I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5360 

To enhance the management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and highlevel radioactive waste, to assure protection of public health and safety, 

to ensure the territorial integrity and security of the repository at Yucca 

Mountain, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2006 

Mr. BARTON of Texas (by request): introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 

the Committees on Resources, Transportation and Infrastructure, and 

Armed Services, 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 enhance the management and disposal of spent nuclear 

fuel and high-level radioactive waste, to assure protection 

of public health and safety, to ensure the territorial 

integrity and security of the repository at Yucca Mountain, 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 ‘‘Nuclear Fuel Manage5 ment and Disposal Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1982 DEFINI3 TIONS.—For purposes of this Act: 

4 (1) ‘‘Commission’’, 

5 (2) ‘‘disposal’’, 

6 (3) ‘‘Federal agency’’, 

7 (4) ‘‘high-level radioactive waste’’, 

8 (5) ‘‘repository’’, 

9 (6) ‘‘Secretary’’, 

10 (7) ‘‘State’’, 

11 (8) ‘‘spent nuclear fuel’’, and 

12 (9) ‘‘Yucca Mountain site’’, 

13 have the meaning given those terms in section 2 of the 

14 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101). 

15 (b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

16 Act— 

17 (1) ‘‘Withdrawal’’ means the geographic area 

18 consisting of the land described in section 3(c); 

19 (2) ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means the Secretary 

20 of the Air Force or the Secretary of the Interior, or 

21 both, as appropriate; and 

22 (3) ‘‘Project’’ means the Yucca Mountain 

23 Project. 

24 SEC. 3. LAND WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION. 

25 (a) LAND WITHDRAWAL, JURISDICTION, AND RES26 ERVATION.— 


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1 (1) LAND WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid ex2 isting rights, and except as provided otherwise in 

3 this Act, the lands described in subsection (c) are 

4 withdrawn permanently from all forms of entry, ap5 propriation, and disposal under the public land laws, 

6 including without limitation the mineral leasing 

7 laws, the geothermal leasing laws, and the mining 

8 laws. 

9 (2) JURISDICTION.—Except as otherwise pro10 vided in this Act, jurisdiction over the Withdrawal is 

11 vested in the Secretary. These are transferred to the 

12 Secretary the lands within the Withdrawal under the 

13 jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned on the date 

14 of enactment of this Act. 

15 (3) RESERVATION.—The Withdrawal is re16 served for use by the Secretary for the development, 

17 preconstruction testing and performance confirma18 tion, licensing, construction, management and oper19 ation, monitoring, closure, post-closure, and other 

20 activities associated with the disposal of high-level 

21 radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel under the 

22 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 

23 et seq.). 

24 (b) REVOCATION AND MODIFICATION OF PUBLIC

25 LAND ORDERS AND RIGHTS OF WAY.— 


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1 (1) PUBLIC LAND ORDER REVOCATION.—Public 

2 Land Order 6802 of September 25, 1990, as ex3 tended by Public Land Order 7534, and any condi4 tions or memoranda of understanding accompanying 

5 those land orders, are revoked. 

6 (2) RIGHT OF WAY RESERVATIONS.—Project 

7 right-of-way reservations N–48602 and N–47748 of 

8 January 5, 2001, are revoked. 

9 (c) LAND DESCRIPTION.— 

10 (1) BOUNDARIES.—The lands and interests in 

11 lands withdrawn and reserved by this Act comprise 

12 the approximately 147,000 acres of land in Nye 

13 County, Nevada , as generally depicted on the Yucca 

14 Mountain Project Map, YMP–03–024.2, entitled 

15 ‘‘Proposed Land Withdrawal’’ and dated July 21, 

16 2005. 

17 (2) LEGAL DESCRIPTION AND MAP.—As soon as 

18 practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

19 the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

20 (A) publish in the Federal Register a no21 tice containing a legal description of the With22 drawal; and 

23 (B) file copies of the maps described in 

24 paragraph (1) and the legal description of the 

25 Withdrawal with the Congress, the Governor of 


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1 the State of Nevada, and the Archivist of the 

2 United States. 

3 (3) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—The maps and 

4 legal descriptions referred to in this subsection have 

5 the same force and effect as if they were included 

6 in this Act. The Secretary of the Interior may cor7 rect clerical and typographical errors in the maps 

8 and legal description. 

