104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1936

AN ACT

To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

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 1996’.
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1 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—

‘‘Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

‘‘Sec. 2. Definitions.

‘‘TITLE I—OBLIGATIONS

‘‘Sec. 101. Obligations of the Secretary of Energy.

‘‘TITLE II—INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

‘‘Sec. 201. Intermodal transfer.

‘‘Sec. 202. Transportation planning.

‘‘Sec. 203. Transportation requirements.

‘‘Sec. 204. Interim storage.

‘‘Sec. 205. Permanent repository.

‘‘Sec. 206. Land withdrawal.

‘‘TITLE III—LOCAL RELATIONS

‘‘Sec. 301. Financial assistance.

‘‘Sec. 302. On-site representative.

‘‘Sec. 303. Acceptance of benefits.

‘‘Sec. 304. Restrictions on use of funds.

‘‘Sec. 305. Land conveyances.

‘‘TITLE IV—FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

‘‘Sec. 401. Program funding.

‘‘Sec. 402. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

‘‘Sec. 403. Federal contribution.

‘‘TITLE V—GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

‘‘Sec. 501. Compliance with other laws.

‘‘Sec. 502. Judicial review of agency actions.

‘‘Sec. 503. Licensing of facility expansions and transshipments.

‘‘Sec. 504. Siting a second repository.

‘‘Sec. 505. Financial arrangements for low-level radioactive waste site closure.

‘‘Sec. 506. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authorization.

‘‘Sec. 507. Emplacement schedule.

‘‘Sec. 508. Transfer of title.

‘‘Sec. 509. Decommissioning pilot program.

‘‘Sec. 510. Water rights.

‘‘TITLE VI—NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

‘‘Sec. 601. Definitions.

‘‘Sec. 602. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

‘‘Sec. 603. Functions.

‘‘Sec. 604. Investigatory powers.

‘‘Sec. 605. Compensation of members.

‘‘Sec. 606. Staff.

‘‘Sec. 607. Support services.

‘‘Sec. 608. Report.

‘‘Sec. 609. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘Sec. 610. Termination of the board.
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‘‘TITLE VII—MANAGEMENT REFORM

‘‘Sec. 701. Management reform initiatives.

‘‘Sec. 702. Reporting.

‘‘Sec. 703. Effective date.

1 ‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 ‘‘For purposes of this Act:

3 ‘‘(1) ACCEPT, ACCEPTANCE.—The terms ‘ac4 cept’ and ‘acceptance’ mean the Secretary’s act of

5 taking possession of spent nuclear fuel or high-level

6 radioactive waste.

7 ‘‘(2) AFFECTED INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘af8 fected Indian tribe’ means any Indian tribe—

9 ‘‘(A) whose reservation is surrounded by or

10 borders an affected unit of local government, or

11 ‘‘(B) whose federally defined possessory or

12 usage rights to other lands outside of the res13 ervation’s boundaries arising out of congres14 sionally ratified treaties may be substantially

15 and adversely affected by the locating of an in16 terim storage facility or a repository if the Sec17 retary of the Interior finds, upon the petition of

18 the appropriate governmental officials of the

19 tribe, that such effects are both substantial and

20 adverse to the tribe.

21 ‘‘(3) AFFECTED UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERN22 MENT.—The term ‘affected unit of local government’

23 means the unit of local government with jurisdiction
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1 over the site of a repository or interim storage facil2 ity. Such term may, at the discretion of the Sec3 retary, include other units of local government that

4 are contiguous with such unit.

5 ‘‘(4) ATOMIC ENERGY DEFENSE ACTIVITY.—

6 The term ‘atomic energy defense activity’ means any

7 activity of the Secretary performed in whole or in

8 part in carrying out any of the following functions:

9 ‘‘(A) Naval reactors development.

10 ‘‘(B) Weapons activities including defense

11 inertial confinement fusion.

12 ‘‘(C) Verification and control technology.

13 ‘‘(D) Defense nuclear materials produc14 tion.

15 ‘‘(E) Defense nuclear waste and materials

16 byproducts management.

17 ‘‘(F) Defense nuclear materials security

18 and safeguards and security investigations.

19 ‘‘(G) Defense research and development.

20 ‘‘(5) CIVILIAN NUCLEAR POWER REACTOR.—

21 The term ‘civilian nuclear power reactor’ means a ci22 vilian nuclear power plant required to be licensed

23 under section 103 or 104 b. of the Atomic Energy

24 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134(b)).
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1 ‘‘(6) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’

2 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

3 ‘‘(7) CONTRACTS.—The term ‘contracts’ means

4 the contracts, executed prior to the date of enact5 ment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996,

6 under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy

7 Act of 1982, by the Secretary and any person who

8 generates or holds title to spent nuclear fuel or high9 level radioactive waste of domestic origin for accept10 ance of such waste or fuel by the Secretary and the

11 payment of fees to offset the Secretary’s expendi12 tures, and any subsequent contracts executed by the

13 Secretary pursuant to section 401(a) of this Act.

14 ‘‘(8) CONTRACT HOLDERS.—The term ‘contract

15 holders’ means parties (other than the Secretary) to

16 contracts.

17 ‘‘(9) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’

18 means the Department of Energy.

19 ‘‘(10) DISPOSAL.—The term ‘disposal’ means

20 the emplacement in a repository of spent nuclear

21 fuel, high-level radioactive waste, or other highly ra22 dioactive material with no foreseeable intent of re23 covery, whether or not such emplacement permits re24 covery of such material for any future purpose.
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1 ‘‘(11) DISPOSAL SYSTEM.—The term ‘disposal

2 system’ means all natural barriers and engineered

3 barriers, and engineered systems and components,

4 that prevent the release of radionuclides from the re5 pository.

6 ‘‘(12) EMPLACEMENT SCHEDULE.—The term

7 ‘emplacement schedule’ means the schedule estab8 lished by the Secretary in accordance with section

9 507(a) for emplacement of spent nuclear fuel and

10 high-level radioactive waste at the interim storage

11 facility.

12 ‘‘(13) ENGINEERED BARRIERS AND ENGI13 NEERED SYSTEMS AND COMPONENTS.—The terms

14 ‘engineered barriers’ and ‘engineered systems and

15 components’, mean man-made components of a dis16 posal system. These terms include the spent nuclear

17 fuel or high-level radioactive waste form, spent nu18 clear fuel package or high-level radioactive waste

19 package, and other materials placed over and around

20 such packages.

21 ‘‘(14) HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—The

22 term ‘high-level radioactive waste’ means—

23 ‘‘(A) the highly radioactive material result24 ing from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel,

25 including liquid waste produced directly in re-
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1 processing and any solid material derived from

2 such liquid waste that contains fission products

3 in sufficient concentrations; and

4 ‘‘(B) other highly radioactive material that

5 the Commission, consistent with existing law,

6 determines by rule requires permanent isola7 tion, which includes any low-level radioactive

8 waste with concentrations of radionuclides that

9 exceed the limits established by the Commission

10 for class C radioactive waste, as defined by sec11 tion 61.55 of title 10, Code of Federal Regula12 tions, as in effect on January 26, 1983.

13 ‘‘(15) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal

14 agency’ means any Executive agency, as defined in

15 section 105 of title 5, United States Code.

16 ‘‘(16) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’

17 means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga18 nized group or community of Indians recognized as

19 eligible for the services provided to Indians by the

20 Secretary of the Interior because of their status as

21 Indians including any Alaska Native village, as de22 fined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims

23 Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)).

24 ‘‘(17) INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—

25 The term ‘integrated management system’ means
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1 the system developed by the Secretary for the ac2 ceptance, transportation, storage, and disposal of

3 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

4 under title II of this Act.

5 ‘‘(18) INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY.—The term

6 ‘interim storage facility’ means a facility designed

7 and constructed for the receipt, handling, possession,

8 safeguarding, and storage of spent nuclear fuel and

9 high-level radioactive waste in accordance with title

10 II of this Act.

11 ‘‘(19) INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY SITE.—The

12 term ‘interim storage facility site’ means the specific

13 site within area 25 of the Nevada test site that is

14 designated by the Secretary and withdrawn and re15 served in accordance with this Act for the location

16 of the interim storage facility.

17 ‘‘(20) LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—The

18 term ‘low-level radioactive waste’ means radioactive

19 material that—

20 ‘‘(A) is not spent nuclear fuel, high-level

21 radioactive waste, transuranic waste, or byprod22 uct material as defined in section 11 e.(2) of

23 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 ex2 isting law, classifies as low-level radioactive

3 waste.

4 ‘‘(21) METRIC TONS URANIUM.—The terms

5 ‘metric tons uranium’ and ‘MTU’ mean the amount

6 of uranium in the original unirradiated fuel element

7 whether or not the spent nuclear fuel has been re8 processed.

9 ‘‘(22) NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.—The terms

10 ‘Nuclear Waste Fund’ and ‘waste fund’ mean the

11 nuclear waste fund established in the United States

12 Treasury prior to the date of enactment of this Act

13 under section 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy

14 Act of 1982.

15 ‘‘(23) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the

16 Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management es17 tablished within the Department prior to the date of

18 enactment of this Act under the provisions of the

19 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

20 ‘‘(24) PROGRAM APPROACH.—The term ‘pro21 gram approach’ means the Civilian Radioactive

22 Waste Management Program Plan, dated May 6,

23 1996, as modified by this Act, and as amended from

24 time to time by the Secretary in accordance with

25 this Act.
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1 ‘‘(25) REPOSITORY.—The term ‘repository’

2 means a system designed and constructed under title

3 II of this Act for the geologic disposal of spent nu4 clear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, including

5 both surface and subsurface areas at which spent

6 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste receipt,

7 handling, possession, safeguarding, and storage are

8 conducted.

9 ‘‘(26) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’

10 means the Secretary of Energy.

11 ‘‘(27) SITE CHARACTERIZATION.—The term

12 ‘site characterization’ means activities, whether in a

13 laboratory or in the field, undertaken to establish

14 the geologic condition and the ranges of the param15 eters of a candidate site relevant to the location of

16 a repository, including borings, surface excavations,

17 excavations of exploratory facilities, limited sub18 surface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ

19 testing needed to evaluate the licensability of a can20 didate site for the location of a repository, but not

21 including preliminary borings and geophysical test22 ing needed to assess whether site characterization

23 should be undertaken.

24 ‘‘(28) SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL.—The term

25 ‘spent nuclear fuel’ means fuel that has been with-
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1 drawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation,

2 the constituent elements of which have not been sep3 arated by reprocessing.

4 ‘‘(29) STORAGE.—The term ‘storage’ means re5 tention of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive

6 waste with the intent to recover such waste or fuel

7 for subsequent use, processing, or disposal.

8 ‘‘(30) WITHDRAWAL.—The term ‘withdrawal’

9 has the same definition as that set forth in section

10 103(j) of the Federal Land Policy and Management

11 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(j)).

12 ‘‘(31) YUCCA MOUNTAIN SITE.—The term

13 ‘Yucca Mountain site’ means the area in the State

14 of Nevada that is withdrawn and reserved in accord15 ance with this Act for the location of a respository.

16 ‘‘TITLE I—OBLIGATIONS

17 ‘‘SEC. 101. OBLIGATIONS OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY.

18 ‘‘(a) DISPOSAL.—The Secretary shall develop and op19 erate an integrated management system for the storage

20 and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high21 level radioactive waste.

22 ‘‘(b) INTERIM STORAGE.—The Secretary shall store

23 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from

24 facilities designated by contract holders at an interim stor25 age facility pursuant to section 204 in accordance with
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1 the emplacement schedule, beginning not later than No2 vember 30, 1999.

3 ‘‘(c) TRANSPORTATION.—The Secretary shall provide

4 for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

5 radioactive waste accepted by the Secretary. The Sec6 retary shall procure all systems and components necessary

7 to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

8 waste from facilities designated by contract holders to and

9 among facilities comprising the Integrated Management

10 System. Consistent with the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C.

11 10a–10c), unless the Secretary shall determine it to be

12 inconsistent with the public interest, or the cost to be un13 reasonable, all such systems and components procured by

14 the Secretary shall be manufactured in the United States,

15 with the exception of any transportable storage systems

16 purchased by contract holders prior to the effective date

17 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 and procured

18 by the Secretary from such contract holders for use in the

19 integrated management system.

