I 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 526

To redirect the Nuclear Waste Fund established under the Nuclear Waste 

Policy Act of 1982 into research, development, and utilization of riskdecreasing technologies for the onsite storage and eventual reduction 

of radiation levels of nuclear waste, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 2, 2005

Ms. BERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on 

Science and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To redirect the Nuclear Waste Fund established under the 

Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 into research, development, and utilization of risk-decreasing technologies for 

the onsite storage and eventual reduction of radiation 

levels of nuclear waste, 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 ‘‘21st Century Science 

5 for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 

4 1982, the storage of high-level radioactive waste, 

5 transuranic waste, and spent nuclear fuel is to be lo6 cated at a central repository. 

7 (2) The Department of Energy estimates that 

8 completing the Yucca Mountain central repository 

9 project will cost $58,000,000,000, making the 

10 project one of the most costly public works projects 

11 in the world. 

12 (3) Numerous geological and hydrological condi13 tions found at Yucca Mountain support the conten14 tion that Yucca Mountain is not a suitable site for 

15 a central repository. 

16 (4) Public health and safety regulations have 

17 consistently been altered in order to make Yucca 

18 Mountain appear to be a feasible option. 

19 (5) Storing high-level radioactive waste in a 

20 central repository at Yucca Mountain would require 

21 the transportation of more than 70,000 tons of nu22 clear waste through 43 States, and through hun23 dreds of cities and towns. Fifty million Americans 

24 live within one half mile of the shipping routes, cre25 ating an unacceptable risk of catastrophic radiation 

26 exposure. 
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1 (6) Storage of high level nuclear waste at a cen2 tral repository will do virtually nothing to reduce the 

3 volume of high level waste at nuclear power plants. 

4 The estimated 43,500 metric tons of high level waste 

5 at these plants would be reduced to only 42,500 

6 metric tons during the projected 38 years from 

7 opening to closing of a central repository, with no 

8 plan in place to improve the efficacy of on-site stor9 age facilities located across the Nation. 

10 (7) Current nuclear power reactor sites can 

11 safely store high-level radioactive waste for another 

12 100 years (according to the Nuclear Regulatory 

13 Commission). By implementing the most advanced 

14 existing technology, nuclear power reactor sites 

15 could store waste for an additional 100 years, thus 

16 eliminating the need to immediately site a central re17 pository. 

18 (8) The United States can create solutions to 

19 the long-term problems of storing high-level radio20 active waste by exploring emerging technologies with 

21 the potential to neutralize highly radioactive waste. 

22 (9) The research, development, and utilization 

23 in the United States of risk-decreasing technologies 

24 for the safe disposal of nuclear waste is not only fea-
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1 sible, but it is our best alternative to storing high2 level nuclear waste at a central repository. 

3 (10) The Nuclear Waste Fund has accumulated 

4 more than $10,000,000,000 to store high-level nu5 clear radioactive waste in a central repository, a 

6 failed concept. Given the scientific evidence against 

7 the Yucca Mountain site, and the health and safety 

8 problems inherent in the concept of a central high9 level radioactive waste repository, the Nuclear Waste 

10 Fund should be directed toward the research, devel11 opment, and utilization of these alternative waste 

12 storage and disposal technologies to better protect 

13 our environment. 

14 (11) The insurmountable problems associated 

15 with storing nuclear waste in a central repository re16 quires the Congress to terminate the Yucca Moun17 tain Project and to immediately launch a focused re18 search and development program to develop safe nu19 clear waste disposal technologies. 

20 SEC. 3. NUCLEAR WASTE FUND. 

21 Section 302 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 

22 (42 U.S.C. 10222) is amended—

23 (1) in subsection (a)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘CONTRACTS.—(1) In the’’ 

25 and all that follows through ‘‘described in sub-
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1 section (d).’’ and inserting ‘‘PAYMENTS.—(1) 

2 The Secretary shall provide for payments into 

3 the Nuclear Waste Fund of fees pursuant to 

4 paragraph (2) for use as provided in this sec5 tion.’’; 

6 (B) by striking paragraphs (3), (5), and 

7 (6) and redesignating paragraph (4) as para8 graph (3); and 

9 (C) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated 

10 by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph—

11 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2) and 

12 (3) above’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; 

13 (ii) by striking ‘‘offset the costs as de14 fined in subsection (d) herein’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘support the uses described in sub16 section (c)’’; 

17 (iii) by striking ‘‘recover the costs in18 curred’’ and all that follows through ‘‘full 

19 cost recovery.’’ and inserting ‘‘support the 

20 uses described in subsection (c), the Sec21 retary shall propose an adjustment to the 

