I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2072
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 6, 2001
Ms. BERKLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on
Science, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined 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, develop-
ment, and utilization of risk-decreasing technologies for
the onsite storage and eventual reduction of radiation
levels of nuclear waste, 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 ‘‘21st Century Science
for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982, the storage of high-level radioactive waste,
transuranic waste, and spent nuclear fuel is to be lo-
cated at a central repository.
(2) The Department of Energy estimates that
completing the Yucca Mountain central repository
project will cost $58,000,000,000, making the
project one of the most costly public works projects
in the world.
(3) Numerous geological and hydrological condi-
tions found at Yucca Mountain support the conten-
tion that Yucca Mountain is not a suitable site for
a central repository.
(4) Public health and safety regulations have
consistently been altered in order to make Yucca
Mountain appear to be a feasible option.
(5) Storing high-level radioactive waste in a
central repository at Yucca Mountain would require
the transportation of more than 70,000 tons of nu-
clear waste through 43 States, and through hun-
dreds of cities and towns. Fifty million Americans
live within one half mile of the shipping routes, cre-
ating an unacceptable risk of catastrophic radiation
exposure.
opment, and utilization of these alternative waste
storage and disposal technologies to better protect
our environment.
(10) The insurmountable problems associated
with storing nuclear waste in a central repository re-
quires the Congress to terminate the Yucca Moun-
tain Project and to immediately launch a focused re-
search and development program to develop safe nu-
clear waste disposal technologies.
SEC. 3. NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.
Section 302 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982
(42 U.S.C. 10222) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by striking ‘‘CONTRACTS.—(1) In the’’
and all that follows through ‘‘described in sub-
section (d).’’ and inserting ‘‘PAYMENTS.—(1)
The Secretary shall provide for payments into
the Nuclear Waste Fund of fees pursuant to
paragraph (2) for use as provided in this sec-
tion.’’;
(B) by striking paragraphs (3), (5), and
(6) and redesignating paragraph (4) as para-
graph (3); and
(C) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated
by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph—
(i) by striking ‘‘paragraphs (2) and
(3) above’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2)’’;
(ii) by striking ‘‘offset the costs as de-
fined in subsection (d) herein’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘support the uses described in sub-
section (c)’’;
(iii) by striking ‘‘recover the costs in-
curred’’ and all that follows through ‘‘full
cost recovery.’’ and inserting ‘‘support the
uses described in subsection (c), the Sec-
retary shall propose an adjustment to the
fee to fully support those uses. The Sec-
retary shall also annually adjust the fee for
inflation.’’; and
(iv) by striking ‘‘this proposal for
such an adjustment to Congress’’ and all
that follows through ‘‘the Energy Policy
and Conservation Act’’ and inserting ‘‘pro-
posals for fee adjustment to Congress’’;
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (d);
(3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (e) as
subsections (b) and (d), respectively;
(4) in subsection (b), as so redesignated by
paragraph (3) of this section—
(A) by striking ‘‘, (b), and (e)’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘and (d)’’ in paragraph (1);
(B) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end to para-
graph (1);
(C) by striking ‘‘; and’’ at the end of para-
graph (2) and inserting a period; and
(D) by striking paragraph (3);
(5) by inserting after subsection (b), as so re-
designated by paragraph (3) of this section, the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(c) USES OF NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.—The Nu-
clear Waste Fund shall be available to the Secretary only
to pay the cost of research, development, and utilization
in the United States of risk-decreasing technologies, with
an emphasis on technologies that—
‘‘(1) increase the length of time that nuclear
waste can be safely stored at or near—
‘‘(A) in the case of waste existing on the
date of enactment of the 21st Century Science
for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act of 2001, the
site where the waste was located on such date
of enactment; and
‘‘(B) in the case of waste not existing on
the date of enactment of the 21st Century
Science for Nuclear Waste Disposal Act of
2001, the site where the waste is generated;
‘‘(2) require the least amount of transportation
of nuclear waste practicable; and
‘‘(3) reduce the level of radiation of the nuclear
waste.
The Government shall not use any funds for research, de-
velopment, or implementation of a central high-level radio-
active waste and spent nuclear fuel repository.’’; and
(6) in subsection (d), as so redesignated by
paragraph (3) of this section, by striking ‘‘sub-
section (d)’’ in paragraph (6) and inserting ‘‘sub-
section (c)’’.
SEC. 4. REPEALS AND REDESIGNATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982 is amended—
(1) by redesignating section 151 as section 10
and moving it to appear after section 9, and by re-
pealing the remainder of title I;
(2) by repealing title II;
(3) by redesignating sections 302 and 306 as
sections 11 and 12, respectively, and moving them to
appear after section 10, and by repealing the re-
mainder of title III;
(4) by repealing title IV; and
(5) by repealing title V.
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENTS.—The 
Nuclear
Waste Policy Act of 1982 is amended—
(1) in section 2—
(A) by striking paragraphs (1), (2), (4),
(5), (8), (10), (11), (13), (14), (15), (17), (19),
(21), (22), (25), (26), (27), (28), (30), (31),
(32), (33), and (34);
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (6),
(7), (9), (12), (16), (18), (20), (23), (24), and
(29) as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6),
(7), (10), (11), (12), and (13) respectively; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (7), as so
redesignated by subparagraph (B) of this para-
graph, the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(8) RESEARCH.—The term ‘research’ includes
both basic and applied research.
‘‘(9) RISK-DECREASING
TECHNOLOGIES.—The
term ‘risk- decreasing technologies’ means tech-
nologies that reduce the adverse impact nuclear
waste has on human and ecological health and well-
being through reduction in radiation levels and other
methods.’’; and
(2) in section 8—