing spent nuclear fuel at the interim storage facility

7 at the earliest practicable date. All actions by the Sec8 retary, the Commission, the Secretary of the Interior, or

9 any Federal agency or officer with respect to consideration

10 of applications or requests for the issuance or grant of

11 any authorization related to the interim storage facility

12 shall be expedited, and any such application or request

13 shall take precedence over any similar applications or re14 quests not related to the interim storage facility.

15 (g) WASTE CONFIDENCE.—Licensing and operation

16 of the interim storage facility in accordance with this sec17 tion shall constitute reasonable assurance that high-level

18 radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel can and will be

19 disposed of safely for purposes of the Commission’s deci20 sion to grant or amend any license to operate any civilian

21 nuclear power reactor under the Atomic Energy Act of

22 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.)

23 SEC. 102. PERMANENT DISPOSAL.

24 (a) SITE CHARACTERIZATION.—The Secretary shall

25 carry out appropriate site characterization activities at the
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1 Yucca Mountain site in accordance with the Secretary’s

2 Program Approach to site characterization. The Commis3 sion shall review its existing regulations for the disposal

4 of high-level radioactive waste in geologic repositories and

5 shall amend them as may be necessary to reflect the Pro6 gram Approach and this Act.

7 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—(1)

8 Construction and operation of the repository shall be con9 sidered a major Federal action significantly affecting the

10 quality of the human environment for purposes of the Na11 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321

12 et seq.). The Secretary shall submit an environmental im13 pact statement on the construction and operation of the

14 repository to the Commission with the license application.

15 (2) For purposes of complying with the requirements

16 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and this

17 section, the Secretary need not consider the need for the

18 repository or alternative sites or designs in the environ19 mental impact statement.

20 (3) The Secretary’s environmental impact statement

21 and any supplements thereto shall, to the extent prac22 ticable, be adopted by the Commission in connection with

23 the issuance by the Commission of a construction author24 ization under subsection (d), a license under subsection

25 (e), or a license amendment under subsection (f). To the
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1 extent such statement or supplement is adopted by the

2 Commission, such adoption shall be deemed to also satisfy

3 the responsibilities of the Commission under the National

4 Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

5 (c) SITE SUITABILITY DETERMINATION.—(1) The

6 Secretary shall determine, based upon the results of the

7 site characterization activities, whether the Yucca Moun8 tain site is suitable for development of a geologic reposi9 tory and report her determination to the Congress.

10 (2) If the Secretary determines that the Yucca Moun11 tain site is unsuitable for development of a repository, the

12 Secretary shall terminate site characterization activities at

13 the site, notify Congress and the State of Nevada of her

14 decision and the reasons therefor, and recommend to Con15 gress not later than 6 months after such determination

16 further actions, including the enactment of legislation,

17 that may be needed to manage the nation’s high-level ra18 dioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.

19 (3) If the Secretary determines that the Yucca Moun20 tain site is suitable for development of a repository, the

21 Secretary shall apply to the Commission for authorization

22 to construct the repository.

23 (d) CONSTRUCTION AUTHORIZATION.—The Commis24 sion shall initially grant the Secretary a construction au25 thorization for the repository upon determining that there
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1 is reasonable assurance that high-level radioactive waste

2 and spent nuclear fuel can be disposed of in the reposi3 tory—

4 (1) in conformity with the Secretary’s applica5 tion, the provisions of this Act, and the regulations

6 of the Commission;

7 (2) without unreasonable risk to the health and

8 safety of the public; and

9 (3) consistent with the common defense and se10 curity.

11 (e) LICENSE.—Following substantial completion of

12 construction and the filing of any additional information

13 needed to complete the license application, the Commis14 sion shall issue a license to dispose of high-level radio15 active waste and spent nuclear fuel in the repository if

16 the Commission determines that the repository has been

17 constructed and will operate—

18 (1) in conformity with the Secretary’s applica19 tion, the provisions of this Act, and the regulations

20 of the Commission;

21 (2) without unreasonable risk to the health and

22 safety of the public; and

23 (3) consistent with the common defense and se24 curity.
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1 (f) CLOSURE.—After placing high-level radioactive

2 waste and spent nuclear fuel in the repository, and after

3 providing for the retrievability of such high-level radio4 active waste and spent nuclear fuel during any period the

5 Secretary determines to be appropriate, the Secretary

6 shall apply to the Commission to amend the license to per7 mit permanent closure of the repository. The Commission

8 shall grant such license amendment upon finding that

9 there is reasonable assurance that the repository can be

10 permanently closed—

11 (1) in conformity with the provisions of this Act

12 and the regulations of the Commission;

13 (2) without unreasonable risk to the health and

14 safety of the public; and

15 (3) consistent with the common defense and se16 curity.

17 (g) POST-CLOSURE OVERSIGHT.—Following reposi18 tory closure, the Secretary shall continue to oversee the

19 Yucca Mountain site to prevent any activity at the site

20 that poses an unreasonable risk of—

21 (1) breaching the repository’s engineered or

22 geologic barriers; or

23 (2) increasing the exposure of individual mem24 bers of the public to radiation beyond allowable

25 limits.
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1 (h) LICENSING STANDARDS.—For purposes of mak2 ing any licensing determination under this section:

3 (1) RELEASE STANDARDS.—The Commission

4 shall find that the repository will not constitute an

5 unreasonable risk to the health and safety of the

6 public if there is reasonable assurance that the

7 amount of radioactive materials and radioactivity re8 leased from the site (excluding background radiation

9 and other radiation arising from the natural geologi10 cal characteristics of the site) over a 10,000-year pe11 riod shall not result in an annual dose to an average

12 member of the general population in the vicinity of

13 the site in excess of one-third of the annual dose re14 ceived from natural background sources by an aver15 age member of the general population in the United

16 States.

17 (2) OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE.—The

18 Commission shall not deny the issuance of a license

19 on the basis of the Secretary’s failure to dem20 onstrate satisfaction of any individual subsystem

21 performance standard so long as the Commission

22 finds reasonable assurance of satisfaction of the

23 overall system performance standard.

24 (3) GROUNDWATER PROTECTION.—Notwith25 standing the provisions of the Safe Drinking Water
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1 Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.), a Commission finding

2 of reasonable assurance of satisfaction of the system

3 performance standard and the design objective shall

4 constitute a finding of adequate protection of

5 groundwater. No maximum contaminant level limits

6 or other groundwater protection measures shall

7 apply.

