ML20154P483

Submits Comments on 2189 (Johnston Bill) Which Could Negate Most of Provisions in NRC Proposed high-level Waste Regulation in Enacted Into Law

ML20154P483
Person / Time
Issue date:	02/15/1980
From:	Bunting J NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
To:	Martin J NRC OFFICE OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL SAFETY & SAFEGUARDS (NMSS)
References
TASK-TF, TASK-URFO NUDOCS 9810220341
Download: ML20154P483 (56)

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a L MEMORANDUM FOR': ' John B. Martin,' Director.

Division of Waste Management- 'l

~ FROM: iJoseph 0. Bunting, Jr.. Chief-Licensing Process.and Integration Branch

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SUB' JECT: COMMENTS'ON S. 2189'(JOHNSTON' BILL)

'If enacted into law, S. 2189 could negate most' of the provisions in our

? proposed high-level- waste regulation. _ NRC would be prohibited. from evaluating n; e- a <

Lalternative geologic sites or the design criteria set forth in the legislation, cr j The. geologic repository to be designed under S. 2189 is for " ready retrievability"-

of the nuclear wastes. - As a result many, if not all, of our 1000 year plus criteria for' waste forms and engineered barriers as well as site characterization

probably would be. considered inappropriate.

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- Presented below are comments on S. 21'89:

'1'. ' Section 101(h): The Congress: finds and' declares that the technology._

- . exists and is under development which would provide reasonable' assurance u ithat high-leve1~ radioactive waste can be disposed of and that disposal j

. facilities for can be available when needed. This. finding by Congre:s n may have significant; impaction the~ Commission's waste confidence proceeding.-

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2. Se'ction ~301: This _ provision establishes a -federal policy to provide

for. capacity, as soon 'as possible, for ' interim _ storage of commercial

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spent' fuel at both powerplant and -federally owned away-from-reactor facilities.- l

3. No _ state role is provided for the development, siting and licensing of a disposal facility. 1 3 L4.1 : Section 402: Within one year after enactment of this legislation. DOE  !'

is directed to prepare a proposal for a system consisting of at least x.

~ one facility, that would permit " ready retrieval of any spent fuel and .

high-level radioactive waste for further processing or disposal by an E  : alternative method."

5.; Section 405(c): - The Commission could not consider alternatives to the  ;

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DOE proposed facilit. y site.

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c o L . John B. Martin,- Director FEB 151980 i 6.- Section 406(a) and 402('c):~ DOE .is directed to continue and accelerate its program on geologic disposal in mined' repositories with the objective

of completion of construction and initial operation of at least one

(, demonstration repository by January 1,1988. A repository for the i . ultimate-disposal. is not provided in this legislation.

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i J s ph 0. Bunting, Jr, Chief l:

b ensing Process and Integration Branch, WM

Enclosures:

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2 FEB 15 B80 -

s MEMORANDUM.FOR- JohnB. Martin, Director

Division.'of Waste Management'  ;

FROM:' Joseph 0. Bunting, Jr'.. Chief Licensing Process and Integration-Branch

SUBJECT:

' COMPENTS ON S. 218'9 (JOHNSTIKBILL)_

!f enacted'intoLlaw, S. 2189 could negate most of the provisions in our

' . proposed high-level waste regulation. NRC would be prohibited from evaluating alternative geologic sites or the design criteria set forth in the legislation..

The_ geologic repository to be designed. under S. 2189 is for L" ready:retrievability" of the nuclear wastes. . As 'a' result many,'if not all, of our1D00 year' plus criteria.for waste forms and _ engineered barriers as well as site characterization

probably would be considered inappropriate.

• Presented below are comments on LS. 2189. i

1. - ' Section 101(h): The Congress finds and declares- that ths technology 4

exists 'and is:under development which would provide reasonable assur

that high-level radioactive waste can be disposed of and that disposal, facilities l forican be available when'needed.- ThisfindingbyCongressY may have significant_ impact on the. Commission's waste confidence

' proceeding. -

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2.- Section' 301: This provision establishes a' federal policy to provide!

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' spent for capacity, fuel. at both as soon powerplant'as possible, and federally for interim owned storago of commercial e (N away-from-reactor' facilities. \

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3. No state role is provided for the development, siting and licensing of a' k ,

- disposal . facility. V

-4.. Section 402: . Within one year after enactment of this I6gislation DOE is-directed to prepare a proposal for a. system consisting of at least one facility that would permit " ready retrieval of any spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste' for further processing or disposal by an alternative method."

5. Section 405(c): The Commission could not consider alternatives to the DOE pmposed facility site.

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+ s w  % ;n John B. furtin, Director 6. Section 406(a) and 402(c): DOE is directed to continue and accelerate its program on geologic disposal in mined repositories with the objective of completion of construction and initial operation of at least one demonstration repository by January 1,1988. A repository for the ultimate disposal is not provided in this legislation.

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Joseph 0. Bunting, Jr, Chief 1.icensing Process and Integration Branch. WM

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Enclosures:

As stated 1

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AMENDMENT NO.1655 Calendar No. 582

Purpose:

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITEL STATES-96th Cong.,2d Sess.

S.2189 To ' establish a program for Federal storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants, to set forth a Federal policy l and initiate a program for the disposal of nuclear waste l C from civilian activities, and for other purposes.

l February 6 (legislative day, January 3),1980 t.

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Ordered to lie on the table and to be printed AMENDMENTS intended to be proposed by Mr. HATFIELD l . Viz:

i l 1 On page 10, strike lines 10 through 23 and insert in lieu i

L 2 thereof:

3 "SEC. 501. (a) There is hereby established in the Treas-4 ury of the United States a separate account to provide for (1) t l 5 the construction and operation of Federal away-from-reactor 6 interim storage facilities for spent fuel from civilian nuclear 7 powerplants, (2) the disposal of such spent fuel and high-level i

8 radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities, and (3) the i ..

L . 9 handling.and transportation of such spent fuel and waste.

10 Amounts appropriated under section 308 or otherwise appro-J a

11 priated to carry out any of the purposes of this Act (except

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1 section 400 and title VI), all charges under section 304, re-2 ceipts derived from the sale of any reprocessed fuel, and the 3 proceeds from any obfigations issued pursuant to section 502 4 of this title shall be deposited into the account.

5 "(b) The Secretary may, without appropriations but 6 within such specific limitations as are included in appropri-7 ations Acts, draw on such account as he deems necessary to 8 achievo the purposes of this Act except section 400 and title O VI.".

10 On page 17, lines 24 through 25, strike "for the acquisi-11 tion of an interim away-from-reactor storage facility" and 12 insert in lieu thereof "and any other appropriations made to 13 carry out the purposes of this Act except section 400 and 14 title VI".

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I Caladar No.582  :

i 96rn Coweauss 1 SENATE F Rurcar 1

L No.96-548 Rd Sessions I l

THE NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT

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e JANUARY S (Iestslatife day, JANUART 8),1980.--Ordered to be printed

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~ Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of December 20,1979 O mi.3e srew,1re-theCemmitteeentner 7andNat raineee -e.

" submitted the following REPORT together with SUPPLEMENTAL VIEWS

[To accompany B. 2180)

The CommitteeonEner andNaturalResources havingconsidered the same, reports favorab a bill el from(S.

Federal storage of spent civilian2189), to estab,lish nuclear powerplants, to seta program

- forth a Federal policy and initiate a program for the disposal of nuclear waste from civilian activities, and for other purposes, and ,

recommendsthatthebilldopass.

Trxr or rum Bru, h The text of the bill follows:

That this Act may be cited as the " Nuclear Waste Policy Act".

TITLE I-FINDINGS AND PURPOSE rrwmwos Sze 101. The Congress finds and declares that-a) a reliable system adeguate to provide sufficient ele (ctrical energy to meet the N ation's current and antici. ,,

pated needs is an essential part of a comprehensive na-tional energy policy and is vital to national security and 1 public welfare; '

b an adequate electrical system requires a diversified bas (e o)f primary energy sources in order to avoid excessive rehance upon any single alternative energy source; 69-109-

2 (c) a diverse base of primary energy sources can be achieved only if each available source competes on an equal footing in decisions on the siting and construction of facilities for generating commercial electric power; (d) nuclear energy can-(1) make a significart contribution to national supp) lies of electricit,y; impact, (2 offer site-specific advantages in environmental cost, and fuel availability over other primary sources of energy; and (3) help reduco United States dependence on inse-cure sources of foreign oil; (e) lack of an effective Federal policy for the inserim storage of spent fuel and disposal of nuclear waste from '

civilian nuclear activities unreasonably burdens the choice of nuclear energy as an alternative primary source in decisions on sitmg and construction and opera-tion of powerplants and unduly constrains efforts to &

W establish a diverse base of primary energy sources-the(f) the Federal Government has the responsibility for interim storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants and the disposal of high-level radioactive j waste from civilian nuclear activities in order to protect j the p,ublic health and safety and common defense and i security; (g) the costs associated with the storage and disposal of nuclear waste from civilian activities should, to the greatest extent possible, be borne by the direct benefici-aries of such activitica and should~be considered in the selection or rejection of nuclear energy over alternative primary energy sources; and wh(ich would provide reasonable assurance th and high-level radioactive waste can be safely disposed of and that disposal facilities for spent fuel and high-level wastes can be available when needed.

FURrosE O Szc.102. The purpose of this Act is to--

a tio(na )nd interim storage of spent fuel from civilian n clear powerplants and for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities; of(b) establish a definite Federal policy for the disposal lugh-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities; (c) authorize the Secretary to---

acq the(1)In teru,uire or construct n storage of spentatfuel least onecivilian from facility for nuclear powerplants-(2) select a techno' logy and design for a system comprised of at least one Federal facility for the

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disposal of high-level radioactive waste generated  !

by civilian nuclear activities and to select a site and  !

I design for the first component of such a systemj l

(8) finance the construction, operation, and main-l tenance of nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities; and  ;

(d) accelerate the examination and consideration of alternative technologies for the disposal of nuclear waste.

TITLE II-DEFINITIONS Szo. 201. As used in this Act the term-2 (1) " civilian nuclear powerplant" means a utilization or production facility for the generation of commercial power, as that phrase is used in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which is or will be licensed under such Act; p (2 d Comm) ission;" Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory ter(ial' including long-term monitored storage which3) " dis permits retrieval of the material stored; document (4) " environmental prepared pursuant impact statement" to or means in compliance any with the requirements of section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1909 (83 Stat. 852);

(5) "Secretar mentof Energy;y" and means the Secretary of the Depart-

6) " spent fuel" means nuclear fuel that has been irr(adiated in and recovered from a civilian nuclear powerplant.

TITLE III-INTERIM STORAGE OF SPEh"r FUF1 FROM CIVILIAN NUCLEAR POWERPLANTS Szo.301. a It is the policy of the Federal Government to provide, as s(oo)n as possible, an assured and predictable ca Q lty for the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants.

(b) The policy under subsection (a) shall provide for-maximizing the storage of such spent fuel at the siteo (1)f each civilian nuclear powerplant; and (2 the establishment of a federally owned and oper-ated) system for the interim storage of spent fuel at one or more away-from-reactor facilities.

Szo. 302. The Secretary the Commission and other appro-priate Federal ofIlcials shall take such actions as they consider necessary to encourage and expedite the use of available stor-age at the site of each civilian nuclear powerplant consistent with-the prot,ection of the,public health and safety; economic considerations; e continued operation of the powerplant; l

4 (d) the sensibilities of the population surrounding such powerplant; and (e) otherwise applicable law.

Sec. 303. (a) The Secretary, consistent with such criteria as he prescribes under the policy set forth in section 301, shall of-fer to enter into, and may enter into, contracts with persons owning and operating, or planning to own and operate, civil-ian nuclear powerplants. Those contracts shall provide that the Federal Government will (1) take title to spent fuel from ,

the powerplants, (2) transport the spent fuel to federally l owned and operated mterim away-from-reactor storage facih- 1 ties and store such fuel in the facilites, and (3) dispose of waste products associated with such spent fuel. 2 (b) Nothing in this Act authorizes the Secretary to take '

title to spent fuel, transport spent fuel or dispose of spent fuel or the waste products associatal with spent fuel from a nuclear powerplant not located within the United States.

