I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4627

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 

JUNE 21, 2004

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 of 2004’’. 
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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) Current nuclear power reactor sites can 

2 safely store high-level radioactive waste for another 

3 100 years (according to the Nuclear Regulatory 

4 Commission). By implementing the most advanced 

5 existing technology, nuclear power reactor sites 

6 could store waste for an additional 100 years, thus 

7 eliminating the need to immediately site a central re8 pository. 

9 (7) The United States can create solutions to 

10 the long-term problems of storing high-level radio11 active waste by exploring emerging technologies with 

12 the potential to neutralize highly radioactive waste. 

13 (8) The research, development, and utilization 

14 in the United States of risk-decreasing technologies 

15 for the safe disposal of nuclear waste is not only fea16 sible, but it is our best alternative to storing high17 level nuclear waste at a central repository. 

18 (9) The Nuclear Waste Fund has accumulated 

19 more than $10,000,000,000 to store high-level nu20 clear radioactive waste in a central repository, a 

21 failed concept. Given the scientific evidence against 

22 the Yucca Mountain site, and the health and safety 

23 problems inherent in the concept of a central high24 level radioactive waste repository, the Nuclear Waste 

25 Fund should be directed toward the research, devel-
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1 opment, and utilization of these alternative waste 

2 storage and disposal technologies to better protect 

3 our environment. 

4 (10) The insurmountable problems associated 

5 with storing nuclear waste in a central repository re6 quires the Congress to terminate the Yucca Moun7 tain Project and to immediately launch a focused re8 search and development program to develop safe nu9 clear waste disposal technologies. 

10 SEC. 3. NUCLEAR WASTE FUND. 

11 Section 302 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 

12 (42 U.S.C. 10222) is amended—

13 (1) in subsection (a)—

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

15 and all that follows through ‘‘described in sub16 section (d).’’ and inserting ‘‘PAYMENTS.—(1) 

17 The Secretary shall provide for payments into 

18 the Nuclear Waste Fund of fees pursuant to 

19 paragraph (2) for use as provided in this sec20 tion.’’; 

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

22 (6) and redesignating paragraph (4) as para23 graph (3); and 

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

25 by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph—
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1 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2) and 

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

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘offset the costs as de4 fined in subsection (d) herein’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘support the uses described in sub6 section (c)’’; 

7 (iii) by striking ‘‘recover the costs in8 curred’’ and all that follows through ‘‘full 

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

10 uses described in subsection (c), the Sec11 retary shall propose an adjustment to the 

12 fee to fully support those uses. The Sec13 retary shall also annually adjust the fee for 

14 inflation.’’; and 

15 (iv) by striking ‘‘this proposal for 

16 such an adjustment to Congress’’ and all 

17 that follows through ‘‘the Energy Policy 

18 and Conservation Act’’ and inserting ‘‘pro19 posals for fee adjustment to Congress’’; 

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

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

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

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

24 paragraph (3) of this section—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘, (b), and (e)’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘and (d)’’ in paragraph (1); 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end to para4 graph (1); 

5 (C) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of para6 graph (2) and inserting a period; and 

7 (D) by striking paragraph (3); 

8 (5) by inserting after subsection (b), as so re9 designated by paragraph (3) of this section, the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(c) USES OF NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.—The Nu12 clear Waste Fund shall be available to the Secretary only 

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

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

15 an emphasis on technologies that—

16 ‘‘(1) increase the length of time that nuclear 

17 waste can be safely stored at or near—

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

19 date of enactment of the 21st Century Science 

20 for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act of 2004, the 

21 site where the waste was located on such date 

22 of enactment; and 

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

24 the date of enactment of the 21st Century 
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1 Science for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act of 

2 2004, the site where the waste is generated; 

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

4 of nuclear waste practicable; and 

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

6 waste. 

7 The Government shall not use any funds for research, de8 velopment, or implementation of a central high-level radio9 active waste and spent nuclear fuel repository.’’; and 

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

11 paragraph (3) of this section, by striking ‘‘sub12 section (d)’’ in paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘sub13 section (c)’’. 

14 SEC. 4. REPEALS AND REDESIGNATIONS. 

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

16 1982 is amended—

17 (1) by redesignating section 151 as section 10 

18 and moving it to appear after section 9, and by re19 pealing the remainder of title I; 

20 (2) by repealing title II; 

21 (3) by redesignating sections 302 and 306 as 

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

23 appear after section 10, and by repealing the re24 mainder of title III; 

25 (4) by repealing title IV; and 
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1 (5) by repealing title V. 

2 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Nuclear 

3 Waste Policy Act of 1982 is amended—

4 (1) in section 2—

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

6 (5), (8), (10), (11), (13), (14), (15), (17), (19), 

7 (21), (22), (25), (26), (27), (28), (30), (31), 

8 (32), (33), and (34); 

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

10 (7), (9), (12), (16), (18), (20), (23), (24), and 

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

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

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

14 redesignated by subparagraph (B) of this para15 graph, the following new paragraphs: 

16 ‘‘(8) RESEARCH.—The term ‘research’ includes 

17 both basic and applied research. 

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

19 term ‘risk- decreasing technologies’ means tech20 nologies that reduce the adverse impact nuclear 

21 waste has on human and ecological health and well22 being through reduction in radiation levels and other 

23 methods.’’; and 

24 (2) in section 8—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)’’ and in2 serting ‘‘subsection (b)’’ in subsection (a); 

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

4 (C) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub5 section (b). 

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

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

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

9 the following items are inserted after the item relating to 

10 section 9:

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

‘‘Sec. 11. Nuclear Waste Fund. 

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

11 SEC. 5. REPEAL OF SPECIAL RULES FOR NUCLEAR DECOM12 MISSIONING COSTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 468A of the Internal Rev14 enue Code of 1986 is hereby repealed. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

16 (1) Subparagraph (B) of section 172(f)(1) of 

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

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

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

20 amended by striking the item relating to section 

21 468A. 
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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

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

3 of this Act.

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