8 (4) HUMAN INTRUSION.—The Commission shall

9 assume that, following repository closure, the inclu10 sion of engineered barriers and the Secretary’s post11 closure oversight of the Yucca Mountain site, in ac12 cordance with subsection (g), shall be sufficient to—

13 (A) prevent any activity at the site that

14 poses an unreasonable risk of breaching the re15 pository’s engineered or geologic barriers; and

16 (B) prevent any increase in the exposure of

17 individual members of the public to radiation

18 beyond allowable limits.

19 SEC. 103. LAND WITHDRAWAL.

20 (a) WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION.—(1) The

21 Yucca Mountain site, as described in subsection (b), is

22 withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis23 posal under the public land laws, including without limita24 tion the mineral leasing laws, the geothermal leasing laws,

25 the material sale laws, and the mining laws.
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1 (2) Jurisdiction of any land within the Yucca Moun2 tain site managed by the Secretary of the Interior, the

3 Secretary of Defense, or any other Federal officer is trans4 ferred to the Secretary of Energy.

5 (3) The Yucca Mountain site is reserved for the use

6 of the Secretary for the construction and operation of the

7 interim storage facility and the repository and activities

8 associated with the purposes of this title.

9 (b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—(1) The boundaries de10 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Yucca Mountain Site With11 drawal Map,’’ dated , and on file with the Sec12 retary, are established as the boundaries of the Yucca

13 Mountain site.

14 (2) Within 30 days after the date of the enactment

15 of this Act, the Secretary shall—

16 (A) publish in the Federal Register a notice

17 containing a legal description of the Yucca Mountain

18 site; and

19 (B) file copies of the map described in para20 graph (1) and the legal description of the Yucca

21 Mountain site with the Congress, the Secretary of

22 the Interior, the Governor of Nevada, and the Archi23 vist of the United States.

24 (3) The map and legal description referred to in para25 graph (2) shall have the same force and effect as if they
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1 were included in this Act. The Secretary may correct cleri2 cal and typographical errors in the map and legal descrip3 tion.

4 TITLE II—TRANSPORTATION AND STATE

5 RELATIONS

6 SEC. 201. MULTIPURPOSE CANISTERS.

7 The Secretary shall design one or more multipurpose

8 canister systems capable of holding spent nuclear fuel dur9 ing interim storage, transportation, and disposal. The Sec10 retary shall apply to the Commission to certify such sys11 tems for the storage and transportation of spent nuclear

12 fuel. The Secretary is authorized to procure such systems

13 in quantities necessary for the transportation, storage,

14 and disposal of spent nuclear fuel as part of the integrated

15 nuclear waste management system established under this

16 Act. The Secretary is authorized to deploy such systems

17 to holders of spent fuel disposal contracts under section

18 302.

19 SEC. 202. RAILROAD.

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall acquire

21 rights of way within the corridor designated in subsection

22 (b) and shall construct and operate, or cause to be con23 structed and operated, a railroad and such facilities as are

24 required to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level ra-
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1 dioactive waste from existing rail systems to the interim

2 storage facility and the repository.

3 (b) ROUTE DESIGNATION.—(1) The Secretary shall

4 acquire such rights of way and develop such facilities with5 in the corridor depicted on the map .

6 (2) Within 30 days after the date of the enactment

7 of this Act, the Secretary shall—

8 (A) publish in the Federal Register a notice

9 containing a legal description of the corridor; and

10 (B) file copies of the map described in para11 graph (1) and the legal description of the corridor

12 with the Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, the

13 Governor of Nevada, and the Archivist of the United

14 States.

15 (3) The map and legal description referred to in para16 graph (2) shall have the same force and effect as if they

17 were included in this Act. The Secretary may correct cleri18 cal and typographical errors in the map and legal descrip19 tion.

20 (c) WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION.—(1) The pub21 lic lands depicted on such map are withdrawn from all

22 forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the pub23 lic land laws, including without limitation the mineral leas24 ing laws, the geothermal laws, the material sale laws, and

25 the mining laws.
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1 (2) Jurisdiction of such land is transferred from the

2 Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Energy.

3 (3) Such lands are reserved for the use of the Sec4 retary for the construction and operation of such transpor5 tation facilities and activities associated under this title.

6 (4) The lands depicted in the map that are within

7 the Quail Springs Wilderness Study and the Nellis A, B,

8 and C Wilderness Study Areas are released from further

9 review and management under section 603 of the Federal

10 Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1782). Such

11 lands shall be managed in accordance with this Act, not12 withstanding any contrary provisions of Federal, State, or

13 local statutes, laws, regulations, ordinances, or orders.

14 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—(1)

15 Construction and operation of transportation facilities

16 within the corridor shall constitute a major Federal action

17 significantly affecting the quality of the human environ18 ment for purposes of the National Environmental Policy

19 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 431 et seq.) The Secretary shall

20 prepare an environmental impact statement on the con21 struction and operation of such facilities prior to com22 mencement of construction. In preparing such statement,

23 the Secretary shall adopt, to the extent practicable, rel24 evant environmental reports that have been developed by

25 other Federal and State agencies.
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1 (2) For purposes of complying with the requirements

2 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and this

3 section, the Secretary need not consider the need for the

4 development or improvement of transportation facilities,

5 alternative routes, or alternative means of transportation.

6 (3) Acquisition of rights of way within the corridor

7 shall not constitute a major federal action significantly af8 fecting the quality of the human environment for purposes

9 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and

10 shall not be delayed pending completion of the environ11 mental impact statement required under paragraph (1).

12 (e) EXEMPTION.—Neither the Secretary nor any per13 son constructing railroad facilities under contract with the

14 Secretary under this section shall be considered a rail car15 rier within the meaning of the Interstate Commerce Act

16 (49 U.S.C. 10102 (19)) and shall not be subject to the

17 jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Commission under

18 49 U.S.C. 10901.

19 SEC. 203. TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.

20 (a) PACKAGE CERTIFICATION.—No spent nuclear

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

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

23 have been certified for such purposes by the Commission.

24 (b) STATE NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall

25 abide by regulations of the Commission regarding advance
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1 notification of State and local governments prior to trans2 portation of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive

3 waste under this Act.

4 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

5 provide technical assistance and funds to States for train6 ing for public safety officials of appropriate units of local

7 government and Indian tribes through whose jurisdiction

8 the Secretary plans to transport substantial amounts of

9 spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste under

10 this Act. Training shall cover procedures required for safe

11 routine transportation of these materials, as well as proce12 dures for dealing with emergency response situations. The

13 Secretary’s duty to provide technical and financial assist14 ance under this subsection shall be limited to amounts

15 specified in annual appropriations from the Waste Fund

16 for such purpose.

