ML20154N826
| ML20154N826 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 07/20/1979 |
| From: | Trubatch S NRC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC) |
| To: | Rehm T NRC |
| Shared Package | |
| ML20154N817 | List: |
| References | |
| TASK-TF, TASK-URFO NUDOCS 9810220104 | |
| Download: ML20154N826 (29) | |
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MEMORANDUM FOR:
Thomas Rehm FROM:
Sheldon L.
Trubatch, GC
SUBJECT:
h COMMENTS FOR THE HEARING RECORD ON S.
685 Attached for your comment are proposed Commission comments for the hearing record on S. 685.. Because the Chairman already n
testified in this bill on May 10, I believe-it is now sufficient U
to supply the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources with additional comments r.egarding specific provisions not addressed earlier.
I.would appreciate your views by July 27.
Attachment:
Draft ltr, Hendrie to Jackson, w/ encl.
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9810220104 790808 PDR ORG NOMA F
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.The Honorable Henry M. Jackson, Chairman I
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources United States Senate ~
Washington, D.C.
20510 i
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Enclosed for inclusion in the hearing record are the Commission's additional comments on specific provisions of S. 685, a bill to establish a program for Federal storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear power plants, and to set
' forth a Federal policy and initiate a program for the l_ong-term storage of nuclear waste from civilian activities.
Our comments focus on the effects S.
685 would have on NRC licensing of waste facilities.
For the reasons noted in O
O my testimony, Commission comment on the siting and licensing provision in Title V of S. 685 would still be premature because the various investigations into the incident at Three Mile Island (TMI) are still ongoing.
However, let me reiterate that once our reviews of TMI have been concluded, we would appre-ciate the opportunity to return to the Committee to address the issues raised in Title V.
In conclusion, the Commission' appreciates the opportunity to comment on this important legislative proposal, and hope that nuclear waste management will receive early attention by Congress.
E S.incerely, Joseph M. Hendrie
Enclosure:
Comments l'
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NRC Comments on Specific Provisions of S. 685
. Title II This Title's proposed procedure, under which the Secretary would acquire com-mercially generated spent fuel, could lead to a gap in NRC authority over spent I
fuel in transit to a repository.
Section 201 provides that the Secretary of Energy is authorized to contract with owners and operators of nuclear power plants for title to spent fuel generated by such plants.
Section 202(c) pro-vides that under such contracts, title to spent fuel will pass to the Secretary l
l at the site of the nuclear power plant.
Section 205 directs the Secretary to O
take p ssessi n f such spent fuel and transport it to a designated storage facility. When the Secretary takes possession of the spent fuel the licensee I
may no longer be subject to NRC regulation concerning that fuel because the licensee would no longer be in possession of the licensed nuclear material. The Secretary may not be subject to NRC regulation until the fuel reaches the reposi-l tory because section 202(3) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA) could be read as providing for Commission jurisdiction only over spent fuel in DOE facilities.
Two alternatives for avoiding this possible regulatory gap are:
O 1.
Section 202(c) of S. 685 couid be emended to provide thet titie to the l
spent fuel will pass to the Secretary at the site of the repository.
This amendment would preserve the Commission's regulatory authority over the spent fuel in transit because title would still be in the licensee.
2.
Section 202(c) could be amended to provide explicitly for NRC authority to regulate DOE's transportation of the spent fuel to a storage facility.
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Title III l
l Section 302 and 303 direct the Secretary to propose site specific designs, specifications,~and costs for an initial waste storage facility within one year of enactment of S. 685. This proposal will be the first prepared for such a facility.
In view of the developing state of technology for waste 1
repositories, the Commission believes that the proposed time period is unrea-listic, and would therefore recommend that no arbitrary time limit be set on the Secretary's preparation of a repository proposal.
V Section 304 directs the Secretary to consult with the Chairman of the NRC and the Administrator of the Environmen';al Protection Agency in formulating his proposal for an initial waste repository.
The Commission notes that consulta-tion with only NRC's Chairman would be inconsistent with the collegial struc-
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ture of the Comission.
Moreover, the nature of the coments the Commission transmit to Congress is not specified.
