ML20154P695
| ML20154P695 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 06/30/1980 |
| From: | Trubatch S NRC OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC) |
| To: | Droggitis S NRC OFFICE OF CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS (OCA) |
| References | |
| TASK-TF, TASK-URFO NUDOCS 9810230049 | |
| Download: ML20154P695 (93) | |
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June 30, 1980
. MEMORANDUM FOR: Spiros Droggitis, OCA FROM:.
" Sheldon Trubatch,'0GC
SUBJECT:
DRAFT SENATE BILL ON KASTE DISPOSAL
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The enclosed comments'on this draft bill are based for the most part on previous Commission positions on various aspects of radio- '
.h active waste management. Comments are provided in the following areas:
- 1. Waste Definitions t
, '2 . . NRC Licensing Authority 3.. 'NRC Licensing Criteria
- 4. Pilot Frogram 5 Alternative Sites
- 6. Schedule for Establishing a Waste Repository
.7 -' State Concurrence
(.h 8.- Interim Away-From-Reactor Storage of. Spent Fuel Enclosures as stated l t f y, 9810230049 800630 - PDR ORG PGtCGC . PDR a ( ,z..-- - ,, , ,., ,
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- 1. Waste Definitions The proposed definitions of.the various forms of radioactive waste would result in the classification of material contaminated with -
Uranium-235 or Uranium-233 as low-level waste. Such material presents health and' safety hazards of the same kind as transuranic contaminated wastes. Accordingly, the Commission may wish to recom-
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mend that 5ection 3(4) be amended to define transuranic waste to include material contaminated with Uranium-235 or Uranium-233
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2., NNC Licr:nsing Auti iity The bill would extend NRC licensing authority over certain DOE facilities for the disposal of radioactive waste. Section 3(3) would define high-J evel waste to include spent fuel as well as high-level liquid waste and solidified products of high-level liquid waste. Section 4(a) would amend Section 202(3) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA) to extend NRC licensing authority t'o:
- 1. DOE facilities used primarily for the disposal of high-level liquid waste and solidified products of high-level liquid waste resulting from activities licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of .
1954, as amended (Act);
. '2f. DOE. facilities used primarily for the receipt and storage or disposal of spent fuel resulting from activities licensed under such Act; and 3 DOE facilities used pr'imarily for the receipt and storage or 8
disposa1 of transuranic waste or low-level radioactive waste result-(d \ ing from activities under such Act. The Commission supports explicit affirmation of its authority regarding~ DOE facilities for the disposal of high-level liquid . waste and solidified products of high-level liquid waste resulting from activities licensed under the Act. The Commission believes that the legislative. history of Section 202(3) of the ERA clearly demonstrates that the term " storage" is intended to include " dis-posal." H. Rep. No. 93-1445, 93rd Cong., 2nd sess. (Conf. Rep.)
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f,,,', - /~T v 2 A V 1974)>at 34, S. Rep. No. 93-980, 93rd Cong., 2nd Sess. (1974) at 59-60.- However', explicit reference to disposal would 4 any ambiguity regarding NRC huthority in this regard. The Commission also supports explicit' affirmation of its authority
'regarding DOE facilities used primarily-for the receipt and storage or disposal of_ spent fuel resulting from activities licensed under
- the Act. On several occasions the Commission has stated its view that spent fuel from licensed power reactors constitutes high-level radioactive waste.for the purpose of Section 202(3) of the ERA.
(I Moreover, the Commission believes it should also be authorized to - license DOE facilities for the storage of foreign spent fuel
, transferred unde'r a subsequent arrangement entered into pursuant I
't'o the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978. DOE storage of
' foreign. spent fuel would present the same considerations of public health and safety as the storage of domestic spent fuel. Such licensing authority would be consistent with the President's pro-
. posed legislation regarding spent nuclear fuel. Thus, the Com-( ~
mission believes that a consistent policy for' protecting public health and safety would require NRC licensing of essentially all DOE facilities for storing commercially generated and foreign spent fuel.. Accordingly, the Commission believes that NRC authority to
' license DOE spent fuel storage should include existing DOE facilities if they are used primarily to store DOE acquired commercially generated or foreign spent fuel. Legislative language which would implement these goals is enclosed.
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\c 3 0 The[ Commission', in NUREG.:.0527, recommended that NRC licensing authority be extended to new DOE facilities ~for the disposal of TRU-and non-defense low-leve1' radioactive waste.- The President's statement ~of February 12,;1980, contains the identical proposal. ; !
'TheLbill's proposals for extending NRC licensing authority are in -
consistent.with the. Commission's recommendations in several respects. NeithertheCommission,ndk)thePresident,haverecommendedthat NRC111 censing authority should be extended to existing DOE facili-ties used primarily for the receipt and storage of commercially (h..
%) generated TRU-e.nd low-level wastes. Both the Commission and the President have recommended that NRC authority should be extended
. to new DOE facil'ities for only the disposal of TRU and non-defense low-level wastes. Any further extensions of NRC authority could involve national security' considerations. Accordingly, the Com-mission supports an extension which would exclude DOE facilities used primarily for the receipt and storage of such waste, but would include any new DOE disposal facility for commercially l) ; generated'TRU and non-defense low-level waste even if that facility 4
were not used primarily for that purpose, i Section 4(a) would also amend Section 202(4) of the ERA to extend 1010 licensing authority to: ' m
- 1. DOE facilities authorized for the purpose of disposal of high-level radioactive waste generated by DOE; i
- 2. DOE facilities authorized for the purpose of lon5-term storage of; spent -fuel generated by DOE; and
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G k U 4 , 3 DOE facilities authorized for the purpose of long-term storage or disposal _of' transuranic waste. The Commission supports'explict reference to the term " disposal"
' in Section 202(4)-of the ERA. As discussed above regarding Section 202(3) of the ERA, the Commission believes that the legislative history'of.these sections clearly-demonstrates that the term "st'orage" was intended to include the term " disposal." The Com-
' mission also supports the extension of its authority to DOE fac-
'111' ties authorized for the purpose of long-term storage of spent
' fuel generated by DOE and new facilities for the disposal of TRU *
- generated by DOE.
Section.4(a)(4) would not extend Commission authority tc license new DOE facilities for the disposal of non-defense low-level radio-active waste' generated by DOE. The Interagency Review Group on Nuclear' Waste' Management, the President, and the Commission believes that such an extension of NRC authority is appropriate. Accordingly, {) . we have enclosed proposed legislation which would implement the
-Commission's proposed extensions of its licensing authority over DOE waste facilities.
' Commissioners Gilinsky and Bradford do not agree with the above
' discussion related to the proposed modifications to Section 202 of the ERA. They support the pr,oposed Section 4(a)(3) with the addi-i tional-deletion from Subsection 202(3) of the word "primarily."
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1: d o- , l They assume that, with-respect to existing facilities, licensing-means regulatory oversight. Section'4(a).would also define facilities authorized for the purpose. !
. of long-term. storage of disposal'to mean facilities designed and .j intended to-store. nuclear wastes for a period of at least 20 years, t
This provision could result in NRC licensing of new DOE tanks for ' storing DOE generated high-level liquid wartes.- Such an extension of NRC. authority would be inconsistent with the Commission's pre- l I) sent' policy.. However, Commissioners Bradford and Gilinsky would. suoport such an: extension of NRC authoriby. I l 6 O
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..-3.'NRC Licensing Criteria .
[ y : The bill woul'd establish new,. separate criteria for NRC licensing ofLany licenseable DOE waste facility and an additional criterion
- for licenseable DOE' repositories for.high-level waste. Section
; 4(b) would require-the'NRC to find prior to licensing a. facility ' '
.- 'that.its operation:
E 1 - is consistent with the common defense and security; 2 - satisfies applicable general standards for offsite releases of-radioactivity promulgated by EPA; and *
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3 - will protect health and minimize danger to life and 4 property. 4 Only 'tte third : criterion is new. It replaces reasonable assurance of-public health and safety. If this criterion is intended to provide a general standard compatible with the NRC's proposed \ i rules, then.the Commission would find this reformulation acceptable. However, if:" protect health and minimize danger" are intended to-
) provide ~ absolute criteria, then the' Commission is concerned that i 1
i such standards are difficult to implement. '
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. For example, if " protect health and minimize danger" is strictly i 'finterpreted, the NRC could.be prohibited from licensing a DOE
- f acility unless all steps, no matter how costly, had been taken to
- minimize 1 radiation exposures.
L. Such a strict criterion would be \*, I
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. 1 inconsistent with the realities of the need to balance several factors including cost,. risk, and site acceptability in reaching !
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. allicensingfdecision for*such a facility. Accordingly, the Commission suggests that any criteria for licensing DOE waste
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. facilities.should: retain flexibility for administrative-j interpretation.
'Section 4 (c) would -establish a separate license condition for DOE L:
.f acilities .used :primarily for the geologic storage or. disposal of l
(]) high-level and transuranic wastes resulting from activities licensed under.the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Prior to licensing such facilities, the Commission would have to find that they incorporate . multiple barrier design. This condition is compatible with the Commission's proposed licensing regulations to the extent that it applies to wastes resulting from licensed activities. However, the disposal of high-level and transuranic. wastes from unlicensed activities present similar health and safety concerns. Accordingly, (() this licensing criterion should also apply to facilities for such
' wastes and' licensed under cection 202(4) of the ERA.
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'.. I4. lot Program- '
Section 5 would authorize the Secretary and the Commission to
. establish a-pilot program for auditing selected DOE waste storage
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facilitiesLnot subject to NRC licensing. The Secretary and the Commission, by mutual agreement, would select at least five but no
., more'than ten facilities from three categories including high-lev'el waste: storage. .The Secretary would-review the selected facilities tolde'termine whether'they comply with DOE requirements for protec-tion of the public health, and safety, and the environment, and whether' remedial actions are required.
The Secretary.would then g-) report to the Congress on~the results of his study; and the NRC (s . would review that report, independently verify its conclusions,~and r.eport to Congre.ss. At any time during the audit, the President Vould.be. authorized to immediately suspend any DOE or NRC activity related toothe audit and found to jeopardize.the common defense and security. . Following completion of the pilot audit, the Secretary ! and the Commission would' separately report to Congress on: (1) the 1 need for' Commission regulation of unlicensed DOE waste facilities; (2) the ability.to-develop'a workable program of Commission regulation;'>
'(3i) the controlability of national security information in such a program; and (4) alternative approaches for implementing a regulatory program.
This pilot program goes beyond the Commission's recommendations in the area.by: including facilities directly related to national security. I 4 a I
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- 5. Alternative Sites i
Section 6'of the b111'would require DOE to submit at least four sit'e-characterization reports for at least'three different geologic media before NRC could consider a DOE application to construct a
~ geologic repository.- This: provision is consistent with the- Com -
mission's proposed regulations.regarding alternative sites. 4 4 4 k i, 3 (a 4 t t 4 O a l t g + n
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- 6. Schedule for Establishing a-Waste Repository
- Section 7 would establish the fo11'owing schedule for developing and operating a waste repository:
Deadline . Action January 1, 1981 EP,A to issue generally applicable standards for offsite release,of radioactivity from facilities. January 1, 1982 NRC to issue techn1 cal criteria applicable to ('t- . geologic' waste facilities. Ns' January 1, 1985 DOE to' submit to NRC at least four site charac-terization plans for geologic disposal facilities. January 1, 19891 DOE to apply to NRC for construction authoriza-tion. I January 1, 1993 NRC to act on DOE application for construction ' authorization. O January 1, 1998 DOE to apply to NRC for authorization to emplace waste.
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January 1, 2000 NRC to act on DOE application for authorization to emplace waste. Nothing in this schedule is inconsistent with previous, Commission
. . testimony'on this subject.
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1 Section 8 would require ,the President to report annually to Congress on compliance.with the schedule. If a schedule requirement cannot be' met, the President.would be' required _to explain to Congress the reasons for delay, to describe actions to prevent the delay of sub-sequent requirements, and to make recommendations on whether the delay is such as to warrant Congressional prohibition on the fur- , ther issuance of const'ruction p'ermits of operating licenses for-nuclear power plants. If the Commission does not issue a license for waste emplacement by January 1, 2000, then_NRC would be required to suspend construction' permits and operating licenses.for nuclear power plants until an emplacement license is issued. The Commission has stated, as a m'atter of po'licy, that it would stop. licensing' reactors if it did ' not have reasonable confidence that safe waste disposal could be achieved when needed. Currently, the NRC is conducting a pro-ceeding to reassess its confidence in the future availability of ! 7 safe waste disposal. This proceeding should be concluded well in A) w ' advance-of the proposed deadline, and should provide a more reason.- 1 able basis for determining whether such a deadline is required. Moreover, because of the many complex and oten non-substantive factors that lead to schedule delays, the failure to meet a dead-line is_not necessarily evidence regarding the finding of adequate protection of the.public health and safety necessary for continued reactor licensing. Thus, it is not clear that a rigid deadline on ! r cont,inued reactor licensing is an appropriate mechanism for encourag-ing initiation of repository operation. Commissioner Bradf'ord does I i I
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i' not oppose such deadlines if provision is made for their waiver by l the President. . 4 e
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o o State Concurrence *
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L Section 9 would direct the ' Secretary to enter into formal arrangements for state [ concurrence or non-concurrence in all l
. stages of the planning, siting, development and operation of ,
' geologic repositories for the storage or disposal of high-level and, transuranic wastes. Only states which contain L
potential. repository sites would enter into such agreements. l LState nonconcurrence would have to be based on " legitimate" '
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public health and safety concerns; and an arbitration mechanism i r s; 1 Ts >1,
-would h, ave to be established for determining the legitimacy J of a state's reasons for non-concurrence. . Arrangements for
, state concurredce would be subject to Presidential review ~
and.approv;*. and, if approved, would become effective if not subsequently disapproved by concurrent resolution by Congress. An approved arrangement would bind all federal agencies but would not affect. the Commission's authority to take actions l necessary for. protection of public health and safety.
- O This procedure differs in several significant respects from
, the Commission's previous suggestions in this area. First, regarding the time of possible s. tate non-concurrence, the
' Commission has stated that the opportunity for non-concurrence should be provided after completion of an NRC proceeding on
- j. any application for construction authorization. The state r
!' decision would thus come before the commitment of funds for facility construction, but af ter the Commission had fully developed
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l a fcctual record and reasoned statsmant of its conclusions l H that would be available for use in the resolution of any
. state objectives.' However, the concurrence procedure provided t by the bill would permit state non-concurrence at earlier stages in the selection and development of a repository, j
. This aspect of- the bill is inconsistent with Commission '
policy. Moreover, the proposal to use arbitration to determine L the legitimacy'of a state's non-concurrence would unnecessarily duplicate the NRC's consideration- cf health and safety issues. raised by a state. The Commission' believes that an NRC proceeding under the procedures established by the Atomic' Energy Act provides the appropriate forum for consideration of. issues of public health and safety. l i Second, the bill does not provide a procedure for resolving federal / state differences. . If a state were to continue to. object af ter careful examination of the record I
. on health, safety, and environmental considerations, after consultation with DOE, and af ter participation in NRC licensing
, proceedings, then the process should be suspended pending l review of the: record :by either Congress, the President, or both.
L NRC has no current recommendations on the specific
- . procedures for the resolution o'f Federal / State disputes.
However, we believe that the official or body with authority i to resolve these differences should be clearly identified. [ An acceptable means for resolving issues raised by State ^
~ objection could be implemented-as follows: initially a
- l State's non-concurrence'would be referred to the-President 1 ~
p for his. determination.- In the event that the President o ,
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rejected ~the. state's non-concurrence, his determination I would ~ then be transmitted to Congress , which could sustain the. State's position by. concurrent resolution.
, -Third, the Commission believes that states not containing ' i repository sites but affected by a repository should also '
participa'te in repository development activities. lloreover , the physical proximity of one stateLto another may not be 1 the_only me~ns a for determining which states have interests
.which may be affected by a repository..
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JFinally, the bill would bind the NRC to the arrangement.between a state and DOE except for_ matters regarding public. health and j safety. The1 Commission believes that it is inconsistent with
. the separation of NRC and DOE jurisdiction accomplished by the ERA
. to bind NRC to a veto arrangement between a state and DOE.
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* ~.)U 8.. Interim ~Away-From- nector Storage of Sonnt Mal l
Section 10.would. encourage the maximum practicable storage of spent reactor' fuel'on reactor sites but would provide for federal away-from-reactor storage as aLlast resort. Before the Secretary could~ construct or acquire an away-from-reactor storage facility the President.would be required to submit the proposal to Congress
~0hich would have sixty days'to d,isapprove it by concurrent resolu-
. tion.
ly ' J iSection110(d) would require the Commission to condition all construc-p . tion permits issued after; June 1, 1980, to. require onsite storage kJ' ,
; capacity' for.the spent fuel to be generated'during the useful life . .