17 (d) USE OF PRIVATE CARRIERS.—The Secretary, in

18 providing for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel

19 under this Act, shall utilize by contract private industry

20 to the fullest extent possible in each aspect of such trans21 portation. The Secretary shall use direct federal services

22 for such transportation only upon a determination of the

23 Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Sec24 retary, that private industry is unable or unwilling to pro25 vide such transportation services at a reasonable cost.
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1 SEC. 204. STATE CONSULTATION AND ASSISTANCE.

2 (a) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—(1) The Sec3 retary, the Commission, and other agencies involved in the

4 construction, operation, or regulation of any aspect of the

5 interim storage facility or repository shall provide to the

6 Governor and legislature of Nevada timely and complete

7 information regarding determinations or plans made with

8 respect to the site characterization, siting, development,

9 design, licensing, construction, operation, regulation, or

10 decommissioning of the interim storage facility and reposi11 tory.

12 (2) Upon written request for information by the Gov13 ernor or legislature, the Secretary shall provide a written

14 response to such request within 30 days of the receipt of

15 such request. Such response shall provide the information

16 requested or, in the alternative, the reasons why the infor17 mation cannot be so provided.

18 (b) CONSULTATION AND COOPERATION.—In per19 forming any study of the Yucca Mountain site for the pur20 pose of determining the suitability of the site for a reposi21 tory, in developing and operating the interim storage facil22 ity, and in developing and loading the repository, the Sec23 retary shall consult and cooperate with the Governor and

24 legislature of Nevada in an effort to resolve the concerns

25 of the State regarding the public health and safety, envi26 ronmental, and economic impacts of the interim storage
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1 facility or repository. In carrying out her duties under this

2 title, the Secretary shall take such concerns into account

3 to the maximum extent feasible.

4 (c) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—(1)(A) The Secretary

5 shall make grants to the State of Nevada and any affected

6 unit of local government for purposes of participating in

7 activities required by this section. Any salary or travel ex8 pense that would ordinarily be incurred by such State or

9 affected unit of local government, may not be considered

10 eligible for funding under this paragraph.

11 (B) The Secretary shall make grants to the State of

12 Nevada and any affected unit of local government for pur13 poses of enabling the State or affected unit of local govern14 ment—

15 (i) to review activities taken under this title

16 with respect to the Yucca Mountain site for purposes

17 of determining any potential economic, social, public

18 health and safety, and environmental impacts of the

19 interim storage facility or repository on the State or

20 affected unit of local government and its residents;

21 (ii) to develop a request for impact assistance

22 under paragraph (2);

23 (iii) to engage in any monitoring, testing, or

24 evaluation activities with respect to site characteriza25 tion programs with regard to such site;
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1 (iv) to provide information to Nevada residents

2 regarding any activities of such State, the Secretary,

3 or the Commission with respect to such site; and

4 (v) to request information from, and make com5 ments and recommendations to, the Secretary re6 garding such activities taken under this subtitle with

7 respect to such site.

8 (C) Any salary or travel expense that would ordi9 narily be incurred by the State of Nevada or any affected

10 unit of local government may not be considered eligible

11 for funding under this paragraph.

12 (2)(A)(i) The Secretary shall provide financial and

13 technical assistance to the State of Nevada and any af14 fected unit of local government requesting such assistance.

15 (ii) Such assistance shall be designed to mitigate the

16 impact on the State or affected unit of local government

17 of the development of the interim storage facility or reposi18 tory and the characterization of such site.

19 (iii) Such assistance to the State or affected unit of

20 local government shall commence upon the initiation of

21 site characterization activities.

22 (B) The State of Nevada and any affected unit of

23 local government may request assistance under this sub24 section by preparing and submitting to the Secretary a

25 report on the economic, social, public health and safety,
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1 and environmental impacts that are likely to result from

2 site characterization activities at the Yucca Mountain site.

3 (C) As soon as practicable, the Secretary shall seek

4 to enter into a binding agreement with the State of Ne5 vada setting forth—

6 (i) the amount of assistance to be provided

7 under this subsection to such State or affected unit

8 of local government; and

9 (ii) the procedures to be followed in providing

10 such assistance.

11 (3)(A) In addition to financial assistance provided

12 under paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall grant

13 to the State of Nevada and any affected unit of local gov14 ernment an amount each fiscal year equal to the amount

15 the State or affected unit of local government, respec16 tively, would receive if authorized to tax site characteriza17 tion activities at such site, the development and operation

18 of the interim storage facility, and the development and

19 operation of the repository, as the State or affected unit

20 of local government taxes the non-Federal real property

21 and industrial activities occurring within the State or af22 fected unit of local government.

23 (B) Such grants shall continue until such time as the

24 respective activities, development, and operation are termi25 nated at such site.
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1 (4)(A) The State of Nevada or any affected unit of

2 local government may not receive—

3 (i) any grant with respect to the interim storage

4 facility under paragraph (1) after the expiration of

5 the one-year period following the date on which the

6 Commission disapproves an application for a license

7 to store high-level radioactive waste and spent nu8 clear fuel at the site; or

9 (ii) any grant with respect to the site character10 ization activities or construction of the repository

11 under paragraph (1) after the expiration of the one12 year period following the earlier of—

13 (I) the date on which the Secretary notifies

14 the Governor and legislature of the State of Ne15 vada of the termination of site characterization

16 activities at the Yucca Mountain site; or

17 (II) the date on which the Commission dis18 approves an application for a construction au19 thorization for a repository at such site.

20 (B) The State of Nevada or any affected unit of local

21 government may not receive any further assistance under

22 paragraph (2)—

23 (i) with respect to the interim storage facility if

24 construction or operation of the interim storage fa-
28

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1 cility are terminated by the Secretary or if such ac2 tivities are permanently enjoined by any court; or

3 (ii) with respect to the repository if repository

4 construction activities or site characterization activi5 ties are terminated by the Secretary or if such ac6 tivities are permanently enjoined by any court.

7 (C) At the end of the 2-year period beginning on the

8 effective date of any license under section 102(c), no fed9 eral funds shall be made available to the State of Nevada

10 or affected unit of local government under paragraph (1)

11 or (2), except for such funds as may be necessary to sup12 port state activities pursuant to agreements or contracts

13 for impact assistance entered into under paragraph (2) by

14 the State with the Secretary during such 2-year period.

15 (5) Financial assistance authorized in this subsection

16 shall be made out of amounts held in the Waste Fund.