If the consultation would require j
the Comission to make a formal finding, then the comments might be subject i
n to the formal adjudicatory process required by the Atomic Energy Act.
Even U
if the comments were of an informal character, they could put the Commission in the position of appearing to prejudge the outcome of NRC's licensing process. Consequently, the Commission recomends that Section 304 be amended to provide for informal staff advice on the Secretary's site specific proposal for a waste repository.
Section 305 would significantly modify the Commission's responsibility under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as applied to the Secretary's proposed waste facility.
This section would prevent the Commission from con-sidering alternatives to the proposed site or to the design criteria set out 1
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3 in section 302 of S. 685.
The Commission believes that the current state of disposal technology is too uncertain to foreclose Commission consideration of' site and technology alternatives. Adherence to the NEPA decisionmaking
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process throughout all stages of the development of a waste repository would enable the Comission to better identify, consider, and resolve the issues in-its first licensing review of a proposed waste facility.
Consequently, the Commission recommends that section 305 be amended to require that the applica-tion of NEPA include environmental impacts and alternatives associated directly or indirectly with repository siting, construction, and operation.
See, Pro-nV posed General Statement of Policy, Licensing Procedures for Geologic Reposi-tories for High-Level Radioactive Wastes, 43 Fed. Reg. 53869 (Nov.17,1978).
Title VI Section 601(a)(1), 'among other things, directs the Secretary to include in a low-level radioactive waste plan any need for remedial action at existing low-level waste disposal facilities.
Currently, five existing low-level radioactive waste disposal sites are licensed by States under the NRC Agreement States O
ero9eem.
one such feciiity is iicensed by the NRC.
The Commission beiieves that any remedial action at these sites should be determined by the appropriate governmental bodies exercising jurisdiction over them.
Consequently, the Com-mission recommends amending section 601(a)(1) to insert the word "D0E" after the word " existing."
Regarding section 601(a)(3), the Commission notes that DOE is already developing l
a contingency plan for accepting commercial low-level radioactive waste.
Further-i more, the Commission believes that public health and safety would be better e%.
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4 served.,1f DOE accepted such wastes for disposal rather than " interim storage."
Consequently, the Commission recommends that 'section 601(a)(3) be amended by l
l deleting'the phrase." interim storage" and replacing it with the word " disposal."
I-NRC Rscommended Amendment to Section 202(3)' of the Energy Reorganization Act -
l of 1974 L
L The following. revised version of Section 202(3) of the. ERA incorporates the L
Commission's recommendations,. and is consistent with the'po'sition it has adopted Q
since June 1978.
It also implements the-Commission's understanding of Con-I gressional intent.in this area.
In addition, I would like to point out that the specific reference to spent fuel-in Section 202(3) suggests that a similar explicit reference be made in Section 202(4) of the-ERA.
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Section 202(3) of tfie' Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 should be amended to read as follows:
(3) facilities used primarily for. the receipt and storage lMq of high-level radioactive wastes resulting from activities l
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licensed under such Act, spent fuel generated in commercial L
power reactors licensed under such Act, or spent fuel gener-i ated 'in foreign commercial power reactors and transferred under a subsequent arrangement authorized under such Act.
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o DGrit CONGRESS 1sr SESSloN O
To establish a program for Federal storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants, to set forth a Federal policy and inidate a program for the long-term storage of nuclear waste from civilian activitias, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARC 1115 (legislative day, FEBRUARY 22), 1979 Mr. Jo11xsroN (for himself, Mr. JACKSON, and Mr. CnunCn) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources O
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A BILL To establish a prograin ior Federal storage of spent fuel froN civilian nuclear powerplants,- to set forth ~a~ Federal policy and initiate a. program.for the-long-term storage of nuclear.
waste fro'm civilian activities, and for.other purposes.
1 De it enacted by the Senate and_Hoyse;of Representa-3 2 lives of the United States of America in Congress assembledi 3 That this Act may be pited. as;the Nuclear Waste Polier 4 Act".
