I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3136 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for the interim 

storage of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 5, 2019 

Ms. MATSUI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish a program 

for the interim storage of high-level radioactive waste 

and spent nuclear fuel, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Storage and Transpor5 tation Of Residual and Excess Nuclear Fuel Act of 2019’’, 

6 or the ‘‘STORE Nuclear Fuel Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. INTERIM STORAGE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Nuclear Waste Pol3 icy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10121 et seq.) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘Subtitle I—Interim Storage 

6 ‘‘SEC. 190. DEFINITIONS. 

7 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

8 ‘‘(1) CONTRACT HOLDER.—The term ‘contract 

9 holder’ means any person who— 

10 ‘‘(A) generates or holds title to spent nu11 clear fuel and high-level radioactive waste gen12 erated at a civilian nuclear power reactor; and 

13 ‘‘(B) has entered into a contract for the 

14 disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level ra15 dioactive waste under section 302(a). 

16 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY DELIVERY.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘emergency 

18 delivery’ means spent nuclear fuel and high19 level radioactive waste accepted by the Sec20 retary for storage prior to the date provided in 

21 the contractual delivery commitment schedule of 

22 the standard contract for disposal of spent nu23 clear fuel and radioactive waste pursuant to 

24 section 302(a). 

25 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘emergency 

26 delivery’ may include, at the discretion of the 


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1 Secretary, spent nuclear fuel and high-level ra2 dioactive waste generated by an atomic energy 

3 defense activity that is required to be removed 

4 from a Department of Energy facility— 

5 ‘‘(i) pursuant to a compliance agree6 ment; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) to eliminate an imminent and se8 rious threat to the health and safety of the 

9 public or the common defense and security. 

10 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY WASTE.—The term ‘priority 

11 waste’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) any emergency delivery; and 

13 ‘‘(B) spent nuclear fuel or high-level radio14 active waste from a civilian nuclear power reac15 tor that has been permanently shut down. 

16 ‘‘(4) STORAGE FACILITY.—The term ‘storage 

17 facility’ means a facility for the consolidated storage 

18 of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste 

19 from multiple contract holders or the Secretary 

20 pending the disposal of the spent nuclear fuel and 

21 high-level radioactive waste in a repository. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 191. PROGRAM FOR STORAGE FACILITIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

24 shall establish a program under which the Secretary 

25 may— 


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1 ‘‘(1) site, construct, and operate one or more 

2 storage facilities licensed by the Commission under 

3 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; and 

4 ‘‘(2) store, pursuant to a storage contract, high5 level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel at a 

6 storage facility for which a non-Federal entity holds 

7 a license issued by the Commission under such Act. 

8 ‘‘(b) INTERIM STORAGE AGREEMENTS AUTHOR9 IZED.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

11 into an agreement with any contract holder for ac12 ceptance of title pursuant to section 302(a), subse13 quent transportation, and interim storage of high14 level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel (includ15 ing to expedite such acceptance of title, transpor16 tation, and storage of such waste or spent fuel from 

17 facilities that have ceased commercial operation) at 

18 a storage facility under this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY WASTE.—In entering into agree20 ments under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

21 prioritize acceptance of priority waste. 

22 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), the Secretary shall prioritize storage au25 thorized under subsection (a)(2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—Paragraph (1) 

3 shall not apply if the Secretary determines that 

4 it will be faster and less expensive to site, con5 struct, and operate a facility authorized under 

6 subsection (a)(1), in comparison with a facility 

7 authorized under subsection (a)(2). 

8 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 30 

9 days after the Secretary makes a determination 

10 described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

11 shall submit to Congress written notification of 

12 such determination. 

13 ‘‘(d) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

15 after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the Sec16 retary shall issue a request for proposals for storage 

17 authorized under subsection (a)(2)— 

18 ‘‘(A) to obtain any license from the Com19 mission and any other Federal or State entity 

20 that is necessary for the construction of one or 

21 more storage facilities; 

22 ‘‘(B) to safely transport spent nuclear fuel 

23 and high-level radioactive waste, as applicable, 

24 to such storage facilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) to safely store spent nuclear fuel and 

2 high-level radioactive waste, as applicable, at 

3 such storage facilities, pending the construction 

4 and operation of a repository. 

5 ‘‘(2) GUIDELINES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The request for pro7 posals under paragraph (1) shall include gen8 eral guidelines for storage facilities consistent 

9 with each requirement of section 112(a) that 

10 the Secretary determines to be applicable to 

11 storage under this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) REVISIONS.—The Secretary may re13 vise the general guidelines as necessary, con14 sistent with this section. 