20 ‘‘(d) INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.—The

21 Secretary shall expeditiously pursue the development of

22 each component of the integrated management system,

23 and in so doing shall seek to utilize effective private sector

24 management and contracting practices.
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1 ‘‘(e) PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION.—In admin2 istering the Integrated Management System, the Sec3 retary shall, to the maximum extent possible, utilize, em4 ploy, procure and contract with, the private sector to fulfill

5 the Secretary’s obligations and requirements under this

6 Act.

7 ‘‘(f) PRE-EXISTING RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act is

8 intended to or shall be construed to modify—

9 ‘‘(1) any right of a contract holder under sec10 tion 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of

11 1982, or under a contract executed prior to the date

12 of enactment of this Act under that section; or

13 ‘‘(2) obligations imposed upon the Federal Gov14 ernment by the United States District Court of

15 Idaho in an order entered on October 17, 1995 in

16 United States v. Batt (No. 91–0054–S–EJL).

17 ‘‘(g) LIABILITY.—Subject to subsection (f), nothing

18 in this Act shall be construed to subject the United States

19 to financial liability for the Secretary’s failure to meet any

20 deadline for the acceptance or emplacement of spent nu21 clear fuel or high-level radioactive waste for storage or dis22 posal under this Act.
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1 ‘‘TITLE II—INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT

2 SYSTEM

3 ‘‘SEC. 201. INTERMODAL TRANSFER.

4 ‘‘(a) ACCESS.—The Secretary shall utilize heavy-haul

5 truck transport to move spent nuclear fuel and high-level

6 radioactive waste from the mainline rail line at Caliente,

7 Nevada, to the interim storage facility site.

8 ‘‘(b) CAPABILITY DATE.—The Secretary shall de9 velop the capability to commence rail to truck intermodal

10 transfer at Caliente, Nevada, no later than November 30,

11 1999. Intermodal transfer and related activities are inci12 dental to the interstate transportation of spent nuclear

13 fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

14 ‘‘(c) ACQUISITIONS.—The Secretary shall acquire

15 lands and rights-of-way necessary to commence intermodal

16 transfer at Caliente, Nevada.

17 ‘‘(d) REPLACEMENTS.—The Secretary shall acquire

18 and develop on behalf of, and dedicate to, the City of

19 Caliente, Nevada, parcels of land and right-of-way within

20 Lincoln County, Nevada, as required to facilitate replace21 ment of land and city wastewater disposal facilities nec22 essary to commence intermodal transfer pursuant to this

23 Act. Replacement of land and city wastewater disposal ac24 tivities shall occur no later than November 30, 1999.
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1 ‘‘(e) NOTICE AND MAP.—Within 6 months of the

2 date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of

3 1996, the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(1) publish in the Federal Register a notice

5 containing a legal description of the sites and rights6 of-way to be acquired under this subsection; and

7 ‘‘(2) file copies of a map of such sites and

8 rights-of-way with the Congress, the Secretary of the

9 Interior, the State of Nevada, the Archivist of the

10 United States, the Board of Lincoln County Com11 missioners, the Board of Nye County Commis12 sioners, and the Caliente City Council.

13 Such map and legal description shall have the same force

14 and effect as if they were included in this Act. The Sec15 retary may correct clerical and typographical errors and

16 legal descriptions and make minor adjustments in the

17 boundaries.

18 ‘‘(f) IMPROVEMENTS.—The Secretary shall make im19 provements to existing roadways selected for heavy-haul

20 truck transport between Caliente, Nevada, and the interim

21 storage facility site as necessary to facilitate year-round

22 safe transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radio23 active waste.

24 ‘‘(g) LOCAL GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT.—The

25 Commission shall enter into a Memorandum of Under-
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1 standing with the City of Caliente and Lincoln County,

2 Nevada, to provide advice to the Commission regarding

3 intermodal transfer and to facilitate on-site representa4 tion. Reasonable expenses of such representation shall be

5 paid by the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(h) BENEFITS AGREEMENT.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall offer to

8 enter into an agreement with the City of Caliente

9 and Lincoln County, Nevada concerning the inte10 grated management system.

11 ‘‘(2) AGREEMENT CONTENT.—Any agreement

12 shall contain such terms and conditions, including

13 such financial and institutional arrangements, as the

14 Secretary and agreement entity determine to be rea15 sonable and appropriate and shall contain such pro16 visions as are necessary to preserve any right to par17 ticipation or compensation of the City of Caliente

18 and Lincoln County, Nevada.

19 ‘‘(3) AMENDMENT.—An agreement entered into

20 under this subsection may be amended only with the

21 mutual consent of the parties to the amendment and

22 terminated only in accordance with paragraph (4).

23 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall ter24 minate the agreement under this subsection if any
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1 major element of the integrated management system

2 may not be completed.

3 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—Only one agreement may be

4 in effect at any one time.

5 ‘‘(6) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Decisions of the Sec6 retary under this section are not subject to judicial

7 review.

8 ‘‘(i) CONTENT OF AGREEMENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) SCHEDULE.—In addition to the benefits to

10 which the City of Caliente and Lincoln County is en11 titled to under this title, the Secretary shall make

12 payments under the benefits agreement in accord13 ance with the following schedule:

‘‘BENEFITS SCHEDULE

‘‘(Amounts in millions)

‘‘Event Payment

‘‘(A) Annual payments prior to first receipt of spent fuel ................ $2.5

‘‘(B) Annual payments beginning upon first spent fuel receipt ........ 5

‘‘(C) Payment upon closure of the intermodal transfer facility ........ 5

14 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec15 tion, the term—

16 ‘‘(A) ‘spent fuel’ means high-level radio17 active waste or spent nuclear fuel; and

18 ‘‘(B) ‘first spent fuel receipt’ does not in19 clude receipt of spent fuel or high-level radio20 active waste for purposes of testing or oper21 ational demonstration.
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1 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL PAYMENTS.—Annual payments

2 prior to first spent fuel receipt under paragraph

3 (1)(A) shall be made on the date of execution of the

4 benefits agreement and thereafter on the anniver5 sary date of such execution. Annual payments after

6 the first spent fuel receipt until closure of the facil7 ity under paragraph (1)(C) shall be made on the an8 niversary date of such first spent fuel receipt.

9 ‘‘(4) REDUCTION.—If the first spent fuel pay10 ment under paragraph (1)(B) is made within 6

11 months after the last annual payment prior to the

12 receipt of spent fuel under paragraph (1)(A), such

13 first spent fuel payment under paragraph (1)(B)

shall be reduced by an amount equal to 1 14 ⁄12 of such

15 annual payment under paragraph (1)(A) for each

16 full month less than six that has not elapsed since

17 the last annual payment under paragraph (1)(A).

18 ‘‘(5) RESTRICTIONS.—The Secretary may not

19 restrict the purposes for which the payments under

20 this section may be used.

21 ‘‘(6) DISPUTE.—In the event of a dispute con22 cerning such agreement, the Secretary shall resolve

23 such dispute, consistent with this Act and applicable

24 State law.
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1 ‘‘(7) CONSTRUCTION.—The signature of the

2 Secretary on a valid benefits agreement under this

3 section shall constitute a commitment by the United

4 States to make payments in accordance with such

5 agreement under section 401(c)(2).

6 ‘‘(j) INITIAL LAND CONVEYANCES.—

7 ‘‘(1) CONVEYANCES OF PUBLIC LANDS.—One

8 hundred and twenty days after enactment of this

9 Act, all right, title and interest of the United States

10 in the property described in paragraph (2), and im11 provements thereon, together with all necessary

12 easements for utilities and ingress and egress to

13 such property, including, but not limited to, the

14 right to improve those easements, are conveyed by

15 operation of law to the County of Lincoln, Nevada,

16 unless the county notifies the Secretary of the Inte17 rior or the head of such other appropriate agency in

18 writing within 60 days of such date of enactment

19 that it elects not to take title to all or any part of

20 the property, except that any lands conveyed to the

21 County of Lincoln under this subsection that are

22 subject to a Federal grazing permit or lease or a

23 similar federally granted permit or lease shall be

24 conveyed between 60 and 120 days of the earliest

25 time the Federal agency administering or granting
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1 the permit or lease would be able to legally termi2 nate such right under the statutes and regulations

3 existing at the date of enactment of this Act, unless

4 Lincoln County and the affected holder of the permit

5 or lease negotiate an agreement that allows for an

6 earlier conveyance.

7 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL CONVEYANCES.—Notwithstanding

8 any other law, the following public lands depicted on

9 the maps and legal descriptions dated October 11,

10 1995, shall be conveyed under paragraph (1) to the

11 County of Lincoln, Nevada:

12 Map 10; Lincoln County, parcel M, indus13 trial park site.

14 Map 11; Lincoln County, parcel F, mixed

15 use industrial site.

16 Map 13; Lincoln County, parcel J, mixed

17 use, Alamo Community Expansion Area.

18 Map 14; Lincoln County, parcel E, mixed

19 use, Pioche Community Expansion Area.

20 Map 15; Lincoln County, parcel B, landfill

21 expansion site.

22 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—The maps and legal de23 scriptions special conveyances referred to in para24 graph (2) shall have the same force and effect as if

25 they were included in this Act. The Secretary may
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1 correct clerical and typographical errors in the maps

2 and legal descriptions and make minor adjustments

3 in the boundaries of the sites.

4 ‘‘(4) EVIDENCE OF TITLE TRANSFER.—Upon

5 the request of the County of Lincoln, Nevada, the

6 Secretary of the Interior shall provide evidence of

7 title transfer.

8 ‘‘SEC. 202. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.

9 ‘‘(a) TRANSPORTATION READINESS.—The Secretary

10 shall take those actions that are necessary and appropriate

11 to ensure that the Secretary is able to transport safely

12 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from

13 sites designated by the contract holders to mainline trans14 portation facilities, using routes that minimize, to the

15 maximum practicable extent consistent with Federal re16 quirements governing transportation of hazardous mate17 rials, transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

18 radioactive waste through populated areas, beginning not

19 later than November 30, 1999, and, by that date, shall,

20 in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, de21 velop and implement a comprehensive management plan

22 that ensures that safe transportation of spent nuclear fuel

23 and high-level radioactive waste from the sites designated

24 by the contract holders to the interim storage facility site

25 beginning not later than November 30, 1999.
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1 ‘‘(b) TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.—In conjunction

2 with the development of the logistical plan in accordance

3 with subsection (a), the Secretary shall update and mod4 ify, as necessary, the Secretary’s transportation institu5 tional plans to ensure that institutional issues are ad6 dressed and resolved on a schedule to support the com7 mencement of transportation of spent nuclear fuel and

8 high-level radioactive waste to the interim storage facility

9 no later than November 30, 1999. Among other things,

10 such planning shall provide a schedule and process for ad11 dressing and implementing as necessary, transportation

12 routing plans, transportation contracting plans, transpor13 tation training in accordance with section 203, and public

14 education regarding transportation of spent nuclear fuel

15 and high-level radioactive waste, and transportation track16 ing programs.

17 ‘‘SEC. 203. TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.

18 ‘‘(a) PACKAGE CERTIFICATION.—No spent nuclear

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

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

21 have been certified for such purposes by the Commission.

22 ‘‘(b) STATE NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall

23 abide by regulations of the Commission regarding advance

24 notification of State and local governments prior to trans-
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1 portation of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive

2 waste under this Act.

3 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall

4 provide technical assistance and funds to States, units of

5 local government, and Indian tribes through whose juris6 diction the Secretary plans to transport substantial

7 amounts of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive

8 waste for training for public safety officials of appropriate

9 units of local government. The Secretary shall also provide

10 technical assistance and funds for training directly to na11 tional nonprofit employee organizations which dem12 onstrate experience in implementing and operating worker

13 health and safety training and education programs and

14 demonstrate the ability to reach and involve in training

15 programs target populations of workers who are or will

16 be directly engaged in the transportation of spent nuclear

17 fuel and high-level radioactive waste, or emergency re18 sponse or post-emergency response with respect to such

19 transportation. Training shall cover procedures required

20 for safe routine transportation of these materials, as well

21 as procedures for dealing with emergency response situa22 tions, and shall be consistent with any training standards

23 established by the Secretary of Transportation in accord24 ance with subsection (g). The Secretary’s duty to provide

25 technical and financial assistance under this subsection
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1 shall be limited to amounts specified in annual appropria2 tions.