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TITLE I-FINDINGS AND PURPOSE 2
FINDINGS 3
SEC.101. The Congress finds and declares that-4 (a) reliable system adequate to provide sufficient 5
electrical energy to meet the Nation's current and an-6 ticipated needs is an essentail part of a comprehensive 7
national energy policy and is vital to national security
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8 and public welfare; E
9 (b) such a system requires a diversified base of i
10 primary energy sources in order to avoid excessive re-1(
11 liance upon any single alternative energy source; l'
12 (c) a diverse base of primary energy sources can 11 13 be achieved only if each available source competes on 11 14-an equal footing in decisions on the siting and con-11 15 struction of facilities for the generation of commercial IT
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17 (d) nuclear energy can-l';
18 (1) make a significant contribution to nation-1E 19 al supplies of electricity; li 20 (2) offer site-specific advantages in environ-2(
21 mental impact, cost, and fuel availability over 21 22 other primary sources of energy; and 22 23 (3) help reduce United States dependence on 20 24 insecure sources of foreign oil; 2.;
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1 (e) the existing Federal policies for civilian nucle-2 ar powerplant siting along with the absence of an ef-i 3
fective Federal policy for the interim storage of spent 4
fuel and long-term storage of nuclear waste from civil-5 inn nuclear activities unreasonably burden the choice of 6
nuclear energy as an alternative primary source in de-
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7 cisions on siting and construction and operation of 8
Powerplants and unduly constrain efforts to establish a O
9 diverse base of pnmary energy sources; i
10 (f) the Federal Government has the responsibility 11 for the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian nucle-i 12 ar powerplants and the long-term disposal of high-level 13 radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities in 14 order to protect the public health and safety and
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15 common defense and security; and rd 16 (g) the costs associated with the storage and dis-17 posal of nuclear wastes from civilian activities should, 18 to the greatest extent possible, be borne by the direct 10 beneficiaries of such activities and should be considered 20 in the selection or rejection of nuclear energy over 21 alternative primary energy sources.
22 PL'RPOSE 23 SEc.102. The purpose of this Act is to-24 (a) assume the Federal responsibility for the ac-25 quisition and interim storage of spent fuel from civilian
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1-nuclear ; powerplants and the long-term disposal of 2
high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activ-3-
ities; 4
(b) establish a Federal policy for the long-term 5
' storage of high-level radioactive waste from civilian 6
nuclear activities; 7
(c) authorize the Secretary to-8 (1) acquire or construct one or more facilities 9
for the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian 10-nuclear powerplants; k
11 (2) select a technology and ' design for a I
12 system comprised of a Federal facility or facilities k
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' for the long-term' storage of high-level radioactive I
14 waste generated by civilian' nuclear activities and I
15 to select a site and' design for the first component
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16' of such a system; I
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'(3) finance the construction, operation, and 1
I 18 maintenance of nuclear waste storage and disposal 19 facilities; I
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20 (c) accelerate the examination and consideration of
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22 storage and disposal of nuclear waste; and 1
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.23 (d) improve the efficiency of the process for the
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1 TITLE II-INTERIM STORAGE OF SPENT FUEL
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FROM CIVILIAN NUCLEAR POWERPLANTS 3
SEC. 201. The Secretary is directed to offer to enter yl i
9 4 into, and is authorized to enter into contracts with persons
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6 clear powerplants which contracts shall provide that the Fed-
't 7 eral Government will (1) take title to spent fuel from such
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'8 9 and operated interim storage facilities and stor.e such fuel
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-3 10 therein, and (3) ultimately dispose of waste products associat-11 ed with such spent fuel.