17 SEC. 205. PREEMPTION.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall be subject to

19 and comply with all federal, state, and local environmental

20 or land use laws, requirements, or orders of general appli21 cability, including those requiring permits or reporting, or

22 those setting standards, criteria, or limitation.

23 (b) EXEMPTION.—(1) Notwithstanding subsection

24 (a), the President shall exempt the Secretary from any

25 federal, state, or local requirement (including any law, reg-
29

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1 ulation, or order requiring any license, permit, certifi2 cation, authorization, or approval, or setting any standard,

3 criterion, or limitation) if the President determines, in his

4 discretion, that—

5 (A) issuance of the required license, permit,

6 certification, authorization, or approval is being un7 reasonably delayed or denied;

8 (B) the requirement is not based on credible

9 scientific data, is not generally applicable, or was

10 not adopted by formal means; or

11 (C) the cost of complying with the law, require12 ment, or order unreasonably exceeds the benefit to

13 the public health and safety or the environment.

14 (2) In the event the President makes a determination

15 under paragraph (1) with respect to any State require16 ment (including any requirement of any agency or subdivi17 sion of the State) and further determines, in his discre18 tion, that such requirement was imposed for the purpose

19 of delaying or obstructing construction or operation of the

20 interim storage facility, repository, or associated facilities

21 under this Act, the President may exempt the Secretary

22 from all State requirements under this subsection or such

23 portion thereof as the President determines necessary.
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1 TITLE III—FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

2 SEC. 301. BUDGET PRIORITIES.

3 For purposes of preparing annual requests for appro4 priations from the Waste Fund and allocating appro5 priated funds among competing requirements, the Sec6 retary shall accord—

7 (1) the licensing, construction, and operation of

8 the interim storage facility under section 101 the

9 highest priority;

10 (2) the acquisition of rights of way and the con11 struction and operation of the railroad under section

12 202 the next highest priority; and

13 (3) the licensing, construction, and operation of

14 the repository under section 102 the lowest priority.

15 SEC. 302. NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.

16 (a) CONTRACTS.—(1) In the performance of his func17 tions under this Act, the Secretary is authorized to enter

18 into contracts with any person who generates or holds title

19 to high-level radioactive waste, or spent nuclear fuel, of

20 domestic origin for the acceptance of title, subsequent

21 transportation, and disposal of such waste or spent fuel.

22 Such contracts shall provide for payment to the Secretary

23 of fees pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) sufficient to

24 offset expenditures described in subsection (d).
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1 (2) For electricity generated by a civilian nuclear

2 power reactor and sold on or after the date 90 days after

3 January 7, 1983, the fee under paragraph (1) shall be

4 equal to 1.0 mill per kilowatt-hour.

5 (3) For spent nuclear fuel, or solidified high-level ra6 dioactive waste derived from spent nuclear fuel, which fuel

7 was used to generate electricity in a civilian nuclear power

8 reactor prior to the application of the fee under paragraph

9 (2) to such reactor, the Secretary shall, not later than 90

10 days after January 7, 1983, establish a 1 time fee per

11 kilogram of heavy metal in spent nuclear fuel, or in solidi12 fied high-level radioactive waste. Such fee shall be in an

13 amount equivalent to an average charge of 1.0 mill per

14 kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by such spent nu15 clear fuel, or such solidified high-level radioactive waste

16 derived therefrom, to be collected from any person deliver17 ing such spent nuclear fuel or high-level waste, pursuant

18 to section 402, to the Federal Government. Such fee shall

19 be paid to the Treasury of the United States and shall

20 be deposited in the separate fund established by subsection

21 (c). In paying such a fee, the person delivering spent fuel,

22 or solidified high-level radioactive wastes derived there23 from, to the Federal Government shall have no further

24 financial obligation to the Federal Government for the

25 long-term storage and permanent disposal of such spent
32

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1 fuel, or the solidified high-level radioactive waste derived

2 therefrom.

3 (4) Not later than 180 days after January 7, 1983,

4 the Secretary shall establish procedures for the collection

5 and payment of the fees established by paragraph (2) and

6 paragraph (3). The Secretary shall annually review the

7 amount of the fees established by paragraphs (2) and (3)

8 above to evaluate whether collection of the fee will provide

9 sufficient revenues to offset the costs as defined in sub10 section (d) herein. In the event the Secretary determines

11 that either insufficient or excess revenues are being col12 lected, in order to recover the costs incurred by the Fed13 eral Government that are specified in subsection (d), the

14 Secretary shall propose an adjustment to the fee to ensure

15 full cost recovery. The Secretary shall immediately trans16 mit this proposal for such an adjustment to Congress. The

17 adjusted fee proposed by the Secretary shall be effective

18 after a period of 90 days of continuous session have

19 elapsed following the receipt of such transmittal unless

20 during such 90-day period either House of Congress

21 adopts a resolution disapproving the Secretary’s proposed

22 adjustment in accordance with the procedures set forth

23 for congressional review of an energy action under section

24 551 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
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1 (5) Contracts entered into under this section shall

2 provide that—

3 (A) following commencement of operation of a

4 repository, the Secretary shall take title to the high5 level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel involved

6 as expeditiously as practicable upon the request of

7 the generator or owner of such waste or spent fuel;

8 and

9 (B) in return for the payment of fees estab10 lished by this section, the Secretary, beginning not

11 later than January 31, 1998, will dispose of the

12 high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel in13 volved as provided in title I.

14 (6) The Secretary shall establish in writing criteria

15 setting forth the terms and conditions under which such

16 disposal services shall be made available.

17 (b) ADVANCE CONTRACTING REQUIREMENT.—(1)(A)

18 The Commission shall not issue or renew a license to any

19 person to use a utilization or production facility under the

20 authority of section 103 or 104 of the Atomic Energy Act

21 of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134) unless—

22 (i) such person has entered into a contract with

23 the Secretary under this section; or
34

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1 (ii) the Secretary affirms in writing that such

2 person is actively and in good faith negotiating with

3 the Secretary for a contract under this section.

4 (B) The Commission, as it deems necessary or appro5 priate, may require as a precondition to the issuance or

6 renewal of a license under section 103 or 104 of the Atom7 ic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134) that the

8 applicant for such license shall have entered into an agree9 ment with the Secretary for the disposal of high-level ra10 dioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel that may result

11 from the use of such license.