3 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary shall con4 duct a program to educate the public regarding the trans5 portation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive

6 waste, with an emphasis upon those States, 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.

10 ‘‘(e) COMPLIANCE WITH TRANSPORTATION REGULA11 TIONS.—Any person that transports spent nuclear fuel or

12 high-level radioactive waste under the Nuclear Waste Pol13 icy Act of 1986, pursuant to a contract with the Secretary,

14 shall comply with all requirements governing such trans15 portation issued by the Federal, State and local govern16 ments, and Indian tribes, in the same way and to the same

17 extent that any person engaging in that transportation

18 that is in or affects interstate commerce must comply with

19 such requirements, as required by section 5126 of title 49,

20 United States Code.

21 ‘‘(f) EMPLOYEE PROTECTION.—Any person engaged

22 in the interstate commerce of spent nuclear fuel or high23 level radioactive waste under contract to the Secretary

24 pursuant to this Act shall be subject to and comply fully
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1 with the employee protection provisions of 49 United

2 States Code 20109 and 49 United States Code 31105.

3 ‘‘(g) TRAINING STANDARD.—(1) No later than 12

4 months after the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste

5 Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary of Transportation, pur6 suant to authority under other provisions of law, in con7 sultation with the Secretary of Labor and the Commission,

8 shall promulgate a regulation establishing training stand9 ards applicable to workers directly involved in the removal

10 and transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level ra11 dioactive waste. The regulation shall specify minimum

12 training standards applicable to workers, including mana13 gerial personnel. The regulation shall require that the em14 ployer possess evidence of satisfaction of the applicable

15 training standard before any individual may be employed

16 in the removal and transportation of spent nuclear fuel

17 and high-level radioactive waste.

18 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary of Transportation determines,

19 in promulgating the regulation required by paragraph (1),

20 that regulations promulgated by the Commission establish

21 adequate training standards for workers, then the Sec22 retary of Transportation can refrain from promulgating

23 additional regulations with respect to worker training in

24 such activities. The Secretary of Transportation and the

25 Commission shall work through their Memorandum of Un-
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1 derstanding to ensure coordination of worker training

2 standards and to avoid duplicative regulation.

3 ‘‘(3) The training standards required to be promul4 gated under paragraph (1) shall, among other things

5 deemed necessary and appropriate by the Secretary of

6 Transportation, include the following provisions—

7 ‘‘(A) a specified minimum number of hours of

8 initial off site instruction and actual field experience

9 under the direct supervision of a trained, experi10 enced supervisor;

11 ‘‘(B) a requirement that onsite managerial per12 sonnel receive the same training as workers, and a

13 minimum number of additional hours of specialized

14 training pertinent to their managerial responsibil15 ities; and

16 ‘‘(C) a training program applicable to persons

17 responsible for responding to and cleaning up emer18 gency situations occurring during the removal and

19 transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

20 radioactive waste.

21 ‘‘(4) There is authorized to be appropriated to the

22 Secretary of Transportation, from general revenues, such

23 sums as may be necessary to perform his duties under this

24 subsection.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 204. INTERIM STORAGE.

2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall design,

3 construct, and operate a facility for the interim storage

4 of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at

5 the interim storage facility site. The interim storage facil6 ity shall be subject to licensing pursuant to the Atomic

7 Energy Act of 1954 in accordance with the Commission’s

8 regulations governing the licensing of independent spent

9 fuel storage installations, which regulations shall be

10 amended by the Commission as necessary to implement

11 the provisions of this Act. The interim storage facility

12 shall commence operation in phases in accordance with

13 subsection (b).

14 ‘‘(b) SCHEDULE.—(1) The Secretary shall proceed

15 forthwith and without further delay with all activities nec16 essary to begin storing spent nuclear fuel and high-level

17 radioactive waste at the interim storage facility at the in18 terim storage facility site by November 30, 1999, except

19 that:

20 ‘‘(A) The Secretary shall not begin any con21 struction activities at the interim storage facility site

22 before December 31, 1998.

23 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall cease all activities (ex24 cept necessary termination activities) at the Yucca

25 Mountain site if the President determines, in his dis26 cretion, on or before December 31, 1998, based on
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1 a preponderance of the information available at such

2 time, that the Yucca Mountain site is unsuitable for

3 development as a repository, including geologic and

4 engineered barriers, because of a substantial likeli5 hood that a repository of useful size, cannot be de6 signed, licensed, and constructed at the Yucca

7 Mountain site.

8 ‘‘(C) No later than June 30, 1998, the Sec9 retary shall provide to the President and to the Con10 gress a viability assessment of the Yucca Mountain

11 site. The viability assessment shall include—

12 ‘‘(i) the preliminary design concept for the

13 critical elements of the repository and waste

14 package,

15 ‘‘(ii) a total system performance assess16 ment, based upon the design concept and the

17 scientific data and analysis available by June

18 30, 1998, describing the probable behavior of

19 the respository in the Yucca Mountain geologic

20 setting relative to the overall system perform21 ance standard set forth in section 205(d) of this

22 Act,

23 ‘‘(iii) a plan and cost estimate for the re24 maining work required to complete a license ap25 plication, and
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1 ‘‘(iv) an estimate of the costs to construct

2 and operate the repository in accordance with

3 the design concept.

4 ‘‘(D) Within 18 months of a determination by

5 the President that the Yucca Mountain site is un6 suitable for development as a repository under sub7 paragraph (B), the President shall designate a site

8 for the construction of an interim storage facility. If

9 the President does not designate a site for the con10 struction of an interim storage facility, or the con11 struction of an interim storage facility at the des12 ignated site is not approved by law within 24

13 months of the President’s determination that the

14 Yucca Mountain site is not suitable for development

15 as a repository, the Secretary shall begin construc16 tion of an interim storage facility at the interim

17 storage facility site as defined in section 2(19) of

18 this Act. The interim storage facility site as defined

19 in section 2(19) of this Act shall be deemed to be

20 approved by law for purposes of this section.

21 ‘‘(2) Upon the designation of an interim storage facil22 ity site by the President under paragraph (1)(D), the Sec23 retary shall proceed forthwith and without further delay

24 with all activities necessary to begin storing spent nuclear

25 fuel and high-level radioactive waste at an interim storage
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1 facility at the designated site, except that the Secretary

2 shall not begin any construction activities at the des3 ignated interim storage facility site before the designated

4 interim storage facility site is approved by law.

5 ‘‘(c) DESIGN.—

6 ‘‘(1) The interim storage facility shall be de7 signed in two phases in order to commence oper8 ations no later than November 30, 1999. The design

9 of the interim storage facility shall provide for the

10 use of storage technologies, licensed, approved, or

11 certified by the Commission for use at the interim

12 storage facility as necessary to ensure compatibility

13 between the interim storage facility and contract

14 holders’ spent nuclear fuel and facilities, and to fa15 cilitate the Secretary’s ability to meet the Sec16 retary’s obligations under this Act.

17 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall consent to an amend18 ment to the contracts to provide for reimbursement

19 to contract holders for transportable storage systems

20 purchased by contract holders if the Secretary deter21 mines that it is cost effective to use such transport22 able storage systems as part of the integrated man23 agement system, provided that the Secretary shall

24 not be required to expend any funds to modify con25 tract holders’ storage or transport systems or to
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1 seek additional regulatory approvals in order to use

2 such systems.

3 ‘‘(d) LICENSING.—

4 ‘‘(1) PHASES.—The interim storage facility

5 shall be licensed by the Commission in two phases

6 in order to commerce operations no later than No7 vember 30, 1999.

8 ‘‘(2) FIRST PHASE.—No later than 12 months

9 after the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste

10 Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall submit to the

11 Commission an application for a license for the first

12 phase of the interim storage facility. The Environ13 mental Report and Safety Analysis Report submitted

14 in support of such license application shall be con15 sistent with the scope of authority requested in the

16 license application. The license issued for the first

17 phase of the interim storage facility shall have a

18 term of 20 years. The interim storage facility li19 censed in the first phase shall have a capacity of not

20 more than 15,000 MTU. The Commission shall issue

21 a final decision granting or denying the application

22 for the first phase license no later than 16 months

23 from the date of the submittal of the application for

24 such license.
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1 ‘‘(3) SECOND PHASE.—No later than 30

2 months after the date of enactment of the Nuclear

3 Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall sub4 mit to the Commission an application for a license

5 for the second phase interim storage facility. The li6 cense for the second phase facility shall authorize a

7 storage capacity of 40,000 MTU. If the Secretary

8 does not submit the license application for construc9 tion of a respository by February 1, 2002, or does

10 not begin full spent nuclear fuel receipt operations

11 at a repository by January 17, 2010, the license

12 shall authorize a storage capacity of 60,000 MTU.

13 The license application shall be submitted such that

14 the license can be issued to permit the second phase

15 facility to begin full spent nuclear fuel receipt oper16 ations no later than December 31, 2002. The license

17 for the second phase shall have an initial term of up

18 to 100 years, and shall be renewable for additional

19 terms upon application of the Secretary.

20 ‘‘(e) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—

21 ‘‘(1) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of comply22 ing with this section, the Secretary may commence

23 site preparation for the interim storage facility as

24 soon as practicable after the date of enactment of

25 the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 and shall
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1 commence construction of each phase of the interim

2 storage facility subsequent to submittal of the li3 cense application for such phase except that the

4 Commission shall issue an order suspending such

5 construction at any time if the Commission deter6 mines that such construction poses an unreasonable

7 risk to public health and safety or the environment.

8 The Commission shall terminate all or part of such

9 order upon a determination that the Secretary has

10 taken appropriate action to eliminate such risk.

11 ‘‘(2) FACILITY USE.—Notwithstanding any oth12 erwise applicable licensing requirement, the Sec13 retary may utilize any facility owned by the Federal

14 Government on the date of enactment of the Nuclear

15 Waste Policy Act of 1996 within the boundaries of

16 the interim storage facility site, in connection with

17 an imminent and substantial endangerment to public

18 health and safety at the interim storage facility prior

19 to commencement of operations during the second

20 phase.

21 ‘‘(3) EMPLACEMENT OF FUEL AND WASTE.—

22 Subject to subsection (i), once the Secretary has

23 achieved the annual acceptance rate for spent nu24 clear fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors estab25 lished pursuant to the contracts executed prior to
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1 the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy

2 Act of 1996, as set forth in the Secretary’s annual

3 capacity report dated March, 1995 (DOE/RW–

4 0457), the Secretary shall accept, in an amount not

5 less than 25 percent of the difference between the

6 contractual acceptance rate and the annual emplace7 ment rate for spent nuclear fuel from civilian nu8 clear power reactors established under section

9 507(a), the following radioactive materials—

10 ‘‘(A) spent nuclear fuel or high-level radio11 active waste of domestic origin from civilian nu12 clear power reactors that have permanently

13 ceased operation on or before the date of enact14 ment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996;

15 ‘‘(B) spent nuclear fuel from foreign re16 search reactors, as necessary to promote non17 proliferation objectives; and

18 ‘‘(C) spent nuclear fuel, including spent

19 nuclear fuel from naval reactors, and high-level

20 radioactive waste from atomic energy defense

21 activities.

22 ‘‘(f) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF

23 1969.—

24 ‘‘(1) PRELIMINARY DECISIONMAKING ACTIVI25 TIES.—The Secretary’s and President’s activities
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1 under this section, including, but not limited to, the

2 selection of a site for the interim storage facility, as3 sessments, determinations and designations made

4 under section 204(b), the preparation and submittal

5 of a license application and supporting documenta6 tion, the construction of a facility under paragraph

7 (e)(1) of this section, and facility use pursuant to

8 paragraph (e)(2) of this section shall be considered

9 preliminary decisionmaking activities for purposes of

10 judicial review. The Secretary shall not prepare an

11 environmental impact statement under section

12 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act

13 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) or any environ14 mental review under subparagraph (E) or (F) of

15 such Act before conducting these activities.

16 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—

17 ‘‘(A) FINAL DECISION.—A final decision

18 by the Commission to grant or deny a license

19 application for the first or second phase of the

20 interim storage facility shall be accompanied by

21 an Environmental Impact Statement prepared

22 under section 102(2)(C) of the National Envi23 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.