12 SEC. 202. Any contracts entered into pursuant to sec-13 tion 201 shall provide-14 (a) for a one-time payment by such electric utility 15 at the time of acquisition by the Federal Government g
O is of such spent fuel of a charge per unit of spent fuel, as 17 such unit is defined by the Secretary, which charge is 18 determined by the Secretary to be adequate to cover-19 (1) the cost of transportation of such spent 20 fuel from the powerplant to the site of the Federal 21 interim storage facility; 22 (2) the proportion of the costs of the con-23 struction and the operation and maintenance for a 24 period of not to exceed twenty years' of such Fed-
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1 eral interim storage facility which proportion is 2
associated with such spent fuel; and 3'
(3) a surcharge to reflect the cost of long-4 term disposal of high-level radioactive waste asso-5 ciated with such spent fuel; i
G (b) for the retention by the owner of such spent 1
7 fuel of a nontransferable right to the value of the re-
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8 maining fuel resource less the costs of recovery, as de-LJ 9
termined at the time of recovery. The right so retained 1
10 shall terminate upon any action by the United States 1
11 resulting in the recovery of the remaining fuel resource 1
12 and upon subsequent tender to the owner of the right R
13 to an amount of money equal to the value of the recov-E!
l 14-ered fuelless the costs of recovery; 1
l 15 (c) that title to such spent fuel together with all H
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17 herein, shall pass to the Secretary at the site of the l'
l 18 powerplant; and II 19 (d) that such contract shall become effective upon 11 20 the availability of the interim storage facility, as deter-2 21
. mined by the Secretary by notice in the Federal 2
22 Register.
2 23 SEC. 203. The Secretary shall provide notice of intent 2
24 to enter into such contracts by publishing notice in the Fed-2 25 eral Register not later than one hundred eighty days from the 2
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L 1 date of enactment of this Act. Such notice shall contain such 2 information as the Secretary deems appropriate concerning
't 3 proposed terms and conditions of such contracts including the 4 estimated schedule of charges.
5 SEC. 204. The Secretary is authorized and directed to 6 construct or acquire one or more facilities for the interim 0
7 storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants. Such
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(a) be made available in adequate capacity and in f4 10 a timely manner to accommodate all spent fuel for
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13 (b) be subject to a license under the provisions of g
14 section 202(3) of the Energy Reorganization Act of
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2; 15 1974 (88 Stat.1233).
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O 16 SEC. 205. Subsequent to the date of availability of the Y
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17 interim storage facility the Secretary is directed to take pos-t 18 session of and transport to a designated storage facility any I
l 10 spent fuel which is subject to a contract made pursuant to I:
20 section 201 of this Act, within thirty days from the date on 21 which the owner of such spent fuel provides notice in writing 22 to the Secretary that such spent fuel are available.
23 SEC. 206. There is authorized to be appropriated for j
24 fiscal year 1980 $300,000,000 to remain available until ex-l 25 pended, to carry out the purposes of section 204 of this Act.
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8 1, TITLE III-LONG-TERM DISPOSAL OF IIIGII-2 LEVEL! RADIOACTIVE WASTE RESULTING t
3 FROM CIVIL'LW NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES 4-SEc. 301. It shall be the policy of the Federal Govern-
- 5. ment' to provide a federally owned'and operated system for G the long-term disposal of all.high-level radioactive waste 7 resulting from civilian nuclear activities.
l 8-SEc. 302. Within one year from the date of enactment I
M D 'of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress a
. 10 proposal for a system consisting of one or more facilities for 3
- 11, the long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste result-3j l'2 ing from civilian nuclear activities. Such facility or facilities 3-13 ' shall be designed to-p 3,
' 14 (a) accommodate the storage of spent fuel from ci-3; 15-vilian nuclear activities without reprocessing, as well
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16 as the high-level radioactive waste produced from the 3;
17 reprocessing of spent fuel or which results from other 3j
' 18 civilian nuclear activities; 3
10 (b) permit continuous monitoring, management, 3;
20 and maintenance of the stored spent fuel and high-level gj j.
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.>adioactive waste for the foreseeable future; 9j i
22 (c) provide for the ready retrieval of any stored m
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(d) safely contain such high-level radioactive M
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waste and spent fuel so long as may be necessary, by g-s, 7$,
3 means of maintenance, including, but not limited to, re-4]1 4
placement as necessary, of such facility.