Sze. 3M. A contract entered into under section 303 shall g

provido--

(a for a one-time payment at the time the Federal Gove)rmnent acquires the spent fuel of a charge per unit as such unit is defmed by the Secretary, of spent which fuel,is determined by the Secretary to charge be ade-quate to cover-(1) the cost of transportation of such spent fuel; (2) the proportion of the costs of the construction and the operation, maintenance and decommissioning of Federal interim away-from-reactor storage facih-ties which proportion is associated with such spent fuel; and (3) a surcharge to reflect the cost oflong-term dis-posal of high-level radioactive waste assoc 2ated with bsuch spent for the fuel; ion by the owner of such spent fuel retent of(a n) ontransferable right to the value of the remaining fuel resource less the costs of recovery the time of :rcovery. The right ends Government-when, asthedetermmed Federal at g (1), takes action resulting in the recovery of the remaming fuel resource; and (2) gives to the owner of the right an amount of money equal to the value of the recovered fuelless the costs of recovery; (c) that title to the spent fuel together with all rights to such fuel, except as otherwise provided in this Act, passes to the Secretary at the site of the powerplant at the timo the Secretary takes possession of the spent fuel; and (d) that the contract becomes efTective when the in- ,

terim awav-from-reactor storage facility is available as

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determineil by the Secretary by notice in the Federal Register.

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5 Szo. 305. (a) The Secretary shall provide notice of intent to enter into such contracts by publishing notice in the Federal Register not later than one hundred and eighty days af ter ther date of the enactment of tisis Act. Such notice shall contain such information as the Secretary considers appropriate con.

cerning proposed terms and conditions of such contracts. ~

cha(b) Theunit rge per Secretary shallrequired of spent fuel establish the one time by subsection payment 301(a on an annual basis based on calculation of the s costs and )ur-charge listed in, subsection 341(a), and shall publish such annual one-time payment charge and the calculation thereof in the Federal Ih gtster. Each such annual one-time payment charge shall become effective 30 days after publication and shall remain effective for a period thereafter of 12 months as the charge for the costs and surcharge listed in subacetion 304(a) for any spent fuel, title to which is transferred to the Federal Government during that 12-month period.

OI Sec. 300. (a) The Secretary shall construct or acquire at least one away-from-reactor facility for the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants. The facilities shall-(1) be made available in adequate capacity and in a timely manner to accommodate all spent fuel for which commitments have been made pursuant to section 303 of this Act; and tio(n 202(3) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 19712) be subject to a license unde (88 Stat.1233). l (b) The Secretary,in providing for the transportation of '

spent fuel imder this Act, shall utilize by contract private in-dustry to the inllest extent possible in each amect of such transportation. The Secretary shall use direct Federal serv-ices for such transportation cnly upon a determination of the Secretnry of Transportation,in consultation with the Secre-tary, that private industry is unable or unwilling to provide such transportntion services.

Src. 307. When an interim away-from-reactor storage fa-cility is available, the Secretary shall take poscession of and trancport to a designated storage facility any spent fuel covered by a contract made under section 303 of this Act. The Secretary shnll take this action within thirty days after the date on 'which the owner of such spent inef provides notice in writine to the Secretary that such spent fuel is avnilable.

Sec. 308. Funds made available to the Secretarv for the purpose of-(a) ncquirine plant and capital equipment or land ; or (b) for planning, construction or modification of >

facilities, to make avniinhle facilities for the interim storare of spent I fnel from civilinn nuclear powerpinnts away from the reactor under any law making appronrintions of funds or authoriza-tions for' appropriations of funds for the fiscal year ending

0 September 30,1970, or the fiscal year ending, September 80, 1980, including funds authorized and appropriated for Proj-cet 70-1-p (Away-From-Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Stor-age Capacity) in legislation authorizing appropriations for the Department of Energy for the fiscal year ending Septem-ber 30,1980, shall be aradable to carry out the purposes of section 306.

TITLE IV-DISPOSAL OF IIIGII-LEVEL RADIO.

ACTIVE WASTE RESULTING FROM CIVILIAN NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES Szo. 401. It is the policy of the Federal Government to provide consistent with section 301 a federally owned and operatch system for the disposal of all high-level radioactive from civilian nuclear activities.

waste resultinfthin one year after the date of the enactment of Sec. 402. W this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Concress a pro-h posal for a system consisting of at least one facility for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste resulting from civil-inn nuclear activities. Such facilities shall be designed to-.

(a accommodate spent fuel from civilian nuclear activ)ities without reprocessing, as well as the high-level radioactive waste produced from the reprocessing of spent fuel or from other civilian nuclear activities; (b) permit continuous monitoring, management, and maintenance of the spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste fo. the (c) provide forforeseeable the ready retr future; ieval of any spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste for further processing or disposal by an alternative method ; and (d) safely contain such high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel so long as 'my be necessary, by means of maintenance, including, t . not limited to, replacement as necessary, of such facility.

Src. 403. The proposal shall includo- &

(a) the general description, cost estimates, and con- W struction schedule for a system which shall be initially designed for a capacity adequate at a minimum to receive in a timely manner the high-level radioactive waste pro.

duced by all ongoing civilian nuclear activities and the

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i spent fuel from the operation of all civilian nucicar powerplants for which any application for any Federal license or permit has been received prior to the date of the enactment of this Act;and (b) site-specific designs, specifications, and cost esti-mates adequate to solicit bids for the construction of an initial facility within the system which will demonstrate a

the feasibilit of long-term retrievable disposal of epent fuel and hi -level radioactive waste and which has capacity of least one thousand spent fuel rods along with a volume of processed high-level radioactive waste

7 from civilian activities limited to the amotmt sufficient to accomplish the purpose of this subsection.

Src. 404. In formulating the proposal, the Secretary shall consult with the Commission and the Environmental Pro-tection Agency, and shall transmit their comments on the final proposal to the Congress together with the proposal.

SEc. 405. (a) Preparation and transmittal of the proposal to the Congress is not a major Federal action sigmficantly affecting)the 102(2)(c of theenvironment National Environmer.tal within thePolicy meaning of1909 Act of section (83 Stat.'852) and an environmental impact statement shall not be prepared on the proposal prior to such transmittal.

b) When Congress authorizes construction of the initial fac(ility, the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act shall apply, except that any environmental impact statement in connection with such facility shall not consider O any alternative to the statutorily-approved site selection or to the design criteria set forth in section 402 of this Act.

jec(t to a heense under section 202(3) of the Energy Reorga-c) Any facility authorized nization Act of 1974 (88 Stat.1233), except that in its con-sideration of the application filed by the Secretary for the initial facility, the Commission may not consider any alterna-tive to the statutorily-approved site selection or to the design criteria set forth in section 402 of this Act but shall comply I with the requirements of the licensing process as otherwise provided Sec. 406.by(law.a) The Secretary shall continue and accelerate a program of research, development and demonstration of the geologic disposal in mined repositories of high-level radio-active waste from civilian nuclear powerplants, with the ob-jective of completion of construction and initial operation of at least one demonstration repository by January 1,1988.

(b) The Secretary shall also continue and accelerate a pro-development and investigation of alterna-gram of research,for the disposal of high-level radioactive tive technologies O wastes from civilian and national defense activities. Such program shall include examination of various waste disposal options including, but not limited to-(1) advanced technologies for the long-term retrievable storage of nuclear waste; lacementin deep ocean sediments; lacement in very deep drill holes; lacement in a mined cavity in a manner which lea s to rock melting:

partitioning of reprocessing waste, transmutation of(5)dionnelides ra and geologic disposal of radioactive wastes; and (6) ejection into space; (c) The programs to be carried out under subsections (a) include--

and (b)(1) collection of baseline data and environmentalin-formation about potential disposal sites;

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, (2) dissemination of fundamental scientific informa-tion; (3)development, analysis and validation of predictive models; 4 extensive, independent, objective review of results by(sc),entific experts, and of proposed facilities and oper-i ations through the heensing including careful monitor-ing(5) practical of radioactive experience, waste isolation systems; process; (6) a demonstrated capability to take any needed cor-rective or mitigating actions; and 7 an ongomg research and development program to inc(re)ase the state of knowledge about the disposal of nu-clear waste.

(d) The Secretary shall report to the Congress his findings and recommmdations resulting from the program authorized by this section, as follows- &

as a part of the annual report required by section W 657(1)f o the Department of Energy Organization Act (91 Stat. 565 the Secretary shall report concerning the status 7 of the pr)ogram; and (2) from time to time, the Secretary shall make ree-ommendations arising from his studies concerning the advisability of modifying or replacing the tecimology adopted under section 402 of this Act.

TITLE V-FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS Sr.c. 501. (a) There is hereby established in the Treasury of the United States a separate account to provide for the operation of interim storage of spent fuel and disposal of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, including trans-portation of such spent fuel and waste. Amounts appropriated under section 808 all charges under section SM, roccipts de- _

rived from the sale of any reprocessed fuel, and the proceeds from any obligations issued pursuant to section 502 of this g

title shafl be deposited into the account.

b) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Congressional Bu(dget and Anti-Impoundment Act of 1974 88 $ tat. 297),

the Secretary may draw on such account as h(e deems neces-sary to achieve the purposes of this Act with the exceptions of section 406 and title VI.

Sr.c. 502. (a) To carry out the purposes of this Act the Sec-retary may borrow money from the Treasury of the ' United States in amounts provided in Appropriation Acts, but not more than $300,000,000. The Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury shall agree on terms, maturities and conditions of the obligations, but the rnaturities may not be more than thirty years. The Secretary may redeem the obligations be-fore maturity. The Secreta of the Treasury shall decide the interest rate of the obli tions considering the average market of outstanding mar table obligations of the United States Government of comparable maturities during the

0 month before the obligations are issued. The interest payl ments on such obligations may be deferred with the approva of the Secretary of the Treasury but an interest payment so deferred shall bear interest. Such obli tions shall be issued in amounts and at priens approved b the Secretary of the Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury shall purchase any obligations of the Secretary issued under this section and for this purpose the Secretary of the Treasurv ~ is authorized to use as a public debt transaction of the United States the pro-ceeds from the sale of any securities issued under the Second Liberty Loan Bond Act. Securities may be issued under that Act, to purchase obligations from the Secretary under this section.

(b Appropriations made available pursuant to section 308 of th)s Act forthe acquisition of aninterim away-from-reactor i

storage facility shall be repaid into the General Fund of the together with interest until the O Treasury date of repayment out of theat account, a rate determined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking into consideration the average market on long-term obligations of the United States durmg the fiscal year in which such appropriations are made. The Secretary shall repay such appropriation together with interest within thirty years from the time at which such appropriations be-come available for expenditure.

TITLE VI-LOW-LEVEL WASTE Sec. 601. (a The President shall prepare and submit to Congress withi)n one hundred and twenty days after the date of the enactment of this title a report which-(1) defines the disposal capacity needed for present and future low-level waste on a regional basis; (2)(A) defines the status of all commerciallow-level nuclear waste disposal sites, including those located at:

(i West \ alley, New York, (i)i)) Maxey (iii Beattv. Nevada,Flats, Kentucky, O (iv Sheflield, Illinois.