12 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), no spent

13 nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste generated or

14 owned by any person (other than a department of the

15 United States referred to in section 101 or 102 of title

16 5, United States Code) may be disposed of by the Sec17 retary in any repository constructed under this Act unless

18 the generator or owner or such spent fuel or waste has

19 entered into a contract with the Secretary under this sec20 tion by not later than—

21 (A) June 30, 1983; or

22 (B) the date on which such generator or owner

23 commences generation of, or takes title to, such

24 spent fuel or waste; whichever occurs later.
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1 (3) The rights and duties of a party to a contract

2 entered into under this section may be assignable with

3 transfer of title to the spent nuclear fuel or high-level ra4 dioactive waste involved.

5 (4) No high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear

6 fuel generated or owned by any department of the United

7 States referred to in section 101 or 102 of title 5, United

8 States Code, may be disposed of by the Secretary in any

9 repository constructed under this Act unless such depart10 ment transfers to the Secretary, for deposit in the Nuclear

11 Waste Fund, amounts equivalent to the fees that would

12 be paid to the Secretary under the contracts referred to

13 in this section if such waste or spent fuel were generated

14 by any other person.

15 (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.—

16 There hereby is established in the Treasury of the United

17 States a separate fund, to be known as the Nuclear Waste

18 Fund. The Waste Fund shall consist of—

19 (1) all receipts, proceeds, and recoveries real20 ized by the Secretary under subsections (a), (b), and

21 (e), which shall be deposited in the Waste Fund im22 mediately upon their realization;

23 (2) any appropriations made by the Congress to

24 the Waste Fund; and
36

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1 (3) any unexpended balances available on the

2 date of the enactment of this Act for functions or

3 activities necessary or incident to the disposal of ci4 vilian high-level radioactive waste or civilian spent

5 nuclear fuel, which shall automatically be trans6 ferred to the Waste Fund on such date.

7 (d) USE OF WASTE FUND.—The Secretary may

8 make expenditures from the Waste Fund, subject to sub9 section (e), only for purposes of radioactive waste disposal

10 activities under titles I and II, including—

11 (1) the identification, development, licensing,

12 construction, operation, decommissioning, and post13 decommissioning maintenance and monitoring of the

14 interim storage facility or repository constructed

15 under this Act;

16 (2) the conducting of nongeneric research, de17 velopment, and demonstration activities under this

18 Act;

19 (3) the administrative cost of the radioactive

20 waste disposal program;

21 (4) any costs that may be incurred by the Sec22 retary in connection with the transportation, treat23 ing, or packaging of spent nuclear fuel or high-level

24 radioactive waste to be disposed of in the repository

25 or to be stored in the interim storage facility, includ-
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1 ing the cost of designing and procuring multi-pur2 pose canisters under section 201 and the cost of con3 structing and operating rail systems under section

4 202;

5 (5) the costs associated with acquisition, design,

6 modification, replacement, operation, and construc7 tion of facilities at the repository or interim storage

8 facility and necessary or incident to such repository

9 or interim storage facility; and

10 (6) the provision of assistance to the State of

11 Nevada, and affected units of local government

12 under section 204.

13 (e) ADMINISTRATION OF WASTE FUND.—(1) The

14 Secretary of the Treasury shall hold the Waste Fund and,

15 after consultation with the Secretary, annually report to

16 the Congress on the financial condition and operations of

17 the Waste Fund during the preceding fiscal year.

18 (2) The Secretary shall submit the budget of the

19 Waste Fund to the Office of Management and Budget tri20 ennially along with the budget of the Department of En21 ergy submitted at such time in accordance with chapter

22 11 of title 31, United States Code. The budget of the

23 Waste Fund shall consist of the estimates made by the

24 Secretary of expenditures from the Waste Fund and other

25 relevant financial matters for the succeeding 3 fiscal years,
38

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1 and shall be included in the Budget of the United States

2 Government. The Secretary may make expenditures from

3 the Waste Fund, subject to appropriations which shall re4 main available until expended. Appropriations shall be

5 subject to triennial authorization.

6 (3) If the Secretary determines that the Waste Fund

7 contains at any time amounts in excess of current needs,

8 the Secretary may request the Secretary of the Treasury

9 to invest such amounts, or any portion of such amounts

10 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, in obliga11 tions of the United States—

12 (A) having maturities determined by the Sec13 retary of the Treasury to be appropriate to the

14 needs of the Waste Fund; and

15 (B) bearing interest at rates determined to be

16 appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking

17 into consideration the current average market yield

18 on outstanding marketable obligations of the United

19 States with remaining periods to maturity com20 parable to the maturities of such investments, except

21 that the interest rate on such investments shall not

22 exceed the average interest rate applicable to exist23 ing borrowings.

24 (4) Receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized by the

25 Secretary under this section, and expenditures of amounts
39

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1 from the Waste Fund, shall be exempt from annual appor2 tionment under the provisions of subchapter II of chapter

3 15 of title 31, United States Code.

4 (5) if at any time the moneys available in the Waste

5 Fund are insufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge

6 his responsibilities under this subtitle, the Secretary shall

7 issue to the Secretary of the Treasury obligations in such

8 form and denominations, bearing such maturities, and

9 subject to such terms and conditions as may be agreed

10 to by the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury.

11 The total of such obligations shall not exceed amounts

12 provided in appropriation Acts. Redemption of such obli13 gations shall be made by the Secretary from moneys avail14 able in the Waste Fund. Such obligations shall bear inter15 est at a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury,

16 which shall be not less than a rate determined by taking

17 into consideration the average market yield on outstanding

18 marketable obligations of the United States of comparable

19 maturities during the month preceding the issuance of the

20 obligations under this paragraph. The Secretary of the

21 Treasury shall purchase any issued obligations, and for

22 such purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized

23 to use as a public debt transaction the proceeds from the

24 sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31,

25 United States Code, and the purposes for which securities
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1 may be issued under such Act are extended to include any

2 purchase of such obligations. The Secretary of the Treas3 ury may at any time sell any of the obligations acquired

4 by him under this paragraph. All redemptions, purchases,

5 and sales by the Secretary of the Treasury of obligations

6 under this paragraph shall be treated as public debt trans7 actions of the United States.

8 (6) Any appropriations made available to the Waste

9 Fund for any purpose described in subsection (d) shall be

10 repaid into the general fund of the Treasury, together with

11 interest from the date of availability of the appropriations

12 until the date of repayment. Such interest shall be paid

13 on the cumulative amount of appropriations available to

14 the Waste Fund, less the average undisbursed cash bal15 ance in the Waste Fund account during the fiscal year

16 involved. The rate of such interest shall be determined by

17 the Secretary of the Treasury taking into consideration

18 the average market yield during the month preceding each

19 fiscal year on outstanding marketable obligations of the

20 United States of comparable maturity. Interest payments

21 may be deferred with the approval of the Secretary of the

22 Treasury, but any interest payments so deferred shall

23 themselves bear interest.
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1 SEC. 303. BUDGET TREATMENT.