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5 SEc. 303. The proposal shall include-3j L@;d G
(a) the general description, cost estimates, and ev 7
construction schedule for a system which shall be ini-
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to receive in a timely manner the high-level radioactive q
4 10 waste produced by all ongoing civilian nuclear activi-
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11 ties and the spent fuel which has resulted or will result ff si 12 from the operation of all civilian nuclear powerplants jp 13 for which any application for any Federal license or h~
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14 permit has been received prior to the date of enact-(3
- f)g 15 ment of this Act; and nV 10 (b) site specific designs, specifications, and cost g
17 estim tes adequate to solicit bids for the construction d
18 of an initial facility within the system which will dem-19 onstrate the feasibility of long-term retrievable storage 20 as a disposal technique for spent fuel and high-level ra-21 dioactive waste and which has capacity for the storage 22 of not less than one thousand spent fuel rods along f
2.'l with a volume of processed high-level radioactive Q
24 waste from military and other civilian activities limited h
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to.'the-amount sufficient to. accomplish the purpose of 2-this subsection.
'3 SEc. 304.-In formulating the proposal, the Secretary 4 'shall consult with the Chairmag of the Nuclear Regulat_ory
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6 Protection Agency, and shall transmit their comments on the 7 final proposal to the Congress together with the proposal.
8 SEc. 305. (a) Preparation and transmittal of the propos-
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D al.to the Congress shall not be considered to be a major
- 10. Federal action siguFicantly affec' ting the environment within 11.the meaning of section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmen-12 tal Policy Act of 1969 (83 Stat. 852) and an environmental 13 impact statement shall not be prepared on the proposal prior u
14 to said transmittal.-
15 (b) Upon sub' sequent authorization by the Congress of j
f0 16 construction of 'said initial facility, the usual requirements of 17 the National Environmental Policy Act shall apply: Pro-18 vided, That no environmental impact statement required in 19 connection with said facility shall consider any alternative to l
20 the statutorily approved site selection or to the design criteria
- 21. set forth in section 302 of this Act.
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22-(c) In its' consideration of the application filed by the i
23 Secretary for the initial facility, the Commission may not
'24 ; consider any alternative to the statutorily approved site se-
. 25 lection or the design criteria set forth in section 302 of this l~
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1 Act but shall comply with the requirements of the licensing d
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SEc. 300. (a) The Secretary is authorized and directed
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4 to continue a program of research, development, and investi-M 5 gation of alternative technology for the long-term disposal of Mg G high-level radioactive waste from both civilian and national M
sd 7 defense activities. Such program shall include, but is not p;p)
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(1) investigation into the problems of geologic dis-pl) i ]j 10 posal of nuclear waste; sg 11 (2) collection of baseline data and environmental
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10 (ii) placement in deep ocean sediments, y
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17 (iii) placement in very deep drill holes, 18 (iv) placement in a mined cavity in a manner
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's 21 mutation of heavy radionuclides, and geologic dis-
%6 22 posal of fission products,
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gy 24 (4) dissemination of fundamental scientific infor-M d
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(5) development, analysis, and near-term valida-2 tion of long-_ term predictive models; 3
(G) extensive, independent, objective review of re-l 4
sults by scientific experts, and of proposed facilities and 5
operations through the licensing process; 6
' (7) practical experience, including careful monitor-7 ing of nuclear waste isolation systems; 8
(8) a demonstrated capability to take any needed b
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. corrective or mitigating actions; and i
~(0) an ongoing research and development program
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11 to increase the state of the art of knowledge about f
12 storage and disposal of nuclear waste.
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-(b) The Secretary shall report to the Congress his find-(
2 14 ings and recommendations resulting 'from the program
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(1) as a part of the annual report required by sec-17 tion 657 of the Department of Energy Organization 18 Act (91 Stat. 565) the Secretary shall report concern-10 ing the status of the program; and 20 (2) from time to time, the Secretary shall make 21 recommendations arising from his studies concerning a
l 22 the advisability of modifying or replacing the technol-t L
23 ogy adopted pursuant to section 302 of this Act.
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1 TITLE IV-FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS
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Sec. 401. (a) There is hereby established in the Treas-f
/.1 3 ury of the United States a separate account to provide for the f
en 4 operation of the interim fuel storage and long-term storage j
T 5 and disposal program. There shall be covered into the ac-M Qy G count any sums appropriated pursuant to section 206 of this 5$
7 Act and all charges collected pursuant to section 203 as well 8 as any receipts derived from the sale of any reprocessed fuel tj 'p O'
O 0 together with the proceeds from any obligations issued pursu-d 10 ant to section 402 of this title.