(v)) Richland.Washincton,and (vi) Barnwell, South Carolina; (B) includes an evaluation of the license status of each such site, the state of operation of each site, including onerating history, an analysis of the adequacy of dis-posal technology employed at each site to contain low-level wastes for their hazardous lifetimes, and such ree-ommendations for remedial actions and regulatory reforms as the Secretary considers appropriate to assure protection of the public health and safety from wastes transported to such sites; (3) evaluates the transportation requirements on a re-cional basis and in comparison with performance of present transportation practices for the shipment of low-level nuclear wastes, including an inventory of types and es-tu-so-2

10 quantities of low-level wastes, an evaluation of shipment requirements for each type of waste and an evaluation of the ability of generators, shippers, and carriers to meet such requirements;bility (4) evaluates the capa of the Department of En-ergy owned and operated low-level waste disposal facili-ties to provide interim storage for commercially generated low-level waste and estimates the costs associated with and such interim storage;dditional (5) recommends a research and development, as needed.

(b) In carrying out this section the Secretary shall consult with the Governors of the several States, the Nuclear Regula-tory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Geological Survey and the Department of Transportation and such other ag,encies and departments as hefinds appropr,iate.

A L Pmtrosz W The hurpose c f S. 2189 as reported,is to--

stablish a Federal program for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuelaway from the reactor; Require the submission to Congress within 1 year after the enactment of the act of a site-specific proposal for the disposal of spent fuel and high-kvel radioactive waste in repositories per-mittingcontinuousmw 'toringand retrieval of the waste; Direct the continuation and acceleration of a vigorous program of research and develo disposal technologies;pment on a broad range of radioactive waste Itequire the Secretary of Energy to report to Congress on mat-ters rela ted to the disposal of low-level nuclear waste.

IL BACKoRoWD MD Nenn Genemt The public acceptanco of nuclear power is dependent upon resolving a number of areas of concern. Prior to the incident at the Metropolitan Edison Three Mile Island nuclear plant in March,1979, the most press-ing,public issue regarding nuclear power was the safe disposal of radioactive waste. That incident has turned public attention toward insuring adequate safety in the operation of light water reactor plants.

The problem of nuclear waste disposal, however, will remain a major issue regardless of the national policy which evolves from the nuclear safety debate.

Over the past twenty years operating civilian nuclear powerplants have generated considerable v,olumes of spent fuel and other radioac-tive wastes of varying lifetimes and toxicities. During this time the establishment by the Federal Government of a definitive policy for the long-term storage or disposal of these wastes has not been granted high, priority. Meanwhile the quantities of civilian nuclear wastes have contmued to grow as a result of the operation of the 70 nuclear power-plants currently licensed to produce electricity. There are over 90 nuclear powerplants scheduled to come on line during the next 10 years. As these plants begin to generate electric power, the magnitude of the nuclear waste problem will increase substantially.

11 Thus, the Nation is and has been generating spent fuel and other nuclear wasto, and this waste must be stored somewhem with or with-out competent management policies. The issue with regard to nuclear waste management is, therefore, whether the policy should be to build suitable storage facilities in the near future, while we continue to com-i pare potential solutions, or whether we regard the current essentially ad hoo approach to nuclear waste storage as adequate, until such time in the indefinite future that an " optimum" wasto disposal method becomes feasibhs Spent Fuel The stated policy of the Federal Government has always been that the safe disposal of high-level radioactive waste is to be accomplished under Federal management. IIowever, the nuclear industry was n historically encouraged to deal with spent nuclear fuel throuwh re-processing. In the af termath of a Presidential decision in Aprifl077, to defer commercial reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel for the indefi-O nite future, the utility mdustry asked the Administration for a resolu-tion of the growing spent fuel problem. Since the announcement in October 1977 of the Administration's spent fuel policy, there has been __

continual debate over the need for federally-owned, away-from-stora reactor Review Group (AFR)(IRG)ge reportcapacity on nuclearfor spent waste fuel. The management Interagency was com-pleted in March 1979, and it reiterated the need for away-from-reactor storage and endorsed the Presidential Policy Statement.

In spite of evident concern in parts of the executive branch with ele-ments of nuclear waste policy, much of the momentum generated by the administration's promising start in this area has been lost in indecision and inaction. In the meantime, the lack of a clear policy has been in-creasingl apparent in the reluctance of the courts and other authori-ties to filf the vacuum created by indecision at the Federal level.

Utilities have been providing for storage of spent fuel at their reac-tor sites. When the original capacities of the storage basins including a " full core reserve" are committed, utilities will have to rerack their basins using higher densitv racks or remove spent fuel from the reactor '

site. The reracking technique can increase original storage capacities g O up to four times. Ilowever, the extent of utihty reracking must con.

sider the st ruct ural integrity of the basin, seismic loadings, and existing fuel stomd in the pool, as well as utility projections of how much addt-tional capacity would be required before some form of disposal facility for the fuel would exist. In the current regulatory climate, utilities are hesitant to provide additional storage capacities up to a lifetime (30-40 years) of discharges only to be faced with possible regulations requir-mg shipments or limiting storage. Such limits have been imposed in some states. The threat of additional regulations the indefinite deferral and increasing of reprocessing, interrenor the nonavailability actions against any efforts to of a repository,ditional provide ad storage capacity make it almost impossible for a utility to accurately predict and plan for its own storage. Since the Federal Government has justi-fiably played a role in creatinn this uncertainty and since the Depart-ment of I!nergy (DOE) has uftimate responsib'ility for waste disposal ,

DOE has proposed to accept spent fuel for interim storage and disposal in cases where a utility cannot reasonably provide for the entirety of its own storage needs. The reasons may vary from economic and engi-d

12 neering constraints to regulatory restrictions. Given a free commercial market place for storage services such Government action might not be necessary. IIowever because of the policy uncertainties currently fac-ing the nuclear fuel cycle and the Government's responsibility for resolving them, at least a limited offer of Government storage is war-ranted and necessary to ensure that no reactors are forced to shut down or curtail their dehrery of power for reasons of inadequate spent fuel storage.

l

' In determining how much storage is necessary and what amount the Government should provide, changing utility plans for on-site expan-sion and fuel shipments, generation rates ar m new reactor schedules must be forecast. In February 1979, DOE published a re

" Spent Fuel Storage Requirements-The heed forFrom-Reac- Awayport entitled tor Storage" (DOE /E'l--0075) which estimated a range of storage requirements from existing domestic reactors from about 5,000 metric tous of fuel (3ITU) in 1983 based upon existing reactor basin capaci-ties down to about 270 3ITU based u capacities. For planning purposes only,pon a base case of projected 53031TUinmaximum 1983 W basm &

3,800 MTU in 1988 and 14,000 31TU m 1993 was presented based upon, utility storage plans as of December 1978,includinw one transshipment within a utility. The report also examined a numEer of other factors such as full core reserve, burnups and powerplant capacity factors.

While the numbers presented in the base case were challenged by a num.

ber of sources, the wide range of storage requirements represented the more important information. In no case do these requirements disap-under every scenario they grow exponentially for the pear.

remainder Rather[

o the century simply because of the mevitable fill-up of available at-the-reactor storage capacity.

Federal AFR facilities will be subject to a comprehensive Federal licensing process. Given the lead times associated with site selection, construction, environmental analysis and licensing it is unlikely that a Federal AFR facility can be available before the mid-1980's. There-fore, a need for Federal action exists now and will escalate rapidly in the future. It is only prudent to provide insurance against a storage shortfall so that a critical shortage threatening reactor shutdowns will not occurin the near iuture.

Recently DOE has surveyed the utilities to update its requirements projections. According to the Department, utilittes are plannmg to pro-vide their maximum storage capacities through rerackings and there-fore actual storage requirements are approaching the low side of DOE's projected range. The range of uncertamty may also be reduced, barring legal or other institutional problems,if utilities are able to rerack their basins. On the other hand, there is growing opposition to fuel trans-shipments between reactor basins since this represents a stop cap mens-ure which should only be used as necessary for prudent fuel manage-ment. Therefore, although the extent of the storage requirement imeer-taint v has been reduced, a non-zero near-term AFR requirement almost certainly does exist, and a range of possible requirements will remain because'of uncertainties in approvals of utility plans and engineering reviews of basins.

To efectuate long standing Federal poliev and provide a reasonable hedge ngninst these uncertainties, legstati'on is required which pro-vides the funda for DOE to obtain AFR capacity and the authorities to take title to spent fuel from those utilities with a pressing problem

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and to charge a one-time fee suflicient to recover Federal costs for transportation, interim storage,and long-term disposition of the radio-active wastes contained in the spent fuel.

Prior to consideration of this bill the Committee has acted twice in the past to address the issue of interim storage of domestic spent nuclear fuel during consideration of the fiscal year 1979 DOE authori- .

zation bill and the fiscal year 1980 DOE authorization bill.

In S. 688, the pending fiscal year 1980 DOE Authorization hill, the Committee authorized project 79-1-p, which is a facility or facilities sufllcient'to store up to 5,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel away from the reactor. The project would be authorized for a total cost of

$300 million but with $275 million contingent on the passage of the generic legislation which establishes title transfer, user fees, and other program operating procedures. The $25 million that was approved for appropriations is m, tended for such things as site-specific envimn.

mental impact statements and site-specific design. Of these funds $5 O million were authorized for the purpose of conducting a further studyof the need for awa cost and potential sites. The Committee anticipated that the project would result in multiple facilitles to provide regional storage of spent -

nuclear fuel. '

With regard to the storage of foreign nuclear spent fuel, the Senate adopted a provision which became Section 107 (,f the fiscal year 1978 DOE Authorization Act (Public Law 95-238 .This seetion authorizes studies of international Fpent fuel storage b)ut prohibits agreements between the United States and other natim s regarding storage of for-l eign spent fuelin the United States unless there has been prior notifica-l tion and authorization for such storage.

i Disposal of Ifigh Level Radioactice Waste The disposal of high-level radioactive waste from nuclear reactors has been a clear requirement since the beginning of the nuclear weap-ons program during World War II. The problem of high level radio-active waste from commercial nuclear powerplants has been essentially a prosepetive one since the first nuclear powerplant started operation in 1957. Except for a small amount of spent nuclear fuel wnich has been reprocessed at the nuclear fuel service plant in West Valley, New O York, most of the spent fuel from commercial operations thus far has been stored anticipating the advent of a commercial reprocessing indus-try to extract the useful uranium and plutonium from spent fuel. It was envisioned that the high-level radioactive waste from the spent fuel ,

would be immobilized m a proper solid medium for disposal by one of several possible techniques, with geologic disposal being the option given the greatest attention.

With the decision of the Administration to defer commercial re-processing and to support the interim storage of spent fuelin federally-owned facilities, the issua of high-level waste disposal in a long-term facility is not the immediate question.While a once-through fuel cycle with the sub*quent disposal of ment nuclear fuel has been proposed by ,

some people, the irretrievable disposal of spent nuclear fuel prejudges '

the question of reprocessing at some point m the future. The bill upon s which this legislation is based. S. 085, a9 introdneed. directed the See-retary of Energy to submit within one yent afler enactment a detailed pmposal for a facility which would provide for the long-term, retriev-

14 able, managed disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level waste interchangeably.

The sponsors of the hill believe that this approach is technically feasible today and is neutral with respect to the option for further processing of the spent fuel or the high-level waste. It also preserves the option for transfer of these materials to another facility at some point in the future should the original facility become obsolete or a better storage facility developed. During the hearings the Committee

- received testimony which strongly supported the desirability of going forward now with retrievable managed facilities for the long-term disposal of these materials. For instance, Dr. It. Philip IIammond, of Ilesearch and Development Associates in Marina Del Ilay, California, said, in part :

The public visualizes an enormous growing problem that will extend for many years, and yet if the entire United States were nuclear powered, each person's share of the an-nual waste produced would be the size of an aspirin tablet and this amount is certainly a different problem than the tons of waste you get from coal and other sources of energy.

My second observation has to do with the resistant, stub-born and mistaken approach of of!1cials in their emphasis on terminal, permanent storage. We want to get rid of the prob.

lem for good and all and that is a laudable ambition, but I believe it is the source of most of the difliculty in present and past approaches. I believe that though this can be a tech-nically valid approach, it has to be shelved at the moment.

The public is convinced that terminal storage methods mean losing control of the waste. The last thing we want to happen is to say we are losing control of the waste.