L of a plant. The NRC has not considered the public health, and
, safety,.and environmental implications'of such a. requirement.
.'Section 10(e) would authorize an applicant f.or a license to construct an-Independent: Spent. Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) on a reactor .
. site.to petition-the Commission for permission to.begin construc-t tion before'the.' completion of any required hearing. The Commission :
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-v could~ grant such permission upon finding: . (1) reasonable expectation
.that' requirements.of the Atomic Energy Act and National Environmental P Policy Act have been met; and (2). operation of the ISFSI would not '
'beLlikely to present significant additional risk to the public health ~and ' safety and the environment.
The Commission 11scconcerned that the early' initiation of construc- - L tion could influence the resolutionoef' issues considered at any L' ', hearing.. Moreover, in' order to assure adequate protection of the i n H publi~c: health and safety, the Commission believes it must retain sthelauthoritytto halt construction if necessary. ' 1
O O II Calendar No. 956 OGru CONoltESS 2n SES8loN , [ Report No. 96-871] f-To establish a program for nuclear waste regulation and control. O is riis saxars or riis uniren srirus JtJLY 25 (legislative day, Jt!NE 12), 1980 Mr. IIAnT, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, reported the following original bill; which was read twice and ordered to be placed on the calendar A BILL To establish a program for nuclear waste regulation and control. 0 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the " National Nuclear Waste I 4 ilegulation and Control Act of 1980". 5 FINDINGS 6 sEC 2. The Congress finds-7 (1) because radioactive wastes present significant 8- potential risks to the health and safety of the public, L
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O I 1 and to the environment, they require safe tuid environ-2 mentally acceptable storage and disposal; 3 (2) a successful nuclear waste management strat- 1 4 egy requires the full participation of State and local of-5 ficials, Indian representatives and the public in a step-O by-step, conservative, technologically sound program, i l 7 to promote public confidence in the safe disposal of nu-l 8- clear waste. 1 0 DEFINITIONS ' 10 SEC. 3. For purposes of this Act, the term-11 (1) " spent fuel" means fuel that has been with-12 drawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation, 13' whose constituent elements have not been separated by , 14 reprocessing; 15 _( 2) " radioactive: waste" means high-level w~aste, 16 transuranic waste, and low-level waste; 4 17 (3) "high-level waste" means (A) irradiated reac- O 18 tor fuel, (B) liquid wastes resulting from the operation 19 - of the first cycle solvent extraction system, or equiva-20 lent, and the concentrated wastes from subsequent ex- - 21 traction cycles, or equivalent, in a facility for reproc-22- essing irradiated reactor fuel, (C) solids into which 23 such liquid wastes have been converted, and (D) such 24' other material as the Commission determines to be 25 necessary to protect public health and safety;
tQ f} 3 1 (4) " transuranic waste" means material contami-2 nated with elements having an atomic number greater 3 than 92, including neptunium, plutonium, americium, 4 and curium, in concentrations greater than 10 nanocur-5 ies per gram, or in such other concentrations as the G Commission determines to be necessary to protect the 7 public health and safety; 8 (5) " low-level waste" means radioactive waste (3 9 not classified as either high-level radioactive waste, l
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10 transuranic waste, or byproduct material, as defined by 11 section lle. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; l 12 (G) "long-term storage" means storage of radio-13 active waste for a period of not less than 20 years; 14 (7) "away-from-reactor storage" means storage of 15 spent fuel away from the site of a nuclear powerplant; S 10 (8) " disposal" means the emplacement of radioac- l 1 ,. () 17 tive waste with no foreseeable intent of recovery, 18 whether or not such emplacement permits the recovery 19- of such materials; , 1 20 (9) " nuclear powerplant" means a utilization fa- l 21 cility required to be licensed under section 103 or 104 22 (b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954; 23 (10) " Commission" means the ; Nuclear Itegula-24 tory Commission; 25 (11) " Secretary" means the Secretary of Energy;
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N) Q,I 4 1 (12) " Department" means the Department of 2 Energy; 3 (13) " Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, 4 nation, or other organized group or community of Indi-5 ans recognized as eligible for the services provided to ( 0 Indians by the Secretary of the Interior because of 7 their status as Indians, including any Alaska Native 8 village, as defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native 9 Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688,689); g 10 (14) " Indian reservation" means (A) Indian coun-11 try as defined in section 1151 of title 18, United States 12 Code; (H) any lands, not covered under such section, 13 titic to which is held by the United States in trust for 14 the benefit of any Indian tribe; (C) and lands not cov-15 cred under such section, title to which is held by an 1G Indian tribe subject to restriction by the United States 17 against alienation; and (D) any lands selected by $ 18 Alaska Native villages or regional corporations under 10 the provisions of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 20 Act; 21 (15) "affected Indian tribe" means any tribe 22 whose rights reserved through statutes, treaties, Ex. 23 ceutive orders, judicial decisions, or other applicable 24 law could reasonably be expected to be adversely af-25 fected by the development, construction, or operation
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O i 5 1 'of a facility for the long-term storage or disposal of ra-2 dioactive waste; and 3' (16) " site characterization" means the program of 4 exploration and research, both'in the laboratory and.in 5 the field, undertaken to establish the geologic condi-6 'tions and the ranges of those parameters of a particu-
'7 lar site relevant to the procedures required under this
'8 Act. Site characterization includes borings, surface ex-(~-0 cavaticas, excavations of expIoratory shafts, limited 10- subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ 11 testing needed to determine the suitability of the site
? 12' for a geologic repository, but does not include prelimi-L L 13 nary borings and geophysical testing needed to decide 14 whether site characterization should be undertaken.
- 15 NUCLEAR REGULATOltY CO51311SSION LICENSING 16 AUTIIORITY l(}*
[ 17 SEC. 4. (a) Section 202 of the Energy Reorganization i 18 Act of 1974 is amended by redesignating the existing section 19 as subsection (a), and amending such subsection-L L 20 .(1) by inserting "any other provision of law, in-l 1 21- cluding" after "notwithstanding"; 22; ~(2) by inserting " enacted after June 1, 1980" 23 after "or other law"; and 24 (3) by amending paragraphs (3) and (4) to read as I 1 25 follows:
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G 1 "(3) Facilities used primarily for the receipt and 2 storage or disposal of-3 "(A) high-level radioactive wastes, 4 "(11) transuranic waste, or 5 "(C) low-level radioactive waste, G resulting from activities licensed under such Act. 7 "(4) Iletrievable surface facilities and other facili-8 ties authorized for the purpose of long-term storage or 9 disposal of- g 10 "(A) high-level radioactive waste, or 11 "(H) transuranic waste, or 12 "(C) nondefense low-level radionetive waste, 13 generated by the Administration, which are not used 14 for, or are part of, research and development activities. 15 For purposes of this section-10 "(i) 'high-level radioactive waste' means irra-17 diated reactor fuel; liquid wastes resulting from h 18 the operation of the first eyele solvent extraction 10 system, or equivalent, and the concentrated 20 wastes from subsequent extraction cycles, or 21 equivalent, in a facility for reprocessing irradiated 22 reactor fuel, and solids into which such liquid 23 wastes have been converted and such other mate-24 rials as the Conunission determines to be neces-25 sary to protect public health and safety;
O O 7 1 "(ii) ' transuranic waste' means material con-2 taminated with elements having an atomic number 3 greater than 02, including neptunium, plutonium, 4 americium,' and curium, in concentrations greater 5 than 10 nanocuries per gram, or in such other G concentrations as the Commission determines to 7 be necessary to protect the public health and 8 safety; 9 "(iii) ' low-level radioactive waste' means ra-10 dioactive waste that is not classified as high-level 11 radioactive waste, transuranic waste, or byproduct 12 material as defined in section lle. (2) of the 13 Atomic Energy Act of 1954; 14 "(iv) ' facilities authorized for the purpose of 15 long-term storage or disposal' means facilities that 10 are designed and intended to store nuclear wastes r (_) 17 for a period of not less than 20 years; and 18 "(v) facilities designed, constructed, or oper-10 ated for the purpose of long-term geologic storage 20 or disposal of high-level radioactive waste or 21 transuranic waste in quantities that contain (A) in 22 the case of transuranic waste, not less than one 23 kilogrtun of transuranic waste or the curie equiva-24 lent of 10 metric tons of spent fuel, or (B) in the 25 case of high-level radioactive waste, not less than
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8 1 the curie equivalent of 10 metric tons of spent 2 fuel shall not be considered as used for, or part of, 3 research and development activities.". 4 (b) Section 202 of the Energy lleorganization Act of 5 1974 is further tunended by adding the following new subsee-G tions: 7 "(b) Prior to the issuance of any construction authoriza-8 tion, license, or license amendment under paragraphs (3) or 9 (4) of the preceding subsection, the Commission shall deter- g 10 mine that such issuance-11 "(1) would present no unreasonable risk to public 12 health and safety and would not be inimical to the 13 conunon defense and security, and 14 "(2) would be consistent with all applicable gen-15 eral enviromnental standards promulgated by the Ad-10 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency ( 17 pursuant to authority under existing law." h 18 "(c) In addition to the determination required by the 10 preceding subsection, prior to issuance of any construction 20 authorization, license, or license tunendment for a geologie 21 storage or disposal facility under paragraph (3) or (4) of sub-22 section (a) of this section, the Conunission shall determine 23 that such facility incorporates multiple barrier design.".
78 ,- d C/ l. 9 1 AUDIT OF SELECTED DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NUCLEAR 2 WASTE STORAGE FACILITIES 3 SEC. 5. (a) The Secretary and the Commission are au-
~
4 thorized and directed to establish a pilot program for auditing 5 selected nuclear waste storage facilities of the Department 6 that are not subject to the Commission's licensing and related 7 regulatory authority under section 202 of the Energy Reor-8 ganization Act of 1974. Such audits shall be carried out in a i O- 9 manner consistent with the common defense and security and U 10 shall determine the extent to which the construction, oper- I l 11 ation, and decommissioning of such facilities complies with l 12 the Department's requirements for protection of the public j 13 health and safety and the environment, whether such require-14 ments provide adequate protection to the public health and i 15 'safet.y and the environment, whether remedial actions for the J 16 facility are needed to provide such protection, and if so, the
'd 17 need for, and feasibility and cost of, such actions.
18 (b) The purposes of the pilot program established by j 19 subsection (a) shall be to determine-20 (1) whether Commission regulation of the facilities 21 described in subsection (a) is necessary to provide rea-22 sonable assurance that the construction, operation, and i l 23 decommissioning of such facilities provides adequate 24' protection to the public health and safety and the envi-25- ronment; S.2980-rs--2 1
O O > 10
=1- .(2) whether a workable and effective program for 2 Commission regulation of the facilities described in 3 subsection (a) can be. developed; 4 -(3) whether such a program can be conducted in a
'5- manner to assure adequate protection of national secu- I G- rity interests, including preventing the unauthorized 7 disclosure of restricted data or other national security 8 :information, preventing the interruption of the produc-9 tion proecss for atomic weapons or weapons parts, pre- .g 10 venting the interruption of the production of special nu-11 clear material for atomic weapons, and preventing sig-12 nificant disruption'of research and development work in 13 the military application of atomic energy; and 14 (4) if such a program satisfying the requirements
.-15; ' of paragraphs'(2) and (3) can be developed, what alter-16 native regulatory approaches are available, and what 17 are the costs and benefits of each approach. O 18 -(c) Not later than one hundred and eighty days after the 19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Commis-
.20 sion shall submit to the Congress a memorandum of under-
-21 standing delineating their respective responsibilities for con-22 ducting the pilot program described in subsection _(a). Such _
23 memorandum of understanding shallinclude-24 (1) assignment of responsibility to the Secretary
.25 to review each facility included in the pilot program to i n -__._..mm_'E._.______E_____..__- ____..__m --_ . _ .-- , - . _ , - - , - - - , . ~ ,
G
- U V 11 1 determine whether the construction, operation, and de-2 commissioning of the facility complies with the Depart-3 ment's requirements for protection of the public health
.4 and safety and the environment, and whether remedial l 5 actions for the facility are needed to provide adequate G . protection of the public health and safety and the 7 environment; 8 (2) assignment of responsibility to the Secretary 9 to prepare a report to the Congress and the Commis-f] 10 sion on each such facility, describing in detail the q 11 extent to which the construction, operation, and de-12 commissioning of such facility complies or fails to 13 comply with the Department's procedures and require-14 ments for protection of the public health and safety and i
15 the environment, and the need for remedial actions, if 9 16 any, to provide adequate protection of the public health O V 17 and safety and the environment; 18 (3) assignment of responsibility to the Commission 19 to review such report, and to independently verify the 20 extent to which the construction, operation, and de-21 commissioning of the facility complies with the Depart-22 ment's procedures and requirements, whether such pro-23 cedures and requirements, as they apply to each such 24 facility, provide adequate protection of the public 25 health and safety and the environment, and the need
- 1. .
O O 12 1 for remedial actions for the facility, to provide such 2 protection; 3 (4) provisions assuring the Commission such 4 access to inspect the facilities included in such program 5 and to examine related doctunents as the Commission 6 determines necessary to carry out the responsibilities 7 described in paragraph (3); and 8 (5) assignment of responsibility to the Commission 9 to provide to the Congress a written assessment of the g 10 Secretary's report described in paragraph (2) respect-11 ing each facility covered therein. 12 (d) Not later than one hundred and eighty days after the 13 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission and the Secre-14 tary shall select by mutual agreement the facilities to be in-15 cluded in the pilot program described in subsection (a). Such 13 facilities shall consist of not less than 5 nor more than 10 4 17 nuclear waste storage facilities of the Department that are l 18 not subject to the Commission's licensing and related regula-10 tory authority under section 202 of the Energy Reorganiza-20 tion Act of 1974: Proeided, homerer, That the facilities se-21 lected by the Secretary and the Commission shall include 22 representative examples from three different categories of ra-23 dioactive waste storage or disposal facilities, and one such 24 category shall be facilities for the storage of high-level waste.
.__m. . ... . _ . . _ . - _ _ . _ . _ . _ . . . _ _ . . _ . . . _ . _ . _ . _ . _ . _
I L 13 i 1~ (c) Not later than eighteen months after the date of en- . 2 .actment of this Act, the Conunission shall by rule promulgate ? . L 3 - regulations to ' carry out the ' responsibilities assigned to the !
'40 Commission in the memorandum of understanding. Such reg-5 ulations shallinclude-l6- (1) procedures to prevent unauthorized disclosure 7 of restricted data or other national security information 8 pursuant to .the authority of section 161(i)(1) of the C
9 Atomic Energy Act of 1954; and
.10 -(2) opportunity for public participation in the ]
l 11' ' Commission's review of the Secretary's report, consist- l 12 ent.with the need to prevent unauthorized disclosure of
> 13 restricted data or other national security information,
.14 the interruption of' the production process for atomic 15 weapons'and weapons parts, and the significant disrup-f 16 tion of research and development in the military appli-
~b 17 cation of atomic energy.
,18. (f) Not later than eighteen months after the date of en-10 netment of this. Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 20 and .the Commission. shall report to the Congress on the 21 progress of the pilot program.
