mit to the Commission an application for a license
for the second phase interim storage facility. The li-
cense for the second phase facility shall authorize a
storage capacity of 40,000 MTU. The license for the
second phase shall have an initial term of up to 100
years, and shall be renewable for additional terms
upon application of the Secretary.
‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—
‘‘(1) CONSTRUCTION.—For the purpose of com-
plying with subsection (a), the Secretary may com-
mence site preparation for the interim storage facil-
ity as soon as practicable after the date of enact-
ment of this Act and shall commence construction of
the first phase of the interim storage facility subse-
quent to submittal of the license application except
that the Commission shall issue an order suspending
such construction at any time if the Commission de-
termines that such construction poses an unreason-
able risk to public health and safety or the environ-
ment. The Commission shall terminate all or part of
such order upon a determination that the Secretary
has taken appropriate action to eliminate such risk.
‘‘(2) FACILITY USE.—Notwithstanding any oth-
erwise applicable licensing requirement, the Sec-
retary may utilize any facility owned by the Federal
Government on the date of enactment of this Act
and within the boundaries of the interim storage fa-
cility site, in connection with an imminent and sub-
stantial endangerment to public health and safety at
the interim storage facility prior to commencement
of operations during the second phase.
‘‘(3) ACCEPTANCE OF FUEL AND WASTE.—
‘‘(A) GENERAL RULE.—In each year, once
the Secretary has achieved the annual accept-
ance rate for spent nuclear fuel from civilian
nuclear power reactors established pursuant to
the contracts executed under the Nuclear Waste
Policy Act of 1982 (as set forth in the Sec-
retary’s annual capacity report dated March
1995 (DOE/RW–0457)), the Secretary—
‘‘(i) may, additionally, accept spent
nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste
of domestic origin from civilian nuclear
power reactors which have permanently
ceased operation; and
‘‘(ii) except as provided in subpara-
graph (B), shall accept at least 25 percent
of the difference between such annual ac-
ceptance rate and the annual rate under
the acceptance schedule established under
section 508 for spent nuclear fuel from ci-
vilian power reactors of—
‘‘(I) spent nuclear fuel from for-
eign research reactors; and
‘‘(II) spent nuclear fuel from
naval reactors and high-level radio-
active waste from atomic energy de-
fense activities.
‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the annual rate
under the acceptance schedule established
under section 508 is not achieved, the accept-
ance rate of the Secretary of the materials de-
scribed in subclauses (I) and (II) of subpara-
graph (A)(ii) shall be the greater of the accept-
ance rate prescribed by subparagraph (A) and
calculated on the basis of the amount of spent
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste ac-
tually received or 5 percent of the total amount
of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive
waste actually accepted.
‘‘(e) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF
1969.—
‘‘(1) PRELIMINARY
DECISIONMAKING
ACTIVI-
TIES.—The Secretary’s activities under this section,
including the selection of a site for the interim stor-
age facility, the preparation and submittal of any li-
cense application, and the construction and oper-
ation of any facility shall be considered preliminary
decisionmaking activities for purposes of the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.). No such activity shall require the
preparation of an environmental impact statement
under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C))
or require any environmental review under subpara-
graph (E) or (F) of such Act.
‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—
‘‘(A) FINAL DECISION.—A final decision of
the Commission to grant or deny a license ap-
plication for the first or second phase of the in-
terim storage facility shall be accompanied by
an Environmental Impact Statement prepared
under section 102(2)(C) of the National Envi-
ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)). In preparing such Environmental
Impact Statement, the Commission—
‘‘(i) shall assume that 40,000 MTU
will be stored at the facility; and
‘‘(ii) shall analyze the impacts of the
transportation of spent nuclear fuel and
high-level radioactive waste to the interim
storage facility in a generic manner.
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—Such Environ-
mental Impact Statement shall not consider—
‘‘(i) the need for the interim storage
facility, including any individual compo-
nent thereof;
‘‘(ii) the time of the initial availability
of the interim storage facility;
‘‘(iii) any alternatives to the storage
of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radio-
active waste at the interim storage facility;
‘‘(iv) any alternatives to the site of
the facility as designated by the Secretary
in accordance with subsection (a);
‘‘(v) any alternatives to the design cri-
teria for such facility or any individual
component thereof, as specified by the Sec-
retary in the license application; or
‘‘(vi) the environmental impacts of the
storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level
radioactive waste at the interim storage fa-
cility beyond the initial term of the license
or the term of the renewal period for which
a license renewal application is made.
‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Judicial review of the Com-
mission’s environmental impact statement under the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq.) shall be consolidated with judicial review of the
Commission’s licensing decision. No court shall have juris-
diction to enjoin the construction or operation of the in-
terim storage facility prior to its final decision on review
of the Commission’s licensing action.
‘‘(g) WASTE CONFIDENCE.—The Secretary’s obliga-
tion to construct and operate the interim storage facility
in accordance with this section and the Secretary’s obliga-
tion to develop an integrated management system in ac-
cordance with the provisions of this Act, shall provide suf-
ficient and independent grounds for any further findings
by the Commission of reasonable assurance that spent nu-
clear fuel and high-level radioactive waste will be disposed
of safely and on a timely basis for purposes of the Com-
mission’s decision to grant or amend any license to operate
any civilian nuclear power reactor under the Atomic En-
ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
‘‘(h) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall af-
fect the Commission’s procedures for the licensing of any
technology for the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel at the
site of any civilian nuclear power reactor as adopted by
the Commission under section 218 of the Nuclear Waste
Policy Act of 1982, as in effect prior to the enactment
of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997. The establish-
ment of such procedures shall not preclude the licensing,
under any applicable procedures or rules of the Commis-
sion in effect prior to such establishment, of any tech-
nology for the storage of civilian spent nuclear fuel at the
site of any civilian nuclear power reactor.
‘‘SEC. 205. PERMANENT DISPOSAL.
‘‘(a) SITE CHARACTERIZATION.—
‘‘(1) GUIDELINES.—The guidelines promul-
gated by the Secretary and published at 10 CFR
part 960 are annulled and revoked and the Sec-
retary shall make no assumptions or conclusions
about the licensability of the Yucca Mountain site as
a repository by reference to such guidelines.
‘‘(2) SITE
CHARACTERIZATION
ACTIVITIES.—
The Secretary shall carry out appropriate site char-
acterization activities at the Yucca Mountain site in
accordance with the Secretary’s program approach
to site characterization if the Secretary modifies or
eliminates those site characterization activities de-
signed to demonstrate the suitability of the site
under the guidelines referenced in paragraph (1).
‘‘(3) DATE.—No later than December 31,
2002, the Secretary shall apply to the Commission