So that is an important factor. My third observation is that the alternative to terminal storage is retrievable storage.

Somehow this has come to imply temporary storage and yet when you think about it, there is no reason that these have g to be connected in that way.

In fact separating the thought has a lost merit because if w you have, retrievable storage you can begin storage without proof of the geologic survival and all the other "if" factors that go into losing control.

IIowever if you do it right this retrievable storage could be permane,nt. In other words. leaving it there could be one of the options, and I think that should be very carefully thought about.

. . . . . e .

Other testimony during the hearings su mch facilities can clearly be built today,pported thedisposal while geologic conclusion in that an irretrievable way is much further from realization.

Low.Teve1 TVaste During much of 1079 substantial public concern has been directed to the policy for management of low-level nuclear waste. As a result, problems associated with the disposal of low-level radioactive wastes

15 from hospitals, universities, industrial manufacturing plants, and nuclear powerplants have intensified and the case for a review of this policy seems strong. .

In the early 1900's, six commercially operated low-level waste dis- ,

posal facilities were established through the country. Over the past few years, these six operating sites have come under inemased criticism regarding their methods of. operation. At present there are only two of these low-level waste disposal sites which remain in operation. One of these two sites does not accept certain low-level waste containing liquids. As a consequence, efforts may be ap iroaching a critical stage for the continued disposal of approximatel 3 million cubic feet per year of low-level waste generated in the Uni ed States.

Between 30 and 40 percent of the volume of low-level waste stems from medical use of isotopes to treat or diagnose illness. For instance, approximately 250,000 people annually have injections of radioactive -

isotopes to detect pulmonary embolisms, which are difficult to detect by i O torice are aimed at basic understanding of physical, biologic and chem-any other method. The nu ical processes and the education of student < for a host of technical fields. In normal operation there are smnli quantities of low-level - -

radioactive wastes generated in nuclear powerplants in systems to pur-ify the water in reactors cooling systems.

Conclusion ,

IIistorically, the Congress has not legislated a broad miclear waste management policy with specific goals and objectives. Instead, the nu-clear waste management policy was established by each Administra-tion. The main role of Congmss has been to authorize and appropriate funds for activities to implement the policy.

In view of the rising public concern with all areas of domestic policy toward nuclear power the time is rapidly approaching when Congress may find itself enmeshed in several ditTennt issues based on this pub-lic concern. It would be unfortunate if these controversies had the effect of delaying responsible efforts to develop an effective and credible nuclear waste disposal policy. Nuclear waste presents problems we already have and will have no matter what our national decision is O3 with thisregard toan report is nuclear attemptpower. Themotion to set into legislation thosediscussed actions whichelsewhere are in necessary to deal with these problems.

III. SUMMAltr oF 31AJoR FRovisloNS The bill as reported contains three major provisions, as follows:

(1) Title III sets forth a policy and a program for interim Federal storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants in facilities of assured and predictable capacity away from the powerplant sites. In implementing this policy, the tamporary storage of s dividual powerplant storage pools is to be maximized, pent fuel at in-and the Secre-tary of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other appro-priate agencies are to encourage and expedite the use of available storage at these sites consistent with certam conditions.

When this temporary storage proves inadequate, the Secretary is authorized to take title to spent fuel at the powerplant site, arrange for its transfer to a licensed interim Federal away-from-reactor facility

10 and dispose of waste products associated with the fuel. A utility trans-ferring spent fuel under this program would pay a one-time charge to cover the costs of this transportation, storage and disposal, while re-taining a nontransferable right to the value of any remaining fuel so transferred. -

A revolving fund is established for the support of the program. This fund would contain appropriations authorized under other law for such facilities, the proceeds from utility payments for spent fuel and funds borrowed by the Secretary of Energy as authorized in the act.

fue(l and high-level radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities is2) A policy of Federal lo established. The act stuires the Secretary of Energy to submit to Con-gress within 1 year a site specifle proposal for the first module of a sys-tem for the disposal of nuclear waste in licensed repositories permit-ting continuous monitoring, effective maintenance and ready retrieval of the material. The proposal is to include cost estimates and a pro-posed construction schedule for facilities with adequate capacity to &

accommodate high-level radioactive waste from all ongoing civilian W nuclear activities and the operation of all civilian nuclear powerplants for which a Federal license application has been made.

After transmittal of the proposal, assuming construction is author-ized by Congress, the facilities comprising the system would be subject to a license by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, except that in this process the Commission would not consider alternatives to the statu-torily approved criteria for the facility.

Concurrently, the Secretary of Energy is directed to accelerate pro-grams to exanune alternative technologies for the disposal of hi radioactive wastes from civilian and national defense activities,gh-level includ-ing geologic disposal, disposul in very deep drill holes, disposal in deep ocean sediments, and nuclear transmutation.

3 i de(ailed study of the disposal of low-level radioactive waste. Thist ) The President is directe study must contain projections of capacity requirements, evaluation of eiisting sites, analysis of transportation problems and certain other matters set forth in the legislation.

IV. LtorsranvE HisTony Senator Johnston introduced S. 695 on 3farch 15,1979, for himself, g

Senator Jackson and Senator Church. Senator Tower was added as a cosponsor to S. 685. The Administration's proposed legislation to pro-vide for the management of spent fuel from nuclear n' actors, S. 797, was introduced by Senator Jackson (by request) on 3farch 27. Hear-ings on these bills were held by the full committee on 31ay 10 and 3f ay 22, and by the Subcommittee on Energy Regulation on .luly 19.

The committee met in open business session on December 6,7 and 10.

on these bills and on December 10 by maiority vote ordered reported an original bill containing provisions addressing matters dealt with by these bills.

V, Connitrre Recounr.xnrrwx Axn Tantranox or Vons i The Committee on Energy and Natural Resourecs, in open busi-T ness session on December 10, 1970, by majority vote of a quorum present, reconunends that S. 2189, descriled herein, he approved by the Senate.

- - - ~ '

17 l l

During the committee's consideration of the bill l votes were taken on amendments These offeredvotes to the bill. voice and rollcall were taken in open business session, have been announced publicly by the and are included in the minutes of each session in accord-committee,he ance with t requirements of section 133(b) of the Legislative Reor-ganization Act of 1940, as amended.

The rollcall vote on the motion to report the bill was 13 yeas and 3 nays as follows:

TEAS NAYS Jackson Durkin 2 Church

• Melcher

• Johnston Bradley pers Metzenbaum Matsunaga

• O T McC Eure e-Domenici ~

Stevens

• Bellmon '

Wallop

• Indicates voted by proxy.

D. OECTIoN-BY-SterloN Analysis '

TrrLE I---FINDINoS AND PURPOSE Beotion 101. Findinga Section 101 states that the national need for sufficient energy de-pends upon a diverse base of primary energy sources which compete on an equal footing and that absent a program for waste storage and disposal nuclear energy cannot so compete. Congress finds that the res wit $onsibilit[eral the Fe Government and that the costs associated with suchfor both the storage and dispo f be borne O storage by the directand beneficiaries disposal should, to theactivities.

of nuclear greatestThis extent the finding that technology for storage and disposal which would possible,lso section a states provide reasonable assurance that waste can be safely disposed of ex-Ists and is under development and that adequate disposal facilities can be available when needed.

Section 109. Purposes This section lists the objectives of the act. These are to provide for ,

interim storage and long-term disposal of spent fuel and high-level p

radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities, and to develop al-ternative technologies for alternate storage and disposal of such material.

TrrLE rr-otrINmoxs Section 201 This section defines certain terms used in the act. The term " civilian nuclear powerplant" is defined as a facility using nuclear energy for the generation of commercial power which is licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The term " disposal" is defined to include long- .

18 term monitored, retrievable storage. The term " spent fueP' is defined to exclude fuel irradiated in and recovered from a powerplant which has not been licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Therefore, foreign spent fuel and spent fuel from unlicensed domestic military facilities are not covered by this Act.

TITLE III-INTEnIM STORAGE oF BPENT FUEL FROM CIVILIAN NUCLEAn FoWERrLANTs Section 301 This section states the policy of the Federal Government to provide as soon as possible, an assured and predictable capacity for the interim, storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants. Such policy should maximize the storage of spent fuel at available storage sites at individual power plants while providing for a federally owned and operated system for the interim storage of spent fuel away from the reactor in the case that available onsite storage is inadequate.

Section 303 This section directs the Secretary of Energy, the Nuclear Regula-tory Commission and all other appropriate Federal ofileials to take the actions they consider necessary to encourage and expedite the use of available stora considerations.go The at individual committee powerplant recognizes thatsites consistent existing with certain onsite storage facilities have been designed for temporary storage of spent fuel only.

This fact. and the Administration policy decision to defer the licensmg of facilities for the reprocessing of spent fuel. makes the construction of additional spent fuel storage facilities inevitable. The committee ex-pects that electric utilities operating nuclear powerplants will make the best use of onsite storage options before seeking to transfer spent fuel to the Federal Government. IIowever, other considerations, not the least of which are the protection of the public health and safety and the need to provide adequate and reliable supplies of electric en-ergy, make it essential that an option to remove spent fuel to an ade-quate away-from-reactor facility be available when needed.

The committee expects that the Secretary will prescribe such cri-teria as he considers appropriate under which an electric utility can satisfy the Secretary that one or more of the considerations enumer-ated in this section require the transfer of spent fuel to Federal away-g from-reactor facilities.

Section 303 This section authorizes the Secretary, consistent with criteria he prescribes under the policy set forth in section 301, to enter into con-tracts to take title to and transport spent fuel to interim away-from.

reactor storage facilities and to dispose of waste products associated with the spent fuel. The authorization to transport spent fuel contem-plates the use where possible of private inductry under contract to i the Federal Government to actually perform the transportation serv-ices. The use of private contractors for such r+rvices is explicitly ad.

dremed in sulsection 30G(h). As specified in sub2ection 305(b),

nothing in this Act authorize < the Secretnry to take title to spent fuel, to transport spent fuel or to dispose of the waste products associated with spent fuel from a civilian tiuclear powerplant located outside the United States.

19 Section 304 This section provides 1 that the contracts will include a charge sufficient to cover thet cos(s )of transportation, storage, and disposal of waste material, including the costs of construction of the storage fa-cility, (2) that the owner will retain a right to the value of the resid-ual fuel resource which will be redeemed by, the Secretary should such spent fuel be reprocessed at some future ttmo, (3) that with the ex-ception of that right all title and rights to the spent fuel will pass to the Secretary, and (4) that the contract will become effective upon -

the availabihty of an interim storage facility.

The Committee intends that the magnitude of the one-time payment for a given load of spent fuel be based on the best available estimate of the full cost of transportation, interim storage and disposal available at the time that fuel is transferred to the Federal Government. Thus, as specified in subsection 303(b), the one-time charge would be com-puted on an annual basis in accordance with a methodology specified O by the Secretary for estimating quantities such as the cost of the in-terim away from-reactor storage, waste encapsulation for disposal, transportation to a dis ~^ ~ ^ ~

disposal facility itself,posal facdity, costs and other overhead construction andGov-of the Federal operation of the '

ernment. However, the bill does not permit the support of Federal re-tearch and development efforts from funds derived from the spent fuel charge. As estimates of these and other costs of the program change, the magnitude of the charge would also change, so that over time the full cost of the program will be recovered from the beneficiaries of the electricity produced from the spent fuel.

The Committee feels it is essential for the purposes of orderly plan- .

ning by electric utilities and regulatory authorities that the charge for any given load of spent fuel be predictable and bounded. At any given time certain components of this charge must of necessity be estimated.

Charges for subsequent transfers of fuel will be adjusted as knowledge of costs improves to insure that all appropriate costs are assessed the generators of spent fuel.