W 11 (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Congressional Jg 12 Budget and Anti-Impoundment Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 297),
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13 the Secretary may draw on such account as he deems neces-p j d
w 14 sary to achieve the purposes of this Act with the exceptions e i s
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15 of section 300 and title VL
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O Stc. 402. (a)In order to carry out the purposes of this gj 17 Act the Secretary may borrow money from the Treasury of MI IS the United States in such amounts as may subsequently be
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h 20 $300,000,000. Such borrowings from the Treasury shall g
21 have such maturities, terms, and conditions as may be agreed
?h 22 upon by the Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury, but BS 2?> the maturities may not be in excess of thirty years, and such
&p 24 borrowings may be redeemable before maturity at the option
{j 25 of the Secretary. Such borrowings shall bear interest at a
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1 rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking into 2 consideration the average market in outstanding marketable 3 obligations of -the United States of comparable maturities 4 during the month preceding the issuance of obligations to the 1
5 Secretary. The interest payments on such obligations may be G deferred with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury l
7 but any interest payment so deferred shall bear interest. Said l
8 obligations shall be issued in amounts and at prices approved s
0 by the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the
- 10 Treasury is authorized and directed to purchase any obliga-
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11 tions of the Secretnry issued under this section and for this I
12 purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as 13 a public debt transaction of the United States the proceeds 14 from the sale of any securities issued under the Second Liber-1 15 ty Loan Bond Act, as amended, and the purposes for which IG securities may be issued under the Second Liberty Loan 17 Bond Act, as amended, are extended to include any purchase 18 of obligations from the Secretary under this section.
19 (b) Appropriations made pursuant to section 206 of this 20 Act for the acquisition of an interim storage facility shall be 21 repaid into the general fund of the Treasury out of the ac-22 count, together with interest until the date of repayment at a 23 rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking into
-24 consideration the average market on long-term obligations of 25 the United States during the fiscal year in which such appro-l
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- l 1 priations are made. The Secretary is direettd to repay such 2 appropriation together with interest within thirty years from j
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3 the time at which such appropriations become available for
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1 5
TITLE V-CIVILIAN NUCLEAR POWERPLANT eq G
SITING 5g nj 7
SEC. 501. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amend-8 ed, is further amended by adding a new section 193 to read
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10 "SEC.193. EARLY SITE APPROVAL.-a. The Commis-fld
@M 11 sion is authorized to issue a site permit for approval of a site 12 for one or more production or utilization facilities upon the
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13 application of any person, notwithstanding the fact that no
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@f 14 application for a construction permit for such a facility or 6
A.l 15 facilities has been filed with the Commission. The Commis-N O
10 sion, on the basis of such siting criteria and other re9uire-Oe 17 ments as it may by rule or regulation establish to determine p
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18 the suitability of the site for the contemplated facility or facil-9 10 ities, including, but not limited to-
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"(i) the number, type or types, and thermal power i
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"(ii) the boundaries of the site; h
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"(iii) the general location of each facility contem-
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(iv) the ' anticipated maximum levels of radiologi-2 cal and 'tNrmal effluents associated with each contem-
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"(v): the. seismic, meteorological, hydrologic, and 5
geologic characteristics of the proposed site; and a
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"(vi) the population density of the area surround-
-7 ing the proposed site may issue the site permit, refuse n
8 to issue the. site permit, or issue the site permit with V
D such conditions as the Commission deems appropriate.
