Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act

Bill: 109-s-2589
Sponsor: Sen. Domenici, Pete V. [R-NM]
Introduced: 2006-04-06 in the Senate
Policy area: Energy
Subjects: Agriculture and Food
Air force
Animals
Armed Forces and National Security
Economics and Public Finance
Environmental Protection
Environmental assessment
Federal preemption
Geothermal resources
Government Operations and Politics
Government trust funds
Grazing
Habitat conservation
Hunting
Infrastructure
Infrastructure (Economics)
Land transfers
Land use
Law
Licenses
Local laws
Military bases
Mines and mineral resources
Mining leases
Nevada
Nuclear power plants
Nuclear reactors
Nuclear weapons
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Radioactive wastes
Railroad engineering
Right-of-way
Sports and Recreation
State laws
Transportation and Public Works
Transportation of hazardous substances
Trapping
Waste disposal sites
Water Resources Development
Water rights

Summary:
action_date: 2006-04-06
text: 
Nuclear Fuel Management and Disposal Act - Withdraws specified land (as generally depicted on the Yucca Mountain Project Map) in Nye County, Nevada, from all forms of entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws.
 
Transfers to the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) the land covered by such withdrawal that is under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned (the Secretary of the Air Force, or the Secretary of the Interior, depending upon the specific lands).
 
Reserves the land covered by the withdrawal for use by the Secretary for specified activities associated with the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.
 
Revokes Public Land Order 6802 of September 25, 1990, and a certain right-of-way reservation.
 
Subjects the use of the land covered by the withdrawal to conditions the Secretary deems necessary to conduct activities related to the Yucca Mountain Project. 
 
Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 governing Yucca Mountain site application procedures to provide that an application for construction authorization shall not be required to contain information relating to any surface facility other than those necessary for initial operation of the repository.
 
Revises requirements governing Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) actions on construction applications and infrastructure activities.
 
Includes infrastructure activities within the scope of expedited authorizations.
 
Prohibits surface or subsurface mining or oil or gas production, including slant drilling from outside the boundaries of the land covered by the withdrawal.
 
Declares specified federal, state, or local regulatory requirements inapplicable to: (1) material owned by the Secretary that is transported or stored in an NRC-certified container for transportation or storage; or (2) material located at the Yucca Mountain site for disposal, if its management and disposal is subject to an NRC license.
 
Prohibits a state or local governmental entity from issuing, administering, or enforcing a new or existing air quality permit or requirement affecting a federal facility or activity subject to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary to determine the extent to which certain transportation regulated under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Authorization Act of 1994 shall instead be regulated exclusively under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 
 
Deems the use of water from any source to implement this Act to be: (1) beneficial to interstate commerce; and (2) non-detrimental to the public interest.
 
Requires the NRC, in deciding whether to permit the construction or operation of a nuclear reactor or any related facilities, to deem that sufficient capacity will be available in a timely manner to dispose of the spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste resulting from the operation of the reactor and related facilities.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-08-03
text: Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 109-736.
action_date: 2006-04-06
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3237-3239)
action_date: 2006-04-06
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3237)
action_date: 2006-04-06
text: Introduced in Senate