Title: Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act
This bill prohibits the Department of Energy (DOE) from using the Nuclear Waste Fund for certain expenditures involving repositories for disposing of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. Specifically, DOE may not use the fund to pay for disposal in a repository or planning, construction, or operation of a repository unless DOE has entered into an agreement with the state in which the repository is located and with affected local governments and Indian tribes.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 541 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 541

 To require the Secretary of Energy to obtain the consent of affected 
   State and local governments before making an expenditure from the 
   Nuclear Waste Fund for a nuclear waste repository, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                March 2 (legislative day, March 1), 2021

 Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Ms. Rosen) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require the Secretary of Energy to obtain the consent of affected 
   State and local governments before making an expenditure from the 
   Nuclear Waste Fund for a nuclear waste repository, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Waste Informed Consent 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act, the terms ``affected Indian tribe'', ``affected unit 
of local government'', ``high-level radioactive waste'', 
``repository'', ``Secretary'', ``spent nuclear fuel'', and ``unit of 
general local government'' have the meanings given the terms in section 
2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).

SEC. 3. CONSENT-BASED APPROVAL.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may not make an expenditure from the 
Nuclear Waste Fund established under section 302(c) of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(c)) for the costs of the 
activities described in paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 302(d) of 
that Act (42 U.S.C. 10222(d)) unless the Secretary has entered into an 
agreement for a repository with--
            (1) the Governor of the State in which the repository is 
        proposed to be located;
            (2) each affected unit of local government;
            (3) any unit of general local government contiguous to the 
        affected unit of local government if spent nuclear fuel or 
        high-level radioactive waste will be transported through that 
        unit of general local government for disposal at the 
        repository; and
            (4) each affected Indian tribe.
    (b) Conditions on Agreement.--Any agreement for a repository under 
this Act--
            (1) shall be in writing and signed by all parties;
            (2) shall be binding on the parties; and
            (3) shall not be amended or revoked except by mutual 
        agreement of the parties.
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