9 (d) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER RESERVATIONS.—The 

10 provisions of subtitle A of title XXX of the Military Lands 

11 Withdrawal Act of 1999 (sections 3011–3023 of Public 

12 Law No. 106–65) and of Public Land Order 2568 do not 

13 apply to the lands withdrawn and reserved by subsection 

14 (a). This Act does not apply to any other lands withdrawn 

15 for use by the Department of Defense under subtitle A 

16 of title XXX of the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 

17 1999. 

18 (e) MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

19 (1) GENERAL AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 

20 manage the lands withdrawn by subsection (a) con21 sistent with the Federal Land Policy and Manage22 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), this Act, 

23 and other applicable law. The Secretary shall consult 

24 with the Secretary concerned in discharging that re25 sponsibility. 


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1 (2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

2 (A) DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary, after 

3 consulting with the Secretary concerned, shall 

4 develop a management plan for the use of the 

5 Withdrawal. Within 3 years after the date of 

6 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub7 mit the management plan to the Congress and 

8 the State of Nevada. 

9 (B) PRIORITY OF YUCCA MOUNTAIN

10 PROJECT-RELATED ISSUES.—Subject to sub11 paragraphs (C), (D), and (E), any use of the 

12 Withdrawal for activities not associated with 

13 the Project is subject to conditions and restric14 tions that the Secretary considers necessary or 

15 desirable to permit the conduct of Project-re16 lated activities. 

17 (C) DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE

18 USES.—The management plan may provide for 

19 the continued use by the Department of The 

20 Air Force of the portion of the Withdrawal 

21 within the Nellis Air Force Base Test and 

22 Training Range under terms and conditions on 

23 which the Secretary and the Secretary of the 

24 Air Force agree concerning Air Force activities. 


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1 (D) NEVADA TEST SITES.—The Secretary 

2 may allow the National Nuclear Security Ad3 ministration to continue to use the portion of 

4 the Withdrawal on the Nevada Test Site and 

5 may impose any conditions on that use that the 

6 Secretary considers necessary to minimize any 

7 effect on either Project or Administration ac8 tivities. 

9 (E) OTHER NON-YUCCA MOUNTAIN

10 PROJECT USES.—The management plan shall 

11 provide for the maintenance of wildlife habitat 

12 and shall provide that the Secretary may permit 

13 non-Project-related uses that the Secretary con14 siders appropriate, including domestic livestock 

15 grazing and hunting and trapping in accord16 ance with the following requirements: 

17 (i) GRAZING.—The Secretary may 

18 permit grazing to continue where estab19 lished before the date of enactment of this 

20 Act, subject to regulations, policies, and 

21 practices that the Secretary, after con22 sulting with the Secretary of the Interior, 

23 determines to be necessary or appropriate. 

24 The management of grazing shall be conVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:13 May 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5360.IH H5360

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1 ducted in accordance with applicable graz2 ing laws and policies, including— 

3 (I) the Act commonly known as 

4 the ‘‘Taylor Grazing Act’’ (43 U.S.C. 

5 315 et seq.); 

6 (II) title IV of the Federal Land 

7 Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 

8 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and 

9 (III) the Public Rangelands Im10 provement Act of 1978 (43 U.S.C. 

11 1901 et seq.). 

12 (ii) HUNTING AND TRAPPING.—The 

13 Secretary may permit hunting and trap14 ping within the Withdrawal where estab15 lished before the date of enactment of this 

16 Act, except that the Secretary, after con17 sulting with the Secretary of the Interior 

18 and State of Nevada, may designate zones 

19 where, and establish periods when, no 

20 hunting or trapping is permitted for rea21 sons of public safety, national security, ad22 ministration, or public use and enjoyment. 

