I
103D CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 3711
To establish within the Department of Energy a National Test and Dem-
onstration Center of Excellence at the Nevada Test Site, and for other
purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
NOVEMBER 22, 1993
Mrs. VUCANOVICH introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to
the Committees on Armed Services, Science, Space, and Technology, and
Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To establish within the Department of Energy a National
Test and Demonstration Center of Excellence at the
Nevada Test Site, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Center for
Excellence in Research and Development Act of 1993’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The end of the Cold War has resulted in a
cessation of underground nuclear testing at the De-
partment of Energy facility known as the Nevada
Test Site, Nevada.
(2) Because the world political situation is ever-
changing and dangerous, it is imperative that the
United States remain strong militarily and continue
to be a nuclear superpower.
(3) It is imperative that the Nevada Test Site
be maintained in a full state of readiness to ensure
the capability of the nuclear arsenal of the United
States.
(4) The Nevada Test Site is in a beneficial loca-
tion for activities suitable for research and develop-
ment of emerging technologies that will be important
to the United States in the 21st century.
(5) Technology development carried out at the
Nevada Test Site should include private-sector in-
dustries as well as military projects.
(6) The Nevada Test Site can support the stew-
ardship of the Nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile,
the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the
technological competitiveness of the United States
by providing the environment for nuclear and non-
nuclear test and demonstration experiments and
projects for government, industry, and academia.
(7) The Nevada Test Site can provide the infra-
structure to support industrial and civilian tests of
environmentally demanding projects and programs.
(8) The Nevada Test Site can support the test-
ing and demonstration of environmental clean-up
technologies by government and industry and can
support the testing of alternative and renewable en-
ergy sources for environmentally clean and economi-
cally competitive replacements for traditional fossil
energy sources and uses in many parts of Nevada
and in the United States as a whole.
(9) The Nevada Test Site can provide support
for disarmament activities such as the demonstration
of rocket motor destruction technology and conven-
tional munitions destruction technology.
(10) The Nevada Test Site can support non-
proliferation experiments in disablement, nuclear
forensics, sensors, and verification and monitoring.
(11) The Nevada Test Site can support treaty-
compliant experiments for stockpile stewardship pur-
poses.
(12) The size and remoteness of the Nevada
Test Site make the Nevada Test Site well-suited for
a multitude of activities associated with the restruc-
turing of the United States military.
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
It is the purpose of this Act—
(1) to ensure full operational readiness of the
underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastruc-
ture of the Nevada Test Site;
(2) to ensure an appropriate level of funds for
such readiness to be maintained;
(3) to create a National Test and Demonstra-
tion Center of Excellence at the Nevada Test Site
for the promotion of disarmament, demilitarization,
alternative and renewable energy sources, the non-
proliferation of nuclear weapons, sensor develop-
ment, and environmentally sensitive technologies;
and
(4) to ensure the availability of the Nevada
Test Site, within appropriate restrictions, for use by
private-sector industries seeking to make use of the
inherent qualities that make the Nevada Test Site
the greatest outdoor laboratory in the world.
SEC. 4. MAINTENANCE OF READINESS CAPABILITY OF NE-
VADA TEST SITE.
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The amount referred to in
paragraph (2) is hereby authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year
1995 to maintain the operational readiness of the
underground nuclear testing facilities and infrastruc-
ture of the Nevada Test Site.
(2) AUTHORIZED
AMOUNT.—The amount re-
ferred to in paragraph (1) is the amount appro-
priated to the Secretary of Energy for fiscal year
1992 to maintain the operational readiness the un-
derground nuclear testing facilities and infrastruc-
ture of the Nevada Test Site, adjusted for inflation
using the Consumer Price Index.
(b) STAFFING LEVELS.—During fiscal year 1995,
the Secretary of Energy shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, maintain a staffing level at the Nevada Test
Site that is equal to the staffing level at the Nevada Test
Site during fiscal year 1992.
(c) ENVIRONMENTAL
AND INFRASTRUCTURE AS-
SESSMENT
ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Energy,
through the Nevada Test Site Operations Office, shall
carry out any environmental and infrastructure activities
necessary to accommodate new projects and initiatives at
the Nevada Test Site.
SEC. 5. NATIONAL TEST AND DEMONSTRATION CENTER OF
EXCELLENCE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established
within the Department of Energy a National Test and
Demonstration Center of Excellence (hereafter in this Act
referred to as the ‘‘Center’’), to be located at the Nevada
Test Site, Nevada.
(b) PURPOSE.—It shall be the purpose of the Center
to promote disarmament, demilitarization, alternative and
renewable energy sources, the non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons, sensor development, and environmentally sen-
sitive technologies.
(c) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ALTERNATIVE AND RE-
NEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.—The Center shall carry out
the following testing and demonstration activities that are
related to alternative and renewable energy sources:
(1) The characterization of solar and geo-
thermal resources at the Nevada Test Site.
(2) The development of alternative and renew-
able energy sources, including, as a goal of the Cen-
ter, the development and completion of two 100-
megawatt solar power plants by the year 2000.
(3) The conduct of a National Alternative-
Fueled Vehicles Program, the objective of which
shall be to demonstrate the regional use of natural
gas, electricity, and hydrogen as vehicle fuels.
(d) ACTIVITIES RELATED
TO DISARMAMENT
AND
DEMILITARIZATION.—The Center shall carry out testing
and demonstration activities that are related to changes
occurring in United States military as a result of the end
of the Cold War, including testing and demonstration ac-
tivities with respect to—
(1) the demilitarization of large rocket motor
and conventional ordnance; and
(2) disarmament and demilitarization, gen-
erally.
(e) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO NUCLEAR STOCKPILE
STEWARDSHIP.—The Center shall carry out testing and
demonstration activities related to the stewardship of the
nuclear stockpile of the United States. Such activities shall
include—
(1) the conduct of treaty-compliant experi-
ments;
(2) the provision of support to the Department
of Energy nuclear weapons complex; and
(3) the conduct of programs for the Depart-
ment of Energy and the Department of Defense to
develop simulator technologies for nuclear weapons
design and effects, including advanced hydrodynamic
simulators, inertial confinement fusion test facilities,
and nuclear weapons effects simulators (such as the
Decade and Jupiter simulators).
(f) ACTIVITIES RELATED TO NON-PROLIFERATION.—
The Center shall carry out experiments related to the non-
proliferation of nuclear weapons, including experiments
with respect to disablement, nuclear forensics, sensors,
and verification and monitoring.
(g) ACTIVITIES
RELATED
TO
ENVIRONMENTAL
TECHNOLOGIES.—The Center shall carry out testing and
demonstration activities related to the development of en-
vironmental technologies, including—
(1) the demonstration of technologies concern-
ing the remediation of toxic and hazardous chemi-
cals; and
(2) the conduct of training activities pertaining
to emergency response to radioactive, hazardous,
and toxic accidents and emergencies.
(h) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Center may carry out
the testing and demonstration of any other technology
which is appropriate for testing and demonstration at the
Nevada Test Site.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Except as provided in section 4, there is hereby au-
thorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for
fiscal year 1995 such sums as may be necessary to carry
out this Act.
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