24 4332(2)(C)). In preparing such Environmental

25 Impact Statement, the Commission—
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1 ‘‘(i) shall ensure that the scope of the

2 Environmental Impact Statement is con3 sistent with the scope of the licensing ac4 tion; and

5 ‘‘(ii) shall analyze the impacts of the

6 transportation of spent nuclear fuel and

7 high-level radioactive waste to the interim

8 storage facility in a generic manner.

9 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—Such Environ10 mental Impact Statement shall not consider—

11 ‘‘(i) the need for the interim storage

12 facility, including any individual compo13 nent thereof;

14 ‘‘(ii) the time of the initial availability

15 of the interim storage facility;

16 ‘‘(iii) any alternatives to the storage

17 of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radio18 active waste at the interim storage facility;

19 ‘‘(iv) any alternatives to the site of

20 the facility as designated by the Secretary

21 in accordance with subsection (a);

22 ‘‘(v) any alternatives to the design cri23 teria for such facility or any individual

24 component thereof, as specified by the Sec25 retary in the license application; or
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1 ‘‘(vi) the environmental impacts of the

2 storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level

3 radioactive waste at the interim storage fa4 cility beyond the initial term of the license

5 or the term of the renewal period for which

6 a license renewal application is made.

7 ‘‘(g) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Judicial review of the Com8 mission’s environmental impact statement under the Na9 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321

10 et seq.) shall be consolidated with judicial review of the

11 Commission’s licensing decision. No court shall have juris12 diction to enjoin the construction or operation of the in13 terim storage facility prior to its final decision on review

14 of the Commission’s licensing action.

15 ‘‘(h) WASTE CONFIDENCE.—The Secretary’s obliga16 tion to construct and operate the interim storage facility

17 in accordance with this section and the Secretary’s obliga18 tion to develop an integrated management system in ac19 cordance with the provisions of this Act, shall provide suf20 ficient and independent grounds for any further findings

21 by the Commission of reasonable assurance that spent nu22 clear fuel and high-level radioactive waste will be disposed

23 of safely and on a timely basis for purposes of the Com24 mission’s decision to grant or amend any license to operate
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1 any civilian nuclear power reactor under the Atomic En2 ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).

3 ‘‘(i) STORAGE OF OTHER SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL

4 AND HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—No later than

5 18 months following the date of enactment of the Nuclear

6 Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Commission shall, by rule,

7 establish criteria for the storage in the interim storage fa8 cility of fuel and waste listed in subparagraph (e)(3) (A)

9 through (C), to the extent such criteria are not included

10 in regulations issued by the Commission and existing on

11 the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

12 of 1996. Following establishment of such criteria, the Sec13 retary shall seek authority, as necessary, to store fuel and

14 waste listed in subparagraph (e)(3) (A) through (C) at

15 the interim storage facility. None of the activities carried

16 out pursuant to this subsection shall delay, or otherwise

17 affect, the development, construction, licensing, or oper18 ation of the interim storage facility.

19 ‘‘(j) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—The Commission shall, by

20 rule, establish procedures for the licensing of any tech21 nology for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel by rule

22 and without, to the maximum extent possible, the need

23 for site-specific approvals by the Commission. Nothing in

24 this Act shall affect any such procedures, or any licenses
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1 or approvals issued pursuant to such procedures in effect

2 on the date of enactment.

3 ‘‘SEC. 205. PERMANENT REPOSITORY.

4 ‘‘(a) REPOSITORY CHARACTERIZATION.—

5 ‘‘(1) GUIDELINES.—The guidelines promul6 gated by the Secretary and published at part 960 of

7 title 10, Code of Federal Regulations are annulled

8 and revoked and the Secretary shall make no as9 sumptions or conclusions about the licensability of

10 the Yucca Mountain site as a repository by reference

11 to such guidelines.

12 ‘‘(2) SITE CHARACTERIZATION ACTIVITIES.—

13 The Secretary shall carry out appropriate site char14 acterization activities at the Yucca Mountain site in

15 accordance with the Secretary’s program approach

16 to site characterization. The Secretary shall modify

17 or eliminate those site characterization activities de18 signed only to demonstrate the suitability of the site

19 under the guidelines referenced in paragraph (1).

20 ‘‘(3) SCHEDULE DATE.—Consistent with the

21 schedule set forth in the program approach, as

22 modified to be consistent with the Nuclear Waste

23 Policy Act of 1996, no later than February 1, 2002,

24 the Secretary shall apply to the Commission for au25 thorization to construct a repository. If, at any time
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1 prior to the filing of such application, the Secretary

2 determines that the Yucca Mountain site cannot sat3 isfy the Commission’s regulations applicable to the

4 licensing of a geologic repository, the Secretary shall

5 terminate site characterization activities at the site,

6 notify Congress and the State of Nevada of the Sec7 retary’s determination and the reasons therefor, and

8 recommend to Congress not later than 6 months

9 after such determination, further actions, including

10 the enactment of legislation, that may be needed to

11 manage the Nation’s spent nuclear fuel and high12 level radioactive waste.

13 ‘‘(4) MAXIMIZING CAPACITY.—In developing an

14 application for authorization to construct the reposi15 tory, the Secretary shall seek to maximize the capac16 ity of the repository, in the most cost-effective man17 ner, consistent with the need for disposal capacity.

18 ‘‘(b) REPOSITORY LICENSING.—Upon the completion

19 of any licensing proceeding for the first phase of the in20 terim storage facility, the Commission shall amend its reg21 ulations governing the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and

22 high-level radioactive waste in geologic repositories to the

23 extent necessary to comply with this Act. Subject to sub24 section (c), such regulations shall provide for the licensing

25 of the repository according to the following procedures:
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1 ‘‘(1) CONSTRUCTION AUTHORIZATION.—The

2 Commission shall grant the Secretary a construction

3 authorization for the repository upon determining

4 that there is reasonable assurance that spent nuclear

5 fuel and high-level radioactive waste can be disposed

6 of in the repository—

7 ‘‘(A) in conformity with the Secretary’s ap8 plication, the provisions of this Act, and the

9 regulations of the Commission;

10 ‘‘(B) without unreasonable risk to the

11 health and safety of the public; and

12 ‘‘(C) consistent with the common defense

13 and security.

14 ‘‘(2) LICENSE.—Following substantial comple15 tion of construction and the filing of any additional

16 information needed to complete the license applica17 tion, the Commission shall issue a license to dispose

18 of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

19 in the repository if the Commission determines that

20 the repository has been constructed and will oper21 ate—

22 ‘‘(A) in conformity with the Secretary’s ap23 plication, the provisions of this Act, and the

24 regulations of the Commission;
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1 ‘‘(B) without unreasonable risk to the

2 health and safety of the public; and

3 ‘‘(C) consistent with the common defense

4 and security.

5 ‘‘(3) CLOSURE.—After emplacing spent nuclear

6 fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the reposi7 tory and collecting sufficient confirmatory data on

8 repository performance to reasonably confirm the

9 basis for repository closure consistent with the Com10 mission’s regulations applicable to the licensing of a

11 repository, as modified in accordance with this Act,

12 the Secretary shall apply to the Commission to

13 amend the license to permit permanent closure of

14 the repository. The Commission shall grant such li15 cense amendment upon finding that there is reason16 able assurance that the repository can be perma17 nently closed—

18 ‘‘(A) in conformity with the Secretary’s ap19 plication to amend the license, the provisions of

20 this Act, and the regulations of the Commis21 sion;

22 ‘‘(B) without unreasonable risk to the

23 health and safety of the public; and

24 ‘‘(C) consistent with the common defense

25 and security.
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1 ‘‘(4) POST-CLOSURE.—The Secretary shall take

2 those actions necessary and appropriate at the

3 Yucca Mountain site to prevent any activity at the

4 site subsequent to repository closure that poses an

5 unreasonable risk of—

6 ‘‘(A) breaching the repository’s engineered

7 or geologic barriers; or

8 ‘‘(B) increasing the exposure of individual

9 members of the public to radiation beyond the

10 release standard established in subsection

11 (d)(1).

12 ‘‘(c) MODIFICATION OF REPOSITORY LICENSING

13 PROCEDURE.—The Commission’s regulations shall pro14 vide for the modification of the repository licensing proce15 dure, as appropriate, in the event that the Secretary seeks

16 a license to permit the emplacement in the repository, on

17 a retrievable basis, of spent nuclear fuel or high-level ra18 dioactive waste as is necessary to provide the Secretary

19 with sufficient confirmatory data on repository perform20 ance to reasonably confirm the basis for repository closure

21 consistent with applicable regulations.

22 ‘‘(d) REPOSITORY LICENSING STANDARDS.—The Ad23 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall,

24 pursuant to authority under other provisions of law, issue

25 generally applicable standards for the protection of the
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1 public from releases of radioactive materials or radioactiv2 ity from the repository. Such standards shall be consistent

3 with the overall system performance standard established

4 by this subsection unless the Administrator determines by

5 rule that the overall system performance standard would

6 constitute an unreasonable risk to health and safety. The

7 Commission’s repository licensing determinations for the

8 protection of the public shall be based solely on a finding

9 whether the repository can be operated in conformance

10 with the overall system performance standard established

11 in paragraph (1), applied in accordance with the provi12 sions of paragraph (2), and the Administrator’s radiation

13 protection standards. The Commission shall amend its

14 regulations in accordance with subsection (b) to incor15 porate each of the following licensing standards:

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF OVERALL SYSTEM

17 PERFORMANCE STANDARD.—The standard for pro18 tection of the public from release of radioactive ma19 terial or radioactivity from the repository shall pro20 hibit releases that would expose an average member

21 of the general population in the vicinity of the Yucca

22 Mountain site to an annual dose in excess of 100

23 millirems unless the Commission determines by rule

24 that such standard would constitute an unreasonable

25 risk to health and safety and establishes by rule an-
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1 other standard which will protect health and safety.

2 Such standard shall constitute an overall system

3 performance standard.

4 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION OF OVERALL SYSTEM PER5 FORMANCE STANDARD.—The Commission shall issue

6 the license if it finds reasonable assurance that for

7 the first 1,000 years following the commencement of

8 repository operations, the overall system perform9 ance standard will be met based on a probabilistic

10 evaluation, as appropriate, of compliance with the

11 overall system performance standard in paragraph

12 (1).

13 ‘‘(3) FACTORS.—For purposes of making the

14 finding in paragraph (2)—

15 ‘‘(A) the Commission shall not consider

16 catastrophic events where the health con17 sequences of individual events themselves can

18 be reasonably assumed to exceed the health

19 consequences due to the impact of the events on

20 repository performance;

21 ‘‘(B) for the purpose of this section, an av22 erage member of the general population in the

23 vicinity of the Yucca Mountain site means a

24 person whose physiology, age, general health,

25 agricultural practices, eating habits, and social
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1 behavior represent the average for persons liv2 ing in the vicinity of the site. Extremes in social

3 behavior, eating habits, or other relevant prac4 tices or characteristics shall not be considered;

5 and

6 ‘‘(C) the Commission shall assume that,

7 following repository closure, the inclusion of en8 gineered barriers and the Secretary’s post-clo9 sure actions at the Yucca Mountain site, in ac10 cordance with subsection (b)(4), shall be suffi11 cient to—

12 ‘‘(i) prevent any human activity at the

13 site that poses an unreasonable risk of

14 breaching the repository’s engineered or

15 geologic barriers; and

16 ‘‘(ii) prevent any increase in the expo17 sure of individual members of the public to

18 radiation beyond the allowable limits speci19 fied in paragraph (1).

20 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS.—The Commission

21 shall analyze the overall system performance through

22 the use of probabilistic evaluations that use best es23 timate assumptions, data, and methods for the pe24 riod commencing after the first 1,000 years of oper25 ation of the repository and terminating at 10,000
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1 years after the commencement of operation of the

2 repository.

3 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT.—

4 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF STATEMENT.—Construc5 tion and operation of the repository shall be consid6 ered a major Federal action significantly affecting

7 the quality of the human environment for purposes

8 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

9 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The Secretary shall submit

10 an environmental impact statement on the construc11 tion and operation of the repository to the Commis12 sion with the license application and shall supple13 ment such environmental impact statement as ap14 propriate.