23 (F) MINING.— 

24 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

25 in subparagraph (B), surface or subsurface 


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1 mining or oil or gas production, including 

2 slant drilling from outside the boundaries 

3 of the Withdrawal, is not permitted at any 

4 time on lands on or under the Withdrawal. 

5 The Secretary of the Interior shall evaluate 

6 and adjudicate the validity of all mining 

7 claims on the portion of the Withdrawal 

8 that, on the date of enactment of this Act, 

9 was under the control of the Bureau of 

10 Land Management. The Secretary shall 

11 provide just compensation for the acquisi12 tion of any valid property right. 

13 (ii) CIND-R-LITE MINE.—Patented 

14 Mining Claim No. 27–83–0002, covering 

15 the Cind-R-Lite mine, shall not be affected 

16 by establishment of the Withdrawal, unless 

17 the Secretary, after consulting with the 

18 Secretary of the Interior, determines that 

19 the mine’s acquisition is required in fur20 therance of the reserved use of the With21 drawal set forth in subsection (a)(3). In 

22 that event, the Secretary shall provide just 

23 compensation. 

24 (G) LIMITED PUBLIC ACCESS.—The man25 agement plan may provide for limited public acVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:13 May 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5360.IH H5360

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1 cess to the portion of the Withdrawal under 

2 Bureau of Land Management control on the 

3 date of enactment of this Act. Permitted uses 

4 may include continuation of the Nye County 

5 Early Warning Drilling Program, utility cor6 ridors, and other uses the Secretary, after con7 sulting with the Secretary of the Interior, con8 siders consistent with the purposes of the With9 drawal. 

10 (3) CLOSURE.—If the Secretary, after con11 sulting with the Secretary concerned, determines 

12 that the health and safety of the public or the com13 mon defense and security require the closure of a 

14 road, trail, or other portion of the Withdrawal, or 

15 the airspace above the Withdrawal, the Secretary 

16 may effect and maintain the closure and shall pro17 vide notice of the closure. 

18 (4) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary and the 

19 Secretary concerned shall implement the manage20 ment plan developed under paragraph (2) under 

21 terms and conditions on which they agree. 

22 (f) IMMUNITY.—The United States and its depart23 ments and agencies shall be held harmless and shall not 

24 be liable for damages to persons or property suffered in 


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1 the course of any mining, mineral leasing, or geothermal 

2 leasing activity conducted on the Withdrawal. 

3 (g) LAND ACQUISITION.—The Secretary may acquire 

4 lands and interests in lands within the Withdrawal. Those 

5 lands and interests in lands may be acquired by donation, 

6 purchase, lease, exchange, easement, rights-of-way, or 

7 other appropriate methods using donated or appropriated 

8 funds. The Secretary of the Interior shall conduct any ex9 change of lands within the Withdrawal for Federal lands 

10 outside the Withdrawal. 

11 SEC. 4. APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

12 ACTIVITIES. 

13 (a) APPLICATION.—Section 114(b) of the Nuclear 

14 Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10134 (b)) is amend15 ed by adding the following sentence after ‘‘such applica16 tion.’’: ‘‘An application for construction authorization need 

17 not contain information on surface facilities other than 

18 surface facilities necessary for initial operation of the re19 pository.’’ 

20 (b) APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND INFRASTRUC21 TURE ACTIVITIES.—Section 114(d) of the Nuclear Waste 

22 Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10134(d)) is amended by— 

23 (1) inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘ACTION.—’’; 

24 (2) striking the last two sentences; and 


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1 (3) inserting the following new paragraphs (2) 

2 and (3) after paragraph (1) as designated and 

3 amended in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this sub4 section: 

5 ‘‘(2) If the Commission approves an application for 

6 construction authorization and the Secretary submits an 

7 application to amend the authorization to obtain permis8 sion to receive and possess spent nuclear fuel and high9 level radioactive waste, or to undertake any other action 

10 concerning the repository, the Commission shall consider 

11 the application using expedited, informal procedures, in12 cluding discovery procedures that minimize the burden on 

13 the parties to produce documents that the Commission 

14 does not need to render a decision on an action under this 

15 section. The Commission shall issue a final decision on 

16 whether to grant permission to receive and possess, or on 

17 any other application, within one year of submission of 

18 the application, except that the Commission may extend 

19 that deadline by not more than six months if, not less than 

20 30 days before the deadline, the Commission complies with 

21 the reporting requirements of subsection (e)(2). 