The section also provides for the retention by the generator of spent fuel of a nontransferable richt to the value of any remaining fuel re-source less recovery costs. There is a significant residual fuel value in f O spent fuel rods. This measure does not address the issue of eventual reprocessing of spent fuel. The activities which would le authorized by the measure would permit any ultimate resolution of the issue. The ,

p'rovision for a non-transferrab'le right to the remaining fuel value simply recognim: the real ownership of that value if it is eventually realized by the Federal Government.

Section 305 This section provides that the Secretary shall provide notice of in-tent to enter into contracts within 180 days of tlie date of enactment of this Act by notice in the Federal Register.The Secretary is required to establish the one-time charge for spent fuel on an annual basis and publish the charge and the calculation upon which it is based in the Federal Register. The charge will become etTective 30 davs after pub- -

lication and shall remain effective for a 12-month period'thereafter. . .

& etton 300 -

This section directs the Secretary to acquire an interim away-from-reactor stcrage facility which is licensed and which has sufIlcient ca-pacity to accommodate all spent fuel contracted for.

20 In addition, subsection (b requires that the services of private firms will be used by the Sec)retary to the fullest extent possible to transport spent fuel to which the Secretary has taken title and that direct Federal services may be used for such transportation only upon a determination that private firms are unable or unwillmg to pruvide transportation services.

The Committee does not intend by this subsection to re9uire the Sec-retary to enter into contracts involving unreasonable prices or terms.

The Committee expects that the Secretary of Transportation will not hesitate to make the finding required by this subsection in any instance where private firms prove unable or unwilling to enter into a contract with the Secretary of Energy at reasonable cost, with appropriate re-gard for safety and providing services of acceptable quality.

Section 307 This section provides that the SecIttary will take possession of spent fuel withm 30 days from the date on which he receives notice from the owner of the spent fuel that the fuel is available.

Section 308 This section authorizes for the construction of an interim away-from-reactor storage facih,ty under this Act, the use of funds author-ized to be appropriated for a similar facility under the fiscal year 1980 Department of Energy authorization legislation and funds au-thorized or appropriated to the Secretary of Energy for such facili-ties under previously enacted laws.

TITLE IV-DIsrosAL oF IIIoII-LEVEL nADIoACTIVE WASTES REsULTINo fro 31 CIVILIAN NUCLEAR ACriv1 TIES Section 401 This section states the policy of the Federal government to pro-vide for a federally-owned and operated system for disposal of all high-level radioactive wastes from civilian nuclear activities.

The Committee intends that the Federal responsibility for disposal of angiven quantity of high-level waste resulting from the operation of a cIvtlian nuclear powerplant commence when the spent fuel from which the waste is derived has been transferred to the Secretary under the provisions of Title II and that this responsibility extend as long as may be necessary into the future. Thus the statement of policy in this section is not In conflict with the intent, expressed in subsection 301(b), to maximize the use of available temporary on site storage facilities forspent fuel.

Beetion402 This section requires the Secretary of Energy to transmit a pro to the Congress within one year for a system for disposal levelof high posal radioactive waste resulting from civilian nuclear activities. The fa-cilities in the system are to be designed so as to accommodate the storage of spent fuel without reprocessing as well as the high-level radioactive waste products of reprocessing. The design shall also allow for continuous monitoring and management of the waste, ready re.

trieval of such waste for processing or disposal, and shall be adequate to provide indefinite storage through mamtenance or replacement of the facility.

21' Section403 This section provides that the pro al will include the descrip-tion, cost estimate, and construction iedule for the system as well as

• the sito specific designs and specifications for an imtial facility to demonstrate the feas'bility of long-term retrievable storage as a dis-i posal technique for both spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste. ,

Section 404 This section provides that in formulating the proposal the Secretary of Energy will consult with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and ,'

the Environmental Protection Agency and will transmit their com-ments to the Congress with the proposal.

Section 405 l Subsection proposal toCongress the(a) states thattothe is not subject preparation the National and transmittal of the Environmental Pohey Act NEPA). Subsection (b) provides that should the Con-the usual requirements of NEPA O gress will applyauthor (izeprocess to the licensing the initial facility'for the facility except with respec approved site selection and the design criteria re- ~ ~' ' .

to quired the by statutorilySubsection statute. (c) provides that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in reviewing the application for a license filed by the Sec-retary for the initial facility may not consider any alternative to the statutorily approved site or design criteria. .

In providmg that the preparation and transmittal of the proposal required under this title shall not be a major Federal action under NEPA the Committee is not expressing a lack of interestin an assess-ment of the environmental impacts of the pronosal. Indeed, the Com-mittee expects that the proposal will be accoinpanied by a thorough analysis setting forth the significant environmental consequences of a system of retrievable monitored disposal and providing background information data and predictions concerning these consequences. Sub-section (a) , reflects the Committee's selection of a particular timing sequence for Congressional involvement in reviewing and making choices about a specific approach to nuclear waste disposal. This selec-tion is made necessa by the unique nature of the nuclear waste dis-O posal options availab.e to the nation.By their very nature several of these options will be re thorough analysis and ' defensible cost estimation in the near term.

Geologic disposal, disposal in deep drill holes or ocean sediments, and nuclear transmutation are alternative conceptual approaches to nu-clear waste disposal which the Committee feels are worthy of accel-erated investigation and, in the case of geologic disposal, early demon-stration. ]Iowever, under nearly any scenario, the Nation is many years away from a decision leading to the construction of specific fa-cilities based on these concepta. T!us cannot be said about the concep-tual approach of section 402 of the Act upon which the proposal the Committee is requesting must be based. There is little doubt-and the Committee's hearing record strongly supports this view-that for the foreseeable future, retrievable, momtored storage of nuclear waste is a feasible disposal option. Its costs can be well understood and its safety guaranteed to specified levels of tolerance. In enacting this title ,

the donunittee is makmg the judgement that this conceptual approach u

22 should form the basis for a specific executive branch proposal to be submitted within a year to Congress. To require preparation of a NEPA environmental impact statement, which must attempt to fully analyze alternatives to the conceptual approach chosen, would force the executive branch to devoto a vast amount of effort to the study and evaluation of matters which are not even relevant to the proposal Con-gress is requesting in this legislation.

Moreover, should such an impact statement be attemptegl,it is not at all clear that Congress would have an opportunity to review the pro-posal it is requestmg in the time frame set forth in the Act. The intent of this Act is to obtain specific design and cost information for a par-ticular nuclear wasto disposal concept. The concept chosen is one for which such information can be obtained in a year. The Committee does not intend to deny itself this information by submitting the p oposal sought to inappropriate procedural requirements. More importantly, the Committee believes that further delay in formulating a specibe pmposal which could be implemented if authorized unnecessarilv sub- g jects the public to the uncertainties and potential hazards of a'd hoo management of nuclear waste.

Upon authorization by Congress the usual requirements of the li-

~ '

uirements of the National Environ-censmg mental Policyprocess, Act, willincluding apply, wi the re<}th only one exception. In preparing an environmental unpact statement under NEPA for the congression-ally approved proposal, or in considering the Secretary's application ,

for a heense for a facility in the system, alternatives to the site selection so approved or the design criteria set forth in section 402 of this Act (for example, the monitoring capability and the fact that the storage concept will permit retrieval of the waste) shall not be considered.

The Committee's reasons for these specifications should be clear. The  ;

Congress will have directed the adoption of a particular conceptual l approach and authorized construction at a particular site. In this con- I text, extensive consideration of alternative conceptual approaches and alternative sites will only divert effort from the exhaustive analysis the Committee fully expects will take place with respect to the alterna-tive ways of carrying out the statutory directive.

Section 40G Subsections (a), (b), and (c) re AW accelerate a program of research, development, quire theand Secretary to continue investigation of and technology for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Subsection 4 (d) directs the Secretary to report his findings and recommendations as a part of his annual report pursuant to the Department of Energy Organization Act or as he finds appropriate.

The Committee intends that alternative technologies for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste he developed on an urgent basis. When the state of knowled.ge concernine any of these technologies reaches the level which justifies a site- and cost-specific lyroposal the Commit-tee expects to be notified. The adoption of this title in no way dimin-ishes the Committee's interest in alternative waste disposal tech-nologies. Rather, the approach adopted under section 402 is one which permits the early implementation of any alternative technology for 1 which superiority can be demonstrated.

23 g 4 TITLE V-FINANCIAL ARnANGEMENTS $ .

Sectim Sol ceive all fund (s for the administration of the interim and long-termSubsection a) establi including transportation, and provides that the storage facility}or the facility, borrowings for the subsequent opern-appropriations tion of the program, as well as receipts and charges collected pursuant to the program shall be covered into the account. Subsection (b) pro-vides that the funds in the account will be available to the Secretary for expenditme to accomplish the purposes of the Act except for the research and oevelopment program which is separately authorized and funded under the Department of Energy Authorization Act, and the study required under title VL Bection 509 Subsection (a) authorizes the Secretary of Energy to borrow sums O from the Treasury to be repaid with interest in such amounts as may be provided for in ap,propriation acts but not to exceed $300 million.

Subsection b provides that any appropriations for the interim storage facih(t shall be considered to be borrowings and shulllikewise . , _ . _

berepaidwit interest.

TrrLE VI-Low-LEVELwAsrs Section 001 This section provides that the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congmsa withm 4 months evaluating several specific matters, and makmg recommendations, with respect to low-level radioactive waste.

Nothing in this title affects the authority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license, or enforce the provisions of any license with respect to, any low-level waste site.

VIL Co8T AND BImGrrARY CoNsEERATIONS In accordance with section 252(a) of the Iegislative Reorganiza-tion Act of 1970, the committee provides the following estimate of the cost of the bill, which has been prepared by the Congressional

(

O Budget Office:

U.S. CoNoness, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGrr OrricE, TVashington, D.C., December 18, 1979.

Hon. HENnY 3L JACKSON Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, TVashington, D.C.

DEAN AIR. CHAIRMAN: Pursuant to Section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1074, the Congressional Budget Office has prepared the attached cost estimate for the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

Should the Committee so desire, we would be pleased to provide further details on this estimate.

Sincerely, RonEIrr D. REISCIIAUER, (For AB.ce 3L Rivlin, Director).

24 CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST EsTDIATE Decznamn 18, 1970.

1. Bill No.: Not yet assigned.

2. Bill title: Nuclear Waste Policy Act.

3. Bill status: As ordered reported by the Senato Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, December 10,1970.

4. Bill purpose: This bill directs the Secretary of Energy to estab.

lish an interim nuclear spent fuel storage faciftty and to develop a detailed p,roposal for disposal of high-level radioactive waste. The Secretary is also to study the need for low-level nuclear waste disposal.

5. Cost estimate:

Authorization level:8 Fiscal year 1980 _ _ . _

... 300 1981 .

1982 _. -

IDRI .. _ _. ~ __ . _

1D84 -

1985 .. _.

Estimated budget authority:'

Fiscal year 1980 _ _ ___.

1981 _ _ . -

~._ .. .

1982 _ _ _.

1983 . .

. 115 1984 ._ . 50 1985 . -

. 70 Estimated outlays:

Fiscal year:

1980 _. 5 1D81 . . _. _ 200 1992 _. 110 1083 . 0 1984 . - 215 1985 _ . - _ 00 tha funds atbarts an pr pria d or e nt fu 1 sto a i seal a 1 an$

sNa bilfe[t t'lla a cla1YreIs racout N a s at fuel storare and hfgh.

[nd N o t b et e authort t'io r ap rop a ton act on 1 resol a d t pen

ng and creates the budget authority shown.

The costs of this bill fall within budget function 270.

6. Basis of estimate: The bill establishes a special Treasury account to fund spent fuel storage and high level radioactive waste disposal activities. In addition to the borrowing authority of $300 million pro 4 vided by the bill, receipts from storage and disposal fees levied on nuclear power plants will also be deposited in the account. Because the bill gives the Secretary of Energy authority to spend these receipts without Congressional action, budget authority is created in the amount of the receipts. The bill directs that all borrowing be paid back with interest and that appropriations for the interim storage facility also be repaid.