10 Any permit issued pursuant to this section shall pre-11 scribe.the term for such permit:
Provided, That no 12 term may exceed years; Provided further, That
-13 upon application for renewal of the permit by the 14-holder of the site permit no less than eighteen nor more than forty-eight months prior to the expiration of
.16 the term and after review of such application pursuant 17 to such rules and regulations as the Commission may 18 prescribe, the Commission may approve such renewal f
i 10 and issue a new permit, reject such renewal, or ap-k
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20 prove such renewal subject to additional or different 1
21 conditions and issue a new permit accordingly. The 1
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22 Commission shall approve any application for renewal 9
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i SS of a site permit unless it finds that significant new in-1 d
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i-24 formation relevant to the site has become available and 9
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is 25 that as a result thereof it is likely that the site will not 9
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comply with the requirements of this Act or the Com-j M
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2 mission's regulations for protection of the public health 3
and safety and the common defense and security.
3 4
"(b) Unless otherwise ordered by the Commission, any 5 applicant for a construction permit for a facility or facilities to 1
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6 be located on a site approved pursuant to this section, may 7 prepare the approved site for concruction alA perform such 8 limited construction aethities thereat as the Commission 0
0 may, by rule or regulation, determine to be permissible. Such 10 activities shall b'e conducted at the risk of the applicant and 11 shall be subject to modification, suspension, or revocation by 12 the Commission at any time. Safety related construction ac-13 tivities may not proceed beyond one year unless the Commis-14 sion extends such period.".
-15 SEC. 502. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amend-Q 10 ed, is further amended by adding a new section 104 to read 17 as follows:
18 "SEC.104. APPROVAL OF 8TANDARDIZED FACILITY 10 DESIGN.-a. Upon application by any person, the Commis-20 sion is authorized to approve any standardized nuclear facili-91 ty design, as defined by the Commission, by rule or regula-22 tion, notwithstanding the fact that no application has been 23 filed with the Commission for a construction permit for such 24 facility. In addition, the Commission may approve prelimi-G 25 nary or final standardized designs for any major subsystem of J
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18 L
1 such nuclear facility which represent a discrete element of 2 such facility, as defined by the Commission by rule or 3 regulation.
.4 "b. An approval pursuant to this section shall be l
5 deemed a ' license' for all purposes of the Atomic Energy Act G of 1954 (68 Stat. 919), as amended, and shall be granted 4
7 only in accordance with procedures established by the Com-8 mission which provide for a rulemaking or manufacturing li-
- O
!L 9 cense proceeding in which a hearing shall be held, as pro-l 10 vided by section 189 a. (1) of the Atomic Energy Act of g
11 1954, as amended.
p 12' "c. Any approval pursuant to this section shall be valid p
l 13 for a period of ten years from the date of issuance and shall
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14 apply and be conclusive with respect to any application incor-p 15 porating such approved design filed with the Commission lV 16 - during the term of the approval.
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17 "d. The Commission may, on its own motion or upon 18 petition by any interested person, consider proposed amend-j l
10 ments to an approval pursuant to this section Provided, how-j 20 ever, That the Commission may not require the modification 3
21 of any standardized design except upon a finding by the Com-j 22 mission, for reasons stated in its order, that such modification 23 will result in substantial improvement to public health and 24 safety, or the common defense and security and the costs 25 justified. In such a proceeding, the burden shall be upon the I
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,be 1 party seeking the modification to establish that such modifi-x w
d 2 cation satisfies said criteria."
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3 SEC. 503. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amend-k 3
K 4 ed, is further amended by adding the new section 275 as 8
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a follows:
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6 SEC. 275. FINAUTY OF DETERMINATION.
"Notwith-
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7 standing any other provision of law with respect to any appli-8 * " " *"bmitted t th C mm SSi n I r 8PProval the determi-O 9 nation made by an agency of a State having jurisdiction over t
10 the siting or licensing of a production or utilization facility for 4
E 11 the generation of commercial power or by the governing body 3
12 of a nonregulated electric utility of (a) the public need and
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L 13 convenience for additional electrical energy and/or (b) the 14 choice of nuclear fuel over other primary energy options shall s
15 be final, conclusive, and binding on the Commission and may E.
I 0
16 not be reviewed nor any alternatives to such determinations bi 17 considered in any proceeding before the Commission or in E
IS any environmental impact statement prepared pursuant to 0
19 section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 20 1000 (83 Stat. 852) if such determination was made after 21 public hearings in accordance with administrative procedures t
22 similar to those which would apply to such determinations if 1.
s 23 made by the Commission. For the purpose of this section p
24 'nonregulated electric utility' has the same meaning as that i
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20 I term has in the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 2.1978 (92 Stat. 3117).".