22 fee to fully support those uses. The Sec23 retary shall also annually adjust the fee for 

24 inflation.’’; and 
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1 (iv) by striking ‘‘this proposal for 

2 such an adjustment to Congress’’ and all 

3 that follows through ‘‘the Energy Policy 

4 and Conservation Act’’ and inserting ‘‘pro5 posals for fee adjustment to Congress’’; 

6 (2) by striking subsections (b) and (d); 

7 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (e) as 

8 subsections (b) and (d), respectively; 

9 (4) in subsection (b), as so redesignated by 

10 paragraph (3) of this section—

11 (A) by striking ‘‘, (b), and (e)’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘and (d)’’ in paragraph (1); 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end to para14 graph (1); 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of para16 graph (2) and inserting a period; and 

17 (D) by striking paragraph (3); 

18 (5) by inserting after subsection (b), as so re19 designated by paragraph (3) of this section, the fol20 lowing new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(c) USES OF NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.—The Nu22 clear Waste Fund shall be available to the Secretary only 

23 to pay the cost of research, development, and utilization 

24 in the United States of risk-decreasing technologies, with 

25 an emphasis on technologies that—
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1 ‘‘(1) increase the length of time that nuclear 

2 waste can be safely stored at or near—

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of waste existing on the 

4 date of enactment of the 21st Century Science 

5 for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act, the site where 

6 the waste was located on such date of enact7 ment; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of waste not existing on 

9 the date of enactment of the 21st Century 

10 Science for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act, the 

11 site where the waste is generated; 

12 ‘‘(2) require the least amount of transportation 

13 of nuclear waste practicable; and 

14 ‘‘(3) reduce the level of radiation of the nuclear 

15 waste. 

16 The Government shall not use any funds for research, de17 velopment, or implementation of a central high-level radio18 active waste and spent nuclear fuel repository.’’; and 

19 (6) in subsection (d), as so redesignated by 

20 paragraph (3) of this section, by striking ‘‘sub21 section (d)’’ in paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘sub22 section (c)’’. 

23 SEC. 4. REPEALS AND REDESIGNATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 

25 1982 is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating section 151 as section 10 

2 and moving it to appear after section 9, and by re3 pealing the remainder of title I; 

4 (2) by repealing title II; 

5 (3) by redesignating sections 302 and 306 as 

6 sections 11 and 12, respectively, and moving them to 

7 appear after section 10, and by repealing the re8 mainder of title III; 

9 (4) by repealing title IV; and 

10 (5) by repealing title V. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Nuclear 

12 Waste Policy Act of 1982 is amended—

13 (1) in section 2—

14 (A) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), (4), 

15 (5), (8), (10), (11), (13), (14), (15), (17), (19), 

16 (21), (22), (25), (26), (27), (28), (30), (31), 

17 (32), (33), and (34); 

18 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (6), 

19 (7), (9), (12), (16), (18), (20), (23), (24), and 

20 (29) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), 

21 (7), (10), (11), (12), and (13) respectively; and 

22 (C) by inserting after paragraph (7), as so 

23 redesignated by subparagraph (B) of this para24 graph, the following new paragraphs: 
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1 ‘‘(8) RESEARCH.—The term ‘research’ includes 

2 both basic and applied research. 

3 ‘‘(9) RISK-DECREASING TECHNOLOGIES.—The 

4 term ‘risk-decreasing technologies’ means tech5 nologies that reduce the adverse impact nuclear 

6 waste has on human and ecological health and well7 being through reduction in radiation levels and other 

8 methods.’’; and 

9 (2) in section 8— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in11 serting ‘‘subsection (b)’’ in subsection (a); 

12 (B) by striking subsection (b); and 

13 (C) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub14 section (b). 

15 (c) TABLE OF CONTENTS AMENDMENTS.—The items 

16 in the table of contents of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 

17 of 1982 relating to titles I through V are repealed, and 

18 the following items are inserted after the item relating to 

19 section 9: 

‘‘Sec. 10. Financial arrangements for site closure. 

‘‘Sec. 11. Nuclear Waste Fund. 

‘‘Sec. 12. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authorization.’’. 

20 SEC. 5. REPEAL OF SPECIAL RULES FOR NUCLEAR DECOM21 MISSIONING COSTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 468A of the Internal Rev23 enue Code of 1986 is hereby repealed. 

24 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
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1 (1) Subparagraph (B) of section 172(f)(1) of 

2 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘or 468A(a)’’. 

3 (2) The table of sections for subpart C of part 

4 II of subchapter E of chapter 1 of such Code is 

5 amended by striking the item relating to section 

6 468A. 

7 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act.

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