15 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—For purposes of com16 plying with the requirements of the National Envi17 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 and this section, the

18 Secretary shall not consider in the environmental

19 impact statement the need for the repository, or al20 ternative sites or designs for the repository.

21 ‘‘(3) ADOPTION BY COMMISSION.—The Sec22 retary’s environmental impact statement and any

23 supplements thereto shall, to the extent practicable,

24 be adopted by the Commission in connection with

25 the issuance by the Commission of a construction
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1 authorization under subsection (b)(1), a license

2 under subsection (b)(2), or a license amendment

3 under subsection (b)(3). To the extent such state4 ment or supplement is adopted by the Commission,

5 such adoption shall be deemed to also satisfy the re6 sponsibilities of the Commission under the National

7 Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and no further

8 consideration shall be required, except that nothing

9 in this subsection shall affect any independent re10 sponsibilities of the Commission to protect the public

11 health and safety under the Atomic Energy Act of

12 1954. In any such statement or supplement pre13 pared with respect to the repository, the Commission

14 shall not consider the need for a repository, or alter15 nate sites or designs for the repository.

16 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No court shall have juris17 diction to enjoin issuance of the Commission repository

18 licensing regulations prior to its final decision on review

19 of such regulations.

20 ‘‘SEC. 206. LAND WITHDRAWAL.

21 ‘‘(a) WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION.—

22 ‘‘(1) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing

23 rights, the interim storage facility site and the

24 Yucca Mountain site, as described in subsection (b),

25 are withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropria-
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1 tion, and disposal under the public land laws, includ2 ing the mineral leasing laws, the geothermal leasing

3 laws, the material sale laws, and the mining laws.

4 ‘‘(2) JURISDICTION.—Jurisdiction of any land

5 within the interim storage facility site and the Yucca

6 Mountain site managed by the Secretary of the Inte7 rior or any other Federal officer is transferred to the

8 Secretary.

9 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION.—The interim storage facil10 ity site and the Yucca Mountain site are reserved for

11 the use of the Secretary for the construction and op12 eration, respectively, of the interim storage facility

13 and the repository and activities associated with the

14 purposes of this title.

15 ‘‘(b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—

16 ‘‘(1) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries depicted

17 on the map entitled ‘Interim Storage Facility Site

18 Withdrawal Map’, dated March 13, 1996, and on file

19 with the Secretary, are established as the boundaries

20 of the Interim Storage Facility site.

21 ‘‘(2) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries depicted

22 on the map entitled ‘Yucca Mountain Site With23 drawal Map’, dated July 9, 1996, and on file with

24 the Secretary, are established as the boundaries of

25 the Yucca Mountain site.
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1 ‘‘(3) NOTICE AND MAPS.—Within 6 months of

2 the date of the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Pol3 icy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register a no5 tice containing a legal description of the interim

6 storage facility site; and

7 ‘‘(B) file copies of the maps described in

8 paragraph (1), and the legal description of the

9 interim storage facility site with the Congress,

10 the Secretary of the Interior, the Governor of

11 Nevada, and the Archivist of the United States.

12 ‘‘(4) NOTICE AND MAPS.—Concurrent with the

13 Secretary’s application to the Commission for au14 thority to construct the repository, the Secretary

15 shall—

16 ‘‘(A) publish in the Federal Register a no17 tice containing a legal description of the Yucca

18 Mountain site; and

19 ‘‘(B) file copies of the maps described in

20 paragraph (2), and the legal description of the

21 Yucca Mountain site with the Congress, the

22 Secretary of the Interior, the Governor of Ne23 vada, and the Archivist of the United States.

24 ‘‘(5) CONSTRUCTION.—The maps and legal de25 scriptions of the interim storage facility site and the
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1 Yucca Mountain site referred to in this subsection

2 shall have the same force and effect as if they were

3 included in this Act. The Secretary may correct cler4 ical and typographical errors in the maps and legal

5 descriptions and make minor adjustments in the

6 boundaries of the sites.

7 ‘‘TITLE III—LOCAL RELATIONS

8 ‘‘SEC. 301. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

9 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary is authorized to make

10 grants to any affected Indian tribe or affected unit of local

11 government for purposes of enabling the affected Indian

12 tribe or affected unit of local government—

13 ‘‘(1) to review activities taken with respect to

14 the Yucca Mountain site for purposes of determining

15 any potential economic, social, public health and

16 safety, and environmental impacts of the integrated

17 management system on the affected Indian tribe or

18 the affected unit of local government and its resi19 dents;

20 ‘‘(2) to develop a request for impact assistance

21 under subsection (c);

22 ‘‘(3) to engage in any monitoring, testing, or

23 evaluation activities with regard to such site;
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1 ‘‘(4) to provide information to residents regard2 ing any activities of the Secretary, or the Commis3 sion with respect to such site; and

4 ‘‘(5) to request information from, and make

5 comments and recommendations to, the Secretary

6 regarding any activities taken with respect to such

7 site.

8 ‘‘(b) SALARY AND TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Any salary

9 or travel expense that would ordinarily be incurred by any

10 affected Indian tribe or affected unit of local government

11 may not be considered eligible for funding under this sec12 tion.

13 ‘‘(c) FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

14 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE REQUESTS.—The Secretary is

15 authorized to offer to provide financial and technical

16 assistance to any affected Indian tribe or affected

17 unit of local government requesting such assistance.

18 Such assistance shall be designed to mitigate the im19 pact on the affected Indian tribe or affected unit of

20 local government of the development of the inte21 grated management system.

22 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Any affected Indian tribe or af23 fected unit of local government may request assist24 ance under this section by preparing and submitting

25 to the Secretary a report on the economic, social,
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1 public health and safety, and environmental impacts

2 that are likely to result from activities of the inte3 grated management system.

4 ‘‘(d) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—

5 ‘‘(1) TAXABLE AMOUNTS.—In addition to finan6 cial assistance provided under this subsection, the

7 Secretary is authorized to grant to any affected In8 dian tribe or affected unit of local government an

9 amount each fiscal year equal to the amount such

10 affected Indian tribe or affected unit of local govern11 ment, respectively, would receive if authorized to tax

12 integrated management system activities, as such af13 fected Indian tribe or affected unit of local govern14 ment taxes the non-Federal real property and indus15 trial activities occurring within such affected unit of

16 local government.

17 ‘‘(2) TERMINATION.—Such grants shall con18 tinue until such time as all such activities, develop19 ment, and operations are terminated at such site.

20 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE TO INDIAN TRIBES AND

21 UNITS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—

22 ‘‘(A) PERIOD.—Any affected Indian tribe

23 or affected unit of local government may not re24 ceive any grant under paragraph (1) after the

25 expiration of the 1-year period following the
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1 date on which the Secretary notifies the af2 fected Indian tribe or affected unit of local gov3 ernment of the termination of the operation of

4 the integrated management system.

5 ‘‘(B) ACTIVITIES.—Any affected Indian

6 tribe or affected unit of local government may

7 not receive any further assistance under this

8 section if the integrated management system

9 activities at such site are terminated by the

10 Secretary or if such activities are permanently

11 enjoined by any court.

12 ‘‘SEC. 302. ON-SITE REPRESENTATIVE.

13 ‘‘The Secretary shall offer to the unit of local govern14 ment within whose jurisdiction a site for an interim stor15 age facility or repository is located under this Act an op16 portunity to designate a representative to conduct onsite

17 oversight activities at such site. The Secretary is author18 ized to pay the reasonable expenses of such representative.

19 ‘‘SEC. 303. ACCEPTANCE OF BENEFITS.

20 ‘‘(a) CONSENT.—The acceptance or use of any of the

21 benefits provided under this title by any affected Indian

22 tribe or affected unit of local government shall not be

23 deemed to be an expression of consent, express, or implied,

24 either under the Constitution of the State or any law

25 thereof, to the siting of an interim storage facility or re-
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1 pository in the State of Nevada, any provision of such

2 Constitution or laws to the contrary notwithstanding.

3 ‘‘(b) ARGUMENTS.—Neither the United States nor

4 any other entity may assert any argument based on legal

5 or equitable estoppel, or acquiescence, or waiver, or con6 sensual involvement, in response to any decision by the

7 State to oppose the siting in Nevada of an interim storage

8 facility or repository premised upon or related to the ac9 ceptance or use of benefits under this title.

10 ‘‘(c) LIABILITY.—No liability of any nature shall ac11 crue to be asserted against any official of any govern12 mental unit of Nevada premised solely upon the accept13 ance or use of benefits under this title.

14 ‘‘SEC. 304. RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF FUNDS.

15 ‘‘None of the funding provided under this title may

16 be used—

17 ‘‘(1) directly or indirectly to influence legislative

18 action on any matter pending before Congress or a

19 State legislature or for any lobbying activity as pro20 vided in section 1913 of title 18, United States

21 Code;

22 ‘‘(2) for litigation purposes; and

23 ‘‘(3) to support multistate efforts or other coali24 tion-building activities inconsistent with the purposes

25 of this Act.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 305. LAND CONVEYANCES.

2 ‘‘(a) CONVEYANCES OF PUBLIC LANDS.—One hun3 dred and twenty days after enactment of this Act, all

4 right, title and interest of the United States in the prop5 erty described in subsection (b), and improvements there6 on, together with all necessary easements for utilities and

7 ingress and egress to such property, including, but not

8 limited to, the right to improve those easements, are con9 veyed by operation of law to the County of Nye, Nevada,

10 unless the county notifies the Secretary of Interior or the

11 head of such other appropriate agency in writing within

12 60 days of such date of enactment that it elects not to

13 take title to all or any part of the property, except that

14 any lands conveyed to the County of Nye under this sub15 section that are subject to a Federal grazing permit or

16 lease or a similar federally granted permit or lease shall

17 be conveyed between 60 and 120 days of the earliest time

18 the Federal agency administering or granting the permit

19 or lease would be able to legally terminate such right

20 under the statutes and regulations existing at the date of

21 enactment of this Act, unless Nye County and the affected

22 holder of the permit or lease negotiate an agreement that

23 allows for an earlier conveyance.

24 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL CONVEYANCES.—Notwithstanding any

25 other law, the following public lands depicted on the maps

26 and legal descriptions dated October 11, 1995, and on file
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1 with the Secretary shall be conveyed under subsection (a)

2 to the County of Nye, Nevada:

3 Map 1: Proposed Pahrump industrial park site.

4 Map 2: Proposed Lathrop Wells (gate 510) in5 dustrial park site.

6 Map 3: Pahrump landfill sites.

7 Map 4: Amargosa Valley Regional Landfill site.

8 Map 5: Amargosa Valley Municipal Landfill

9 site.

10 Map 6: Beatty Landfill/Transfer Station site.

11 Map 7: Round Mountain Landfill site.

12 Map 8: Tonopah Landfill site.

13 Map 9: Gabbs Landfill site.

14 ‘‘(c) CONSTRUCTION.—The maps and legal descrip15 tions of special conveyances referred to in subsection (b)

16 shall have the same force and effect as if they were in17 cluded in this Act. The Secretary may correct clerical and

18 typographical errors in the maps and legal descriptions

19 and make minor adjustments in the boundaries of the

20 sites.

21 ‘‘(d) EVIDENCE OF TITLE TRANSFER.—Upon the re22 quest of the County of Nye, Nevada, the Secretary of the

23 Interior shall provide evidence of title transfer.
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1 ‘‘TITLE IV—FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

2 ‘‘SEC. 401. PROGRAM FUNDING.