22 ‘‘(A) At any time before or after the Commission 

23 issues a final decision on an application from the Sec24 retary for construction authorization under this sub25 section, the Secretary may undertake infrastructure activiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:13 May 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5360.IH H5360

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1 ties that the Secretary deems are necessary or appropriate 

2 to support construction or operation of a repository at the 

3 Yucca Mountain site or transportation to such site of 

4 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Infra5 structure activities include, but are not limited to, safety 

6 upgrades; site preparation; the construction of a rail line 

7 connect the Yucca Mountain site with the national rail 

8 network, including any facilities to facilitate rail oper9 ations; and construction, upgrade, acquisition, or oper10 ation of electrical grids or facilities, other utilities, commu11 nication facilities, access roads, rail lines, and non-nuclear 

12 support facilities. 

13 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall comply with all applicable 

14 requirements under the National Environmental Policy 

15 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to an 

16 infrastructure activity undertaken under this paragraph. 

17 If the Secretary determines that an environmental impact 

18 statement is required in connection with an infrastructure 

19 activity undertaken under this paragraph, the Secretary 

20 need not consider the need for the action, alternative ac21 tions, or a no-action alternative. To the extent a Federal 

22 agency must consider the potential environmental impact 

23 of an infrastructure activity undertaken under this para24 graph, the agency shall adopt, to the extent practicable, 

25 an environmental impact statement prepared under this 


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1 paragraph without further action. Adoption satisfies the 

2 responsibilities of the adopting agency under the National 

3 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

4 seq.), and no further action is required by the agency. 

5 ‘‘(C) The Commission may not deny construction au6 thorization, permission to receive and possess spent nu7 clear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, or any other 

8 action concerning the repository on the grounds that the 

9 Secretary undertook an infrastructure activity under this 

10 paragraph.’’. 

11 (c) CONNECTED ACTIONS.—Section 114(f)(6) of the 

12 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 

13 10134(f)(6)) is amended by striking ‘‘or’’ and inserting 

14 before the period ‘‘, or an action connected or otherwise 

15 related to the repository to the extent the action is under16 taken outside the geologic repository operations area and 

17 does not require and license from the Commission’’. 

18 (d) EXPEDITED AUTHORIZATIONS.—Section 120 of 

19 the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10140) 

20 is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)(1) by inserting ‘‘or an in22 frastructure activity’’ after ‘‘repository’’, by insert23 ing ‘‘, State, local, or Indian tribe’’, after ‘‘Federal’’ 

24 both places it appears, and by striking ‘‘reposiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:13 May 16, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5360.IH H5360

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1 tories’’ and inserting ‘‘a repository or infrastructure 

2 activity’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b) by striking ‘‘, and may in4 clude terms and conditions permitted by law’’; and 

5 (3) by adding after subsection (b) the following 

6 new subsections (c) and (d): 

7 ‘‘(c) An agency or officer that fails to grant author8 ization within one year of receiving an application or re9 quest from the Secretary subject to subsection (a) shall 

10 submit a written report to Congress explaining the reason 

11 for not meeting this deadline or rejecting the application 

12 or request. 

13 ‘‘(d) For purposes of applying any Federal, State, 

14 local, or Tribal law or requirement, the taking of an action 

15 related to a repository or an infrastructure activity is con16 sidered to be beneficial and not detrimental to the public 

17 interest and interstate commerce and consistent with the 

18 public convenience and necessity.’’. 