22 (g) Not later than two and one-half years after the date l-23 .of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 'to the i 24 Commission and the Congress the report described in subsec-I 25 tion (c)(2) for the facilities included in the pilot program. Not 4
o l V,rm V 14 1 later than three and one-half years after the date of enact-2 ment of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the Con-3 gress a report containing determinations on the issues defined 4 in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (b) of this section 5 and the reasons therefor. 6 (b) Not later than four years after the date of enactment 7 of this Act the Commission shall submit to the Congress the 8 written assessment described in subsection (c)(5) for the facil-0 ities included in the pilot program. Not later than four and g 10 one-half years after the date of enactment of this section, the 11 Commission shall submit to the Congress a report containing 12 the determinations on the issues defined in paragraphs (1) 13 through (4) of subsection (b) of this section and the reasons 14 therefor. 15 (i) The President may order the immediate suspension of 16 any activity of the Department or the Commission under the ( 17 pilot program described in subsection (a) if he determines in O 18 writing that such activity will jeopardize the common defense 10 and security by-20 (1) interrupting the production process for atomic 21 weapons or atomic weapon parts; 22 (2) interrupting the production of special nuclear 23 material needed for the production of atomic weapons; 24 or
O O 15 1 (3) significantly disrupting research and develop-2 ment work in the military application of atomic energy. 3 Not later than fifteen days following the issuance of such an 4 order, the President shall transmit such order, together with 5 a detailed statement of the reasons therefor, and a recom-G mendation on legislative or other actions necessary to pre-7 clude the recurrence of such an interruption or significant 8 disruption to the Committees on Interstate and Foreign
" o =mereo '"teri r ""d '"""'"' ^"ir" ""d ^rmea services O
10 of the IIouse of Ilepresentatives and the Committees on En-11 vironment and Public Works and Armed Services of the 12 senate. The Congress shall have a period of sixty days of 13 continuous session to disapprove such order by joint resolu-14 tion. In the absence of timely adoption of such a resolution, 15 the subject order shall remain in effect. I 10 CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVE SITES O 12 sEc. c. (a) The Commission shall require the submission 18 of a site characterization plan in advance of approving the 10 characterization of any individual site for a geologic storage 20 or disposal facility under section 202(a) (3) or (4) of the 21 Energy licorganization Act of 1974, as amended. Each such 22 plan shall, at a minimum, contain-23 (1) a description of the site to be characterized; 24 (2) a description of the characterization program 25 for such site;
16 1 (3) the criteria used to arrive at candidate areas; 2 (4) the method by which the site was selected for 3 characterization, including the means used to obtain 4 public and State views during selection; 5 (5) identification and location of alternative media 6 and sites for which characterization is anticipated. 7 (b) In order to discharge its responsibilities for the con-8 sideration of alternative sites under section 102(2)(c)(iii) of 9 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Com- g 10 mission shall require the submission by the Secretary of at 11 least four site characterization reports prior to considering an 12 application for authorization to construct a geologic storage 13 or disposal facility under paragraph (3) or -(4) of section 14 202(a) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amend-15 ed. Such site characterization reports shall be for sites at 16 different locations and in at least three different geologic ( 17 media. In selecting such sites, the Secretary of Energy shall O
~ 18 consult with the United States Geological Survey. Each such 19 report shall contain the data, analysis, and findings developed 20 through site characterization at a particular location.
21- SCIIEDULE FOR NATIONAL HIGII-LEVEL WASTE I 22 MANAGEMENT { 23 SEc. 7. (a) Not later than January 1,1981, the Admin-24 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, pursuant to 25 authority under existing law, shall, by rule, promulgate gen-I i l
O O 17 1 erally applicable standards for offsite releases of radioactivity 2 from incilities for the long-term geologie storage or geologic 3 disposal of high-level radioactive waste and transuranic 4 waste. 5 (b) Not later than January 1,1982, the Commission, 6 pursuant to authority under existing law, shall, by rule, pro-7 mulgate technical criteria for review of an application-8 (1) for authorization to construct a geologic dis-9 posal facility, 10 (2) for a license to emplace radioactive waste in 11 such facility, or 12 (3) for a license amendment to decommission such 13 facility under section 202(a) (3) or (4) of the Energy 14 Reorganization Act of 1974. 15 (c) Not later than January 1,1985, the Secretary of
$ 16 Energy shall have submitted to the Commission not less than Q 17 four site characterization plans for a geologic disposal facility 18 under section 202(a) (3) or (4) of the Energy Reorganization 19 Act of 1974, as amended.
20 (d) Not later than January 1,1989, the Secretary of 21 Energy shall submit to the Commission an application for 22 authorization to construct a geologie disposal facility under 23 section 202(a)(3) or (4) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 24 1974, as amended. S.2980-rs 3
O O 18 1 (c) Not later than January 1,1993, the Commission 2 shall act on the application described in subsection (d) of this 3 section. 4 (f) Not later than January 1,1998, the Secretary of 5 Energy shall submit to the Conunission an application for a 6 license to emplace radioactive wastes in any facility described 7 in subsection (d) of this section for which the Commission has 8 authorized construction under section 202(a)(3) of the Energy 9 Reorganization Act of 1974. g 10 (g) Not later than January 1, 2000, the Conunission 11 shall act on the application described in subsection (f) of this 12 section. 13 COMPLIANCE WITil NATIONAL SCIIEDULE 14 SEC. 8. (a) One year after the date of enactment of this 15 Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall submit a 16 report to the Congress on the status of the National Nuclear 17 Waste Management Program and on the measures being $ 18 taken to meet the requirements in section 7 of this Act. The 19 report shall include an estimate of the degree of probability 20 that each requirement will be met on the specified date. 21 (b)(1) In the event any agency or official with responsi-22 bility to meet a requirement in section 7 (c), (d), (e), (f), or (g) 23 of this Act determines that such requirement will not be met 24 by the date specified, such agency or official shall imme-25 diately so notify the President.
O O 19 , 1 (2) In the event the Secretary of Energy determines i that the requirement'in section 7(d) cannot or will not be met 3 by the date specified in such subsection, such Secretary shall 4 immediately notify the President and the President shall im- < 5 mediately submit to the Congress the report required under 6 subsection (c) of this section. Section 7(d) shall be deemed a .. 7 procedural requirement only, and the provisions of this see-8 tion shall be the exclusive remedy for failure to meet the O " '"""i'"* ""'" "' " ' ti"" '(d)' 10 (c) In the event of a notification under subsection (b) of 11 this section, the President shall promptly submit a report to 12 the Congress. Such report shall include: (1) a detailed expla-13 nation of the reasons why the requirements will not be met; 14 (2) an estimate of when the requirement will be met and a 15 description of the measures that the President is taking or , 10 proposes to take to meet the requirement; (3) a description of O 17 the measures, if any, that the Presiaent is taking or proposes - 18 to take to assure that subsequent requirements under section 19 7 are met by the dates specified and an estimate of the 20 degree of probability that each requirement will be met by 21 the specified date, and (4) the President's recommendations, . 22 in light of the failure to satisfy the subject requirement in 23 section 7, and of any impact that such failure will have on 24 meeting subsequent requirements of section 7, as to whether 25 the Congress should prohibit the issuance of additional con-
O O 20 1 struction permits for nuclear powerplants under section 185 2 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 and operating licenses for 3 such facilities under section 103 or 104(b) of such Act, or 4 should otherwise restrict the continued generation of high-5 level wastes by netivities licensed under such Act. 6 (d) Not later than sixty days after the submission to the 7 Congress of a report under subsection (c) of this section, the 8 Conunittee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate 9 and the Committees on Interstate and Foreign Connnerce O 10 and Interior and Insular Affairs of the llouse of llepresenta-11 tives to which such report is referred shall submit reports to 12 their respective houses containing their recommendations, in. 13 cluding any proposed legislation, respecting the recommenda-14 tions of the President described in subsection (c)(4) of this 15 section. 16 (c) Upon January 1, 2000, if the Commission has not 17 issued a license for emplacement of radioactive wastes in a g 18 geologie disposal facility pursuant to section 202(c.) (3) or (4) 19 of the Energy lleorganization Act, as amended, the Commis-20 sion shall not issue a construction permit or an operating 21 license for any nuclear powerplant until after it issues such 22 an emplacement license.
O O 21 1 STATE CONCURItENCE FOlt ItADIOACTIVE WASTE 2 REPOSITORTES 3 SEC. D. (a) As soon as practicable, but not later than 4 ninety days after the date of enactment of this section, the 5 Secretary shall identify the States in which are located one 6 or more potentially acceptable sites for a facility for the geo- s 7 logic storage or disposal, including test disposal, of high level 8 or transuranic wastes. The Secretary shall promptly notify
" " """"'""r, the State legislature, and the Tribal council of O .
10 any affected Indian tribe in each such identified State of the 11 potentially acceptable sites within such State. 12 (b) Each such State and affected Indian tribe notified 13 under subsection (a) shall have the right to concur or noncon-14 cur, based on legitimate public health and safety or environ-15 mental concerns, in all stages of the planning, siting, devel-16 opment, construction, and operation in such State of a facility O 17 of a type referrea to in subsection (a). The Secretary is au-18 thorized and directed promptly to enter into negotiations with 10 each such State and affected Indian tribe to establish formal 20 arrangements under which the State and affected Indian 21 tribes may exercise such right. Public participation in the 22 negotiation of such arrangements shall be provided for, en-23 couraged, and assisted by the Secretary, the States, and 24 Indian tribes. The Secretary, in cooperation with the States 25 and Indian tribes, shall develop and publish minimum guide-l i e
O O 22 1 lines for public participation in such negotiations. Such ar-2 rangements shall-3 (1) identify specific points in the development of a 4 repository at which time the State or affected Indian 5 tribes may formally concur or nonconcur; 5 6 (2) provide procedures for negotiating and resolv-7 ing State or Indian tribe nonconcurrence in any stage 8 of the planning, siting, development, construction, or 9 operation of such a facility within the State; g 10 (3) establish an arbitration mechanism for deter-11 mining whether the State's or Indian tribe's reasons 12 for nonconcurrence are based upon legitimate public 13 health and safety or~ environmental concerns. In the 14 event of a nonconcurrence determined to be legitimate 15 through such a mechanism, any aspect of facility devel-10 opment which is the subject of the nonconcurrence 17 shall not proceed, unless otherwise provided for by the 18 State of affected Indian tribe, until such nonconcur-19 rence is resolved. 20 In addition, such arrangements shall provide that-21 (1) notice shall be afforded and public hearings 22 shall be conducted in ~ areas potentially affected by the 23 location of any such facility; 24 (2) prior to public hearings, a satisfactory descrip-25 tion and analysis of the health, environmental, econom-
O O 23 1 ic, social, and energy effects of the proposed facility 2 shall be prepared and made available for public inspec-3 tion; and, 4 (3) a notice of availability accompanied by a con-O 5 cise, complete, and accurate summary of such analyses 6 and data shall be published in a newspaper of general 7 circulation in the areas potentially affected. . _ _ . 8 (c) As soon as possible, the Secretary shall submit such 9 arrangements t the President for his review and approval. If O 10 the President approves such arrangements, the arrange-11 ments, together with an explanation thereof, shall be submit-12 ted to the Congress and referred to the appropriate commit-13 tees for a period of sixty days of continuous session. The 14 Secretary is authorized and directed to enter into an agree-15 ment with the State and any affected Indian tribe to imple- ; 10 ment such arrangements if during such sixty-day period the
.O n Congress faiis to aaopt a concurrent resolution of aisapprov-18 al. In the absence of the timely adoption of such a resolution, 10 any such agreement shall be immediately effective and shall 20 he binding on all Federal agencies: Provided, however, That 21 any such agreement shall not alter the Commission's authori- ~'M 22 ty under existing law to take actions I.ecessary to protect the 23 public health and safety of environment.
24 (d) The Secretary shall not proceed beyond site explora-25 tion with any siting, development, or construction of a facility
O O 24 1 of a type referred to in subsection (a) until the Secretary and 2 the State and any affected Indian tribe, have entered into a 3 formal agreement in accordance with subsection (c). l 4 (e) Not later than one year after the date of enactment 5 of this section, the Secretary and the State and any affected 6 Indian tribe shall conclude the agreement required by subsec-7 tion (b). The Secretary shall report to the Congress annually 8 thereafter on the status of the arrangements approved under 9 subsection c. Any report by the Secretary to the Congress on g 10 the status of negotiations under subsection b., or on the 11 agreement under subsection c., shall be accompanied by com-12 ments solicited by the Secretary from the subject State and 13 affected Indian tribe. 14 INTEltlM AWAY-FROM-REACTOR STORAGE OF SPENT FUEL 15 SEc.10. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of 10 law, any program establishing a federally owned and operat-17 ed system for the imerim storage of spent fuel at away-from- h 18 reactor facilities shall be consistent with the policy of-19 (1) minimizing the need for away-from-reactor 20 storage facilities by encouraging and assisting the stor-21 age of spent fuel at the site of each nuclear powerplant 22 to the maximum extent practicable; and 23 (2) accepting Federal custody of spent fuel only in 24 those instances where there is no reasonable expecta-l 25 tion that adequate storage capacity therefor can be
O O 25 1 provided in a timely manner at the site of the nuclear 2 powerplant that generated such spent fuel; and 3 (3) assuring full cost recovery by the Federal 4 Government for the construction and operation of Fed-5 eral away-from-reactor storage facilities. 6 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision o' law, the See-7 retary of Energy shall not enter into a contract with any 8 person owning and operating, or planning to own and operate O 9 a nucicar vowerviant providing for the storage of svent ruei 10 generated by such a powerplant in a Federal away-from-re-11 actor storage facility, unless the contract expressly provides 12 that such person will retain title to the spent fuel and will 13 bear full financial responsibility for sneh person's share of the 14 full cost of any Federal storage of spent fuel. 15 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the See-16 retary of Energy shall not enter into any obligation to con-O 17 struct or acquire, whether by purchase, lease or condemita-18 tion, an away-from-reactor storage facility for spent fuel until 19 the President has submitted a proposal to construct or ac-20 quire the facility to the Congress and a period of sixty days of 21 continuous session has elapsed without the passage of a con-22 eurrent resolution disapproving the President's proposal: 23 Procided howeecr, That the Secretary shall, in no event, 24 enter into any obligation to acquire an existing facility for the l 25 purpose of providing away-from-reactor spent fuel storage if
O O 20 1 such acquisition is not limited to actual spent fuel storage 2 facilities needed for an away-from-reactor facility unless the 3 Secretary specifically determines that the acquisition of 4 actual spent fuel storage facilities only is not practicable. In 5 no event shall such an acquired facility be used for any pur-6 pose other than away-from-reactor storage of spent fuel 7 unless such use is expressly authorized by law. Any proposal 8 by the President to construct or acquire an away-from-reac-9 tor spent fuel storage facility shall be accompanied by a de- g 10 tailed statement-11 (1) describing the spend fuel capacity to be pro-12 vided by the subject facility: 13 (2) justifying the need for such capacity through 14 the identification by the Secretary, with the concur-15 rence of the Commission, of specific nuclear power-10 plants for which there is no reasonable expectation that 17 adequate capacity for onsite storage of spent fuel can h 18 be provided in a timely manner in light of the expe-19 dited review procedure established by subsections (f) l 20 and (g) of this section: Provided, however, That in the 21 event the Commission fails to act within forty-five days 22 of the receipt of a determination by the Secretary that 23 there is no such reasonable expectation, the require-24 ment of concurrence by the Commission established by 25 this paragraph shall be waived.
O O 27 1 (3) the estimating the cost of constructing and op-2 erating the proposed facility and the means by which 3 full recovery by the Federal Government of spent fuel 4 storage costs will he assured; 5 (4) delineating alternatives to the proposed facility 6 considered by the President, and the costs and benefits 7 of the proposed facility and each alternative consid-8 ered; and Q 9 (5) justifying in detail the need to acquire an ex-10 isting facility not limited to actual spent fuel storage 11 facilities in the event the President proposes such an 12 acquisition and comparing the respective unit costs of 13 providing spent fuel storage at such facility and at 14 other alternative storage facilities, including storage at 15 the reactor site and at a federally constructed away-
)
16 from-reactor facilitv. 17 (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the See-
- 18 retary shall not enter into any contract with a person owning 10 or operating a nuclear powerplant to provide interim storage 20 of spent fuel, unless-21 (1) the subject nuclear powerplant has been iden-22 tified in accordance with paragraph (2) of the preceding 23 subsection or 24 (2) the Secretary shall have determined, with the 25 concurrence of the Conunission, that there is no rea-
O O 28 1 sonable expectation such person can provide in a 2 timely Inanner adequate storage capacity at the site of 3 the subject nuclear powerplant in light of the expedited 4 review procedure established by subsections (f) and (g) 5 of this section: Procided, however, That in the event 6 the Commission fails to act within forty-five days of 7 the receipt of a determination by the Secretary that 8 there is no such reasonable expectation, the require-9 ment of concurrence by the Commission established by g 10 this paragraph shall be waived. 11 (d) The Commission shall require as a condition to the 12 issuance of a license for any nuclear powerplant for which 'an 13 application for a construction permit has not been filed by 14 June 1,1980, that such powerplant provide adequate onsite 15 storage capacity for the spent fuel to be generated by such 10 powerplant over its usefullife or until such time as the Com-17 mission in its discretion determines, that the repository de- h 18 scribed in section 7 of this Act will be in operation, i 19 (e) Any person filing an application for a license to con-20 struct and operate an independent spent fuel storage installa-21 tion at the site of a nuclear powerplant may submit a petition 22 to the Commission for authorization to begin construction of 23 such installation prior to the conduct or completion of any 24 required hearing upon such application. Such petition shall be 25 accompanied by an affidavit or affidavits setting forth such
/'] (~T V ()
1 l 29 i 1 facts as establish that (1) there is a reasonable expectation 2 that refusal to grant such petition will prevent the petitioner 3 from providing in a timely manner adquate capacity for spent 4 fuel storage at the site of such plant, and (2) the petitioner 5 has expanded to the maximum extent practicable, the capac-G ity of existing facilities to store spent fuel at the site 'of such ; 7 nuclear powerplant. l 8 (f) The Commission shall grant the petition submitted l l f'N u) 9 under subsection (c) if it or its designee determines that-1 i 10 (1) in all respects other than the conduct or com- 1 11 pletion of any required hearing, there is a reasonable 12- expectation that the requirements of the Atomic 13 Energy Act of 1954, of the rules and regulations of 14 the Commission, and of the National Environmental 15 Policy Act of 1909 will be met; 16 (2) there is a reasonable expectation that the
/ \
El 17 design, construction, and operation of such independent 18 spent fuel storage installation, as described and ana-19 lyzed in the license application therefor, will present no 20 significant risk to the public health and safety and the 21 environment, and 22 (3) the petitioner has establ."hed that the condi-23 tions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of the preced-24 ing subsection are satisfied.