The estimated costs are based on preliminary Department of Energy (DOE) plans. These plans call for the acquisition of two private spent fuel storage facilities (with storage capacities of 750 metric and the construction of a third 5,000 metric tons and 1,750 ton facility. The 750 metric metr tons)ic ton facility would be available by 1983 and the 1,750 metric ton facility by 1984, with acquisition costs total-

25 ling about $230 million. The new facility would be completed by 1988, at an estimated cost of $370 million. Program support costs are esti-mated to average $20 million annually between 1981 and 1990, and -

operating costs are projected to avera an additional $20 million per year, beginning in 1983. Detailed anning efforts for high-level radioactive waste disposal are expected to cost $15 million over the next two years. The low level radioactive waste disposal study also required by the bill is not expected to cost more than $1 million.

The bili directs the Secretary of Energy to charge Saa to rucicar power plants to cover the storage costs. This fee may also cos er related research and develol ment costs and include a surchgrge to cover final disposal costs. Rece]ipts calculated for this estimate are based on a charge designed to cover the costs of interim spent fuel storage and the costs of research and development activities. No charge is included to cover disposal costs because plans are too preliminary. The charge is estimated to be $300,000 per metric ton of spent fuel. The demand O for storage is based on a recent DOE survey of public utilities.

The following table shows the projected costs and receipts used in this estunate. -~ - - - -

tin mtulons of dollars)

Flacal year:

1980 _. - ~.... .. 5 ID81 _ . . -_ . . ___. 200 1982 -

.. 110 1983 -- . .- _--_ .. 115 IDS 4 .. -__ . .. _ _= ___. 105 1985 _._ . . -_ - ISO Estimated receipts:

Fiscal year:

1960 .. ... _ ._. ... .

1081 . . .. . -. ._

1982 ._ . . .

1983 _ . - 115 1944 -

~....__-~..____~....~-50 .

- . .. ... ~ . . . ..... - 70 Fiscal year:

1980 .. . _ .... ~ _ . . . 5 1981 -

.. ... . .~ ... .. 200 1982 .._

O 1990 1984 . ..

.~

..~

. 110 115 0

1985 .__

. . ~__.. . 00

7. Estimate comparison: None.

8. Previous CEO estimate: None.

9. Estimate prepared by Mark Berkman.

10. Estimate approvedby:

JA3fES L. BI,U3f, '

Assistant Director for Budget Analysis With regard to this report, the committee notes that no authority is provided in this act to support research and development with funds generated through the one-tune charge for spent fuel.

VIII. Erartmar IurAcr EvAwArIon In compliance with paragraph 5 of the rtdo XXIX of the Stand-ing Rules of the Senate, the committee makes the following evaluation 1

26 of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out the requirements of the bill:

This bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing federally established standards or si on private individuals and business.gnificant coonomic Rather, the bill establishes responsibilities a def-inite Federal policy of ultimate responsibility for the radioactive waste resulting from the operation of civilian nuclear powerplants.

The enactment of this legislation is likely to reduce the regulatory burden imposed on electric utilities operatmg nuclear powerplants by - -

providing policy guidance to local regulatory authorities and the courts in their interaction with these utilities. The absense of a definite Federal policy with respect to the disposition of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste has created enormous uncertainty which is reflected in public opposition to nuclear power and in the reluctance of responsible regulatory and judicial ofIlcials to assume policymaking roles to fill the vacuum created by the failure of the Federal Government to set forth a coherent policy.

No personal information would be collected in administering the g .

provismns of the bill. Therefore, there would be no impact on per-sonal pri am s.osociated withenactmentof the bill.

Lit.k a any, additional paperwork would result from implemen- -

tation of the bill. j IX. ErrecTrva ConnewicArroxs As the committee agreed to report an original text with regard to nuclear waste policy, no executive commumcations were requested or received regarding the committee-reported bill.

Set forth below are the relevant reports and communications with regard to legislation referred to the committee dealing with this generalpolicy area: -

Execurrvz Orricz orrnz Passmzur.

Couwcrn ox ENVIRONMENTAL QUAI.rrr, TVashington, D.C., December 6,1979.

~

Hon.

Chairman,Hzwnr M. JAcuson, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U 8. Senate, TVashington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOn JAcason:Iam writing to &

of the Council to certain provisions of S.you toconrey the objections 685 introduced by Sena ,

Johnston concerning the Federal nucicar waste program and other nuclear matters.

Two sections of the bill would climinate the wise and beneficial pro-visions required by Congress in the National Environmental Policy Act as part of the review of actions proposed by the Federal Government.

As introduced, section 305 of the bill would prohibit (a) any program- '

matic impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act on the Secretary of Energy's proposal to Congress for a nuclear waste l

statement of alternat(ives to the specific site or design selected b the.nanagement system, b Secretary for the initial facility as authorized by Congress, and (c any consideration by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission of asterna-

tives to the site or design selected by the Secretary of Energy for the l initial facility as authorized by Congress. Similarly section 503 of the bill would prohibit consideration by the U.S. Nuclear, Regulatory Com-

.e

27 mission, either in Commission proceedings or in environmental impact statements,have such issues been considered by a State public utility commissionof the need for powe or an unregulated utility.

The Council strongl nating NEPA review.y Weopposes theNEPA believe that entirety can of these and provisions should insure climi-environmental review and consideration of alternatives in the Secretary of Energy's search for safe and reliable waste management systems and facilities. It is of paramount importance that, at each step of the deci-sionmaking process Con and the Nu-clear RegulatoryoC, mm,gress, thealternative?.

ission consider Secretarytooft Energy,he important actions under review. This is the heart of any environmental impact

• 6tatement. 40 C.F.R. g 1502.14.

• Fears about delays resulting from NEPA reviews are unjustified. .

You are familiar with the Council's new regulations which are designed to achieve a reduction in paperwork and delay. We are confident these &

?

O new regulations will reduce or eliminate the problems of delay to which these sections are presumably directed.

We believe the selection of nuclear systems and facilities can be made "

promptly and effectively under existing NEPA procedures.

The Council requests the corrmittee to delete sections 305 and 503 of .

S. 685. We stand ready to be of assistance to the committee in dealing with theseimportant matters.

Sincerely, Ges Serrn, Chairman.

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X. Serrtratzxnt Vmws or Scurma Buntzr Title IV of tha Nuclear Waste Policy Act is intended to address the need for the long-term disposition of high-level radioactive waste.

It requires the Secretary of snergy to provide Congnss with a pm-posal for site-specific designs specifications and cost estimates for the initial facility of a surface s,torage system as an alternative to geo-logic disposal. This p,roposal would be developed without the benefit of an environmental impa< t statement, due to the explicit waiver in section 405(a) of the NEPA mquirements. Furthermore,if Congress should act to approve the pmposal, there will never be an EIS on the due to the NEPA waiver in section 405(b).

matters of sitesuch Finally although andfac design,ility must be licensed by the Nuclear Regu-latory (knmission, the Commission would be prohibited from consid-cring alternative sites or different design critena, due to the provisions of section 405(c).

I appreciate the sponsors' desire to accelerate the resolution of the long-tenn disposal issue. IIowever, I believe that section 405 goes too far.

Title III of the bill would establish Federal interim storage capac-ity to solve the immediate problem of accumulated spent fuel that cannot be stored at powerplant sites. With provision for Federal away-from-reactor storage, I question whether the case has been made for a long-term storage facility that would permit ready retrieval of the spent fuel. Certainly. I do not believe there is sufficient urgency to justify abandoning NEPA in preparing for an initial long term sur-face disposal facility.

IIowever,if we are to move forward with a site-specific proposal for such a facility, it is essential that Congress first obtain the mforma-tion an environmental impact statement would develop. In this legis-lation, we are not just talkmg about a general description of a dispoeal system. Rather, we are talking about a proposal that is sufIiciently de- A tailed and specific to permit solicitation of construction hids on the W i

first facility. That kind of specificity demands thorough environ-mental analvsis.

For this reason, I believe the broad NEPA waivers of rection 405 l as reported out by this Committee are inappropriate.

l Bn.t. Buntrr.

(28) l

XI. SurrInturAI, VIEWS oF SENAWR IIATTIEIA The Nuclear Waste Policy Act, as reported by the committee, is rid of two major flaws which would have caused me to oppose its passage in the original form. With the licensing provisions deleted, and with the addition of clear policy, guidelines to assure that at-powerplant interim spent-fuel storage is maximized before we under-take the transporting of spent fuel to Federal away-from-reactor (AFR storage sites, there mmain, in my opinion, three issues which would) require further attention on the Senate floor. One is the ques-tion of the State role in the establishment of nuclear waste centers.The G second is the appropriateness of a NEPA waiver for the long-term V retrievable storage system proposal demanded by the bill. The third is the question of who pays for the wasto program.

As my colleague on the committeo Senator Domenici,is the leading spokesman for a major State role, I will not attempt to reiterate his srguments, but will mstead commend his remarks in this report to my colleagues' attention. And I will defer likewise to my colleague from New Jersey, Senator Bradley, on the question of the NEPA waiver.

On the third issue, that of covering waste management costs,I would point out that few argue any more that these costs should not be borne fully by those who generate the wastes. In that regard, the committee bill does establish a revolving fund for the purpose of covering the Ener,e,y Secretary's expenditures for both AFR and longhall estabhshterm storag end it does provide that such charges as the Secretary s for taking these wastes off utilities hands will go into the fund. IIow-ever, t.he language of the bill needs to be tightened down.

On the Senate floor I will offer an amendment which is designed to assure that the apparent intent of the bill in this matter of costs is cchieved.The amendment That all obligations of will the provide revolvmg explicitly:d fun will be covered by O

V charges That thetoexpenditures the utilities; from the fund (and therefore the charg~es to the utilities) which the Governmentwill cover alltakes trans title, portation of the spent fuel to all use of facilities attendant to such transportation and to the storage or disposal of such waste, and all construction, operation and maintenance of Federal fa-cilities established for such storage or disposal; That any appropriations made for such transportation. storage or disposal will go into the fund and be completely reimbursable withinterest; and totheTreasury,itures That expend from the fund be subject to congressional control via approval in annual appropriations acts.

With this amendment, with provision of a meaningful State role in the waste storage and disposal process, and with a rescoped NEPA provision, I beheve this bill will be a very valuable step forward on a necessary path to managing the nuclear waste problem.

MARK O. IIATFIEID.

CtJ)

. . . - - . - . - . . - - . -- ---.-_ .---. - . _ ~ -

I XII. Surrtzurxnn Vizws or Szwuon Douzwicr Whether we are contemplating the long-term storap of nuclear waste or its permanent disposal there is one element which will deter-states mine must play if either is torole a meaningful, be indone in a timely the development andfacilit of these satisfactory ma recognition of this fact the President's Interagency Review Group (IRG) on nuclear waste management called for a process whereby states could " consult and concur" on the creation of nuclear waste facilities. In contrast to a situation where states would exercise an arbitrary veto, the IRO envisioned the following process :

Consultation and concurrence by contrast, implies an on-going dialogue, participation an,d the development of a co-operative relationship between states and all relevant Federal h

agencies during program planning and the site identification and characterization p rams on a regional basis using the systems approach, throu the identification of specific sites the joint decision on a f ility, any subsequent licensing proc, ess and through the entire period of operation and decommis-sioning. Under this approach the State effectively has a continuing ability to participate in activities at all points throughout the course of the activity and, if it deems appro-priate to prevent the continuance of Federal activities. The IRG believes that such an approach willlead to better protec-tion of the States' interests than would a system of State veto by which is usually meant that a State approves or disap-proves of Federal activities at one specific moment, as well as ensure effective State participation in the Federal Govern-ment's waste management program. Such an approach will also ler.d W freer access to areas for the conduct of geologic invest'. gations.*

g At the time this bill was reported out of the Committee on Energy W and Natural Resources the Committee was continuing its consideration of a provision which would provide for active participation of states in nuclear waste facilities. The Committee has discussed this issue on numerous occasions and recognizes its importance.