2 (a) SCOREKEEPING.—Notwithstanding any other

3 provision of law, the receipts and disbursements of the

4 Waste Fund for each fiscal year beginning after the date

5 of the enactment of this Act shall be deemed to be equal

6 to the amount of receipts and disbursements in fiscal year

7 1995 for purposes of—

8 (1) the budget of the United States Govern9 ment as submitted by the President;

10 (2) the congressional budget for the United

11 States Government; and

12 (3) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Defi13 cit Control Act of 1985.

14 (b) SEQUESTRATION.—Any disbursement from the

15 Waste Fund shall be exempt from reduction under any

16 order issued under part C of the Balanced Budget and

17 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

18 (c) APPROPRIATIONS.—Any disbursement from the

19 Waste Fund shall be subject to appropriations but shall

20 be included in the discretionary spending limits as set

21 forth in section 601 of the Congressional Budget and Im22 poundment Control Act of 1974 in any fiscal year begin23 ning after the date of the enactment of this Act only to

24 the extent that funds were appropriated from the Waste

25 Fund in fiscal year 1995.
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1 SEC. 304. OFFICE OF CIVILIAN RADIOACTIVE WASTE MAN2 AGEMENT.

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There hereby is established

4 within the Department of Energy and Office of Civilian

5 Radioactive Waste Management. The Office shall be head6 ed by a Director, who shall be appointed by the President,

7 by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and

8 who shall be compensated at the rate payable for level III

9 of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5,

10 United States Code.

11 (b) FUNCTIONS OF DIRECTOR.—The Director of the

12 Office shall be responsible for carrying out the functions

13 of the Secretary under this Act, subject to the general su14 pervision of the Secretary. The Director of the Office shall

15 be directly responsible to the Secretary.

16 (c) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director

17 of the Office shall annually prepare and submit to the

18 Congress a comprehensive report on the activities and ex19 penditures of the Office.

20 SEC. 305. DEFENSE CONTRIBUTION.

21 (a) ALLOCATION.—The Secretary shall determine the

22 appropriate portion of the cost of managing high-level ra23 dioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel under this Act allo24 cable to the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive

25 waste from atomic energy defense activities. In addition

26 to any request for an appropriation from the Waste Fund
43

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1 under section 302, the Secretary shall request annual ap2 propriations from general revenues in amounts sufficient

3 to pay the full cost of the permanent disposal of high4 level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activi5 ties in the repository.

6 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap7 propriated to the Secretary, from general revenues, for

8 carrying out the purposes of this Act, such sums as may

9 be necessary to pay the full cost of the permanent disposal

10 of high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense

11 activities.

12 TITLE IV—GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS

13 PROVISIONS

14 SEC. 401. NRC REGULATIONS.

15 Nothing in this Act shall be read to repeal or require

16 the amendment or repromulgation of Commission regula17 tions of the Commission in effect on the date of enactment

18 of this Act except to the extent such regulations are incon19 sistent with the provisions of this Act.

20 SEC. 402. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS.

21 (a) JURISDICTION OF UNITED STATES COURTS OF

22 APPEALS.—(1) Except for review in the Supreme Court

23 of the United States, the United States courts of appeals

24 shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil

25 action—
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1 (A) for review of any final decision or action of

2 the Secretary, the President, or the Commission

3 under this Act;

4 (B) alleging the failure of the Secretary, the

5 President, or the Commission to make any decision,

6 or take any action, required under this Act;

7 (C) challenging the constitutionality of any de8 cision made, or action taken, under any provision of

9 this Act; or

10 (D) for review of any environmental impact

11 statement prepared or environmental assessment

12 pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act

13 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to any

14 action under this Act or alleging a failure to prepare

15 such statement with respect to any such action.

16 (2) The venue of any proceeding under this section

17 shall be in the judicial circuit in which the petitioner in18 volved resides or has its principal office, or in the United

19 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

20 (b) DEADLINE FOR COMMENCING ACTION.—A civil

21 action for judicial review described under subsection (a)(1)

22 may be brought not later than the 180th day after the

23 date of the decision or action or failure to act involved,

24 as the case may be, except that if a party shows that he

25 did not know of the decision or action complained of (or
45

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1 of the failure to act), and that a reasonable person acting

2 under the circumstances would not have known, such

3 party may bring a civil action not later than the 180th

4 day after the date such party acquired actual or construc5 tive knowledge or such decision, action, or failure to act.

6 SEC. 403. TITLE TO MATERIAL.

7 Delivery, and acceptance by the Secretary, or any

8 high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel for the

9 interim storage facility or repository shall constitute a

10 transfer to the Secretary of title to such waste or spent

11 fuel.

12 SEC. 404. LICENSING OF FACILITY EXPANSIONS AND

13 TRANSSHIPMENTS.

14 (a) ORAL ARGUMENT.—In any Commission hearing

15 under section 189 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42

16 U.S.C. 2239) on an application for a license, or for an

17 amendment to an existing license, filed after January 7,

18 1983, to expand the spent nuclear fuel storage capacity

19 at the site of a civilian nuclear power reactor, through the

20 use of high-density fuel storage racks, fuel rod compac21 tion, the transshipment of spent nuclear fuel to another

22 civilian nuclear power reactor within the same utility sys23 tem, the construction of additional spent nuclear fuel pool

24 capacity or dry storage capacity, or by other means, the

25 Commission shall, at the request of any party, provide an
46

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1 opportunity for oral argument with respect to any matter

2 which the Commission determines to be in controversy

3 among the parties. The oral argument shall be preceded

4 by such discovery procedures as the rules of the Commis5 sion shall provide. The Commission shall require each

6 party, including the Commission staff, to submit in writ7 ten form, at the time of the oral argument, a summary

8 of the facts, data, and arguments upon which such party

9 proposes to rely that are known at such time to such

10 party. Only facts and data in the form of sworn testimony

11 or written submission may be relied upon by the parties

12 during oral argument. Of the materials that may be sub13 mitted by the parties during oral argument, the Commis14 sion shall only consider those facts and data that are sub15 mitted in the form of sworn testimony or written submis16 sion.