- . _. , . -. -- , .. .~..- - .-
O O 30 1.In no event shall the Conunission grant a petition under au-2 th'ority of this section after January 1,1991. 3 CONGRESSIONAL ltEVIEW PROCEDUltES 4 SEC. 11. (a) .Not later than sixty days of continuous 5' session of Congress after the date of transmittal to the' Con-6 gress by the President of any order under section 5(i) of this 7 Act, any arrangement under section O(e) of this Act, or any 8 proposal under section 10(c) of this Act, the relevant commit- , O tecs of jurisdiction of the Senate and the IIouse of Repre- g 10 sentatives shall each report to its respective llouse a resolu-11 tion as defined in subsection-(g)(2) stating in substance that 12 Congress approves or disapproves such order, arrangement, 13 or proposal: Procided, That if any such committee has not 14 reported such a resolution . at the end of 'such sixty-day 15 period, such committee shall be deemed to be discharged 10 from further consideration of such order, arrangement, or 17 proposal. If no such resolution ha.. been reported at the end O 18' of such period, the first resolution, as defined in subsection 10 (g)(2) which is introduced within five days thereafter within 20 such llouse shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of 21 - such llouse. 22 '(b) At any time after-23 (1) the relevant committee or committees have re- l 24 . ported any. resolution described in subsection (g)(2) of 25 this section, ....__.__.___.__.m_. __m
. . - - - . - . _ _ - - ~ . - ~ . - . ~ . . . . . .-
.O O ,
31 , IL .(2) such committee or committees have been dis- t 2~ ' charged from further consideration of any such resolu-
- 3 tion, as provided in the preceding subsection, or ,
. 4 (3) a resolution.has been introduced and placed on 5 the appropriate calendar as provided therein, ' 6 it shall be in order for any Member of the respective House to t 7 move the consideration of the resolution even if a previous 8 motion to the same effect has been disagreed to. i 0 (c) Any motion offered in accordance with the preceding 10 subsection shall be deemed privileged and shall not be subject 11 - to debate, amendment, a motion to postpone, or a motion to 12 proceed to the consideration of other business.:In the event F 13 ' any motion offered in accordance with the preceding subsec-14 tion is agreed to-15 (1) a motion to reconsider such vote shall not be . l e1 16 in order, and
, 10 17 (2) the resolution that is the subject of such a 18 motion shall remain the unfinished business of the re-l 10 spective House until disposed of.
I 20 (d) Debate on any resolution described in subsection i 21 -(g)(2), and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection 22 therewith, shall be limited to not more than three hours, to 23 .he divided equally between individuals favoring and opposing 24 the. resolution. A motion further to limit debate shall be in 4 25 order and shall not be debatable. An amendment to a motion
.. - . - -l
() rx V CJ 32 1 to postpone, or a motion to recommit the resolution, or a 2 motion to proceed to the consideration of other business, shall 3 not he in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by which the 4 resolution is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. 5 No amendment to any resolution pursuant to the procedures 6 of this section shall not be in order except as provided in 7 subsection (e). 8 (c) Inunediately following (1) the conclusion of the 9 debate on any resolution described in subsection (g)(2), (2) a g to single quorum call at the conclusion of debate if requested in 11 accordance with the rules of the appropriate Ilouse, and (3) 12 the consideration of an amendment introduced by the Major-13 ity Leader or his designec to insert the phrase "does not" in 14 lieu of the word "does" if the resolution under consideration 15 is a resolution of approval, the vote on final approval of the 16 resolution shall occur. 17 (f) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 18 the application of the rules of the Senate or the Ilouse of 19 Representatives, as the case may be, to the procedure relat-20 ing to any resolution described in subsection (g)(2) shall he 21 decided without debate. 22 (g)(1) For purposes of subsection (a) of this section, the 23 term " relevant committees of jurisdiction" shall mean-24 (A) in connection with an order under section 5(i) 25' of this Act, the Committees on Armed Services and
O O 33 1 Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the 2, Committees on Armed Services, Interstate and Foreign
.3- Commerce, .and Interior- and Insular Affairs of the 4 Ilouse of Ilepresentatives; . ,
5 (II) in connection with .any arrangement under G. . section 9(c) of this Act, the Committees on Environ- ' 7- ment and Public Works.and Governmental Affairs of
;8 'the. Senate and the Committees on Government Oper-0 ?ntions, Interstate and Foreign Commerce, and Interior 10< ' and Insular. Affairs of the IIouse of-Ilepresentatives; 11 and 12- (C) in' connection with any proposal under section 13 10(c) of this. Act,.the Committees on Energy and Nat-
- 14. ural llesources and Environment and Public Works of -
15- . ;the Senate, and the Committees on Interstate and For- ' l 1G eign Commerce and ' Interior and Insular Affairs of the Ih '17 llouse of llepresentatives. 18- (2) For purposes of subsections (a) through' (f) of this 19 section, the term " resolution" means a joint resolution of the
- 20 Congress, if submitted to fulfill the requirements of subsec- !
l ..
- l. :21 tion 5(i) of this Act, or a concurrent resolution of the Con-i . 22 gress, if submitted to fulfill the requirements of subsection 4
23- 9(c) or 10(c) of this Act. The matter after the resolving 1 24 : clause of any such resolution shall read as follows: "That the
- 25 Congress (does or does not) favor the trans-t
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,y , . .
.) ,'
34 1 mitted to the Congress by the President on .", the blank 2 spaces therein to be appropriately filled, and the affirmative 3 or negative phrase within the parenthetical to be appropri-4 ately selected. 5 (h) For the purposes of this section-0 (1) continuity of session is broken only by an ad-7 journment of Congress sine die; and 8 (2) the days on which either llouse is not in ses-9 sion because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to g 10 a day certain are excluded in the computation of any 11 period of time in which Congress is in continuous 12 session. 13 (i) this section is enacted by the Congress-14 (1) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 15 Senate and the Ilouse of Itepresentatives, respectively, 16 and as such they are deemed a part of the rules of 17 each flouse respectively, but applicable only with re- O 18 spect to the procedure to be followed in that IIouse in 19 the case of resolutions described by subsection (g)(2) of 20 this section; and they supersede other rules only to the 21 extent that they are inconsistent therewith; and 22 (2) with full recognition of the constitutional right 23 of either Ilouse to change the rules (so far as relating 24 to the procedure of that Ilouse) at any time, in the
O O-35 I same manner and to the same extent as in the case of 2 any other rule of that IIouse.-
.]
O
O O Calendar No. 956 9tiTu CONOltESS . 2i> SEssios , [ Report No. 96-871] A BILL To establish a program for nuclear waste regulation and control. Jtu 25 degislative day, Jt:NE 12),1980 Ilead twke and ordered to be placed on the calendar 1 M6 120555029836 US NRC NHSS DIV CF WASTE NANAGEMENT DIVISION DIR EC T OR 905 SS DC 20555 WASHINGTON D
O e Calendar h..956 D&rtr CONoRE8s L SENATE f REroar 2dSession J ] No. 96-871 NATIONAL NUCLEAlt WASTE ItEGULATION AND CONTitOL ACT OF 1980 JULY 25 (legislative day, Jess: 12).10ho.~ Ordered to be printed Mr. II4 rr, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, submitted the following REP T together with ADDITIONAL . OltlTY \ EWS I
- o accompany 14. 29 sol The Committee on F svironment and Public Works repor c an orig-inal bill (S. 2980) to -tablish a program for nuclear wa . regulation and control and recor unends that. the bill do pass.
- .nat SrArp m This bill sets out the first regulatory scheme for a national nuclear wasto management program. During most of the 30-year history of ,
the Nation's development of the atomic energy program, the prolilem of disposing of the resulting nuclear waste has attracted little atten-
- tion. During that period, however, the Federal Government, throu its defense programs, has generated over 75 million gallons of hi lly radioactive hquid wastes, temporarily. stored in tanks on Fe eral reservations. In addition, civilian nuclear powerplants have generated nearly 8000 metric tons of spent fuel, stored primarily in pools at the O powerplant site.In February 1980, the President raised the disposal problem to a' high level of priority when he announced his radioactive waste man-
-I agement program, based upon the recommendations of an Interagency Iteview Group on nuclear waste management (Ills) established two years earlier at the President's direction.
This bill recognizes that development of a safe and timely solution to the problem of nuclear wasto disposal is essential. Accordmgly, the bill seeks to implement so far as feasible the administration's stated objective of isolating from the biosphere existmg and future radio- [ ' 69-010 o
O 2 @ active waste generated by militarv and civilian activities so that they lxise no signdicant hazaid to pulitic health and safety. 3foreover, by establishing a schedule with specific deadlines for development of a the bill places the responsibility upon this nuclear generation waste repository,he for resolving t problems of nuclear waste disposal, rather than deferring the solution to future generations. At the saine tiine that it promotes deliberate progress toward oper-ating a nuclear waste retnisitory, the bill also provides the fullest possible protection of public health and safety and the environment DOE) to characterize at by leastrequiring four sitesthe Department in at of Energy least three different geo(logic media before it sub-mits to the Nuclear llegulatory Conunission (NitC) an application to construct a repository. Althhugh the NltC will participate in the site characterization pr'ocess, it will also have the benefit of DOE's reports on the characterizations in comparing alternative sites before issuing a construction authorization in addition, the bill grants p,)- tential host States, affected Indian tribes, and the public full partici-pation in decisions leading to construction and operation of a nuclear repositorv. The independent participatory role for those groups will proviile a'n additional layer of scrutiny over the Federal Government's nuclear waste management program. Only in this manner can the nuclear waste management program achieJe the public confidence essential for its success. mentThepolicy Congress has never with specific goalsbefore legislated aThis and objectives. nuclear legislation wasteat- manne & tempts not'only to delineate these goals and objectives, but al-o to es- T tabhsh a comp'rchensive regulatory frarnework for their implenienta-t ion. Store important, however, it seeks to solve a fundamental problem that many have termed the " Achilles heel" of the connnercial nnelear power pJogrann consistent with protection of the public health and safety and the environment and recognizing that, at least in the near term' nuclear power dI ay will play a role in providing energy for the Nation. 8mrmx 4 : xnc 1.tcENsiNo At TuontrY Section 4(a) of this provision extends NitC licensing authority to cover several tvpes of Department of Energy (DOE) waste storage or disposal facilit'ies currently exempt from the Nuclear llegulatory Com-mi+ ion (NitC) authoritv. NltC's current licensin'g authority includes the following waste man-agement facilities:
- 1. Conunercial facilities for the storage and disposal of radioactive wastes and spent fuel, except where agreement States have received licensing authority from the NIIC to license conunercial low-level g wastes and conunercial t ransuranic wastes.
it DOE facilities used priinarily foi the storageof high-level wastes t generatd by licensed activities.
- 3. DOE' facilities authorized for the express luirlw of long-term storage or disposal of high-level radioactive wastes generated by the administration except DOE facilities used for research and develop-ment on the storage and disposal of radioactive wast < s.
O 3 O The provision confinns NItC's licensing authority over a Federal "away-from-reactor" facility for storing commercial spent fuel. - The provision also exten6 NitC licensing authority to cover:
- 1. DOE facilities for disporal of nondefense low-level wastes and all transuranic waste.
- 2. DOE long-term geologic storage or distwisal facilities for research und development on high-level and transuranic waste storage or dis-posal, containing more than 1 kilogram of transuranic waste, or 10 metric tons of spent fuel or equivalent high-level waste.
Section 4(b) establishes a basic health and safety standard for the NitC to issue a license or construction permit for DOE facilities cov-cred by section 202(a) (3) or (4) of the Energy iteorganization Act of 1974, as amended. The committee neognizes the potential long term risks presented by radioactive v.aste to the public health and safety and the environ- , ment. In addition,it believes a waste disposal facility should minimize the responsibility of future generations for maintenance or surveil-lance. To the extent practicable, it shouhl not depend on the long-term stability or operation of social or governmental institutions. The fa-cility shouhl r,olate the wastes from those portions of the environment . . . . . . . . d%etly in contact with or readily available for use by human beings. Further,it. should minimize the possibility of future liuman intrusion. The conunittee endorses the primary ob[ective of the President's ra-dioactive waste management policyI O ma+,xi tinx ana futem maieesim -- f-military and civilian activitles from the biosphere and pose no significant threat to public health and safety. Ily restating the existing health and safety standard in the Atomic . Energy Act, under which the NIIC already has proposed technical
- and procedural regulations for disposal of high-level wastes, this .
provision implicitly endorses the NitC's develolonent of high-level waste regulations. '3foreover, it avoids inviting additional litigation to determine whether any NIIC regulations finally developed comport with a new statutory health and safety standaril. The conunittee believes the existing standard for licensing the pos-
' session and use of special nuclear material in section 57.c of t.he act sufficiently stresses its concern for protecting public health and safety, and the environment from the potential risks of nuclear waste disposal.
In the case of geologic storage or disposal facilities for radioactive wastes, section 4(c) wouhl require the NItC to determine. prior to issuing a license, that the facility incorporates multiple barrier design. The NltC, DOE and other involved Federal agencies all support O ineagency eeeeert er Group Iteview m#itivie n rrier nereeen. The vreeide"t'81"ter-on Nuclear M aste 3f anagement (IIIG) rec-onunended that a systems approach he used to select the geologic en-viromnent, repository site and waste fonn. According to t.he IItG retunt A systems approach recognizes that, over thousands of years, the fate of radionuclides in a repository will be deter-mined by the natural geologic environment, f>y the physical
O 4 O and chemical properties of tim mediuta chown for waste em-placement, by the w aste form itself and other engineered bar-riers. If carefully selected, these factors can and should i provide multiple [and to some extent indelwndent, natural ! and enginecivd barriers to the release of radionuclides to the l bioslere. (page 37). Similarly, DOE, in its statement of position in the proposed rule-making on the storage and disposal of nuclear waste now being con-ducted by the NIIC, endorses the use of a multibarrier system as a means of providing several levels of protection to insure proper system operation. In explaining this conservative, defense-in-depth approach to repository design, the Departinent states : The innltibarrier concept requitvs that the success of the system le protected again.st deheient barrier performance or failmv by usmg a senes of relatively independent and diverse barriers that wouhl not be subject to conunon mode failure. liarrier multiplicity is re<piired both as a hedge against unexpected occurrences or failures and to provide appropriate means for protecting against a wide variety of potentially disruptive events. Acceptable system perform-ance must not be contingent on the performance of any non-independent barrier combinations. (Page 11-24). Finally, tIie NItC, in its advance notice of proposed rulemaking on techmeal criteria for regulating geologic disposal of high-level g waste, notes that it is reasonable to couple a prudently and cautiously seh>cted weologic settin~ Carriem capabb o(natural barrier) with a set of engineeredf perfonning or assisting the of the l repository] functions. The NIIC also notes that to the greatest extent p<wible, the performance of engi-neciwl systems should be insensitive to changeet in [ site] characteristics and shouhl pmvide a high degree of protec-tion by themselves. (Page 13). The committee believes the multiple barrier approach, as described, has merit and shonhl be actively pursued. Sectmn 4(c) of the bill provides the NItC with authority to develop detailed twpiiivments, as part of its technical criteria, to implement the general statutory requirenmnt for the multiple barrier design concept. At the same time, section 1(c) gives the NltC suflicient flexibility to ' adapt its technical criteria to evolving scientific thinking in the development of design concepts for a geologic impository. sE("FloN 3 : At'n!T of SELE (*rEn nEPAlrrMENT oF ENERGY NUCLEAn WASTE O NToRAGE FACILITIES This provision establishes a pilot program to determine whether there is a need to extend the regulatory authority of the Nuclear Iteg-ulatory Conunission beyond tho+ categories of Department of Energy nuclear waste storage and di.<posal facilities which are now coveird under section 202 (3) and (4) of the Energy Iteorganization Act of
1974 and thme that would be covered under this bill. The innvision din ets DOE and NltC to conclude and submit to Congress a memo-randum of understanding defining respective agency nsponsibilities, and designating letween 5 and 10 facilities for inclusion in the pilot a program. The prorision stipulates that the pingnun must include at least one high level waste storage tank. The Secretary of Energy wouhl submit to the Congress and the Nlte, within 2% years, a n. port containing awwments for each facility covered, and the NIIC wouhl report to the Congivss within 4% years respectively on facility specific assessments and on certain generic issues relating to the need for and feasibility of extending its regulatory authority. A series of recent developments indicates the need for a systematic determination of the need for extending NitC regulation over addi-tional categories of IX)E nuclear waste storage or disposal facilities. On December 13,1979, a task force appointed by the Governor of Idaho concluded the Department of Energy's " practice of in very low Icvel wastes dintetty into the Snake Plan aquifer"jecting at the Idaho National Engineering Ltd> oratory "is undesinible" and recom-mended that the " State bnng every irsoutro to bear in an eff' ort to -- have the Department of Energy stop the practice." The task force report further observed, "While meeting Department of Energy guidelines, such dispmal violates existing arut proposed Environ-mental Protection Agency injection regulations as well as State - regulations." Also in December,1979, the Subconunittee on Nuclear Itegulation heard testimony on alleged irregularities in DOE waste management ' practices and deficiencies in surveillance of high level waste storage tanks from two former employees, Mr. Stephen Stalos and Mr. Allan Wegele, of Ilockwell Han ford Operations, operating cont ractor for t he Department of Energ management in the tate 5,v of of Washington. the HanfordThese Iteservation for nuclear allegations, from a waste former manager of tank farm surveillance and a former radiological safety engineer, included charges of extensive contractor violations of health and safety regulations, as well as the inadequacy of certain such regulations. Many of these allegations were corroborated by two Department of Energy investigations. While unpersuaded there had been a deliberate coverup of leaking tanks, as had been alleged, the Inspector Generars report criticized several practices respecting the high-level waste tanks at Hanfont, including the classification system itself and the faihue , to reclassify certain tanks as " confirmed'leakem". The January 22, 1980, report entitled " Assessment of the Surveillance Program o~f the High Level Waste Storage Tanks at Hanford", released by the Office O ermented the ^ several eist "tdeficiencies secret r7 < r x"vire me"< i" xeren osa dec"- in waste mana ement practices, procedures, and regulations. Shortly after release of is last report, six high-level waste tanks were in fact reclassified as "confinned lenkers", nmre than 18 months after this action had first been recommended. Although these reports have not identified specific health and safety hazards at these facilities, they do raise serious questions about the adequacy of DOE regulatory practices.