3 ‘‘(a) CONTRACTS.—

4 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—In the per5 formance of the Secretary’s functions under this

6 Act, the Secretary is authorized to enter into con7 tracts with any person who generates or holds title

8 to spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste

9 of domestic origin for the acceptance of title and

10 possession, transportation, interim storage, and dis11 posal of such waste or spent fuel. Such contracts

12 shall provide for payment of annual fees to the Sec13 retary in the amounts set by the Secretary pursuant

14 to paragraphs (2) and (3). Except as provided in

15 paragraph (3), fees assessed pursuant to this para16 graph shall be paid to the Treasury of the United

17 States and shall be available for use by the Sec18 retary pursuant to this section until expended. Sub19 sequent to the date of enactment of the Nuclear

20 Waste Policy Act of 1996, the contracts executed

21 under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy

22 Act of 1982 shall continue in effect under this Act:

23 Provided, That the Secretary shall consent to an

24 amendment to such contracts as necessary to imple25 ment the provisions of this Act.
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1 ‘‘(2) ANNUAL FEES.—

2 ‘‘(A) for electricity generated by civilian

3 nuclear power reactors and sold between Janu4 ary 7, 1983, and September 30, 2002, the fee

5 under paragraph (1) shall be equal to 1.0 mill

6 per kilowatt-hour generated and sold. For elec7 tricity generated by civilian nuclear power reac8 tors and sold on or after October 1, 2002, the

9 aggregate amount of fees collected during each

10 fiscal year shall be no greater than the annual

11 level of appropriations for expenditures on those

12 activities consistent with subsection (d) for that

13 fiscal year, minus—

14 ‘‘(i) any unobligated balance collected

15 pursuant to this section during the pre16 vious fiscal year; and

17 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of such appro18 priation required to be funded by the Fed19 eral Government pursuant to section 403.

20 The Secretary shall determine the level of the

21 annual fee for each civilian nuclear power reac22 tor based on the amount of electricity generated

23 and sold, except that the annual fee collected

24 under this subparagraph shall not exceed 1.0

25 mill per kilowatt-hour generated and sold.
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1 ‘‘(B) EXPENDITURES IF SHORTFALL.—If,

2 during any fiscal year on or after October 1,

3 2002, the aggregate amount of fees assessed

4 pursuant to subparagraph (A) is less than the

5 annual level of appropriations for expenditures

6 on those activities specified in subsection (d) for

7 that fiscal year, minus—

8 ‘‘(i) any unobligated balance collected

9 pursuant to this section during the pre10 vious fiscal year; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the percentage of such appro12 priations required to be funded by the Fed13 eral Government pursuant to section 403,

14 the Secretary may make expenditures from the

15 Nuclear Waste Fund up to the level of the fees

16 assessed.

17 ‘‘(C) RULES.—The Secretary shall, by

18 rule, establish procedures necessary to imple19 ment this paragraph.

20 ‘‘(3) ONE-TIME FEE.—For spent nuclear fuel or

21 solidified high-level radioactive waste derived from

22 spent nuclear fuel, which fuel was used to generate

23 electricity in a civilian nuclear power reactor prior to

24 January 7, 1983, the fee shall be in an amount

25 equivalent to an average charge of 1.0 mill per kilo-
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1 watt-hour for electricity generated by such spent nu2 clear fuel, or such solidified high-level waste derived

3 therefrom. Payment of such one-time fee prior to the

4 date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

5 of 1996 shall satisfy the obligation imposed under

6 this paragraph. Any one-time fee paid and collected

7 subsequent to the date of enactment of the Nuclear

8 Waste Policy Act of 1996 pursuant to the contracts,

9 including any interest due pursuant to such con10 tracts, shall be paid to the Nuclear Waste Fund no

11 later than September 30, 2002. The Commission

12 shall suspend the license of any licensee who fails or

13 refuses to pay the full amount of the fee referred to

14 in this paragraph on or before September 30, 2002,

15 and the license shall remain suspended until the full

16 amount of the fee referred to in this paragraph is

17 paid. The person paying the fee under this para18 graph to the Secretary shall have no further finan19 cial obligation to the Federal Government for the

20 long-term storage and permanent disposal of spent

21 fuel or high-level radioactive waste derived from

22 spent nuclear fuel used to generate electricity in a

23 civilian power reactor prior to January 7, 1983.

24 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTMENTS TO FEE.—The Secretary

25 shall annually review the amount of the fees estab-
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1 lished by paragraphs (2) and (3), together with the

2 existing balance of the Nuclear Waste Fund on the

3 date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

4 of 1996, to evaluate whether collection of the fee will

5 provide sufficient revenues to offset the costs as de6 fined in subsection (c)(2). In the event the Secretary

7 determines that the revenues being collected are ei8 ther insufficient or excessive to recover the costs in9 curred by the Federal Government that are specified

10 in subsection (c)(2), the Secretary shall propose an

11 adjustment to the fee in subsection (c)(2) to ensure

12 full cost recovery. The Secretary shall immediately

13 transmit the proposal for such an adjustment to

14 both houses of Congress.

15 ‘‘(b) ADVANCE CONTRACTING REQUIREMENT.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

17 ‘‘(A) LICENSE ISSUANCE AND RENEWAL.—

18 The Commission shall not issue or renew a li19 cense to any person to use a utilization or pro20 duction facility under the authority of section

21 103 or 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954

22 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134) unless—

23 ‘‘(i) such person has entered into a

24 contract under subsection (a) with the Sec25 retary; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary affirms in writing

2 that such person is actively and in good

3 faith negotiating with the Secretary for a

4 contract under this section.

5 ‘‘(B) PRECONDITION.—The Commission,

6 as it deems necessary or appropriate, may re7 quire as a precondition to the issuance or re8 newal of a license under section 103 or 104 of

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

10 2133, 2134) that the applicant for such license

11 shall have entered into an agreement with the

12 Secretary for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel

13 and high-level radioactive waste that may result

14 from the use of such license.

15 ‘‘(2) DISPOSAL IN REPOSITORY.—Except as

16 provided in paragraph (1), no spent nuclear fuel or

17 high-level radioactive waste generated or owned by

18 any person (other than a department of the United

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

20 United States Code) may be disposed of by the Sec21 retary in the repository unless the generator or

22 owner of such spent fuel or waste has entered into

23 a contract under subsection (a) with the Secretary

24 by not later than the date on which such generator
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1 or owner commences generation of, or takes title to,

2 such spent fuel or waste.

3 ‘‘(3) ASSIGNMENT.—The rights and duties of

4 contract holders are assignable.

5 ‘‘(c) NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Nuclear Waste Fund

7 established in the Treasury of the United States

8 under section 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy

9 Act of 1982 shall continue in effect under this Act

10 and shall consist of—

11 ‘‘(A) the existing balance in the Nuclear

12 Waste Fund on the date of enactment of the

13 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996; and

14 ‘‘(B) all receipts, proceeds, and recoveries

15 realized under subsections (a), and (c)(3) subse16 quent to the date of enactment of the Nuclear

17 Waste Policy Act of 1996, which shall be depos18 ited in the Nuclear Waste Fund immediately

19 upon their realization.

20 ‘‘(2) USE.—The Secretary may make expendi21 tures from the Nuclear Waste Fund, subject to sub22 sections (d) and (e), only for purposes of the inte23 grated management system.

24 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION OF NUCLEAR WASTE

25 FUND.—
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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the

2 Treasury shall hold the Nuclear Waste Fund

3 and, after consultation with the Secretary, an4 nually report to the Congress on the financial

5 condition and operations of the Nuclear Waste

6 Fund during the preceding fiscal year.

7 ‘‘(B) AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF CURRENT

8 NEEDS.—If the Secretary determines that the

9 Nuclear Waste Fund contains at any time

10 amounts in excess of current needs, the Sec11 retary may request the Secretary of the Treas12 ury to invest such amounts, or any portion of

13 such amounts as the Secretary determines to be

14 appropriate, in obligations of the United

15 States—

16 ‘‘(i) having maturities determined by

17 the Secretary of the Treasury to be appro18 priate to the needs of the Nuclear Waste

19 Fund; and

20 ‘‘(ii) bearing interest at rates deter21 mined to be appropriate by the Secretary

22 of the Treasury, taking into consideration

23 the current average market yield on out24 standing marketable obligations of the

25 United States with remaining periods to
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1 maturity comparable to the maturities of

2 such investments, except that the interest

3 rate on such investments shall not exceed

4 the average interest rate applicable to ex5 isting borrowings.

6 ‘‘(C) EXEMPTION.—Receipts, proceeds,

7 and recoveries realized by the Secretary under

8 this section, and expenditures of amounts from

9 the Nuclear Waste Fund, shall be exempt from

10 annual apportionment under the provisions of

11 subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, United

12 States Code.

13 ‘‘(d) BUDGET.—The Secretary shall submit the budg14 et for implementation of the Secretary’s responsibilities

15 under this Act to the Office of Management and Budget

16 annually along with the budget of the Department of En17 ergy submitted at such time in accordance with chapter

18 11 of title 31, United States Code. The budget shall con19 sist of the estimates made by the Secretary of expendi20 tures under this Act and other relevant financial matters

21 for the succeeding 3 fiscal years, and shall be included

22 in the budget of the United States Government.

23 ‘‘(e) APPROPRIATIONS.—The Secretary may make ex24 penditures from the Nuclear Waste Fund, subject to ap25 propriations, which shall remain available until expended.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 402. OFFICE OF CIVILIAN RADIOACTIVE WASTE MAN2 AGEMENT.

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There hereby is established

4 within the Department of Energy an Office of Civilian Ra5 dioactive Waste Management. The Office shall be headed

6 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 IV

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 ‘‘SEC. 403. FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.

17 ‘‘(a) ALLOCATION.—No later than one year from the

18 date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of

19 1996, acting pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United

20 States Code, the Secretary shall issue a final rule estab21 lishing the appropriate portion of the costs of managing

22 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste under

23 this Act allocable to the interim storage or permanent dis24 posal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste

25 from atomic energy defense activities and spent nuclear

26 fuel from foreign research reactors. The share of costs al-
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1 locable to the management of spent nuclear fuel and high2 level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activi3 ties and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors

4 shall include—

5 ‘‘(1) an appropriate portion of the costs associ6 ated with research and development activities with

7 respect to development of an interim storage facility

8 and repository; and

9 ‘‘(2) as appropriate, interest on the principal

10 amounts due calculated by reference to the appro11 priate Treasury bill rate as if the payments were

12 made at a point in time consistent with the payment

13 dates for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radio14 active waste under the contracts.

15 ‘‘(b) APPROPRIATION REQUEST.—In addition to any

16 request for an appropriation from the Nuclear Waste

17 Fund, the Secretary shall request annual appropriations

18 from general revenues in amounts sufficient to pay the

19 costs of the management of spent nuclear fuel and high20 level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activi21 ties and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors,

22 as established under subsection (a).

23 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—In conjunction with the annual report

24 submitted to Congress under section 702, the Secretary

25 shall advise the Congress annually of the amount of spent
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1 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic

2 energy activities and spent nuclear fuel from foreign re3 search reactors, requiring management in the integrated

4 management system.

5 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap6 propriated to the Secretary, from general revenues, for

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

8 be necessary to pay the costs of the management of spent

9 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic

10 energy defense activities and spent nuclear fuel from for11 eign research reactors, as established under subsection

12 (a).

13 ‘‘TITLE V—GENERAL AND

14 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

15 ‘‘SEC. 501. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS.

16 ‘‘If the requirements of any Federal, State, or local

17 law (including a requirement imposed by regulation or by

18 any other means under such a law) are inconsistent with

19 or duplicative of the requirements of the Atomic Energy

20 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) or of this Act, the

21 Secretary shall comply only with the requirements of the

22 Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and of this Act in implement23 ing the integrated management system.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 502. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS

3 OF APPEALS.—

4 ‘‘(1) ORIGINAL AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDIC5 TION.—Except for review in the Supreme Court of

6 the United States, and except as otherwise provided

7 in this Act, the United States courts of appeals shall

8 have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil

9 action—

10 ‘‘(A) for review of any final decision or ac11 tion of the Secretary, the President, or the

12 Commission under this Act;

13 ‘‘(B) alleging the failure of the Secretary,

14 the President, or the Commission to make any

15 decision, or take any action, required under this

16 Act;

17 ‘‘(C) challenging the constitutionality of

18 any decision made, or action taken, under any

19 provision of this Act; or

20 ‘‘(D) for review of any environmental im21 pact statement prepared or environmental as22 sessment pursuant to the National Environ23 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et

24 seq.) with respect to any action under this Act

25 or alleging a failure to prepare such statement

26 with respect to any such action.
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1 ‘‘(2) VENUE.—The venue of any proceeding

2 under this section shall be in the judicial circuit in

3 which the petitioner involved resides or has its prin4 cipal office, or in the United States Court of Appeals

5 for the District of Columbia Circuit.

