Opinion ID: 773558
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Statutory and Regulatory Overview

Text: 9 Congress enacted the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) in 1954 to promote the development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes under a program of federal regulation and licensing. See Pac. Gas & Elec. Co. v. State Energy Res. Conservation & Dev. Comm'n, 461 U.S. 190, 206-07 (1983). Congress has subsequently amended the AEA to create a dual regulatory structure, whereby the federal government regulates the radiological safety aspects involved in the construction and operation of a nuclear plant, and the states retain their traditional responsibility in the field of regulating electrical utilities for determining questions of need, reliability, costs, and other related state concerns. Id. at 205, 103 S. Ct. 1713. 10 The AEA regulates three different classes of radioactive material: source material, special nuclear material, and byproduct material. See 42 U.S.C. §2014(e), (z), (aa). Source material includes uranium, thorium, and other materials that DOE deems necessary for the production of special nuclear material. 42 U.S.C. §§2014(z), 2091. Special nuclear material includes plutonium, enriched uranium, and other material capable of releasing substantial quantities of atomic energy. 42 U.S.C. §§2014(aa), 2071. Byproduct material includes (1) any radioactive material (except special nuclear material) yielded in or made radioactive by exposure to the radiation incident to the process of producing or utilizing special nuclear material, and (2) the tailings or wastes produced by the extraction or concentration of uranium or thorium from any ore processed primarily for its source material content. 42 U.S.C. §2014(e). 11 The AEA grants DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission exclusive responsibility for regulating source, special nuclear, and byproduct material. See 42 U.S.C. §2201(b), (i)(3). Pursuant to this authority, DOE has developed and implemented an extensive regulatory regime for managing radioactive materials and limiting the release of radioactivity.See, e.g., General Environmental Protection Program, DOE Order 5400.1 (1988); Radiation Protection of the Public and the Environment, DOE Order 5400.5 (1990); Radioactive Waste Management, DOE Order 435.1 (1999) (establishing requirements for managing low-level radioactive waste, including waste characterization, waste treatment, disposal, and environmental monitoring). These regulatory standards are designed to assure that the public, workers, and the environment are not exposed to unsafe levels of radiation. See DOE Order 435.1 §4. 12 In 1976, Congress passed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which amended the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, 42 U.S.C. §§6901-6992k. Congress enacted the RCRA to end the environmental and public health risks associated with the mismanagement of hazardous waste. See Sierra Club v. United States Dep't of Energy, 734 F. Supp. 946, 947 (D. Colo. 1990). Generally, the RCRA prohibits the treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous waste at private or governmental facilities without a permit issued by either the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or an authorized state. See id.; 42 U.S.C. §§6925(a), 6961. The RCRA expressly contemplates that state and local governments will play a lead role in solid waste regulation. See 42 U.S.C. §6901(a)(4). 13 Under the RCRA, hazardous waste is defined as solid waste, or [a] combination of solid wastes[,] that, for enumerated reasons, creates public health and environmental dangers. 42 U.S.C. §6903(5). Solid waste, however, does not include source, special nuclear, or byproduct material as defined by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 42 U.S.C. §6903(27). Indeed, the RCRA expressly provides: 14 Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to apply to (or to authorize any State, interstate, or local authority to regulate) any activity or substance which is subject to . .. the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 except to the extent that such application (or regulation) is not inconsistent with the requirements of such Act[]. 15 42 U.S.C. §6905(a).