The committee endorses the following principles emmciated by tho President's Interagency iteview Group on Nuclear Wawte Maangement (litG) to govern the extension of NItC's regulatory authority over additional DOE nuclear waste facilities. National & curl /y utmrantee.-Consistent with past expressions of Congressional intent, no DOE facility shonhl be irgulated by an outside authority if such regulation wouhli ntentially inhibit the pruduction of materials for national defense or lead to dis-elosure of national securit v information. Equiealent protectionAThe extent of the public's exposure to nuclear waste nmterials does not vary by on nership of the facilitv or origin of the material. Thus, the'pu'blic must be assuted equt-Valent protection from both government and non-govermnent sou1Tes.
/fk[ff#'/u/en/ reyN/#/ Ion.-In the area of Iluclear energv the public ,si best served by independent regulation consistent' with national security guarantees. The Congress clearly intended this in the Energy lleorganization Act of 1974.111G Final Iteport.
- p. 30, Mareh 1979.
The pilot program established by section 5 is fully compatible with these principles. Not an extension of jurisdiction in itself,the program has among its fundamental objectives a determination of the need for such an extension and, if there is a need, whether a workable format can be devised consistent with national securitv concerns. Moreover the pilot prognun itself has lJen carefully tailoird to & lurclude jeopardizing national wcurity intervsts. In its iinplementing W ivgulations, the NitC is specifically directed to pivvent unauthorized disclosures and to allow for only such public ,mvolvement as is con-sistent with the prevention of such disclosmvs, the interruption of weapons pnuluctmn, and the disruption of defense-:vlated research and levelopment. In addition,the President may inanediately suspend any activity muler the pilot luugram, subject to subsequent review by the Congre-s, upon a determination that the activity will jeopardize nat tonal secur, liv. Finally, the Committee notes that several juuvisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 currently vest the Conumssion with responsibilitv to jurvent unauthorized dilclosmvs and potentially adverse impact's to t he natinnal security. Although the NltC majorit'y reconunended in Septetuber,1979, the establishment of a pilot program to include only D()E non-defense-related waste inanagement activities,it nevertheless dechuvd at that time that "it wouhl be preferable to inchide defense related wastes in the pilot pronram." Further. the NltC has advised by letter dated .1uly 22,1980, tImt it lelieves the Presidential suspen-smn mechanism established by section 5 "to be a reasonable approach." O SECTION C ' CONSIDERATION oF AllrERNATIVE SITES This ptuvision r,e<piiivs the Secretary of Energy to submit at least. four site charneterization reports to the NitC before the Nlt(3 can con-sider an application to construct a geologic radioactive wasto stontge er disposal facility. The site characterization reports must be for sites at different locations mul in at least three different geologie media, in addition, before the NltC can approve the characterization of a potential site for a geologic radiom tive waste storage or disposal
O 7 0 . facility, the Secretary of Energy must sulunit a site specific characteri-zation plan to the NitC. The committee intends that each slan I sub-mitted by the Seeivtary of Energy must contain, at a minimum, the elements described in section 6(a) f 1 b-(5). The consideration of alternative snem as outlined in section 6 is con-sistent with the ivconnnendations of the l'rusident's interagency lle-view Group on Nuclear Waste Alanagement (litG), DOE. NitC, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and the Envin>mnental Protection Agency (EPA). The IltG report n>connnended : Near-term it. & D. site characterization pn> grams should be - designed so that, at the earliest date feasible, sites selected for h> cation of a respository can be chosen from among a set with a variety of potential ~ host n>ck and geohydrological char-acteristics. To accomplish this, It. & D. on several potential emplacement media and site chanicterization work on a variety of geological envinnunents should be promptly in-creased. The President reiterated the concept of the need for evaluating ,_ . - potential repository sites in dill'erent geologie media in his IIndioactive Waste 31anagement Program released on February 12,1980. Tbc DOE aim supported this twasition in its draft enviromnental impact state-ment on management of conunercially generated radioactive waste, O Conunittee.and in testimony during hearings on waste management befort this Iloth EPA and USGS,in testimony before this conunittee, stnmgly suptwnted an alternatives approach as necessary in order to provide sullicient in fonnation for a thorough assessment of the safe, pernnutent disposal of radioactive waste, and in order to assuit the public that health and safety risks have been ivduced to an acceptable level.
~
NltC has proiwsed regulations for the disposal of high-level wastes ' in geologie n positories. These proposed regulations include, pursuant to the Conunission's responsibilities under the National Enviromnen-tal Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), tne re41uirement to characterize three to five sites in several geologic media and to consider nlternate waste forms, it should also be noted that the site characterization report refernxl to in the NltC proposed licensing procedures for high-level waste disposal corresponds to the site characterization plan required in swtion 6(a) of the bill. The section pn>vides that the requirements of submission and re-view of at least four site chanicterization reports in at least thrve geo-logic media is not in addition to NitC's cunent NEPA responsibihties and therefore satisfies NItC's responsibilities for the consideration of
'*er" 'ive i'e "" der xx"A The ce"""ittee r"ttner i"te"as th t "e O "dditional a requirements be imposed on NitC for this purpow.
f st:CTroN 7 : sCIII:DULE FoH JilG11-LEVEL WAhTE 3f ANAGEMENT
- This provision establishes a nalistic schedule, with specific dead-lines, for development of a repository, leading to its operation by January 1,2000. Ily establishing a schedule with dates by which time ,
the responsible Federal agencies must complete specified tasks, this provision enables Congress to exercise more ett'cotive oversight of the
prognw of the many Federal programs whose contribution is neces-sary for timely openuion of a repository. The conunittee believes such a schedule will eliminate many of the htuvaucratic delays that have plagued the nuclear waste management program in the past, sECTioN 8 : CoMrLI ANCE WITH THE 6CIIEDULE FoR HIGH LEVEL WASTE MANAGEMENT This provision comi, dements the schedule for high level waste management set forth in section 7 by establishing a mechanism for congivssional review of the Federal Government's progress in de-velopiryg a nuclear waste repository. Section 8 nv[uires pn>mpt notification of the President and Con-press whenever the responoble Federal agency anticipates a deadline ni the schedule will be missed. The President niust then report to Congn ss on the ivasons for the failute to meet the deadline, on the measures the President has taken or will take to assure compliance with futmv deadlines, and on whether the failurv to meet the subject deadline warrants suspending the issuance of new operating licenses and construction pernuts for nuclear twerplants. The appropriate congressional committees must, in turn, provide their recommendations, including any necessary proposnd legisla-tion, to the Ilouse and Senate. Section 8 also includes a statutory requirement that if a repository is not olened by January 1,2000, tim NitC must suspend issuance of a new operating licenses and constniction permits until a repository is W l opened. The committee believes this provision undersemys the substantial national interest in determining whether the cutivnt projection for opening a repository can be met-a projection that has slipped by nearly a decade in the past year. Aloreover,it acconis with the notion that the Nation cannot continue to expand its reliance on nuclearpower if, within the next 20 years, the Federal Govenunent has not imple-mented a safe. ivliable method for disposing of the resulting wastes. Finally,it reaflirms the belief that the 14 ederal Government has a moral obligation not to defer to futine generations the solution of nuclear waste disposal. kECTION 9 : sTATM PARTICl?AT1oN IN DEVELOPMENT oF A RADIOACTIVE WASTE nErostroRY The bill includes a provision that would give potential host States, afl'ected Indian tribes and the general pubhc a continuing role in the siting, development. construction and operation of a nuclear waste repository. This provision seeks to give a clear meaning to the concept & W of " consultation and concurrence." recommended b,y the IRG r.nd endorsed by the President as the Federal / State relationship best able ( to protect $tates' interests and to generate the public confldence neces-sary for the success of Federal plans for nuclear waste disposal. The Secretary of Energy would notify States or afl'ected Indian tribes identified by the Department as potential hosts for a geologic repository. Prior to any significant development, the Secretary and the identified parties must conclude mutually agreeable arrangements
O o O . . specifying the role of the State or affected Indian tribes in any or all aspects of the establishment of the proposed facility. The State or . afected Indian tribes would have the nght to concur or nonconcur for legitimate public health and safety or environmental reasons in each stage of planning, siting, development, construction and opera-tion of the nuclear waste repository. In addition, the provision requin3s that the fonnal negotiated ar- - acceptable rangements include to all parties, that anonly will not arbitration determine mechanism, mutually's orIndian whether a State ' tribe's nonconcurrence derive from legitimate public health and safety or enviramnental concerns, but will also serve to resolve disputes be-tween the parties. If the arbitration mechanism finds that a nonconcur-rence is legitimate, that aspect of the repository development which led to the nonconcurrence may not proceed, unless otherwise agreed to in advance by the State or atlected Indian tribe, until the nonconcurrence is resolved. Section 9 further requires the Secretary of Energy, the potential host State, and any atfected Indian tribes to conclude the fonnal arrangement within one year after enactment. The Nsident anust 4 approve the arrangements, subject to disappmval by concurrent reso- _ . lution of Congress, before they may go into effect. Although the committee believes that disposal of nuclear waste is a national pmblem that. requires a national solution, it elected not to in-clude in the provision an explicit mechanism for the l> resident or Con-O gress to override rence.13y a State's remaining silentor onIndian tribe's unresolvable this question, the conunittee nonconcur-attempted to avoid prejudicing the negotiations in favor of the Federal Govern-ment. $ d At the same time however, the committee recognizes that Congress could at any time pa,ss additionallegislation to assert its constitutional authority to overnde an unresolvable nonconcurrence of a State or af-fected Indian tribe. The provision also guarantees public participation both in the nego-tiations of a format arrangement for " consultation and concurrence" and in the actual operation of this arrangement. This provision grants to those Indian tribes whose interests could be , adversely affected by development of a repository equal to that of a potential host State. The comnu, participatory ttee recognizes that, rights - - although the Federal Govenunent has the responsibility to act as a trustee hr Indian tribes, serious conflicts of interest may rise in these
' ~
negotiations that could lead the Federal Government to breach its fiduciary obligations, to the detriment of the allected Indian tribes. In - particular, the committee sought to avoid a situation in which the Fed-eral Government, in attemptmg to minimize objections by a potential , h host State, would a me to locate a repository on or near the reserva-tion of an Indian tn
- umtpresented in the negotiations. '
1 The committee attaches paramount importance to full participation o by all affected parties in the F3deral nuclear waste management pm- " gram. The committee notes that attempts by the Federal Government to investigate potential repository sites in Michigan failed in large part because the Federal Government had not consulted and involved the public and the State early in the pmcess. The committee, also notes - 7 that when the concept of " consultation and concunence" was suggested '
O io O hv the IRG, the State of Michigan, based on this principle, initiated uneotintions with the Department of Energy regarding a possible iv-witory. The committee received testimony from a reptvsentative of the Governor endoming the concept of an agreement on the role of the State or affected Indian tribes prior to any significant Federal action. The exclusion of an explicit Federal override in the event of noncon-currence was also endorsed. In addition, at least 10 States have enacted legislation that prohibits the Federal Government even from identifying potential repositorv sites within their borders. Other States have similar legislation pemi-ing before their legislatures. Such legislation calls into question the confidence of States and the general public in the Federal Govern-ment's ability or desire to protect public health and safety and the en-vironment, as it pursues plans for disposing of nuclear wastes. In adopting this provision, the committee sought to learn frmn the "ast Federal mistakes and to allav the concerns of potential host States, affected Indian tribes and the general public, sEcTioN 10: INTERIM AWAY-FRoM-itEAcToR s1DRAGE oF srENT FtTL This section provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for spent fuel storage that is both fiscally and environmentally responsible. Its approach is based on (1) encouraging and assisting the expansion of spent fuel storage capacity at the reactor site to the maximum extent practicable. (2) accepting Federal custody of spent fuel at any away-from-reactor storage facility only in those instances where the utility itself is unable to providn 'in a timely manner for adequate storage capacity at the reactor site, and (3) assuring full cost recovery by the Federal Government for away-from-reactor storage costs. Overall. the i provision is intended to provide assurance that commercial nuclear I powerplants will not be forced to suspend operation for lack of spent fuel storage capacitv. The committee be'lieves it is advisable to cont rol the size of an interim Federal program to the extent possible, consistent with the need to guarantee that adequate storage capacity is available either on- or off-site. This is especially true in light of general recognition that perma-nent disposal would'likely require a major commitment of Federal resources. So far as is practicable, interim storage should minimize the shipment of spent fuel, with its attendant potential risk to public health and safety, since either permanent disposal of spent fuel or reprocessing will ultimately require a considerable number of such shipments. bection 10 provides for a three-tiered approach to spent fuel storage. The first tier is utility enlargement of reactor storage capacity under ordinary regulatory procedures through either expansion of the capa- & city of existing storage facilities or the construction of new such facili- T tie's if possible. In this connection,it should be noted that the Nuclear ( Regulatory Commission is nearing final action on streamlined licensing requirements for the construction and operation of new spent fuel stor-age pools (pending 10 Code of Federal Regulations, part 72). If a licensee cannot, however, under conventional regulatory proce-dures, provide in a timely manner for its own spent fuel eurage
~
requirements at the reactor site, the second tier of this approach would
O n O -- g , be available if the utility is otherwise eligible. Section 5 establishes an s expedited review mecha'nism for license applications to construct and operate new onsite storage pools which can be utilized if the applicant establishes that (1) there is a reasonable expectation he would other- , wise be unable to provide in a timely manner for adequate onsite stor-age (2) he has aheady expanded the capacity of existing onsite storage facilities to the maximum extent practicable, (3) there is a reasonable ' - expectation that all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements will be met, and (4) there is a reasonable expectation the facility will present no significant risk to public health and safety. If the up,plicant can satisfy these requirements, the Commission . must authorize ccmst ruction on a new onsite spent fuel storage pool to begin in advance of the opportunity for a public hearine mandated by section 189(a) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. The committee emphasizes that the applicant proceeds with construction at his own risk pending the final disposition of the license application following . the opportunity for a public hearir.g required by law. Further, opera-
, tion of the pool once constructed cannot commence prior to that oppor-tunity being afforded. Finally, the conunittee does not intend to dimin-ish the degree of protection'of public health and safety afforded by _ . . .g . _ _ _ . . .
conventional procedures through the use of the expedited review . y mechanism. There is no controversy on the need for utilities to maximize onsite - storage of spent fuel to the extent possible in a timely manner: That M O. this is indeed an attractive option is confirmed by a recent TennesseeValley Authority study that co TVA on spent fuel storage is locating new facilities at existing reactor 'i sites." A memorandmn dated .Tanuary 15.1980 appmved the mices-sary actions to implement this conclusion a, two TVA nuclear poiverplants. Further, by letter dated .Tulv 21,1980, the Office of Tech- ~ noloer Assessment advised Senator Hart that its ongoing assessment of ' radioactive waste management that a promising new technique for expanding the capacitv of existing spent fuel pools (fuel rod compac-tion), for which the first license application is now pending,"could reduce needs for new storage capacity in the late 1980's, and could pos-sibly even affect the near term needs to some extent." The OTA also observed that dry storage technologies for new onsite installations possess "significa6t potential advantages of these technologies in terms of low front-end costs, wlatively short lead times for implementation, and ability to expand incrementally as needed." The NRC's final Generic Environmental Impact. Statement on spent fuel storage stated that "it is the staff opinion that an adequate (drywell) storage design can be developed for * *
- spent fuel."