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

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

8 may be brought no later than 180 days after the date of

9 the decision or action or failure to act involved, as the

10 case may be, except that if a party shows that he did not

11 know of the decision or action complained of (or of the

12 failure to act), and that a reasonable person acting under

13 the circumstances would not have known, such party may

14 bring a civil action no later than 180 days after the date

15 such party acquired actual or constructive knowledge or

16 such decision, action, or failure to act.

17 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF OTHER LAW.—The provisions

18 of this section relating to any matter shall apply in lieu

19 of the provisions of any other Act relating to the same

20 matter.

21 ‘‘SEC. 503. LICENSING OF FACILITY EXPANSIONS AND

22 TRANSSHIPMENTS.

23 ‘‘(a) ORAL ARGUMENT.—In any Commission hearing

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

25 U.S.C. 2239) on an application for a license, or for an
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1 amendment to an existing license, filed after January 7,

2 1983, to expand the spent nuclear fuel storage capacity

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

4 use of high-density fuel storage racks, fuel rod compac5 tion, the transshipment of spent nuclear fuel to another

6 civilian nuclear power reactor within the same utility sys7 tem, the construction of additional spent nuclear fuel pool

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

9 Commission shall, at the request of any party, provide an

10 opportunity for oral argument with respect to any matter

11 which the Commission determines to be in controversy

12 among the parties. The oral argument shall be preceded

13 by such discovery procedures as the rules of the Commis14 sion shall provide. The Commission shall require each

15 party, including the Commission staff, to submit in writ16 ten form, at the time of the oral argument, a summary

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

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

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

20 or written submission may be relied upon by the parties

21 during oral argument. Of the materials that may be sub22 mitted by the parties during oral argument, the Commis23 sion shall only consider those facts and data that are sub24 mitted in the form of sworn testimony or written submis25 sion.
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1 ‘‘(b) ADJUDICATORY HEARING.—

2 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.—At the conclusion of any

3 oral argument under subsection (a), the Commission

4 shall designate any disputed question of fact, to5 gether with any remaining questions of law, for reso6 lution in an adjudicatory hearing only if it deter7 mines that—

8 ‘‘(A) there is a genuine and substantial

9 dispute of fact which can only be resolved with

10 sufficient accuracy by the introduction of evi11 dence in an adjudicatory hearing; and

12 ‘‘(B) the decision of the Commission is

13 likely to depend in whole or in part on the reso14 lution of such dispute.

15 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—In making a deter16 mination under this subsection, the Commission—

17 ‘‘(A) shall designate in writing the specific

18 facts that are in genuine and substantial dis19 pute, the reason why the decision of the agency

20 is likely to depend on the resolution of such

21 facts, and the reason why an adjudicatory hear22 ing is likely to resolve the dispute; and

23 ‘‘(B) shall not consider—

24 ‘‘(i) any issue relating to the design,

25 construction, or operation of any civilian
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1 nuclear power reactor already licensed to

2 operate at such site, or any civilian nuclear

3 power reactor to which a construction per4 mit has been granted at such site, unless

5 the Commission determines that any such

6 issue substantially affects the design, con7 struction, or operation of the facility or ac8 tivity for which such license application,

9 authorization, or amendment is being con10 sidered; or

11 ‘‘(ii) any siting or design issue fully

12 considered and decided by the Commission

13 in connection with the issuance of a con14 struction permit or operating license for a

15 civilian nuclear power reactor at such site,

16 unless—

17 ‘‘(I) such issue results from any

18 revision of siting or design criteria by

19 the Commission following such deci20 sion; and

21 ‘‘(II) the Commission determines

22 that such issue substantially affects

23 the design, construction, or operation

24 of the facility or activity for which
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1 such license application, authorization,

2 or amendment is being considered.

3 ‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—The provisions of para4 graph (2)(B) shall apply only with respect to li5 censes, authorizations, or amendments to licenses or

6 authorizations, applied for under the Atomic Energy

7 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) before Decem8 ber 31, 2005.

9 ‘‘(4) CONSTRUCTION.—The provisions of this

10 section shall not apply to the first application for a

11 license or license amendment received by the Com12 mission to expand onsite spent fuel storage capacity

13 by the use of a new technology not previously ap14 proved for use at any nuclear power plant by the

15 Commission.

16 ‘‘(c) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—No court shall hold unlaw17 ful or set aside a decision of the Commission in any pro18 ceeding described in subsection (a) because of a failure

19 by the Commission to use a particular procedure pursuant

20 to this section unless—

21 ‘‘(1) an objection to the procedure used was

22 presented to the Commission in a timely fashion or

23 there are extraordinary circumstances that excuse

24 the failure to present a timely objection; and
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1 ‘‘(2) the court finds that such failure has pre2 cluded a fair consideration and informed resolution

3 of a significant issue of the proceeding taken as a

4 whole.

5 ‘‘SEC. 504. SITING A SECOND REPOSITORY.

6 ‘‘(a) CONGRESSIONAL ACTION REQUIRED.—The Sec7 retary may not conduct site-specific activities with respect

8 to a second repository unless Congress has specifically au9 thorized and appropriated funds for such activities.

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

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

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

13 second repository.

14 ‘‘SEC. 505. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR LOW-LEVEL

15 RADIOACTIVE WASTE SITE CLOSURE.

16 ‘‘(a) FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS.—

17 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS AND INSTRUCTIONS.—The

18 Commission shall establish by rule, regulation, or

19 order, after public notice, and in accordance with

20 section 181 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42

21 U.S.C. 2231), such standards and instructions as

22 the Commission may deem necessary or desirable to

23 ensure in the case of each license for the disposal of

24 low-level radioactive waste that an adequate bond,

25 surety, or other financial arrangement (as deter-
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1 mined by the Commission) will be provided by a li2 censee to permit completion of all requirements es3 tablished by the Commission for the decontamina4 tion, decommissioning, site closure, and reclamation

5 of sites, structures, and equipment used in conjunc6 tion with such low-level radioactive waste. Such fi7 nancial arrangements shall be provided and ap8 proved by the Commission, or, in the case of sites

9 within the boundaries of any agreement State under

10 section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42

11 U.S.C. 2021), by the appropriate State or State en12 tity, prior to issuance of licenses for low-level radio13 active waste disposal or, in the case of licenses in ef14 fect on January 7, 1983, prior to termination of

15 such licenses.

16 ‘‘(2) BONDING, SURETY OR OTHER FINANCIAL

17 ARRANGEMENTS.—If the Commission determines

18 that any long-term maintenance or monitoring, or

19 both, will be necessary at a site described in para20 graph (1), the Commission shall ensure before termi21 nation of the license involved that the licensee has

22 made available such bonding, surety, or other finan23 cial arrangements as may be necessary to ensure

24 that any necessary long-term maintenance or mon25 itoring needed for such site will be carried out by
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1 the person having title and custody for such site fol2 lowing license termination.

3 ‘‘(b) TITLE AND CUSTODY.—

4 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY.—The Sec5 retary shall have authority to assume title and cus6 tody of low-level radioactive waste and the land on

7 which such waste is disposed of, upon request of the

8 owner of such waste and land and following termi9 nation of the license issued by the Commission for

10 such disposal, if the Commission determines that—

11 ‘‘(A) the requirements of the Commission

12 for site closure, decommissioning, and decon13 tamination have been met by the licensee in14 volved and that such licensee is in compliance

15 with the provisions of subsection (a);

16 ‘‘(B) such title and custody will be trans17 ferred to the Secretary without cost to the Fed18 eral Government; and

19 ‘‘(C) Federal ownership and management

20 of such site is necessary or desirable in order to

21 protect the public health and safety, and the

22 environment.

23 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION.—If the Secretary assumes

24 title and custody of any such waste and land under

25 this subsection, the Secretary shall maintain such
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1 waste and land in a manner that will protect the

2 public health and safety, and the environment.

3 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL SITES.—If the low-level radioactive

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

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

6 the Secretary, upon request of the owner of the site in7 volved, shall assume title and custody of such waste and

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

9 decontaminated and stabilized in accordance with the re10 quirements established by the Commission and when such

11 owner has made adequate financial arrangements ap12 proved by the Commission for the long-term maintenance

13 and monitoring of such site.

14 ‘‘SEC. 506. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TRAINING

15 AUTHORIZATION.

16 ‘‘The Commission is authorized and directed to pro17 mulgate regulations, or other appropriate regulatory guid18 ance, for the training and qualifications of civilian nuclear

19 power plant operators, supervisors, technicians, and other

20 appropriate operating personnel. Such regulations or guid21 ance shall establish simulator training requirements for

22 applicants for civilian nuclear power plant operator li23 censes and for operator requalification programs; require24 ments governing Commission administration of requali25 fication examinations; requirements for operating tests at
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1 civilian nuclear power plant simulators, and instructional

2 requirements for civilian nuclear power plant licensee per3 sonnel training programs.

4 ‘‘SEC. 507. EMPLACEMENT SCHEDULE.

5 ‘‘(a) The emplacement schedule shall be implemented

6 in accordance with the following:

7 ‘‘(1) Emplacement priority ranking shall be de8 termined by the Department’s annual ‘Acceptance

9 Priority Ranking’ report.

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary’s spent fuel emplacement

11 rate shall be no less than the following: 1,200 MTU

12 in fiscal year 2000 and 1,200 MTU in fiscal year

13 2001; 2,000 MTU in fiscal year 2002 and 2,000

14 MTU in fiscal year 2003; 2,700 MTU in fiscal year

15 2004; and 3,000 MTU annually thereafter.

16 ‘‘(b) If the Secretary is unable to begin emplacement

17 by November 30, 1999 at the rates specified in subsection

18 (a), or if the cumulative amount emplaced in any year

19 thereafter is less than that which would have been accept20 ed under the emplacement rate specified in subsection (a),

21 the Secretary shall, as a mitigation measure, adjust the

22 emplacement schedule upward such that within 5 years

23 of the start of emplacement by the Secretary,

24 ‘‘(1) the total quantity accepted by the Sec25 retary is consistent with the total quantity that the
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1 Secretary would have accepted if the Secretary had

2 began emplacement in fiscal year 2000, and

3 ‘‘(2) thereafter the emplacement rate is equiva4 lent to the rate that would be in place pursuant to

5 subsection (a) above if the Secretary had commenced

6 emplacement in fiscal year 2000.

7 ‘‘SEC. 508. TRANSFER OF TITLE.

8 ‘‘(a) Acceptance by the Secretary of any spent nu9 clear fuel or high-level radioactive waste shall constitute

10 a transfer of title to the Secretary.

11 ‘‘(b) No later than 6 months following the date of

12 enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the

13 Secretary is authorized to accept all spent nuclear fuel

14 withdrawn from Dairyland Power Cooperative’s La Crosse

15 Reactor and, upon acceptance, shall provide Dairyland

16 Power Cooperative with evidence of the title transfer. Im17 mediately upon the Secretary’s acceptance of such spent

18 nuclear fuel, the Secretary shall assume all responsibility

19 and liability for the interim storage and permanent dis20 posal thereof and is authorized to compensate Dairyland

21 Power Cooperative for any costs related to operating and

22 maintaining facilities necessary for such storage from the

23 date of acceptance until the Secretary removes the spent

24 nuclear fuel from the La Crosse Reactor site.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 509. DECOMMISSIONING PILOT PROGRAM.

2 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized

3 to establish a Decommissioning Pilot Program to decom4 mission and decontaminate the sodium-cooled fast breeder

5 experimental test-site reactor located in northwest Arkan6 sas.

7 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.—No funds from the Nuclear Waste

8 Fund may be used for the Decommissioning Pilot Pro9 gram.

10 ‘‘SEC. 510. WATER RIGHTS.

11 ‘‘(a) NO FEDERAL RESERVATION.—Nothing in this

12 Act or any other Act of Congress shall constitute or be

13 construed to constitute either an express or implied Fed14 eral reservation of water or water rights for any purpose

15 arising under this Act.

16 ‘‘(b) ACQUISITION AND EXERCISE OF WATER

17 RIGHTS UNDER NEVADA LAW.—The United States may

18 acquire and exercise such water rights as it deems nec19 essary to carry out its responsibilities under this Act pur20 suant to the substantive and procedural requirements of

21 the State of Nevada. Nothing in this Act shall be con22 strued to authorize the use of eminent domain by the

23 United States to acquire water rights for such lands.

24 ‘‘(c) EXERCISE OF WATER RIGHTS GENERALLY

25 UNDER NEVADA LAWS.—Nothing in this Act shall be con-
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1 strued to limit the exercise of water rights as provided

2 under Nevada State laws.