17 (b) ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—(1) At the conclusion

18 of any oral argument under subsection (a), the Commis19 sion shall designate any disputed question of fact, together

20 with any remaining questions of law, for resolution in an

21 adjudicatory hearing only if it determines that—

22 (A) there is a genuine and substantial dispute

23 of fact which can only be resolved with sufficient ac24 curacy by the introduction of evidence in an adju25 dicatory hearing; and
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1 (B) the decision of the Commission is likely to

2 depend in whole or in part on the resolution of such

3 dispute.

4 (2) In making a determination under this subsection,

5 the Commission—

6 (A) shall designate in writing the specific facts

7 that are in genuine and substantial dispute, the rea8 son why the decision of the agency is likely to de9 pend on the resolution of such facts, and the reason

10 why an adjudicatory hearing is likely to resolve the

11 dispute; and

12 (B) shall not consider—

13 (i) any issue relating to the design, con14 struction, or operation of any civilian nuclear

15 power reactor already licensed to operate at

16 such site, or any civilian nuclear power reactor

17 to which a construction permit has been grant18 ed at such site, unless the Commission deter19 mines that any such issue substantially affects

20 the design, construction, or operation of the fa21 cility or activity for which such license applica22 tion, authorization, or amendment is being con23 sidered; or

24 (ii) any siting or design issue fully consid25 ered and decided by the Commission in connec-
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1 tion with the issuance of a construction permit

2 or operating license for a civilian nuclear power

3 reactor at such site, unless (I) such issue re4 sults from any revision of siting or design cri5 teria by the Commission following such deci6 sion; and (II) the Commission determines that

7 such issue substantially affects the design, con8 struction, or operation of the facility or activity

9 for which such license application, authoriza10 tion, or amendment is being considered.

11 (3) The provisions of paragraph (2)(B) shall apply

12 only with respect to licenses, authorizations, or amend13 ments to licenses or authorizations, applied for under the

14 Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) be15 fore December 31, 2005.

16 (4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to

17 the first application for a license or license amendment

18 received by the Commission to expand onsite spent fuel

19 storage capacity by the use of a new technology not pre20 viously approved for use at any nuclear powerplant by the

21 Commission.

22 (c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No court shall hold unlawful

23 or set aside a decision of the Commission in any proceed24 ing described in subsection (a) because of a failure by the
49

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1 Commission to use a particular procedure pursuant to the

2 section unless—

3 (1) an objection to the procedure used was pre4 sented to the Commission in a timely fashion or

5 there are extraordinary circumstances that excuse

6 the failure to present a timely objection; and

7 (2) the court finds that such failure has pre8 cluded a fair consideration and informed resolution

9 of a significant issue of the proceeding taken as a

10 whole.

11 SEC. 405. SITING A SECOND REPOSITORY.

12 (a) CONGRESSIONAL ACTION REQUIRED.—The Sec13 retary may not conduct site-specific activities with respect

14 to a second repository unless Congress has specifically au15 thorized and appropriated funds for such activities.

16 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to the

17 President and to Congress on or after January 1, 2007,

18 but not later than January 1, 2010, on the need for a

19 second repository.

20 SEC. 406. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR LOW-LEVEL RA21 DIOACTIVE WASTE SITE CLOSURE.

22 (a) FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS.—(1) The Commis23 sion shall establish by rule, regulation, or order, after pub24 lic notice, and in accordance with section 181 of the Atom25 ic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2231), such standards
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1 and instructions as the Commission may deem necessary

2 or desirable to ensure in the case of each license for the

3 disposal of low-level radioactive waste that an adequate

4 bond, surety, or other financial arrangement (as deter5 mined by the Commission) will be provided by a licensee

6 to permit completion of all requirements established by the

7 Commission for the decontamination, decommissioning,

8 site closure, and reclamation of sites, structures, and

9 equipment used in conjunction with such low-level radio10 active waste. Such financial arrangements shall be pro11 vided and approved by the Commission, or, in the case

12 of sites within the boundaries of any agreement State

13 under section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42

14 U.S.C. 2021), by the appropriate State or State entity,

15 prior to issuance of licenses for low-level radioactive waste

16 disposal or, in the case of licenses in effect on January

17 7, 1983, prior to termination of such licenses.

18 (2) If the Commission determines that any long-term

19 maintenance and monitoring, or both, will be necessary at

20 a site described in paragraph (1), the Commission shall

21 ensure before termination of the license involved that the

22 licensee has made available such bonding, surety, or other

23 financial arrangements as may be necessary to ensure that

24 any necessary long-term maintenance or monitoring need25 ed for such site will be carried out by the person having
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1 title and custody for such site following license termi2 nation.

3 (b) TITLE AND CUSTODY.—(1) The Secretary shall

4 have authority to assume title and custody of low-level ra5 dioactive waste and the land on which such waste is dis6 posed of, upon request of the owner of such waste and

7 land and following termination of the license issued by the

8 Commission for such disposal, if the Commission deter9 mines that—

10 (A) the requirements of the Commission for site

11 closure, decommissioning, and decontamination have

12 been met by the licensee involved and that such li13 censee is in compliance with the provisions of sub14 section (a);

15 (B) such title and custody will be transferred to

16 the Secretary without cost to the Federal Govern17 ment; and

18 (C) Federal ownership and management of such

19 site is necessary or desirable in order to protect the

20 public health and safety, and the environment.

21 (2) If the Secretary assumes title and custody of any

22 such waste and land under this subsection, the Secretary

23 shall maintain such waste and land in a manner that will

24 protect the public health and safety, and the environment.
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1 (c) SPECIAL SITES.—If the low-level radioactive

2 waste involved is the result of a licensed activity to recover

3 zirconium, hafnium, and rare earths from source material,

4 the Secretary, upon request of the owner of the site in5 volved, shall assume title and custody of such waste and

6 the land on which it is disposed when such site has been

7 decontaminated and stabilized in accordance with the re8 quirements established by the Commission and when such

9 owner has made adequate financial arrangements ap10 proved by the Commission for the long-term maintenance

11 and monitoring of such site.

12 SEC. 407. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TRAINING

13 AUTHORIZATION.

14 The Commission is authorized and directed to pro15 mulgate regulations, or other appropriate regulatory guid16 ance, for the training and qualifications of civilian nuclear

17 powerplant operators, supervisors, technicians, and other

18 appropriate operating personnel. Such regulations or guid19 ance shall establish simulator training requirements for

20 applicants for civilian nuclear powerplant operator licenses

21 and for operator requalification programs; requirements

22 governing Commission administration of requalification

23 examinations; requirements for operating tests at civilian

24 nuclear powerplant simulators, and instructional require-
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1 ments for civilian nuclear powerplant licensee personnel

2 training programs.