The third and final tier of section 10's approach is Federal away-O or acquire a facility 1or this purimse, the President is required to sub-from reactor storage 6 mit a detailed project pmposal to the Congress. If the Congress does not adopt a concurrent resolution of disapproval within 60 days of con-' tinuous session, the Secretary can proceed. Among the elements of such a proposal is a juctifiention of the stor-age capacity to be provided by the facility to be constructed or ac-onired. This iustification wouhl be based on the identification by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the NIM'. of specific nuclear power-
plants for which there is no reasonable expectation that adequate on-site storage capacity can be provided in a timely manner, despite the potential availability of the expedited review mechanism discussed above. To ininirnize the potential for delav in this concurrence mech-anism, the NRC must act within 45 days oi the ivquirement of concur-rence is waived. Those nuclear powerplants so identified would be eligible automat-ically for storage in the Federal away-from-reactor facilitv. Anv ad-ditio~nal nuclear powerplants wouhi have to subsequent'ly qu'alify through an identical concurrence mechanism. In each instance where section 10 establishes a " reasonable expecta-tion" standard relating to the providing in a timely manner of ade-quate onsite storage capacity, the Committee intends that such ade-quate capacity include " full core reserve", or the available storage capacity necessary should the entire core of the reactor have to be dis-chargeli at once. While the maintenance of full core reserve is not now a safety requirement, allowing it to be lost entails the risk of extended reactor shutdowns and consequent economic costs in the event that full . core discharge is required. The conunittee also emphasizes that an inability of the NRC to de-termine that there is no reasonable expectation for the timely ex >an-sion of onsite spent, fuel storage capacity in passing upon a utilit li-censee's eligibility for either the expedited review mechanism estab-lished by section 10 or for Federal away from reactor storage, is in no way intended to affect the Conunission s independent responsibility to review a license application to provide additional onsite storage ca-pacity.~ Any contract entered into by the Secretary to provide away-from-reactor storage is sequired to specify that the utdity licensee retains title to the spent fuel and bears f ull financial responsihiilty for his pro-portionate share of the cost of Federal away-innn reactor storage. While it is generally assmned that Inygram responsibility for the per-ruanent disposal of spent fuel will resule with the Secretary of Energy, the conunittee does not contemplate that actual responsibility for the permanent disposal of the spent fuel covered by a particular contract will pass upon payment for Federal awapfrom-reactor storage. Finally, section lo directs that the Conunission require as a condi-tion of heense issuance for any nuclear powerplant for which a con-struction permit application h'as not been filed by June 1,1980, that adequate onsite spent fuel storage capacity be provided for the useful life of the plant or until such point m time as the Conunission deter-mines a permanent repository will be in operation. Hrarnos The Subconunittee on Nuclear Regulation held 4 days of hearings on September 11, December 11,1979, January 23 and 24,1980, to consider nuclear waste legislation. Testimony was received from the Depart-ment of Energy, Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Transpor-Council on Environmental Quality, tation, U.S. Geological and representatives Survey, of private in dustry and environmental groups.
O u, O - There were 3 days of subcommittee markups on February 20, June 24 and 25,1980. The full committee held 2 days of markups on July - 24 and 25,1980. ROIMAIL YOTES , Section 7 (c) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate e requires publication in the report of any rollcall votes. There were three rollcall votes of the committee during delibera-tions of the reported bill. The bill was ordered reported by a vote of 12 to 1. Senators Baker, Bentsen, Burdick, Chafee, Culver, IIart, 3fitchell, Moynihan, Pressler, Randolpht and Simpson voted in the , affirmative with Senator Domenici voting m the negative.
, g EvAixarrox or REot%A*H)RY IMrACTS Section 11 (b) (2) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Sen-4to requires publication of the regulatory impact incurred in carrying out this legislation.
The reported bill extends the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory _ . - . . . - - Commission to certain Federal activities not now covered. Additiona' standards for nuclear waste disposal are established and deadlines set for promulgating certain standards under existing law. Cost or LEGISI.ATION Section 11(a) (1) and (2) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Sentate requires publication of the Committee's estimate of the cost of carrying out the reported legislation together with any esti-mates prepared by any Federal agency. . The hill, as reported, contains no new authorizations, but imple-mentation of its requirements may result in future budget requests. No estimates of cost were prepared by any Federal agency. . - Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act requires each report to contain a statement from the Congression- - al Budget Offlee of the cost of the reported legislation. An analysis of the cost of the bill, as reported from the Con-gressional hudget Office, was not available at the time of the printing of this report. 9 m
O O I l ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF SENATOR SIMPSON Two important sections of S. 2N concern the orderly and system-atic implementation of a schedule to meet the high-level nuclear waste management goals of this nation. Section 7 of the bill establishes a schedule of specific deadlines for Federal Govermnent activities and decisions-including regulations and standard.* -to provide high-level nuclear waste management. Section 8 sets requirements on the President, Federal agencies and the Congress for compliance with that schedule. ' The schedule and compliance requirements are essential elements of a national nuclear waste regulation policy and should result in in-creased public confidence that such a policy is underway after a long . delay. IIowever, one provision of section 8 is troublesom'e in my judg-ment: it is unnecessary and contrary to the spirit of the legislehon. This provision would prohibit the issuance by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of new construction permits and operating licenses for miclear 1merplants if a nuclear waste repository is not in operation bv January 1,2000.
~ I have several fundamental objections to imposing at this time a a direct statutory prohibition on the issuance of new construction per- W mits or operating licenses.
First, anticipating a year-2000 cutoff is simply unnecessary. There is alreadv in the bill an etiective mechani.<m f'm assuring that the responsible Federal officials in the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission discharge their responsibilities in an effective manner under the terms of the time schedule in section 7. This mechanism outlined in section 8 calls for Presidential notification and formal congivssional review in the event a significant milestone in the development of the Federal nucler.r waste repository is not met. The procedures under section 8 clearly require the President to make a recommendation at the time a ' deadline is not met as to whether Congress should prohibit the issuance of additional construc-tion permits or operating licenses for nuclear powerplants. Furthermore, the bill directs the appropriate committees of Con-gress to submit to their respective Ilousen. within 60 days, their recom-mendations and any proposed legiaWion in response to the President's report and recommendations. The schedule and reporting require-ments in S. 29R0 are sufficient to assure that Federal officials carry g out their responsibilities in a timely manner, and to insure that 'a nuclear waste repository is available when needed. Second, implementing the steps necessary to put in place the first commercial high level waste repository is an exclusivelv Federal re-sponsibilitv. The public utilities opera' ting nuclear powerplants have no direct role in the schedule for implementing a Federal policy on management of high level nuclear waste and, in fact, they are pro-(14)
o 13 O ) hibited from having direct reslums:bility in the process. Consequently, a statutory link hetween a Fe leral nuclear waste repository and fur-ther powerplant licensing will not serve to provide additional assur-ance to the public, Con-responsible Federal officia$ress, or the will carry out nuclear industry that the their responsib'ilities. - It wouhl be patentiv unfair to penalize utilities and their customers, by withholding the licensing of new plants that may have cost more than $1 billion to buihl, for the failures of the responsible Federal officials over which the utilities and their customers have no control. The imposition of a statutory deadline for a Federal activitv in which the private sector utilities h~ ave no role may well prove to be a disin- ' l centive to the planning arul construction of nuclear powerplants which are deerned necessary to meet the nation's energy needs in the late 1990's. In conclusion. I firinly believe that any decision on further nuclear 5 powerplant licensing in'the event a repo'sitory is not available by the year 2000 ought to he inade by the Congress at that time, and not now. It snakes little sense to legislate such a punitive sanction now, to take j efl'ect in 20 years. The Congress ought to consider what legislative steps need to be taken if the deadline is missed based upon the situation
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s~ ~- '
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at that time, and given the ivconunendations of the President. That mechanism is already provided in S. 2980: it is appropriate; and it is suflicient. Atax K. Snrtvox. O
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l l t (0 = 9 s
O O l AHNOltITY VIEWS OF SENATOlt DO3f ENICI The 95th Congress authorized the Nuclear Itegulatory Commission (NltC) to conduct a study of extending the Conunission's licensing or regulatory authority to include existing and future Federal radio-active waste storage and disposal activities not presentiv under its authoritv. Two reconunendations were made at the conclusion of this study crititled "ltegulation of Federal Itadioactive Waste Activities." This legislation goes significantly beyond those reconunendations. In doing so I believe it threatens to disrupt our defense nuclear progrtuns in a manner which inight impair our defense pre [mredness. The NltC's first reconunendation was to extend the Commission's licensing authority to Department of Energy (DOE) facilities for the permanent disposal of transuranic wastes (TRti) and nondefense low-level wastes. This reconunenadtion is inagreement with the Presi-dent's Interagency lleview Group on Nuclear Waste mnagement and has been included in this legishition. The second reconunendation of the NRC was to run a pilot program of NRC regulation for a limited number of facilities over wluch NitC would not have licensing author-ity, to test the feasibility of such an arrangement. Notably, this posi-tion was in contrast to testimony taken on the issue from the NltC prior to ihe siudy. bre importan'tly, the tuajority of the Commission's members tyconunended that such a program should not include de-fense related activities. This committee has included defense activities against the reconunendation of the NRC and the DOE Therefore, this program would bring under its purview such activities as weapons research and development, temporary waste storage, and weapons production. Ilefore such an action is taken,in the face of an NitC recommenda-tion to the contrarv, we must examine the need for regulation of DOE defense activities bevond that already done by the Office of Environ-ment Programs (which is not directly but reports im oflice under to the th'e Assista'nt Secretary of Energy The Secretary).of NRC Defense study concluded: Nothing was revealed within the limitations of this study which leads to a conclusion that enviromnental. health, and safety protection is inadequate under this (DOE) system. The conunittee has based its decision to have NRC regulate defense activities on recent media reports concerning the disposal of low-level & wastes at the DOE Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) W and thel cakage of high-level wastes from storace tanks at the Hanford Reservation. Did these incidents endanger the public's health and safety? The Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs held hearines and pre-pared a repoet on the activities at INEL (Discharge of Iow-Level Radioactive Waste to The Snake River Aquifer). They concluded: (10)
17 The Federal agencies responsible for conducting monitor-ing programs at INEL; namely, El'A. DOE, and USGS appear to be corntwtently doing so. Furthermore, There is no significant evidence from the currently avail-able information to indicate any health or safety problem with current disposal practice. Tlie off-site waters o'f Ihe aqui-fer are not now containinnted froin current practice nor are they expected to be in the future. The levels of contamination within the INEL site boundaries are well below applicable standards and are exlweted to remain so. With regard to the activities at IIanford the National Research Coun-cil of the National Academy of Sciences concluded in their report en-titled " Radioactive Wastes'at the Hanford Reservation"- The Panel concludes that there has not been in the past, and is not at present, any significant radiation hazard to public health and safety from waste-Inanagernent operations at Ilan-ford. Amounts of nulionuclides released have been measured by sampling air, water, plants, animals, and soils; radiation doses to persons bevond the Reservation boundary have imen calculated. Radiation doses to the general public are below the dose limits established hv the National Council on Radiation Protection and the U.S.' Nuclear Regulatory Conunission. In O *ne enrir reers ef n anrera eneratien . radiarien ieveis at times approached or exceeded present-day limiting standards, but were kept lelow the limits permissible at that time (see chapter 9 and appendix D). It might be said even in view of these conclusions that a program covering defense activities while not needed "couldn't hurt." The Sec-retary of Energy was asked to experss the Administration's position on the proposed pilot program and to inform the Committee of what, if anything, might be " hurt." Some of his cominents were: The Administration supports the concept of a " pilot pro-gra m." The Administration supports the concept of a " pilot program." The DOE (Administration) weuld not support the inclu-sion of defense-related waste activities in the " pilot program." A pilot program would involve many of the National secu-rit v concerns discussed earlier * * *- Involvement of an independent regulatory agency will of necessity run an additional risk of disclosure of sensitive weapon's planning or design information due to the increased 3 number of persons and the additional procedures involved in handling classified information. If NRC's new jurisdiction were to cover short term waste storage, the scole of potentially damaging consequences to National security would be enla'rged. Almost all of Defense Programs' activities are highly integrated and intimately con-nected with the relatively short-term storage of irradiated fuel, radioactive gases and waste. Shouhl tanks for example,
O is O become unavailable for such storage of waste due to regulatory delay or other NitC involveinent, the proces. sing of plutonium containing targets or irradiated fuel processing would have to shut would duction downbe forimpaired lack of and tankpro stora[ne space.operations uction reactor I'lutonium pro-would have to stop because the reactors could not be allowed to discharge their irradiated fuel., and targets. Weapons manufacture woubt be impacted due to the lack of plutomum. Maintenance of the existing nuclear arsena! wouhl be affected if there were shortages of nuclear materials. I can only conclude from the Secretary's answers and the testimony received during a ch> sed session of the Subconunittee on Nuclear Iteg-ulation on this <inestion of national security that the nation might in-deed be harmed by the extension of this program to defense facilities. I would urge my colleagues to consider the fact that when the Con-gress e>tablishell the NitC it did so with the intent that it wouhl through its actions protect the public health and safety first and fore-most. It was not charged with providing for the conunon defense. These two objectives are not mutually exclusive. however, the NRC was not framed with that in mind. l>rrn V. Dom:xicr. Cuaxces tx Exrwrixo law in the opinion of the conunittee,it is neces-ary to dispense with the g requirement of section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate in order to expedite tlw business of the Senate. O O
UWUdf.wu 1
, P9 N.. .
ole )@k/ S Ifd (553C05HITTEE PRINT NO 1.] sath C0gcarss - 2d -Session S. , l _.. - _... _ - ..L .... II THE SIN \TE OF THE UNITID grgggs ) ' Ec.
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Introduced the following D111: which was read twice anc ref eerec l to the Committee on (as cedered regoeted by 'the Subcommittee, June 24, 19ffI [0mit the part struck through and insert the part peinted in i ita11cl a. I 1 BILL l 2 h.A ign. i To establish a program for nucleae vaste regulation and conteci. 4
- 1. 13 L*; AQ12Ms h213.1 Senate ADA H2E1121 Eecce!.intitiv'8 5
2 gi gag United gulli 21 America la Cencress 13333111 6 That f' i 3 this-Act may be cited as the National Nuclete Vaste a Regulation and Control Act of 1988 . l 5 TI3 DINGS t 6 Sec. 2. The Congress finds that-- 7 (1) the accumulation of radioactive vastes frem a military activities, commercial reactors, and activities 9 related to medical research, diagnosis and treatment, as is well as from other scueces, has engendered significant . 11 concerns i , 12 (2) past governmental efforts to manage radioactive I 13 wastes have not been technically adequate and have failed 14 effectively to involve the states, local governments, 15 Indian tribes,'and the pubile in policy ce program 16 . decisions
- - +
1 O . O (3) tho tantgssent of high level and transuranic 2 waste presents a national problem that only the Federal 3 Goveensent, in close ~ coo;? cation with affected State and 4 local goveensents and Indian telhes, can casolve s
.5 (4) the Federal Government has the responsibility to e provide foe the poemanent disposal of high level and I
l 7 . transuranic wastes: ) I 8 = (5) the pelsary objective of a vaste management 9- program is ~ to isolate from the biosphere existing and _r in future radioactive waste generated by military and '1 11- civilian activities: I () 12 (6) the development of pecaanent disposal f acilities . - 13 foc the isolation of radioactive waste is an objective of i [ .1a the highest peiority, and the Tederal Government should 15 not defer resolution of
- that problem to future f
l 16 generations: 1 17 (7) stringent precautions mus.t be taken to ensure. i '18 that radioactive wastes do not endanset the public health
- 19 and saf ety of this oc future generations: '
26 (8) a successful vaste management strategy requires !' f ) 21 the full participation of state and local officials, l- 22 Indian espresentatives and the public in a step-by-step, 13 conservative, technologically sound program, to procota i 25. public confidence in the safe disposal of nuclear wastes ~
- 25 and 24 (9) tne development of a saf e and timely solution to 27 the'peobles of nuclear waste disposal is essential if 28 - nuclear powee-is to contribute significantly to meeting 29 the future energy requirements of the United States.
