I
106TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 45
To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 6, 1999
Mr. UPTON (for himself, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. HALL of
Texas, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. NORWOOD, Mr. GORDON, Mr. OXLEY, Mr.
BURR of North Carolina, Mr. KLINK, Mr. WHITFIELD, Mr. SPRATT, Mr.
HOEKSTRA, Mr. LIVINGSTON, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr.
GRAHAM, Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. CANADY of Florida, Mr.
MANZULLO, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. GUT-
KNECHT, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. SHIMKUS, Mr. NETHERCUTT, Mr. ROHR-
ABACHER, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina, Mr. BEREUTER,
Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. RUSH, Mr. SMITH of
Michigan, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. PORTER, Mr. SISISKY,
Mr. BONIOR, Mr. CAMP, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. BARCIA, Ms. STABENOW, Mr.
PETERSON of Minnesota, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, and Mr. ALLEN)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Resources, and Trans-
portation and Infrastructure, 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 amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT
OF 1982.
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1999’.
‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—
‘‘Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
‘‘Sec. 2. Definitions.
‘‘Sec. 3. Findings and purposes.
‘‘TITLE I—OBLIGATIONS
‘‘Sec. 101. Obligations of the Secretary of Energy.
‘‘TITLE II—INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
‘‘Sec. 201. Intermodal transfer.
‘‘Sec. 202. Transportation planning.
‘‘Sec. 203. Transportation requirements.
‘‘Sec. 204. Interim storage.
‘‘Sec. 205. Permanent disposal.
‘‘Sec. 206. Land withdrawal.
‘‘Sec. 207. Applicability.
‘‘TITLE III—LOCAL RELATIONS
‘‘Sec. 301. On-site representative.
‘‘Sec. 302. Benefits agreements.
‘‘Sec. 303. Content of agreements.
‘‘Sec. 304. Acceptance of benefits.
‘‘Sec. 305. Restriction on use of funds.
‘‘Sec. 306. Initial land conveyances.
‘‘Sec. 307. Payments equal to taxes.
‘‘TITLE IV—FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION
‘‘Sec. 401. Program funding.
‘‘Sec. 402. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
‘‘Sec. 403. Defense contribution.
‘‘TITLE V—GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
‘‘Sec. 501. Compliance with other laws.
‘‘Sec. 502. Water rights.
‘‘Sec. 503. Judicial review of agency actions.
‘‘Sec. 504. Licensing of facility expansions and transshipments.
‘‘Sec. 505. Siting a second repository.
‘‘Sec. 506. Financial arrangements for low-level radioactive waste site closure.
‘‘Sec. 507. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authorization.
‘‘Sec. 508. Acceptance schedule.
‘‘Sec. 509. Subseabed or ocean water disposal.
‘‘Sec. 510. Separability.
‘‘Sec. 511. Purchase of American-made equipment and products.
‘‘TITLE VI—NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD
‘‘Sec. 601. Definitions.
‘‘Sec. 602. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
‘‘Sec. 603. Functions.
‘‘Sec. 604. Investigatory powers.
‘‘Sec. 605. Compensation of members.
‘‘Sec. 606. Staff.
‘‘Sec. 607. Support services.
‘‘Sec. 608. Report.
‘‘Sec. 609. Authorization of appropriations.
‘‘Sec. 610. Termination of the board.
‘‘TITLE VII—MANAGEMENT REFORM
‘‘Sec. 701. Management reform initiatives.
‘‘Sec. 702. Reporting.
‘‘SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
‘‘For purposes of this Act:
‘‘(1) ACCEPT, ACCEPTANCE.—The terms ‘ac-
cept’ and ‘acceptance’ mean the Secretary’s act of
taking possession of spent nuclear fuel or high-level
radioactive waste.
‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE SCHEDULE.—The term ‘ac-
ceptance schedule’ means the schedule established in
section 508 for acceptance of spent nuclear fuel and
high-level radioactive waste.
‘‘(3) AFFECTED INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘af-
fected Indian tribe’ means an Indian tribe whose
reservation is surrounded by or borders on an af-
fected unit of local government, or whose federally
law, determines by rule requires permanent iso-
lation.
‘‘(13) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘Federal
agency’ means any Executive agency, as defined in
section 105 of title 5, United States Code.
‘‘(14) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’
means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga-
nized group or community of Indians recognized as
eligible for the services provided to Indians by the
Secretary of the Interior because of their status as
Indians including any Alaska Native village, as de-
fined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims
Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)).
‘‘(15) INTEGRATED
MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM.—
The term ‘integrated management system’ means
the system developed by the Secretary for the ac-
ceptance, transportation, storage, and disposal of
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
‘‘(16) INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY.—The term
‘interim storage facility’ means a facility designed
and constructed for the receipt, handling, possession,
safeguarding, and storage of spent nuclear fuel and
high-level radioactive waste in accordance with title
II of this Act.
