Home > 105th Congressional Bills > S. 104 (rs) To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. ...S. 104 (rs) To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. ...
May 6, 1997
Ordered to be printed as passed
105th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 104
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That 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 1997'.
``(b) Table of Contents.--
``Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
``Sec. 2. Definitions.
``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. Viability assessment and Presidential determination
``Sec. 205. Interim storage facility.
``Sec. 206. Permanent repository.
``Sec. 207. Compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
``Sec. 208. Land withdrawal.
``TITLE III--LOCAL RELATIONS
``Sec. 301. Financial assistance.
``Sec. 302. On-Site Representative.
``Sec. 303. Acceptance of benefits.
``Sec. 304. Restrictions on use of funds.
``Sec. 305. Land conveyances.
``TITLE IV--FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION
``Sec. 401. Program funding.
``Sec. 402. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
``Sec. 403. Federal contribution.
``TITLE V--GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
``Sec. 501. Compliance with other laws.
``Sec. 502. Judicial review of agency actions.
``Sec. 503. Licensing of facility expansions and transshipments.
``Sec. 504. Siting a second repository.
``Sec. 505. Financial arrangements for low-level radioactive waste site
closure.
``Sec. 506. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authority.
``Sec. 507. Emplacement schedule.
``Sec. 508. Transfer of title.
``Sec. 509. Decommissioning Pilot Program.
``Sec. 510. Water rights.
``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.
``TITLE VIII--MISCELLANEOUS
``Sec. 801. Sense of the Senate.
``Sec. 802. Effective date.
``SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
``For purposes of this Act:
``(1) Accept, acceptance.--The terms `accept' and
`acceptance' mean the Secretary's act of taking possession of
spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste.
``(2) Affected indian tribe.--The term `affected Indian
tribe' means any Indian tribe--
``(A) whose reservation is surrounded by or borders
an affected unit of local government, or
``(B) whose federally defined possessory or usage
rights to other lands outside of the reservation's
boundaries arising out of congressionally ratified
treaties may be substantially and adversely affected by
the locating of an interim storage facility or a
repository if the Secretary of the Interior finds, upon
the petition of the appropriate governmental officials
of the tribe, that such effects are both substantial
and adverse to the tribe.
``(3) Affected unit of local government.--The term
`affected unit of local government' means the unit of local
government with jurisdiction over the site of a repository or
interim storage facility. Such term may, at the discretion of
the Secretary, include other units of local government that are
contiguous with such unit.
``(4) Atomic energy defense activity.--The term `atomic
energy defense activity' means any activity of the Secretary
performed in whole or in part in carrying out any of the
following functions:
``(A) Naval reactors development.
``(B) Weapons activities including defense inertial
confinement fusion.
``(C) Verification and control technology.
``(D) Defense nuclear materials production.
``(E) Defense nuclear waste and materials
byproducts management.
``(F) Defense nuclear materials security and
safeguards and security investigations.
``(G) Defense research and development.
``(5) Civilian nuclear power reactor.--The term `civilian
nuclear power reactor' means a civilian nuclear power plant
required to be licensed under section 103 or 104 b. of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134(b)).
``(6) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
``(7) Contracts.--The term `contracts' means the contracts,
executed prior to the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste
Policy Act of 1997, under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste
Policy Act of 1982, by the Secretary and any person who
generates or holds title to spent nuclear fuel or high-level
radioactive waste of domestic origin for acceptance of such
waste or fuel by the Secretary and the payment of fees to
offset the Secretary's expenditures, and any subsequent
contracts executed by the Secretary pursuant to section 401(a)
of this Act.
``(8) Contract holders.--The term `contract holders' means
parties (other than the Secretary) to contracts.
``(9) Department.--The term `Department' means the
Department of Energy.
``(10) Disposal.--The term `disposal' means the emplacement
in a repository of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive
waste, or other highly radioactive material with no foreseeable
intent of recovery, whether or not such emplacement permits
recovery of such material for any future purpose.
``(11) Disposal system.--The term `disposal system' means
all natural barriers and engineered barriers, and engineered
systems and components, that prevent the release of
radionuclides from the repository.
``(12) Emplacement schedule.--The term `emplacement
schedule' means the schedule established by the Secretary in
accordance with section 507(a) for emplacement of spent nuclear
fuel and high-level radioactive waste at the interim storage
facility.
``(13) Engineered barriers and engineered systems and
components.--The terms `engineered barriers' and `engineered
systems and components', mean man-made components of a disposal
system. These terms include the spent nuclear fuel or high-
level radioactive waste form, spent nuclear fuel package or
high-level radioactive waste package, and other materials
placed over and around such packages.
``(14) High-level radioactive waste.--The term `high-level
radioactive waste' means--
``(A) the highly radioactive material resulting
from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, including
liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any
solid material derived from such liquid waste that
contains fission products in sufficient concentrations;
and
``(B) other highly radioactive material that the
Commission, consistent with existing law, determines by
rule requires permanent isolation, which includes any
low-level radioactive waste with concentrations of
radionuclides that exceed the limits established by the
Commission for class C radioactive waste, as defined by
section 61.55 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations,
as in effect on January 26, 1983.
``(15) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' means any
Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.
``(16) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' means any
Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized 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
defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement
Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)).
``(17) Integrated management system.--The term `integrated
management system' means the system developed by the Secretary
for the acceptance, transportation, storage, and disposal of
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste under title
II of this Act.
``(18) 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.
``(19) 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 reserved in accordance with this Act for the
location of the interim storage facility.
``(20) 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 byproduct
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 existing law,
classifies as low-level radioactive waste.
``(21) Metric tons uranium.--The terms `metric tons
uranium' and `MTU' means the amount of uranium in the original
unirradiated fuel element whether or not the spent nuclear fuel
has been reprocessed.
``(22) Nuclear waste fund.--The terms `Nuclear Waste Fund'
and `waste fund' mean the nuclear waste fund established 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.
``(23) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management established within the
Department prior to the date of enactment of this Act under the
provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
``(24) Program approach.--The term `program 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.
``(25) Repository.--The term `repository' means a system
designed and constructed under title II of this Act for the
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.
``(26) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Energy.
``(27) 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 parameters of a candidate site relevant
to the location of a repository, including borings, surface
excavations, excavations of exploratory facilities, limited
subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ testing
needed to evaluate the licensability of a candidate site for
the location of a repository, but not including preliminary
borings and geophysical testing needed to assess whether site
characterization should be undertaken.
``(28) Spent nuclear fuel.--The term `spent nuclear fuel'
means fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor
following irradiation, the constituent elements of which have
not been separated by reprocessing.
``(29) Storage.--The term `storage' means retention of
spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste with the
intent to recover such waste or fuel for subsequent use,
processing, or disposal.
``(30) Withdrawal.--The term `withdrawal' has the same
definition as that set forth in section 103(j) of the Federal
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(j)).
``(31) Yucca mountain site.--The term `Yucca Mountain site'
means the area in the State of Nevada that is withdrawn and
reserved in accordance with this Act for the location of a
repository.
``(32) Administrator.--The term `Administrator' means the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
``(33) Suitable.--The term `suitable' means that there is
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