15 ‘‘(e) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—The Secretary shall 

16 review each proposal submitted pursuant to subsection (d) 

17 to evaluate— 

18 ‘‘(1) the extent to which the applicable States, 

19 affected units of local government, and affected In20 dian tribes support the proposal; 

21 ‘‘(2) the likelihood that the proposed site for 

22 the storage facility is suitable for site evaluation 

23 under the guidelines included under subsection 

24 (d)(2); 


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1 ‘‘(3) a reasonable comparative evaluation of the 

2 proposed site and other proposed sites; 

3 ‘‘(4) the extent to which spent nuclear fuel and 

4 high-level radioactive waste are, or are planned to 

5 be, stored or disposed of within the State; 

6 ‘‘(5) the extent to which the proposal would— 

7 ‘‘(A) enhance the reliability and flexibility 

8 of the system for the disposal of spent nuclear 

9 fuel and high-level radioactive waste, including 

10 co-location with a proposed repository; and 

11 ‘‘(B) minimize the effects on the public of 

12 transportation and handling of spent nuclear 

13 fuel and high-level radioactive waste; 

14 ‘‘(6) potential conflicts with— 

15 ‘‘(A) any compliance agreement requiring 

16 removal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level ra17 dioactive waste from a site; or 

18 ‘‘(B) a statutory prohibition on the storage 

19 or disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 

20 radioactive waste at a site; and 

21 ‘‘(7) any other criteria, including criteria relat22 ing to technical or safety specifications, that the 

23 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(f) SITE SELECTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DETERMINATION OF SUITABILITY.—After 

2 conducting a review under subsection (e) and any 

3 additional site investigation that the Secretary deter4 mines to be appropriate, the Secretary shall deter5 mine whether a site is suitable for site evaluation 

6 under the guidelines included under subsection 

7 (d)(2). 

8 ‘‘(2) SELECTION OF SITE FOR EVALUATION.— 

9 From the sites determined to be suitable for site 

10 evaluation under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

11 select at least 1 site for site evaluation, giving pri12 ority to sites that have been proposed to be co-lo13 cated with a repository, after— 

14 ‘‘(A) holding a public hearing in the vicin15 ity of each site; and 

16 ‘‘(B) notifying Congress. 

17 ‘‘(3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—On selection 

18 of a site for evaluation under paragraph (2), the 

19 Secretary may enter into a cooperative agreement 

20 with the State, affected units of local government, 

21 and affected Indian tribes, as applicable, that in22 cludes— 

23 ‘‘(A) terms of financial and technical as24 sistance to enable each applicable unit of gov25 ernment to monitor, review, evaluate, comment 


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1 on, obtain information on, make recommenda2 tions on, and mitigate any effects from, site 

3 evaluation activities; and 

4 ‘‘(B) any other term that the Secretary de5 termines to be appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(4) CONSENT-BASED APPROVAL.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter8 mines, based on site evaluation under this sub9 section, that a site is suitable for developing a 

10 storage facility, the Secretary may select the 

11 site for developing such a facility if the Sec12 retary enters into a consent agreement with— 

13 ‘‘(i) the State in which the site is pro14 posed to be located; 

15 ‘‘(ii) each affected unit of local gov16 ernment; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) any affected Indian tribe. 

18 ‘‘(B) BINDING EFFECT.—A consent agree19 ment entered into under subparagraph (A)— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall be binding on the parties; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall not be amended or revoked 

23 except by mutual agreement of the par24 ties.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents for the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 

3 10101 note) is amended by adding after the item relating 

4 to section 180 the following: 

‘‘SUBTITLE I—INTERIM STORAGE 

‘‘Sec. 190. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 191. Program for storage facilities.’’. 

5 SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON COLLECTION OF FEES. 

6 Section 302(a)(4) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 

7 of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)(4)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘(4) Not 

9 later than’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) COLLECTION AND PAYMENT OF FEES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON COLLECTION.—The 

14 Secretary may not collect a fee established 

15 under paragraph (2), including a fee established 

16 under paragraph (2) and adjusted pursuant to 

17 subparagraph (A), until the date on which the 

18 Commission issues a final decision approving or 

19 disapproving the issuance of a construction au20 thorization for a repository under section 

21 114(d).’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. FUNDING. 

2 Section 302(d) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 

3 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

5 inserting a semicolon; 

6 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(7) carrying out subtitle I of title I, other than 

11 consent agreements under section 191(f)(4), except 

12 that the Secretary may not expend for such purpose 

13 in a fiscal year amounts totaling more than 25 per14 cent of the interest generated by the Fund in such 

15 fiscal year; and 

16 ‘‘(8) consent agreements under section 

17 191(f)(4).’’. 

Æ 


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