38- DETINITIONS 31- Sec. 3. for purposes of this Act, the term-- 32 (1) ' spent fuel * * 'seans fuel that has been withdrawn 33 - from a nuclear reactor following irradiation, whose
-34 constituent elements have not been separatad by
399628.394 -1 . A 3 V ' 1 . reprocessings . 2 (2) " radioactive vaste *
- means high level veste, 3 transuranic waste, and lov level vastes a (3) "high level vaste" means ( A) irradiated reactee 5 fuel, (3) liquid vastes resulting from the operatieri of l 6 the first cycle solvent extraction system, oc equivalent, '
7 andtheconcentratedvastesfromsubsequentextract5cn a 6 cycles, ce equivalent, in a facility for reprocessing 9 irradiated reactor fuel, and (C) solids into which such /, is 11guld wastes have been converted 11 (4) " transuranic waste *' seans material contaminated , 12- with elements having an atomic numbee greater than 92, 13 including neptunium, plutonium, americium, a d curium, in - 14 ' concentrations greater than 18 nanocuries per gram, or in 15 such othee concentrations as the Commission determines to 16 he necessacy to protect the publle health and safety 17 (5) "lov level vaste means radioactive vaste not is classified as either high level radioactive vaste, 19 transuranic waste, or mill tallings, as defined bv
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28 section ile. (2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 1 0- 21. (6) "long term storage means storage of 22 ~ radioactive vaste for a period of at least 2s years: 23 (7) "avay-from-coactor stceage *
- means storage of 24 spent fuel away from the site of a nuclear powerplants '
25 (8) " disposal *' means the emplacement of radioactive 26 waste with no f oreseeable intent of recovery, whethee or 27 not such esplacement per: nits the recovery of such 2s materials: 29 (9) nuclear powerplant means a ut111:ation 38 f acility required to be licensed under section if 3 or iga 31 (b) of the Atomic Inecqy Act of 1954
^
32 (15) Commission means the Nuclear 3equiatery 33 Commissions 3a (11) secretary means tne Secretary of Enervy
o - 1 (12) **Departatnt** means tho Departstnt of Inargy: o 2 (13) Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, 3 nation, or other organized group oc community of Indians e recognized as eligible foe the services provided to 5 Indians by the secretary of the Interior because of thele 6 - status as Indians, including any Alaska Native village, .e* I 7 . as defined in section of the Alaska Native Cla15s 8 - settlement Act (85 stat. 6as); 9 (14) Indian reservation'* seans Indian country as ,,; 18 defined in section 151 of title 18, United States Code, "
, 11 _ and any lands, not covered undee such section, title to 12 which is held $y the United states in trust . foe the
(]) 13 benefit of any Indian tribe ce is held by an Indian tribe ! 1 14 sutject to restriction by the United states against " is alienation, and shall include. lands selected by Alaska , 16 Native villages ce regionni coeperations under the 17 provisions of the Alaska Native Claims settlement Acts , is (15) aff ected Indian tribe ** means (to be defined 1 19 and l
-. 28 (16) affected State'* means (to be defined): and-() 21
- 22 (17) site characterization means the program of exploration and research, both in the labcestory and in 23 the field, undertaXen to establish the geologic 2e conditions and the ranges of those parameters of a 25 particular site relevant to the procedures required under 26 this Act. Site enacacterization includes boeings, surface
.27 , excavations, excavations of exploratory shaf ts, limited ;
1 28 subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ 29 testing needed to determine the suitability of the site 38- for a geologi repository, but does not include 31 _ preliminary boeings and geophysical testing needed to 32 decide whether site characterization should be . l 33 undertaken. 34- IRC LICINSING AUTHCRI:!
+. o_, o 1 Sec. a. (a) Stctica 292 cf the In:rgy teorganization Act 2 of 197a is amended-~
3 (1) by inserting '*any other provision of law, a . including *
- af tee "notwithstanding":
5 (2) by inserting enacted after June 1, 1989 " af ter .
- e. "or other lau * '; and -
7 . -(3) by amending paragraphs (3) and (a) to read as
- . 8 *follows
- 9 "(3) Facilities used prisarily for the receipt and ,,.-
? . is storage oc disposal of-- ~ l i i 11 "( A) high level radioactive wastes,
- ~
pd 12 " (3) transuranic waste, or J ,, 13 " (c) low level radioactive vaste, L 1a resulting from activities licensed under such Act. 15 "(a) Retrievable surf ace f acilities and other l 16 facilities author 12ed for the purpose of long ters 17 storage oc disposal of-18' "(1) high level radioactive waste, ce 19 ' (3) transuranic waste, 28 generatad by the Administration, which are not used ice,
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O 2' e e ==ee =< e = e=n one a v 1=== nt ==tivitt roe 22 purposes of this-section-23 " (1) 'high level eacioactive waste
- means 24 irradiated teactor fuels liquid wastes resulting 25 from the operation of the first cycle solvent 26 extraction systent, oc equivalent, and the 27 concentrated wastes from subsequent extrac*. ion 28 cycles, or equivalent, in a facility fce 29 reprocessing irradiated reacter fuel, and solids 39 into which such liquid wastes have been 31 converted 32' " (11) ' transuranic wasta' means material 33 contaminated with elements having an atomic 3a nusbec greater than 92, including neptunium,
o o.
.1 p'lutonium, anceicium, and cueium, in 2 concentrations greater than is nanocuries pee 3 gram, ce in such other concentrations as the 4 Cossission determines to be necessacy to protect 5 the public health and safety 4 (111) ' low level radioactive vaste' means #
7 - radioactive waste that is not classified as high
- 1evel radioactive vaste, transuranic waste, or
.a
~
9 byproduct material as defined in section 11e. (2) ...- is of ,the Atomic Eneegy Act of 1954;
- 11 ' (lv) ' facilities authoeized for the purpose 12 of long term stocage ce disposal' means 13 facilities that are designed and intended to 14 store nuclear wastes for a period of at least 29 15 yssess and 16 **(v) facilities designed, constructed, ce 17 opacated for the purpose of long term geclogic -
18 storage or disposal of high level encicactive 19 waste ce transuranic waste in quantities that 29 contain at least 1 kilogram of transuranic waste O 21 oc the curie equi,a1ent of 1. .ete1, tons of 22 spent fuel shall not be considered as used foe, 23 oc part of, research and development 24 activities.. 25 (b) Section 292 of the Inergy Reorganization Act of 1974, 26 is further amended by codesignating the existing section as 27 subsection (a) and adding the following new subsections: 28 (b) Price to licensa issuance under paragraph (3) or 29 (4) of the pesceding subsection, the Commission shall 35 determine that f acility operation is consistant with-- 31 (1) the common defense and security, and 32 (2) any applicatie geneeni standares foe of fsite 33 eeleases of radioactivity promulgated by tne 34 Administrator of the Invironmental ?cotection Agency
c. 1 9 , purzuant- to authority und::e existing law, and o 2 shan determine that such Meanse viu protect-health and " 3 sinimize danger.to life and property. 4 (c) In addition to the determination requiced by the ' 5 preceding subsection, peler to license issuance for a
- v 1 6 geologic stoenge or disposal facility undee paragraph (3) (1) - '!
~
7 - oc.(3) of subsection (a) of this section, the Commission 8 shau determine that such f acility incorpoentes multiple, 9 &ndependent Egl%1213 barelse design.. ' 18 AUDIT OF SELECTED DOE NUCIIAR WASTI STORAGE TACILITIES
- 11 Sec. 5. (a) The Secretary and'the Commission are O ,2 authoeizee ane diencted to estaush a puot peogram f=e 13- auditing selected nucleat. vaste storage facilities of the 1a- Department that are not subject to the Commission's licensing 15 and related esculatory authority under section 292 of the
, 16 Energy Reorganization Act of'1974. Such audits'shall be 17 careled out in a sanner consistent with the' common defense is and secuelty and shall determine the extent to which the 19 constructhation, and decommissioning of such N
25' facilities complies with the Department's requirements foe .
- 1 -O 21. peoteWien of the pub 11c hea1th and safety ane ene 22 environment, whether such requirements provide adequate 23 prot 2ecn to the public health and safety and the 24 environment, whether remedial actions for the f acility are 25 needed to provide such protection, and if so, the need for, 126 and, feasibility and cost of, such actions.
27 (b) The pue;oses of the pilot peogram established by
. 28 subsection (a) shall be to determine-29 (1) whether Commission regulation of the f acilities 35 described in subsection (a) is necessary to peevide 31 esasonabla assurance that the construction, operation, 32- and decommissioninc of such facinties provides adequate 33 protection to the public health and safsty and the 3a environment s I l
l O O 1 (2) shother 'a esekeble and effectiva progran for 2 Commission regulatien of the f acilities described in I 3 subsection (a) can be developed; a (3) whethee such a program can be conducted in a 5 aanner to assure adequate pectaction of national security . 8 interests, including preventing the unauthorized I 7 . disclosues of restricted data or othee national sec5 city
.8 = information, preventing the interruption of the 9 production process for atomic weapons or weapons parts, /
19 - preventing the interruption of the production of special 'i 11- nuclear anterial for atomic weapons, and peeventing the , 12 serious disruption of research and deveh.opment work in 13 - the military application of atomic energy, and 14 (a) if such a program satisfying the requirements of
. 15 paeagraphs (2) and (3) can be developed, what alternative 16 . regulatory approaches are available, and what are the 17 costs and benefits of each approach.
19 (c) Not latee than 96 days af tee the date of enactsent of 19 this Act, the Secretary and the Commission shall submit to
- 28 the Congress a Memorandum of Understanding delineating their O' 21 respective eesponsib111 ties foe conducting the p12.t peogra.
22 described in subsection (a). Such Mesotandum of Understanding 23 'sna11 include-- 24 -(1) assignment of responsibility to the Secretary to 25 review each f acility included in the pilot program to 26 determine whether tte construction, opeention, and
- 27 decommissioning of the facility compiles with the 28 Departsent's esquirements foe. protection of the public 29 health and safety and the environment, and whether 36 remedial actions for the f acility are needed to provide 31 adequate protection to the. public health and saf sty and
- 32 theenvironmetkt; ,
33 (2) assignment of responsibility to the Secretary to 134' prepare a report to the Congress on eacn such f acility,
.=
1 o , d: scribing in dota11 tho ext:nt to which 'the o . " 2 construction, operation, and decommissioning of such 3 f acility complies or f ails to comply with the ! 4 Department's pecceduces and requirements for protection 5 of the public health and safety and the environment, and _ 4 the need for remedial. actions, if any, to provide - 7 adequate protection to the publi'c health and safety!and 8 -6 the environment;
-\
9 (3) assignment of responsibility to the Commission to . . .
~
18 ceview such esport, and to independently verify the
,11 extent to which the construction, operation, and 12 decommissioning of the facility comp 11'es with the 13 Department's proceduces and requirements, whether such
. procedures and requirements, as they apply to each such 14 15 facility, provide adequate protection to the puh uc I 16 health and safety and the environment, and the need for.
17 comedial actions foe the faciu ty, to provide such is protection; 19 (a) provisions assucing the Commission such access to 25 inspect tne faciuties included in such program and to 21 examine eslatad documents as the Commission determines I 1 22 necessacy to caecy out the- responsibilities described in l 23 paragraph (3); and 24 (5) assignment of responsibinty to the Commission to 25 ' provide to the Congress a 'veitten assessment of the 26 secretary's ceport for each faciu ty. - , 27 (d) Not later than 188 days af ter the date of enactment 1 29 of this Act, the Commission and the Secretary shall select by j 29 mutual agreement the f acilities to be included in the pilot Je pecoram described in subsection (a). Such f acilities shan 1 31 consist of not less than 5 noe aces than 18 nuclear vasta 32 storage f acilities of the Department that are not subject to 33 the commission's licensing and related cegulatory authority 34- under section:282 of the Inergy teorganization Act of 197a:
1 o ,p Provided, ggggy,gg, That th0 fac111tle3 331ected by the o i 2 secretary and the Commission shall include representative 3 examples from three different categories of radioactive vaste a storage or disposal facilities, and one such category shall
*5' he facilities foe the storage of high level vasta. .
4 (e) Not later than 1 year af ter the date of enactment of 7 this Act, the Commission shall by rule promulgate regula'tions 8 to carry out the respons13111 ties assigned to the Commission 9 in the Memorandum of Understanding. Such regulations shall ..; if include-- 11- (1) procedures to prevent unauthoeized disclosure of
-12 costricted data or other national security infcezations 13 and
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1a (2) opoortunity for public participation in t.%e 15 Commission's review of the secretary's report, consistent 16 with the need to prevent unauthoel:ed disclosure of 17 restrict 0d data or other national security information,. 18 the intaeruption of the production process for atomic 19 seapons and weapons parts, and the serious disruption of 25 research and development in the military application of () 21 a,tomic ensegy.
= 22 (f) Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 23 this Act, and annually thereaf ter, the secretary and the 2e Consission shall report to the Congress on the progress of 25 the pilot program.
26 (g) Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of 27 this Act, the secretary'shall submit to the Commission and 23 the Congress the reports described in subsection (c) for the 29 facilitle:S included in the pilot program. Not later than 2 38 years: af ter the date the reports described in subsection (c) 31 are sucaitted to the Commission, the Commission shall submit 32 to the Congress tne written assessments described in 13 subsection (c) fee the f acilities included in the pilot 3a program .
,? -
O $, O 1 (h) Ist later than a years after tha date of enactment of 2 this section, the secretary and the Commission shall each 3 submit to the Congress a report containing their respective 4 determinations on the issues defined in paragraphs (1) 5 through (4) of subsection (b) of this section and thele . 4 -censons therefoe. . 7 . (1) The President may cedee the immediate suspension of 4 anP activity of the Department ce the Commission under the 9 pilot prog'eam described in subsection (a) if he determines in j is writing that such activity will jeopardize the common def ense
* ~
11 .and secuelty by-- - '() '12 (t) inteceupting the production process foe atomic 13 seapons oc atomic weapon parts;
.T 1a (2) inteceupting the production of special nuclear 15 material needed for the production of atomic weapons; ce 16 (3) seriously disrupting research and development 17 oceX.in the military application of atomic eneegy.
18 Not later than 15 days following the issuance of such an
- 19. ceder, the Pensident shall tesnsmit such ceder, a detailed 28 statement of the reasons therefoe, and a recommendation on
() ~ 21 legislative oe other actions necessary to preclude the 22 escuecence of suen an interruption or serious disruption to 23 the Committees on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, Interice , 24 and Insular Af f ales, and Acmed Services of the House of 25 Representatives and the Committees on Invironment and Public 26 Works and Armed Services of the Senate. The Congress s' hall 1 27 have a period of 68 days of continuous session to disapprove 28- such ceder by joint resolution. In the absence of timely
' 29 adoption of such a resolution,' the subject cedee shall remain 38 in ef f ect.
31 CONSIDI1 ATION OF A1 IIN ATIVI SITIS 32 Sec. 6. In order to dischar;e its respons13111 ties f oe 33 the consideention of alternative sitas under section 122 (2) 34 (c) (iii) of the .tational Invironmental Policy Act of 1969,
o 12 o 1 tho Cecniccion shall requite the subcission by tho Secretary 2 of at least four site characterization ceports peier to 3 considering an application for authoeization to construct a 4 geologic storage oc disposal facility under paragraph (3) ce 5 (4) of section 282 (a) of the Eneegy Eeceganization Act of 4' 1974, as amended. Such site character 12ation reports shall be ,
~
7 for sites at different locations and in at least three 8 different geologic media. In selecting such sites, the 9 Seccatary of Energy shall consult with the United States .- if Geological Survey. The-preparetien-and-submissien-of-site 11 ehe rnet eriza ti on-r e ports-under- this - se cti en-de- net-c o ns ti tut e 12 ' eeder-Fedeent-settens-fer-the-purposes-ef-the-Netienet 13 Environmentai- P ois sy-tet-of-4969, l it SCHEDULE yCR NATIONAL RIGR LITIL.1ASTI EANAGININT l 15 Sec. 7. (3) Not later than January 1, 1981, the 16 .Administracce of the Invironmental Pectection Agency, . 17 pursuant to authocity under existing law, shall, by rule, , 1s peosu1 gate generally applicable standards for offsite 19 celeases of endicactivity from facilities for the long term j_ 25 geologic stceage of high level radioactive vaste and i O 2, transuean1= vaste. 22 (b) Not later than January 1, 1982, the commission, 23 pursuant to authocity under existing law, shall, by eule, ] 24 promulgate technical ceitaria which it will apply in . 25 eeviewing, undee the Atomic Inergy Act of 195a and the 26 National Invironmental Policy Act of 1969, an application for
- 27 authorization to construct geologic storage faciities under 23 paragraph (3) or (a) of section 292 of the Inergy 29 Reorganization Act of 1974
- 38 (c) Not later than January 1, 1985, the Secretary of 1
j 31 Insegy shall have submitted to the commission not less than
~
j 32 four site enaeacterization plans for a geologic disposal 33 facility undee section 282 (a) (3) (A) or (3) of the Inergy 1 -34 Recevanization Act of 1974
~
q..=. d is o . 1 (d) Nat latte than Janutry 1, 1989, th0 53cretary of' 2 Energy shall submit to the Commission an application for 3 . authorization to construct a ' geologic discesal facility under a section 282 (3) (A) or (3) of the Energy Reorganization Act 5 of 1974. (e) Not later than January 1, 1993, the cosaission shall 6 7 act on the application described in subsection (d) of th'is 8 section.