19 SEC. 5. NUCLEAR WASTE FUND. 

20 (a) CREDITING FEES.—Beginning on October 1, 

21 2007, and continuing through the end of the fiscal year 

22 when construction is complete for surface facilities for the 

23 fully operational repository as described in the license ap24 plication and for the Nevada rail line, fees collected by 

25 the Secretary and deposited in the Nuclear Waste Fund 


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1 under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 

2 10101 et seq.) shall be credited to the Nuclear Waste 

3 Fund as discretionary offsetting collections each year in 

4 amounts not to exceed the amounts appropriated from the 

5 Nuclear Waste Fund for that year. 

6 (b) FUND USES.—Section 302 (d)(4) of the Nuclear 

7 Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(d)(4)) is 

8 amended by inserting ‘‘infrastructure activities that the 

9 Secretary deems are necessary or appropriate to support 

10 construction or operation of a repository at the Yucca 

11 Mountain site or transportation to such site of spent nu12 clear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, and’’ after 

13 ‘‘with’’. 

14 SEC. 6. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS. 

15 (a) MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS.—Notwithstanding 

16 any other law, no Federal, State, interstate, or local re17 quirement, either substantive or procedural, that is re18 ferred to in section 6001(a) of the Solid Waste Disposal 

19 Act (42 U.S.C. 6961(a)), applies to— 

20 (1) any material owned by the Secretary if the 

21 material is transported or stored in a package, cask, 

22 or other container that the Commission has certified 

23 for transportation or storage of that type of mate24 rial; or 


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1 (2) any material located at the Yucca Mountain 

2 site for the disposal if the management and disposal 

3 of the material is subject to a license issued by the 

4 Commission. 

5 (b) PERMITS.—The Administrator of the Environ6 mental Protection Agency shall be the permitting agency 

7 for purposes of issuing, administering, or enforcing any 

8 new or existing air quality permit or requirement applica9 ble to a Federal facility or activity subject to the require10 ments of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 

11 10101 et seq.). A State or unit of local government shall 

12 not issue, administer, or enforce a new or existing air qual13 ity permit or requirement affecting a Federal facility or 

14 activity in the Withdrawal and subject to the requirements 

15 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. 

16 SEC. 7. TRANSPORTATION. 

17 The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 

18 10101 et seq.) is amended by inserting the following new 

19 section after section 180: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 181. (a) The Secretary is authorized to deter21 mine the extent to which any transportation done in car22 rying out the Secretary’s functions under this Act that is 

23 regulated under the Hazardous Materials Transportation 

24 Authorization Act of 1994 shall instead be regulated ex25 clusively under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 


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1 ‘‘(b) On request by the Secretary, the Secretary of 

2 Transportation is authorized to determine pursuant to 

3 section 5125 of title 49, United States Code, that any re4 quirement of a State, political subdivision of a State, or 

5 Indian tribe regarding transportation done by or on behalf 

6 of the Secretary in carrying out this Act is preempted, 

7 irrespective of whether the transportation otherwise is or 

8 would be subject to regulation under the Hazardous Mate9 rials Transportation Authorization Act of 1994.’’. 

10 SEC. 8. WATER RIGHTS. 

11 Section 124 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 

12 (42 U.S.C. 10144) is amended by inserting ‘‘(a) WATER

13 RIGHTS ACQUISITION EFFECT.—’’ after the section num14 ber and by adding the following new subsection (b): 

15 ‘‘(b) BENEFICIAL USE OF WATER.—Notwithstanding 

16 any other Federal, State, or local law, the use of water 

17 from any source in quantities sufficient to accomplish the 

18 purposes of this Act to carry out Department functions 

19 under this Act is declared to be a use that is beneficial 

20 to interstate commerce and that does not threaten to prove 

21 detrimental to the public interest. A State shall not enact 

22 or apply a law that discriminates against this use. The 

23 Secretary, through purchase or otherwise, may obtain 

24 water rights necessary to carry out Department functions 

25 under this Act.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. WASTE CONFIDENCE. 

2 Notwithstanding any other law, in deciding whether 

3 to permit the construction or operation of a nuclear reac4 tor or any related facilities, the Commission shall deem, 

5 without further consideration, that sufficient capacity will 

6 be available in a timely manner to dispose of the spent 

7 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste resulting 

8 from the operation of the reactor and any related facilities. 

Æ 


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