3 TITLE V—NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL

4 REVIEW BOARD

5 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

6 (a) The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means the Chairman of

7 the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

8 (b) The term ‘‘Board’’ means the Nuclear Waste

9 Technical Review Board established under section 502.

10 SEC. 502. NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD.

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a Nu12 clear Waste Technical Review Board that shall be an inde13 pendent establishment within the executive branch.

14 (b) MEMBERS.—(1) The Board shall consist of 11

15 members who shall be appointed by the President not later

16 than 90 days after December 22, 1987, from among per17 sons nominated by the National Academy of Sciences in

18 accordance with paragraph (3).

19 (2) The President shall designate a member of the

20 Board to serve as chairman.

21 (3)(A) The National Academy of Sciences shall, not

22 later than 90 days after December 22, 1987, nominate

23 not less than 22 persons for appointment to the Board

24 from among persons who meet the qualifications described

25 in subparagraph (C).
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1 (B) The National Academy of Sciences shall nomi2 nate not less than 2 persons to fill any vacancy on the

3 Board from among persons who meet the qualifications

4 described in subparagraph (C).

5 (C)(i) Each person nominated for appointment to the

6 Board shall be—

7 (I) eminent in a field of science or engineering,

8 including environmental sciences; and

9 (II) selected solely on the basis of established

10 records of distinguished service.

11 (ii) The membership of the Board shall be representa12 tives of the broad range of scientific and engineering dis13 ciplines related to activities under this title.

14 (iii) No person shall be nominated for appointment

15 to the Board who is an employee of—

16 (I) the Department of Energy;

17 (II) a national laboratory under contract with

18 the Department of Energy; or

19 (III) an entity performing high-level radioactive

20 waste or spent nuclear fuel activities under contract

21 with the Department of Energy.

22 (4) Any vacancy on the Board shall be filled by the

23 nomination and appointment process described in para24 graphs (1) and (3).
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1 (5) Members of the Board shall be appointed for

2 terms of 4 years, each such term to commence 120 days

3 after December 22, 1987, except that of the 11 members

4 first appointed to the Board, 5 shall serve for 2 years and

5 6 shall serve for 4 years, to be designated by the President

6 at the time of appointment.

7 SEC. 503. FUNCTIONS.

8 The Board shall evaluate the technical and scientific

9 validity of activities undertaken by the Secretary after De10 cember 22, 1987, including—

11 (1) site characterization activities; and

12 (2) activities relating to the packaging or trans13 portation of high-level radioactive waste or spent nu14 clear fuel.

15 SEC. 504. INVESTIGATORY POWERS.

16 (a) HEARINGS.—Upon request of the Chairman or a

17 majority of the members of the Board, the Board may

18 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and places,

19 take such testimony, and receive such evidence, as the

20 Board considers appropriate. Any member of the Board

21 may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appear22 ing before the board.

23 (b) PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS.—(1) Upon the re24 quest of the Chairman or a majority of the members of

25 the Board, and subject to existing law, the Secretary (or
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1 any contractor of the Secretary) shall provide the Board

2 with such records, files, papers, data, or information as

3 may be necessary to respond to any inquiry of the Board

4 under this title.

5 (2) Subject to existing law, information obtainable

6 under paragraph (1) shall not be limited to final work

7 products of the Secretary, but shall include drafts of such

8 products and documentation of work in progress.

9 SEC. 505. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Each member of the Board shall

11 be paid at the rate of pay payable for level III of the Exec12 utive Schedule for each day (including travel time) such

13 member is engaged in the work of the Board.

14 (b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the Board

15 may receive travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of

16 subsidence in the same manner as is permitted under sec17 tions 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

18 SEC. 506. STAFF.

19 (a) CLERICAL STAFF.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2),

20 the Chairman may appoint and fix the compensation of

21 such clerical staff as may be necessary to discharge the

22 responsibilities of the Board.

23 (2) Clerical staff shall be appointed subject to the

24 provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap25 pointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid
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1 in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and sub2 chapter III of chapter 3 of such title relating to classifica3 tion and General Schedule pay rates.

4 (b) PROFESSIONAL STAFF.—(1) Subject to para5 graphs (2) and (3), the Chairman may appoint and fix

6 the compensation of such professional staff as may be nec7 essary to discharge the responsibilities of the Board.

8 (2) Not more than 10 professional staff members

9 may be appointed under this subsection.

10 (3) Professional staff members may be appointed

11 without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States

12 Code, governing appointments in the competitive service,

13 and may be paid without regard to the provisions of chap14 ter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat15 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, ex16 cept that no individual so appointed may receive pay in

17 excess of the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–

18 18 of the General Schedule.

19 SEC. 507. SUPPORT SERVICES.

20 (a) GENERAL SERVICES.—To the extent permitted by

21 law and requested by the Chairman, the Administrator of

22 General Services shall provide the Board with necessary

23 administrative services, facilities, and support on a reim24 bursable basis.
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1 (b) ACCOUNTING, RESEARCH, AND TECHNOLOGY AS2 SESSMENT SERVICES.—The Comptroller General, the Li3 brarian of Congress, and the Director of the Office of

4 Technology Assessment shall, to the extent permitted by

5 law and subject to the availability of funds, provide the

6 Board with such facilities, support, funds and services, in7 cluding staff, as may be necessary for the effective per8 formance of the functions of the Board.

9 (c) ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.—Upon the request of the

10 Chairman, the Board may secure directly from the head

11 of any department or agency of the United States informa12 tion necessary to enable it to carry out this title.

13 (d) MAILS.—The Board may use the United States

14 mails in the same manner and under the same conditions

15 as other departments and agencies of the United States.

16 (e) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to such

17 rules as may be prescribed by the Board, the Chairman

18 may procure temporary and intermittent services under

19 section 3109(b) of title 5 of the United States Code, but

20 at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent

21 of the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–

22 18 of the General Schedule.

23 SEC. 508. REPORT.

24 The Board shall report not less than 2 times per year

25 to Congress and the Secretary its findings, conclusions,
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1 and recommendations. The first such report shall be sub2 mitted not later than 12 months after December 22, 1987.

3 SEC. 509. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 Notwithstanding subsection (d) of section 302, and

5 subject to subsection (e) of such section, there are author6 ized to be appropriated for expenditures from amounts in

7 the Waste Fund established in subsection (c) of such sec8 tion such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provi9 sions of this title.

10 SEC. 510. TERMINATION OF THE BOARD.

11 The Board shall cease to exist not later than 1 year

12 after the date on which the Secretary begins disposal of

13 high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel in the

14 repository.

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