‘‘(17) INTERIM STORAGE FACILITY SITE.—The
term ‘interim storage facility site’ means the specific
site within Area 25 of the Nevada Test Site that is
designated by the Secretary and withdrawn and re-
served in accordance with this Act for the location
of the interim storage facility.
‘‘(18) LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—The
term ‘low-level radioactive waste’ means radioactive
material that—
‘‘(A) is not spent nuclear fuel, high-level
radioactive waste, transuranic waste, or byprod-
uct material as defined in section 11 e.(2) of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.
2014(e)(2)); and
‘‘(B) the Commission, consistent with ex-
isting law, classifies as low-level radioactive
waste.
‘‘(19) METRIC
TONS
URANIUM
AND MTU.—
The terms ‘metric tons uranium’ and ‘MTU’ mean
the amount of uranium in the original unirradiated
fuel element whether or not the spent nuclear fuel
has been reprocessed.
‘‘(20) NUCLEAR WASTE FUND.—The term ‘Nu-
clear Waste Fund’ means the nuclear waste fund es-
tablished in the United States Treasury prior to the
date of enactment of this Act under section 302(c)
of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
‘‘(21) OFFICE.—The term ‘Office’ means the
Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management es-
tablished within the Department prior to the date of
enactment of this Act under the provisions of the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
‘‘(22) PACKAGE.—The term ‘package’ means
the primary container that holds, and is in direct
contact with, solidified high-level radioactive waste,
spent nuclear fuel, or other radioactive materials
and any overpack that are emplaced at a repository.
‘‘(23) PROGRAM
APPROACH.—The term ‘pro-
gram approach’ means the Civilian Radioactive
Waste Management Program Plan, dated May 6,
1996, as modified by this Act, and as amended from
time to time by the Secretary in accordance with
this Act.
‘‘(24) REPOSITORY.—The term ‘repository’
means a system designed and constructed under title
II of this Act for the permanent geologic disposal of
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste,
including both surface and subsurface areas at
which spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive
waste receipt, handling, possession, safeguarding,
and storage are conducted.
‘‘(25) 
SECRETARY.—The 
term 
‘Secretary’
means the Secretary of Energy.
‘‘(26) SITE
CHARACTERIZATION.—The term
‘site characterization’ means activities, whether in a
laboratory or in the field, undertaken to establish
the geologic condition and the ranges of the param-
eters of a candidate site relevant to the location of
a repository, including borings, surface excavations,
excavations of exploratory facilities, limited sub-
surface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ
testing needed to evaluate the licensability of a can-
didate site for the location of a repository, but not
including preliminary borings and geophysical test-
ing needed to assess whether site characterization
should be undertaken.
‘‘(27) SPENT
NUCLEAR
FUEL.—The term
‘spent nuclear fuel’ means fuel, other than foreign
spent nuclear fuel as defined in section 131 f.(4) of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.
2160(f)(4)), that has been withdrawn from a nuclear
reactor following irradiation, the constituent ele-
ments of which have not been separated by reproc-
essing.
‘‘(28) STORAGE.—The term ‘storage’ means re-
tention of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive
waste with the intent to recover such waste or fuel
for subsequent use, processing, or disposal.
‘‘(29) WITHDRAWAL.—The term ‘withdrawal’
has the same definition as that set forth in the Fed-
eral Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C.
1702 et seq.).
‘‘(30) YUCCA
MOUNTAIN
SITE.—The term
‘Yucca Mountain site’ means the area in the State
of Nevada that is withdrawn and reserved in accord-
ance with this Act for the location of a repository.
‘‘SEC. 3. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) while spent nuclear fuel can be safely
stored at reactor sites, the expeditious movement to
and storage of such spent nuclear fuel at a central-
ized Federal facility will enhance the Nation’s envi-
ronmental protection;
‘‘(2) while the Federal Government has the re-
sponsibility to provide for the centralized interim
storage and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel
and high-level radioactive waste to protect the public
health and safety and the environment, the costs of
such storage and disposal should be the responsibil-
ity of the generators and owners of such waste and
fuel, including the Federal Government;
‘‘(3) in the interests of protecting the public
health and safety, enhancing the Nation’s environ-
mental protection, promoting the Nation’s energy se-
curity, and ensuring the Secretary’s ability to com-
mence acceptance of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste no later than June 30, 2003,
it is necessary for Congress to authorize the interim
storage facility;
‘‘(4) deficit-control measures designed to limit
appropriation of general revenues have limited the
availability of the Nuclear Waste Fund for its in-
tended purposes; and
‘‘(5) the Federal Government has the respon-
sibility to provide for the permanent disposal of
waste generated from United States atomic energy
defense activities.
‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
‘‘(1) to direct the Secretary to develop an inte-
grated management system in accordance with this
Act so that the Department can accept spent nuclear
fuel or high-level radioactive waste for interim stor-
age commencing no later than June 30, 2003, and