Without such a provision some aspects of this legislation would

' be totally unsatisfactory. The need for state involvement is heightened by the bill's limitations on the scope of the Environmental Impact Statement EIS) for any long-term disposal facilit vestigation(of niternatives in the EIS isit isprohibited,y. even more Since essential that states are able to exact sufficient information about the facility to satisfy its need to adequately oversee the public's health and safety,

{ Pare y

• eport to the President by the Interagency Review oroup on Nuclear Weste

@0)

31

I believe that any consultation and concurrence provision adopted by the Committee should be flexible enough in its characterization of the process of participation that all fifty states would be covered by its provisions. It must impart meaningful powers to the states for the protection of their citizenry's health and safety. Unless this process is flexible and yet firm, it will only create unwillingness on the part of states to act as hosts to nuclear waste facilities.

Para V. Douzxicr.

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XIIL CHANGM IN Exisnwo LAW-L In compliance with subsection (4) of the Rule XXIX of the Stand-l ing Rules of the Senate, the committee notes that no changes in exist-

!- ing law are made by the bill as reported. .

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00 11 020555029836 1 M6 S IV 0F WASTE MANAGEMENT -

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wk SHh4GTON DC 20555 J Calendar b. 582 96Tn CONORESS 20 SESSION /'-

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[ Report No. 96-548] fT P l} u k(

To establish a program for Federal storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear h powerplants, to set forth a Federal policy and initiate a program for the disposal of nuclear waste from civilian activities, and for other purposes. '

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IN TIUS SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 3 (legislative day, JANUARY 3),1980 Mr. JOHNSTON, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, reported, under the authority of the order of the Senate of December 20,1979, the following original bill; which wey ordered to be placed on the calendar O A BILL To establish a program for Federal storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants, to set forth a Federal policy and initiate a program for the disposal of nuclear waste l from civilian activities, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-l 2 tives of the-United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the " Nuclear Waste Policy 4 Act".

i l

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$ C) 2 1 TITLE I-FINDINGS AND PURPOSE 2 FINDING 8 3 SEC.101. The Congress finds and declares that-4 (a) a reliable system adequate to provide sufficient 5 electrical energy to meet the Nation's current and an-6 ticipated needs is an essential part of a comprehensive 7 national energy policy and is vital to national security 8 and public welfare; 9 (b) an adequate electrical system requires a diver- g 10 sified base of primary energy sources in order to avoid 11 excessive reliance upon any single alternative energy l

12 source; 13 (c) a diverse base of primary energy sources can 14 be achieved only if each available source competes on 15 an equal footing in decisions on the siting and con-16 struction of facilities for generating commercial electric 17 power; $

18 (d) nuclear energy can-l 19 (1) make a significant contribution to nation-20 al supplies of electricity;

(

21 (2) offer site-specific advantages in environ-22 mental impact, cost, and fuel availability over 23 other primary sources of energy; and 24 (3) help reduce United States dependence on 25 insecure sources of foreign oil; f

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1 (e) lack of an effective Federal policy for the in-2 terim storage of spent fuel and disposal of nuclear 3 waste from civilian nuclear activities unreasonably bur-4 dens the choice of nuclear energy as an alternative pri-5 mary source in decisions on siting and construction and 6 operation of powerplants and unduly constrains efforts  !

7 to establish a diverse base of pnmary energy sources l

8 (f) the Federal Government has the responsibility O 9 for the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian 10 nuclear powerplants and the disposal of high-level ra-11 dioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities in order j 12 to protect the public health and safety and common de-13 fense and security; 14- (g) the costs assochted with the storage and dis-l 15 posal of nuclear waste from civilian activities should,'to 4 i

16 the greatest extent possible, be borne by the direct  ;

17 beneficiaries of such activities and should be considered 18 in the selection or rejection of nuclear energy over 19 alternative primary energy sources; and

)

20 (h) the technology exists and is under develop-21 ment which would provide reasonable assurance that 22 spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste can be 23 safely disposed of and that disposal facilities for spent 24 fuel and high-level wastes can be available when 25 needed.

E g c -

4 1 PURPOSE 2 SEC.102. The purpose of this Act is to-3 (a) assume the Federal responsibility for the ac-4 quisition and interim storage of spent fuel from civilian 5 nuclear powerplants and for the disposal of high-level 6 radioactive waste from civilian nuclear activities; 7 (b) establish a definite Federal policy for the dis- 1 8 posal of high-level radioactive waste from civilian nu-9 clear activities; O

10 (c) authorize the Secretary to-11 _1)

( acquire or construct at least one facility 12 for.the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian 13 nuclear powerplants; 14 (2) select a technology and design for a sys-15'- tem comprised of at least one Federal facility for 16 the disposal of high-level radioactive waste gener-17 ated by civilian nuclear activities and to select a g 18 site and design for the first component of such a l 10 system; 20 (3) finance the construction, operation, and 21 maintenance of nuclear waste storage and disposal 22 facilities; and l-23 (d) accelerate the examination and consideration 24 of alternative technologies for the disposal of nuclear 25 waste.

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5 ,

1 TITLE II-DEFINITIONS ,

2 SEC. 201. As used in this Act the term-

! 3- (1) " civilian nuclear powerplant" means a utiliza-4 tion or production facility for the generation of com-l 5 mercial power, as that phrase is used in the Atomic 6 Energy Act of 1954, which is or will be licensed under 7 such Act; i 8 (2) " Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory 9 Commission; Q~

10 (3) " disposal" means the long-term isolation of i .11 material, including long-term monitored storage which 12 permits retrieval of the material stored; 13 (4) " environmental impact statement" means any 14 document prepared pursuant to or in compliance with 15 the requirements of section 102(2)(c) of the National 16 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (83 Stat. 852);

O 17 (5) '.' Secretary" means the Secretary of the De-l 18 partment of Energy; and 19 (6) " spent fuel" means nuclear fuel that has been 20- irradiated in and recovered from a civilian nuclear 21 powerplant.-

22 TITLE III-INTERIM STORAGE OF SPENT FUEL 23 FROM CIVILIAN NUCLEAR POWERPLANTS 24 SEC. 301. (a) It is the policy of the Federal Government 25 to provide, as soon as possible, an assured ind predictable l

l 6 1 capacity for the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian

- 2 nuclear powerplants.,

3.- .(b) The policy under subsection (a) shall provide for-

,4 (1) maximizing the storage of such spent fuel at 5 the site of each civilian nuclear powerplant; and i

l 6 (2) the establishment of a federally owned and op-l 7- erated system for the interim storage of spent fuel at l -8 one or more away-from-reactor facilities. 1 9 SEC. 302. The Secretary, the Commission and other ap- g

!~ 10 propriate Federal officials shall take such actions as they i

11 consider necessary to encourage and expedite the use of 12 available' storage at the site of each civilian nuclear power-13 plant consistent with-14 (a) the protection of the public health and safety; 15 (b) economic considerations; 16 (c) continued operation of the powerplant; 17 (d) the sensibilities of the population surrounding O 18 such powerplant; and 19 (e) otherwise applicable law.

20 SEC. 303. (a) The Secretary, consistent with such crite-21 ria as he prescribes under the policy set forth in section 301, 22 shall offer to enter into, and may enter into, contracts with 23 persons owning and operating, or planning to own and oper-24 ate, civilian nuclear powerplanta. Those contracts shall pro-25' vide that the Federal Government will (1) take title to spent

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i. 7 1 fuel from'the powerplants, (2) transport the spent fuel to fed-i b . 2 erally owned and operated interim away-from-reactor storage l l 3 facilities and store such fuel in the facilities, and (3) dispose i.

! 4 of waste products associated with such spent fuel.

5 (b) Nothing in this Act authorizes the Secretary to take )

l 6 . title to spent fuel, transport spent fuel or dispose of spent fuel j

_7 or the waste products associated with spent fuel from a nu-8 clear powerplant not located within the United States.

1 0 0 SEc. 304. At contract entered into under section 303 l 10 shall provide-I 11 .'(a) for a one-time. payment at the time the Feder- ,-

12 al Government acquises the spent fuel of a charge per

,13 unit of sp_ent fuel, as such unit is defined by the Secre-  !

14 tary, which charge is determined by the Secretary to 15 be adequate to cover-16 (1) the cost of transportation of such spent i rn U 17. - fuel; 18 (2) the proportion of the costs of the con-19 struction and the operation, maintenance and de-

20' commissioning of Federal-interim away-from-reac-E I 21 tor storage facilities which proportion. is associ-22- - ated with such spent fuel; and 23 (3) a surcharge to reflect the cost of long-

-24 term disposal of high-level radioactive waste asso-

-25 ciated with such spent fuel; 1

1 I

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. - . . . . = . - .

8 1 (b) for. the retention by the owner of such spent 2 fuel of- a nontransferable right to the value of the i

3' remaining fuel resource less the costs of recovery, as

4. determined at' the time of recovery. The right ends 5 when the Federal Government-6 (1) takes action resulting in the recovery of 7 the remaining fuel resource, and 8 (2) gives to the owner of the right an amount 9 of money equal to the value of the recovered fuel $

10 less the costs of recovery; 11 (c) that title to the spent fuel together with all ,

12 rights to such fuel, except as otherwise provided in this -

13 .Act, passes to the Secretary at the site of the power-14 plant at the time the Secretary takes possession of the 15 spent fuel; and 16 (d) that the contract becomes effective when the 17 interim away-from-reactor storage facility is available 18 as determined by the Secretary by notice in the Feder-10 al Register.

3

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20 SEc. 305. (a) The Secretary shall provide notice of in-21 tent to enter into such contracts by publishing notice in the 22 Federal Register not later than one hundred and eighty days 23 after the date of the enactment of this Act. Such notice shall 24 contain such information as the Secretary considers appropri-

O O 9

1; ate > concerning proposed terms and conditions of such e21 contracts.

• 3 (b) The Secretary shall establish the one-time payment 4 charge per unit of spent fuel required by subsection 304(a) on 5' an annual basis, based on calculation of the costs and sur-6 charge listed in subsection 304(a), and shall publish such an-

7 nual one-time payment charge and the calculation thereof in 8 the Federal Register. Each such annual one-time payment

9 charge shall become effective thirty days. after publication 10 and shall remain effective for a period thereafter of twelve

11. months as the charge for_ the costs and surcharge listed in

)

12 subsection 304(a) for any spent fuel, title to which is trans-13 ' ferred to the Federal Government during that twelve-month 14 period. .

1 15 SEC. 306. (a) The Secretary shall construct or acquire l 16 'at least one away-from-reactor facility for the interim storage Q 17. of spent fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants. The facilities 18 shall-19 (1) be made available in adequate capacity and in b 20- a timely manner to accommodate all spent fuel for 21 which commitments have been made pursuant to sec-22:- tion 303 of this Act; and 23 (2) be subject to'a license under the provisions of 24 section 202(3) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 25 1974 (88 Stat.1233).

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j 1 (o) *rhe Secretary, in providing for the transportation of 4

4 - ?j 2 spent fuel under this Act, shall utilize by contract private

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IN L 3 'indiis'ry t to the fullest extent possible in each aspect of such i 1 ,

2 3 4 transportation. The Secretary shall use direct Federal serv-5 ices for such transportation only upon a determination of the

.m 6 Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secre-

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(,) g {g 7 tary, that private industry is unable or unwilling to provide

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a il8 such transportation services 3 9~ SEO. 307. When an interim away-from-reactor storage g' 10 facility is available; the Secretary shall take possession of and 11 transport to a designated storage facility any spent fuel cov-12 ered by a contract made under section 303 of this Act. The 13 Secretary shall take this action within thirty days after the 14 date on which the owner of such spent fuel provides notice in

( 15 writing to the Secretary that such spent fuel is available.