3 ‘‘TITLE VI—NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL

4 REVIEW BOARD

5 ‘‘SEC. 601. DEFINITIONS.

6 ‘‘For purposes of this title—

7 ‘‘(1) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘Chairman’ means

8 the Chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Re9 view Board.

10 ‘‘(2) Board.—The term ‘Board’ means the Nu11 clear Waste Technical Review Board continued

12 under section 602.

13 ‘‘SEC. 602. NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD.

14 ‘‘(a) CONTINUATION OF THE NUCLEAR WASTE

15 TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD.—The Nuclear Waste Tech16 nical Review Board, established under section 502(a) of

17 the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 as constituted prior

18 to the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

19 of 1996, shall continue in effect subsequent to the date

20 of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996.

21 ‘‘(b) MEMBERS.—

22 ‘‘(1) NUMBER.—The Board shall consist of 11

23 members who shall be appointed by the President

24 not later than 90 days after December 22, 1987,

25 from among persons nominated by the National
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1 Academy of Sciences in accordance with paragraph

2 (3).

3 ‘‘(2) CHAIR.—The President shall designate a

4 member of the Board to serve as Chairman.

5 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—

6 ‘‘(A) NOMINATIONS.—The National Acad7 emy of Sciences shall, not later than 90 days

8 after December 22, 1987, nominate not less

9 than 22 persons for appointment to the Board

10 from among persons who meet the qualifica11 tions described in subparagraph (C).

12 ‘‘(B) VACANCIES.—The National Academy

13 of Sciences shall nominate not less than 2 per14 sons to fill any vacancy on the Board from

15 among persons who meet the qualifications de16 scribed in subparagraph (C).

17 ‘‘(C) NOMINEES.—

18 ‘‘(i) Each person nominated for ap19 pointment to the Board shall be—

20 ‘‘(I) eminent in a field of science

21 or engineering, including environ22 mental sciences; and

23 ‘‘(II) selected solely on the basis

24 of established records of distinguished

25 service.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The membership of the Board

2 shall be representatives of the broad range

3 of scientific and engineering disciplines re4 lated to activities under this title.

5 ‘‘(iii) No person shall be nominated

6 for appointment to the Board who is an

7 employee of—

8 ‘‘(I) the Department of Energy;

9 ‘‘(II) a national laboratory under

10 contract with the Department of En11 ergy; or

12 ‘‘(III) an entity performing spent

13 nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive

14 waste activities under contract with

15 the Department of Energy.

16 ‘‘(4) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy on the Board

17 shall be filled by the nomination and appointment

18 process described in paragraphs (1) and (3).

19 ‘‘(5) TERMS.—Members of the Board shall be

20 appointed for terms of 4 years, each such term to

21 commence 120 days after December 22, 1987, ex22 cept that of the 11 members first appointed to the

23 Board, 5 shall serve for 2 years and 6 shall serve

24 for 4 years, to be designated by the President at the

25 time of appointment, except that a member of the
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1 Board whose term has expired may continue to serve

2 as a member of the Board until such member’s suc3 cessor has taken office.

4 ‘‘SEC. 603. FUNCTIONS.

5 ‘‘The Board shall limit its evaluations to the technical

6 and scientific validity solely of the following activities un7 dertaken directly by the Secretary after December 22,

8 1987—

9 ‘‘(1) site characterization activities; and

10 ‘‘(2) activities of the Secretary relating to the

11 packaging or transportation of spent nuclear fuel or

12 high-level radioactive waste.

13 ‘‘SEC. 604. INVESTIGATORY POWERS.

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

15 a majority of the members of the Board, the Board may

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

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

18 Board considers appropriate. Any member of the Board

19 may administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appear20 ing before the Board. The Secretary or the Secretary’s

21 designee or designees shall not be required to appear be22 fore the Board or any element of the Board for more than

23 twelve working days per calendar year.

24 ‘‘(b) PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) RESPONSE TO INQUIRES.—Upon the re2 quest of the Chairman or a majority of the members

3 of the Board, and subject to existing law, the Sec4 retary (or any contractor of the Secretary) shall pro5 vide the Board with such records, files, papers, data,

6 or information that is generally available to the pub7 lic as may be necessary to respond to any inquiry of

8 the Board under this title.

9 ‘‘(2) EXTENT.—Subject to existing law, infor10 mation obtainable under paragraph (1) may include

11 drafts of products and documentation of work in

12 progress.

13 ‘‘SEC. 605. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.

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

15 be paid at the rate of pay payable for level III of the Exec16 utive Schedule for each day (including travel time) such

17 member is engaged in the work of the Board.

18 ‘‘(b) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—Each member of the

19 Board may receive travel expenses, including per diem in

20 lieu of subsistence, in the same manner as is permitted

21 under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States

22 Code.

23 ‘‘SEC. 606. STAFF.

24 ‘‘(a) CLERICAL STAFF.—
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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF CHAIRMAN.—Subject to

2 paragraph (2), the Chairman may appoint and fix

3 the compensation of such clerical staff as may be

4 necessary to discharge the responsibilities of the

5 Board.

6 ‘‘(2) PROVISIONS OF TITLE 5.—Clerical staff

7 shall be appointed subject to the provisions of title

8 5, United States Code, governing appointments in

9 the competitive service, and shall be paid in accord10 ance with the provisions of chapter 51 and sub11 chapter III of chapter 3 of such title relating to clas12 sification and General Schedule pay rates.

13 ‘‘(b) PROFESSIONAL STAFF.—

14 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF CHAIRMAN.—Subject to

15 paragraphs (2) and (3), the Chairman may appoint

16 and fix the compensation of such professional staff

17 as may be necessary to discharge the responsibilities

18 of the Board.

19 ‘‘(2) NUMBER.—Not more than 10 professional

20 staff members may be appointed under this sub21 section.

22 ‘‘(3) TITLE 5.—Professional staff members may

23 be appointed without regard to the provisions of title

24 5, United States Code, governing appointments in

25 the competitive service, and may be paid without re-
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1 gard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter

2 III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classifica3 tion and General Schedule pay rates, except that no

4 individual so appointed may receive pay in excess of

5 the annual rate of basic pay payable for GS–18 of

6 the General Schedule.

7 ‘‘SEC. 607. SUPPORT SERVICES.

8 ‘‘(a) GENERAL SERVICES.—To the extent permitted

9 by law and requested by the Chairman, the Administrator

10 of General Services shall provide the Board with necessary

11 administrative services, facilities, and support on a reim12 bursable basis.

13 ‘‘(b) ACCOUNTING, RESEARCH, AND TECHNOLOGY

14 ASSESSMENT SERVICES.—The Comptroller General and

15 the Librarian of Congress shall, to the extent permitted

16 by law and subject to the availability of funds, provide the

17 Board with such facilities, support, funds and services, in18 cluding staff, as may be necessary for the effective per19 formance of the functions of the Board.

20 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL SUPPORT.—Upon the request of

21 the Chairman, the Board may secure directly from the

22 head of any department or agency of the United States

23 information necessary to enable it to carry out this title.
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1 ‘‘(d) MAILS.—The Board may use the United States

2 mails in the same manner and under the same conditions

3 as other departments and agencies of the United States.

4 ‘‘(e) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—Subject to such

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

6 may procure temporary and intermittent services under

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

8 at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily equivalent

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

10 18 of the General Schedule.

11 ‘‘SEC. 608. REPORT.

12 ‘‘The Board shall report not less than two times per

13 year to Congress and the Secretary its findings, conclu14 sions, and recommendations.

15 ‘‘SEC. 609. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for expendi17 tures such sums as may be necessary to carry out the pro18 visions of this title.

19 ‘‘SEC. 610. TERMINATION OF THE BOARD.

20 ‘‘The Board shall cease to exist not later than one

21 year after the date on which the Secretary begins disposal

22 of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste in the

23 repository.
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1 ‘‘TITLE VII—MANAGEMENT REFORM

2 ‘‘SEC. 701. MANAGEMENT REFORM INITIATIVES.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is directed to take

4 actions as necessary to improve the management of the

5 civilian radioactive waste management program to ensure

6 that the program is operated, to the maximum extent

7 practicable, in like manner as a private business.

8 ‘‘(b) AUDITS.—

9 ‘‘(1) STANDARD.—The Office of Civilian Radio10 active Waste Management, its contractors, and sub11 contractors at all tiers, shall conduct, or have con12 ducted, audits and examinations of their operations

13 in accordance with the usual and customary prac14 tices of private corporations engaged in large nuclear

15 construction projects consistent with its role in the

16 program.

17 ‘‘(2) TIME.—The management practices and

18 performances of the Office of Civilian Radioactive

19 Waste Management shall be audited every 5 years

20 by an independent management consulting firm with

21 significant experience in similar audits of private

22 corporations, engaged in large nuclear construction

23 projects. The first such audit shall be conducted 5

24 years after the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Pol25 icy Act of 1996.
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1 ‘‘(3) COMPTROLLER GENERAL.—The Comptrol2 ler General of the United States shall annually make

3 an audit of the Office, in accordance with such regu4 lations as the Comptroller General may prescribe.

5 The Comptroller General shall have access to such

6 books, records, accounts, and other materials of the

7 Office as the Comptroller General determines to be

8 necessary for the preparation of such audit. The

9 Comptroller General shall submit to the Congress a

10 report on the results of each audit conducted under

11 this section.

12 ‘‘(4) TIME.—No audit contemplated by this

13 subsection shall take longer than 30 days to con14 duct. An audit report shall be issued in final form

15 no longer than 60 days after the audit is com16 menced.

17 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.—All audit reports

18 shall be public documents and available to any indi19 vidual upon request.

20 ‘‘(c) VALUE ENGINEERING.—The Secretary shall cre21 ate a value engineering function within the Office of Civil22 ian Radioactive Waste Management that reports directly

23 to the Director, which shall carry out value engineering

24 functions in accordance with the usual and customary
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1 practices of private corporations engaged in large nuclear

2 construction projects.

3 ‘‘(d) SITE CHARACTERIZATION.—The Secretary shall

4 employ, on an on-going basis, integrated performance

5 modeling to identify appropriate parameters for the re6 maining site characterization effort and to eliminate stud7 ies of parameters that are shown not to affect long-term

8 repository performance.

9 ‘‘SEC. 702. REPORTING.

10 ‘‘(a) INITIAL REPORT.—Within 180 days of enact11 ment of this section, the Secretary shall report to Con12 gress on its planned actions for implementing the provi13 sions of this Act, including the development of the Inte14 grated Waste Management System. Such report shall in15 clude—

16 ‘‘(1) an analysis of the Secretary’s progress in

17 meeting its statutory and contractual obligation to

18 accept title to, possession of, and delivery of spent

19 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste begin20 ning no later than November 30, 1999, and in ac21 cordance with the acceptance schedule;

22 ‘‘(2) a detailed schedule and timeline showing

23 each action that the Secretary intends to take to

24 meet the Secretary’s obligation under this Act and

25 the contracts;
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1 ‘‘(3) a detailed description of the Secretary’s

2 contingency plans in the event that the Secretary is

3 unable to meet the planned schedule and timeline;

4 and

5 ‘‘(4) an analysis by the Secretary of its funding

6 needs for fiscal years 1996 through 2001.

7 ‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—On each anniversary of the

8 submittal of the report required by subsection (a), the Sec9 retary shall make annual reports to the Congress for the

10 purpose of updating the information contained in such re11 port. The annul reports shall be brief and shall notify the

12 Congress of—

13 ‘‘(1) any modifications to the Secretary’s sched14 ule and timeline for meeting its obligations under

15 this Act;

16 ‘‘(2) the reasons for such modifications, and the

17 status of the implementation of any of the Sec18 retary’s contingency plans; and

19 ‘‘(3) the Secretary’s analysis of its funding

20 needs for the ensuing 5 fiscal years.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 703. EFFECTIVE DATE.

2 ‘‘This Act shall become effective one day after enact3 ment.’’.

Passed the Senate July 31, 1996.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1936

AN ACT

To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.