'\
9 (f) Not later than January 1, 1998, the Secretary of -{ l 18 Energy shall submit to the Commission an application for j 11 authorization to emplace radioactive vastes in the f acility O 12 deso=1 bed in subsec u n (e) of this secuen. ! 13' (g) Not later than January 1, 2585, the Commission shall is act on the application described in subsection ,(f) of this 15 section. l 16 CONPLIANCZ WITH NATIONAL SCHEDULE 17 Sec. 8. (a) One year after the date of enactment of this is Act, and annually theceafter, the President shall submit a 19 repoet to the Congress on the status of the National Nuclear 29 Easta Eanagement Program and on the measures being taken to 21 aset the requirements in se'ction 6 of this Act. 2he report 22 shall' include an estimate of the degree of pectability that 23 each requirement will be met en the specified date. 24 (b) In the event any agency oc official with
~
25 cesponsibility to meet a requirement in section 6 of this Act 26 ' determines that such requirement will not be met by the date 27 specified, such agency oc official shall immediately so l 28 notify the President. l 29 (c) In the event of a notificaticn under subsection (b) i 38 of this section, the President shall promptly submit a report 31 to.the Congress. Such report shall include (1) a. detailed 32 explanation of the reasons why the requirements will not be 33 mets (2) an estimate of when the requirement will be ret and 34 -a descript1:n of the measures that the President is taking or
,_~
LUXhU.300
'- 0 1. .
O 1 pecpos:s to tako to D60t tho requirottnts (3) a deceristion 2 of the measures, if any, that the President is taking or 3 proposes to take to assure that subsequent requirements under 4 section 5 are set by the dates specified and an estimate of 5 the degree of probability that each requirement will be met
-} , a by the specified date, and (4) the President's .-
7 recensendations, in light of the fa11ure to satisfy the - a suMeet requirement in section 5, and of any impact that such 9 failure will have on meet'ing subsequent requirements of j 1F section 5, as to whether tne Congress should prohibit the 11 issuance of additional construction permits under section 185
.O 12 and for utilization facilities under section 185 and . 13 operating licenses for such facilities under section 183 or 1e 184 (b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, oc should otherwise 15 restrict the continued generation of high level wastes by 16 activities licensed under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 17 (d) Not later than 68 days after the submission to the is Congress of a report.under subsection (c) of this section, 19 the Committees of tn Senate and the Rouse of Representatives 25 to which such report is referred shall submit reports to 21 their respective houses containing their recommendations, 22 including any proposed legislation, respecting the 23 recommendations of the President described in subsection (c) 2e. (4) of this section.
25 131 2220 ZADESCZ 14 21184 11 1h1 Cc"18819Q BAE C21 26 laguts 11121211 dLC 1221& cement 21 endleactivg gggagg in g 27 11219.112 11122111 facility oursuant; 12 gee-len 212 ill ill GC 28 Lal 21 lut 131222 teoceanienti20 1214 11 AE1Qsis4 thi 29 Commission th111 021 12121 1 ccNStruc*1en 21:310 2C E 38 eeeentine 1121G11 12C 1Q% nucione geven iant gclll 1113: 1; 31 Agggg1 agga ga esclacement license. 32 STATI C3MCURRENCI TCR RADICACTITI WASTI REPOSITORIIS
- 33. Sec. 9. (a) As soon as practicabia, but n0t later than 93 34 days af ter the date of enact 3ent of t31s section, the m
o - o l 1 secretary shall identify the states in which aen located one s 2 oc more potentially acceptable sites fee a facility for the 3 geologie storage se disposal, including test disposal, of
, 4: hign level oc transuranic wastes. The secretary shall 5 promptly notify the Governor, the state legislature, and the -
6 Tribal Council of any affected Indian tribe in each such - 7 state identified of the potentially acceptable sites within 1 8 such state. 9 (b) The sacretary is authorized and directed to promptly .- 19 enter into ne;otiations with each state and affacted Indian
- 11' tribe identified in accordance with subsection (a) fee the O 12 purpose of establishing formal arrangements under which the 13 state and the Indian tribe will have the right to concur or .
14 not concur based on legitimate public health and saf ety 15 concerns in all stages of the planning, siting, development, 16 construction, and operation in such state of a facility of a 17 ' type referred to ,in subsection (a). Such arrangements shall 18 include procedures for negotiating and resolving state or 19 Indian tribe nonconcurrence in any stage of the planning, 25 siting, development, construction or operation of such a O 21 facility within the state. Such arrangements shall further 22 include an actitettion mechanism for determining whether the 23 state's or the Indian tribe's reasons for nonconcurrence 24 constitute legitimate pub'11e health and safety concerns. In 25 the event of a nonconcurrence determined to be legitimate 26 ' through such a mechanists, any aspect of f acility development 27 which is the subjact of the nonconcurrence shall not pecceed 28 until such nonconcurrence is resolved. 29 (c) As soon as possible, the secretary shall submit such 3e arrangements to tne President for his review and approval. I" 31 the President approves such arrangements, the arrangements,
.32 together with an explanaticn thereof, shall be submittad to -
1 33 : the Congress and referred to the appropriate committees for a
.3a period of 58 days of continuous session. The Secretary is
o ,. 1 ' authoriz;d and directed to enter into an acconcent with the O _ 2 State and any affected Indian tribe to isolement such 3 arrangements if during such 65-day peeled the congress f ails a -to adopt a concuecent resciution of disapproval. In the 5 absence of,the timely adoption of such a casolution, any such 8 agreement shall be immediately eff ective and shall be binding < 7 on.all Tedecal agencies: 1:;ovided, heveven That any such 8 agreement shall not alter ce affect the ccmmission's 9 authority under existing law to take actions necessary to ,/ 1s protect the public health and safety. - 11 (d) The Secretary shall not proceed beyond site 12 exploration with any siting, development, or construction of 13 a facility of a type referred to in subsection (a) until the in Secretary and the State and any aff acted Indian tribe, have 15 enteced into a formal agreement in acccedance with subsection 16 (c). 17 (e) Not later than 1 year af ter the date of enactsent of 18 this section, the Secretary and the State and any affected ) 19 Indian tribe shall conclude the agreement required by 28 4 subsection (b). O 21 zmm mr-rm-mem szma o sm: rm / 22 Seev-499-f t+-Netwithstanding-eny-ether-prev & sten-of-sewy 23 eny-pr ogres-es tabl&shing-a-f ed er ela y-o wn ed-and-s pera ted 2a system-for-the-inteeks-sterage-ef-spent-fuei-et-away-frem-25 reester-fest&&thes-shesi-he-eens& stent-weth-the-pekkey-ef-- 25 +4+-e6 mis & sing-th e-see d-f o r- aw a y-f ree- r e es t e r -s t e r s t e 27 isekiities-by-oneeuravang-end-essisting-the-sterefe-ef l
=
l 28 sp en t-f u ei- et- th e-si te -ef-e eeh- Mue is e r-p o w e rpien t-t e- the 29 aex& sum-extent-praetheebiet-end 35- tSt-essuring-full-esst-recovery-by-the-Pederei 31 Severnment-for-the-eenstrueeken-and-eperetten-of-Federei l 32 awey-f ree-reester-sterage-f eekik these ! 1 33 fb+-Netwithstanding-eny-ether-provisten-ef-iewv-the ; 3a Seerstery-of-inerfy-shesi-met-enter-hate-e-eentreet-with-eny I
o_n o
; 1 70 rsen-CCn &n g-Cad -C per atan g 7-e P-ph e an& af- tS-Su n ~C Pr d-C po r a 107 4 2 Auskeer-pow ery & an ts -provident-f or-th e-stor ef e- o f -s pe n t- f u ei 3 generated-by-such-powerplants-in-a-pedoes&-tway-drom-reaeter t storefe-des &&&tyr-unless-the-sentreet-express &y-prev & des-that i
S such-persea-wH&-rete &n-t&t&e-to-the-spent-fue&-and-wH &-hear i ~ 1- d Gua n-f & na ne&d-res te ns kh a&& ty- f or-sush-p e rsend s -sh ar e-o f- the .. 7 fu u-eest-of-eny-Federe&-storefe-ef-spent-isenv I
, a
- fe+-Netw&thstanding-any-ether-provisten-of-lawv-the 9 Seeretary-of-Enerfy-she&&-net-enter-& ate-any-et Meat &en-te
- s.
- 18 sonstrust-er-esqu& rey-whether-hy-purehaser-& ease er -
j . 11 sendemnatienv-an-twey-free-reestee-sterefe-fae& H Gy-fer-spent O 12 f u u- o u s-the-e re nde et-has-s oo t t ed-a-, rep e s u-se 13 eenstr ust-ee-e squir e-the-f e enkty-t o-the-Genf r es s-an d-e 14 peeled-of-45-d ays-o f-cen unwou s-sesske n-h as-es t p se d - with ou t b# i 15 th e-p a ss a g e-of -a-s e never en t-r es eintien-dis a p pe e vin f- t he l Pres &denta s -propostit-Prev &ded7-hewever7-That-the-feeretary 16 i
- 17 shau-an-no-event-enter-&nte-eny-eb&&f atken-to-esquare-at
18 ew'esting-f es&& & ty-f or-the-purpos e-o f-p rev& ding-a wa y- f re m- !~ 19 reaeter-spent-fuet-storefe-uniess-such-esquis&then-as-ikahted / , 25 to-estuai-spent-fue&-sterafe-f aesikties-needed-f ee-a n-e way- ,L O 21 f re~~a -f ae&Hty.-*ny->re,esa->y-the->rto.-t-te , 22 sonstruet-er-esquare-en-away-free-reaeter-spent-fuei-sterate , 23 fes&&&ty-she&&-te-teeenpan&ed-by-a-deta&&ed-statesent I , 24 deserkh&ng-i. [ 25 f4+-why-the-spent-fue&-sterafe-eapeekty-to-be 2d prev &ded-by-the-subjeet-fae&&&ty-as-needed-end-sannet-be j 27 provided-sa-e-tisely-manner-by-expansken-of-sterage
' 28 sapeesty-et-4Me-s&tes-et-nuenear-powerpiantsy 29 45+-the-estkanted-east-of-construsting-and-sperating l 38 the-proposed-fee &&&ty-and-the-seans-by-wh&eh-fuia 31 recevery-t y-tM e-7eder a &-Go v e rnm ent-e f-sp en t-f u e &-st er es e 32 eests-w&H-be-essuredt-end j 33 fit-the-e&ternatives-to-the-protesed-fsenity 34 considered-by-the-Pres &denty-end-the-eests-end-henefits
], is Q
1 'c4-th o-p r o p scad-f o ot aity-a nd-c a ch-e a t e rna t i v o-es asi d e r ed , 2 f dt-the-temmissi on-sha al-r equir e-a s-a-send i tie n-t e- the 3 iss ua n se-of -a-licen se-f or-any-nu ais er-pow erpla n t-f or- whieh-e n
; a appHes tien-f e r-e-s ens truc tien-p ermi t-ha s-net- b e en-file d-by 5 fune-47 -49tfy-that-such-powerplant-provide-edeguate-ensite ,
4 storage-espneity-for-the-spent-fuei-te-be-generated-by-sweh 'l 7 powerplant-ever-ats-usedui-illav
. 4 = fe+-the-eenmassion-shali-prompt &y-aniskete-a-rulemakine 9 p r esee din gv-sa-t eso r d a n c e- with-s e ction-553 -ef- t i ti e Vn s t e d ,J 18 States-fedev-f or-the-purpose-of-ressiving-eil-generie-issues
.11 related-to-the-senstruetken-end-eperatien-ed-eddittenai-spent 12 f usi-s ter age-f e etilties-et-the-sites -ef-nuelea r-po w e r;i a nts v 13 Net-nater-than~95-days-after-the-date-ed-eneetsent-of-this 14 Asty-the-Gesak ssian-sheil-estabilsh- prece dur es - t e- as s ur e-the 15 eupedited-esapletion-ef-the-proceeding-required-ty-this 16 subsection, 17 fit-H eavit hs ta n din g- a n y-eth e r-p r evis s en-of-s a w ,- the is seemissien-may-autheekse-the-eemmencement-of-construetken-er 19 eseration-ef-eddittenet-spent-fust-sterave-f acilities-e t-the 25- sit es-of-nusis a r-p o w erpi ents-p rier-to-th e-eend u e t-ee O 2, ses.***ien-of-aar-re< wired-hearin.s-Af-the-tes Assien-* tself 22 ee-sts - d e si gne e-de t ermin es-tha ty-in- a&&-r es p e c ts -e th er- th a n 23 the-eenduet-er-esspietion-of-eny-required-hearingy-the 29 requir emen ts-of -ta e- Ateni e-Ene r gy- A e t-of-49547-of-the-runes 25 a n d-r e g ul a ti on s - of - th e-t e mmis s i e n,- e nd -e f -th e- Il a ti on a l 26 Invironmen tal-P eiley-t et-of-49 697-ha ve-be e n-me t, 27 ggga ,1L,[g),totwithstandine 1E 2M 10 2C2Y.1112 21 11Fa 28 gay, r m ggtablishine g f ederativ 2ECid 121 CD*Elted 29 3y,113!! 12C 121 intacim stcence 21 SCeSt igil 11 1ERI-f?SM-35 ggggiqc f aeilities gagli gg consistent Q gg h,21122 21.:: -
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, 121 assurine 1211 2211 recoverv 22 2 1 Eid1C11 2 19.t3:03101 12: lug eenst-ue*1en Rad QDirallan 21 I1deral 3 ggav-free,emacter storace facilities.
4 lh1 Yntuithstinglag anZ C1ht: Grevision 21 h 21 5 secrettev gi Enerev 1 hill a21 1011 1012 1 22n1E C 1 _v11h ALZ 0 ' e.tC12D ownine Ang oeeratine, Et 211 acing 12 QZn and ce*cate, - 7 nuclairneversl&Q13erevidine12C1h1112C12121111Q1bLil 8 ggtterated hg gggh coverelants 1D 1 Eint:11 avav-frem-reneter 9 sterleg igeility, galg33 the centract 112C11112 erevidel th11 ../ 15 gggh eersen 1111 C1111A 11111 12 1h1 seent 1211 Rag Elli 111: 11 1211 financial tageonsibilitt f g gggh eersen's gaggg gf, ;ht O 12 12 u 22 n 21 iGZ tedera1 se m ee 21 si a 1211. 13 igl Rotwithggggging agg other erovision gi lgg4 ght 14 ' Secretarv 21. EQ1C22 Shall Q21 SQ11C 1312 132 Skl121*12A J* 15 construct 2C 12221:14 wheth*c hg ggechase.'11111 GC 16 cgntitsnt:1on, an avev-frem-reneter, sterace iggill1Z 12: Sefdt 17 {ggi 20111 Mg Egggig221 hit Eggmitted 1 SE222111 12 18 c2 Gar;;jg; Sg geruire gg facility 12 1hi 12G2:111 EDs 1 19 eeriod 21 if 11Z1 gg centinueut 111112D h11 11121gg witheut 25 2 1 2121421 21 A concur ent ensolution disacer2Z132 1h1 h 21 Efesident 's erceos112. Provid*d he#*V'E- 1111 111 11"~'t*"'# 22 10111 la 32 1Z121 1011 1D12 1Q2 Sblicatien 12 AC Uls,1 RU 23 eristine facil11Z 12g lui eureose 21 2revidine avav-f ec, 2t, ntctor seent ingl storace li gggh accuisitien 11 C2111?itfs
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