L 16' SEC. 308. Funds made available to the Secretary for 17 the purpose of- $

18 (a) acquiring plant and capital equipment or land; 19 or >

90 (b) for planning, construction, or modification of l

21 facilities, i-22 to make available facilities for the interim storage of spent 23 fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants away from the reactor 24 under any law making appropriations of funds or authoriza-25 tions for appropriations of funds for the fiscal year ending

1 0 0 11 1 September 30,1979, or the fiscal year ending September 30, l 2 1980, including funds authorized and appropriated for Project i

3 79-1-p (Away-From-Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage 4 Capacity)in legislation authorizing appropriations for the De-

! 5 partment of Energy for the fiscal year ending September 30, 6 1980, shall be available to carry out the purposes of section 7 306.

8 TITLE IV-DISPOSAL OF IIIGII-LEVEL RADI0AC-9 TIVE WASTE RESULTING FROM CIVILIAN l f]

10 NUCLEAR ACTIVITIES 11 SEC. 401. It is the policy of the Federal Government to 12 provide, consistent with section 301, a federally owned and l 13 operated system for the disposal of all high-level radioactive i l 14 waste resulting from civilian nuclear activities.

l 15 SEc. 402. Within one year after the date of the enact-l l 16 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Con- l l

O 17 gress a proposai for a system consisting of at least one facili-

] 18 ty for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste resulting l

19 from civilian nuclear activities. Such facilities shall be de-20 signed to-21 (a) accommodate spent fuel from civilian nuclear l l

22 activities without reprocessing, as well as the high- l l

l 23 level radioactive waste produced from the reprocessing 24' of spent fuel or from other civilian nuclear activities; 1

l l

l l

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. _ . _ _ .. __4 _.. ._ _._. _. _ _ _ _ . __ . . _

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1 (b) permit continuous monitoring, management, 1

and maintenance of the spent fuel and high-level radm-3 . active waste for the foreseeable future; 4: (c) provide for the ready retrieval of any spent 5- > fuel and high-level radioactive waste for further proc-6 essing or disposal by an alternative method; and 7 (d) safely contain such high-level radioactive 8-; waste and spent fuel so long as may be necessary, by means of maintenance, including, but not limited to, re-

-9 0

10 placement as necessary, of such facility.

11 SEC.~403. The proposal shall include-12 (a) the general description, cost estimates, and 13 construction schedule for a system which shall be ini-14 tially designed for a capacity adequate at a minimum 15 to receive in a timely manner the high-level radioactive 16 waste produced by all. ongoing civilian nuclear activi-17 - ties and the spent fuel from the operation of all civilian g 18 nuclear powerplants for which any application for any 19 Federal license or permit has been received prior to 20 the date of the enactment of this Act; and d 21 .(b) site-specific designs, specifications, and cost 22 estimates adequate to solicit bids for the construction 23 of an initial facility within the system which will dem-24 onstrate the feasibility of long-term retrievable disposal 25 of spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste and

O O 13 1 which has capacity of at least one thousand spent fuel 2 rods along with a volume of processed high-level radio-3 ~ ' active waste from civilian activities limited to the 4 amount sufficient to accomplish the purpose of this 5 subsection.

6 SEC. 404. In formulating the proposal, the Secretary 7 shall consult with the Commission and the Environmental 8 Protection Agency, and shall transmit their comments on the O 9 final proposal to the Congress together with the proposal.

10 SEC. 405. (a) Preparation and transmittal of the propos-11 al to the Congress is not a major Federal action significantly 12 affecting the environment within the meaning of section 13 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

.14 '(83 Stat. 852) and an environmental impact statement shall 15 not be prepared on the proposal prior to such transmittal.

16 (b) When Congress authorizes construction of the initial V

17 facility, the requirements of the National Environmental l

18 Policy Act shall apply, except that any environmentalimpact 19 statement in connection with such facility shall not consider

)

20 any alternative to the statutorily-approved site selection or to 21 the design criteria set forth in section 402 of this Actn 22 (c) Any facility authorized under this title shall be sub-23 ject to a license under section 202(3) of the Energy Reorga-24 nization Act of 1974 (88 Stat.1233), except that in its con-25 sideration of the application filed by the Secretary for the

O o 14

~ 1~ initial facility, the Commission may not consider any alterna-2 ' tive to the statutorily-approved site selection or to the design 3 criteria set forth in section 402 of this Act but shall comply 4 with the requirements of the licensing process as otherwise 5 provided by law.

6 SEC. 406. (a) The. Secretary shall continue and acceler-7 ato a program of research, development, and demonstration 8 of the geologic disposal in mined repositories of high-level 9 radioactive waste from civilian nuclear powerplants, with the g 10 objective of completion of construction and initial operation of 11 -at least one demonstration repository by January 1,1988.

12. (b) The Secretary shall also continue and accelerate a l

i 13 program of research, development, and investigation of alter-14 native technologies for the disposal of high-level radioactive 15 wastes from civilian and national defense activities. Such

j. 16 program shall include examination of various waste disposal l'T options including, but not limited to-18 (1) advanced technologies for the long-term re-19 trievable storage of nuclear waste; 20 (2) placement in deep ocean sediments; 21 (3) placement in very. deep drill holes; 22- (4) placement in a mined cavity in a manner 23 which leads to rock melting;

I 15 1 '(5) partitioning .of reprocessing waste, transmuta-

.2 . tion of radionuclides, and = geologic disposal of radio- 4

'S active wastes; and (6) ejection into. space.

~5, .(c) The programs to be carried cut under subsections (a) ,

6. and'(b) include-7 '(1) collection of baseline data and environmental 8 information about potential disposal sites; 9 (2) dissemination. of fundamental scientific infor-

• Q j 10 mation;- I 11 ,(3) development, analysis, and validation of. pre-12 , dictive models; 13 -

(4) extensive, independent, objective review of re-.

14 , sults by scientific experts, and of proposed facilities and 15 operations through the licensing process; 16 (5) practical experience, including careful monitor-h 17 ,

ing of radioactive waste isolation systems; l

18 (6) a demonstrated capability to take any needed 10 corrective.or mitigating. actions; and Y

20. c(7) an ongoing research and development program 21 to increase the state of knowledge about the disposal of 22 nuclear waste.

23 (d) The Secretary shall report to the Congress his find-

.. 24 ings .and recommendations. resulting from the program au-

25 thorized by this section, as follows-

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16 1 (1) as a part of the annual report required by sec-2 tion 657 of the Department of Energy Organization 3 Act (91 Stat. 565) the Secretary shall report concern-4 ing the status of the program; and

,p 5 (2) from time to time, the' Secretary shall make n

2[r 6 recommendations arising from his studies concerning i

7 the advisability of modifying or replacing the technol-8 ogy adopted under section 402 of this Act.

T

~

9 TITLE V-FINANCLiL ARRANGEMENTS $

10 SEC. 501. (a) There is hereby established in the Treas-11 ury of the United States a separate account to provide for the 12 operation of interim storage of spent fuel and disposal of 13 spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste, including trans-14 portation of such spent fuel and waste. Amounts appropriated 15 under section 308, all charges under section 304, receipts 16 derived from the sale of any reprocessed fuel, and the pro-17 ceeds from any obligations issued pursuant to section 502 of 18 this title shall be deposited into the account.

g 19 (bF-Notwithstanding the p ovisions4f the Congressional

1. 1. f MO-Budget

%1kMu=1o,a and Anti-Impmmdment-Aet-of-1974-(88

-). s~~p.ada mu.i., aStat.~297),

21 the Secretary may draw on such account as he deems neces-1 22 sary to achieve the purposes of this Act with the exceptions 23 of section 406 and title VL 24 SEc. 502. (a) To carry out the purposes of this Act the 25 Secretary may borrow money from the Treasury of the n-- _ - - __ - ---w - - - . , , - , - - ,

a O O 17 l

1 United States in amounts provided in Appropriation Acts, but 2 _ not more than $300,000,000. The Secretary and the Secre-3 tary of.the Treasury shall agree on . terms, maturities, and i

4 conditions of the obligations, but the maturities may not be 5 more than thirty years. The Secretary may redeem the obli-6 _gations before maturity. The Secretary of the Treasury shall 7- decide the interest rate of the obligations considering the ,

8 average market of outstanding marketable obligations of the g 9 United States Government of comparable maturities during 10 the month before the obligations are issued. The interest pay- l 11 ments on such obligations may be deferred with the approval l

12 of the Secretary of the Treasury but any interest payment so  ;

'13 deferred shall bear interest. Such obligations shall be issued 14 in amounts and at prices approved by the Secretary of the 15_ Treasury. The Secretary of the Treasury shall purchase any

'16 obligations of the Secretary issued under this section and for O 17 this purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to 18 use as a public debt transaction of the United States the pro-19_ ceeds from the sale of any securities issued under the Second  ;

)

20 Liberty Loan Bond Act. Securities may be issued under that 21 Act to purchase obligations from the Secretary under this l

22 section.

23 (b) Appropriations made available pursuant to section 24 308 of this Act for the acquisition of an interim away-from-25 reactor storage facility shall be repaid into the General Fund

. _ . _ . . . . _ . _ . . . _ _ _ . _ _ . _ _ . . - _.___._.._-_._..m O

O 18 1 of the Treasury out of the account, together with interest

.2 until the date of repayment at a rate determined by the Sec-3 retary of the Treasury taking into consideration the average

~4 market on long-term obligations of the: United States during 5 the fiscal year in which such appropriations are 'made. The 6 ~ Secretary shall repay such appropriation together with inter-7 est within thirty years from the time at which such appropri-8 ations become available for expenditure.

9 TITLE VI-LOW-LEVEL WASTE g 10 SEC. 601. (a) The President shall prepare and submit to 11 Congress within one hundred and twenty days after the date

'12 of the enactment of this title a report which-13 (1) defines the disposal capacity needed for pres-14 ent and future low-level waste on a regional basis; 15 (2)(A) defines the status of all commercial low-16 ' level nuclear waste disposal sites, including those lo-17 cated'at:

18 (i) West Valley, New York, 19 (ii) Maxey Flats, Kentucky,

(

20- (iii) Beatty, Nevada,  !

21 (iv) Sheffield, Illinois, 22 (v) Richland, Washington, and 23 -(vi) Barnwell, South Carolina;

24. (B) includes an evaluation of the license status of 25 each such site, the state of operation of each site, in-

- ~. _ - . _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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19 J1 cluding operating history,:an analysis of the adequacy 2 of disposal technology employed at each site to contain 3 low-level wastes for their hazardous lifetimes, and such 4 recommendations for remedial actions and regulatory 5 - reforms as the Secretary considers appropriate to as-6 sure.. protection of the public health and safety from 1

7 wastes transported to such sites;

, t 8 (3) evaluates the transportation requirements on a ,

9 regi nal basis .and in mparis n with performance of

'O 10- present transportation practices for the shipment of '

.11 low-level nuclear wastes, including an inventory of 12 types and quantities of low-level wastes, an evaluation

, 13 of shipment requirements for each type of waste and 14 an evaluation of the ability of generators, shippers, and 15 carriers to meet such requirements; 16 (4) evaluates the capability of the Department of h '17 Energy owned and operated low-level waste disposal 18 facilities to provide interim storage for commercially k 19 generated low-level waste and estimates the costs as-

) 20 sociated with such interim storage; and 21 . (5) recommends additional research and develop-22' ment, as needed.

23 (b) In carrying out this section the Secretary shall con- '

24 sult with the Governors of the several States, the Nuclear 25 Regulatory Corpmission, the Environmental Protection l

__ y O O

' Calendar No. 582

• a 6 06Tu CONGRESS C

A 20 SESSION j ,g c

• as [ Report No. !E548]

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i A BILL as To establish a program for Federal storage of spent

/ t u fuel from civilian nuclear powerplants, to set forth

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a Federal policy and initiate a program for the dis-

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( JANUARY 3 (legislative day, JANUARY 3),1980 Ordered to be placed on the calendar o O c8 r

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