3 SEC 504. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amend-4 ed, is further amended by redesignating section "185" as 5 section "185 a.", by deleting the fourth and fifth sentences G thereof, and by adding the following new sentences and new 7 subsection: "Upon a finding by the Commission that such 8 facility has been constructed and will operate in conformity 9 with the application, as amended, the provisions of this Act 10 and thi ~!
- d regulations of the Commission, and in the 11 - absence a p.3d cause being shown why the granting of an
-12 operating license would not be in accordance with the provi-13 sions of this Act, the Commission shall issue an operating 14 license to the applicant. For all other purposes of this Act, a 15 construction permit is deemed to be a ' license.'
oV 16 "b. The design and construction of a production or utili-17 zation facility licensed pursuant to section 103 shall comply 18 with the rules and regulatory standards of the Commission in 19 effect on the date of docketing of the construction permit ap-20 plication: Provided, That the applicant may utilize designs 21 which-have been previously approved by the Commission 22 under section 104 of this Act. The Commission may require 23 the design or construction of a production or utilization facili-24 ty to comply with rules or regulatory standards promulgated 25 by the Commission subsequent to such date only if the Com-
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1 mission finds, for reasons stated in its order, that such com-a 2 pliance is required substantially to improve public health and 3 safety or the common defense and security. The Commission 4 shall publish its proposed findings in the Federal Register
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i 5 and provide opportunity for a public hearing thereon pursuant 6 to section 189 of this Act. In such a proceeding, the burden vgW 7 shall be on the Commission to establish that compliance is 1
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8 required and the e sts justified. As used in this parayaph, 9 ' rules and regulatory standards' include design criteria, regu-
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10 latory guides, standard review plans, branch technical posi-f 11 tions, or any other practice or procedure routinely followed w
12 by the Commission.".
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-13 SEC. 505. In order to improve the effectiveness and effi-14 ciency of the civilian nuclear powerplant siting and licensing b
15 process, to facilitate the use of standardized powerplant de-O to signs, and to avoid unnecessary auplication of review among 17 Federal agencies and between Federal and State or local jh 4
18 units of government, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is m
10 hereby designated the lead agency for consideration of all
?
?i 20 applications made to the Federal Government for a license 3
21 for the siting and construction of civilian nuclear power-j t
22 plants, and for the coordination of all Federal responsibility b
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23 for such license.
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-Q Q-1 22 1
TITLE VI-LOW LEVEL WASTE I
2 SEC. 001. (a) The Secretary shall prepare and submit to
- 3 the Congress.within one year after the-date of enactment of 4 this Act a pkn which-5
-(1) defines the disposal capacity needed for pres-6 ent and future low-level waste, and any need for reme-7 diel action at existing low-level waste disposal facili-n 8
ties; V
0 (2) evaluates the transportation requirements for
~ 10 the low-level waste facilities, and defines such require-11 ments on a regional basis; 12' (3) evaluates the ability of the Department of 13 Energf owned and operated low-level waste disposal 14 facilities to provide interim storage for commercially 1
15 generated low-level waste; l O-18-I (4) estimates costs for the above; ana f
17 (5) provides for performance of additional research 18 and development work, as needed.
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10 TITLE VII-DEFINITIONS 20 SEC. 701. As used in this Act the term-i 21 (a) " nuclear powerplant" means a utilization or j
22 production facility for the generation of commercial j
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23
' power as that phrase is used in the Atomic Energy l
24 Act of 1954, as amended; l
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(b) " Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory 2
Commission; i
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(c) " Secretary" means the Secretary of the De-l 4
partment of Energy; 5
(d) " environmental impact statement" means any G
document prepared pursuant to or in compliance with 7
the requirements of section 102(2)(c) of-the National O
8 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (83 Stat. 852); and 9
(e) " spent fuel" means nuclear fuel that has been 10 irradiated in and recovered from a nuclear powerplant.
0 O
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