[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9786 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9786
To establish a new organization to manage nuclear waste, provide a
consent-based process for siting nuclear waste facilities, ensure
adequate funding for managing nuclear waste, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 24, 2024
Mr. Levin (for himself, Mr. Pfluger, and Mr. Peters) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a new organization to manage nuclear waste, provide a
consent-based process for siting nuclear waste facilities, ensure
adequate funding for managing nuclear waste, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Waste
Administration Act of 2024''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I--FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND DEFINITIONS
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Purposes.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Rule of construction.
TITLE II--NUCLEAR WASTE ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 201. Establishment.
Sec. 202. Principal officers.
Sec. 203. Other officers.
Sec. 204. Inspector General.
Sec. 205. Nuclear Waste Oversight Board.
Sec. 206. Conforming amendments.
TITLE III--FUNCTIONS
Sec. 301. Transfer of functions.
Sec. 302. Transfer of contracts.
Sec. 303. Nuclear waste facilities.
Sec. 304. Siting nuclear waste facilities.
Sec. 305. Storage facilities.
Sec. 306. Repositories.
Sec. 307. Updated standards and criteria.
Sec. 308. Licensing nuclear waste facilities.
Sec. 309. Defense waste.
Sec. 310. Transportation.
TITLE IV--FUNDING AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Sec. 401. Working Capital Fund.
Sec. 402. Nuclear Waste Fund.
Sec. 403. Full cost recovery.
Sec. 404. Judicial review.
Sec. 405. Litigation authority.
Sec. 406. Liabilities.
TITLE V--ADMINISTRATIVE AND SAVINGS PROVISIONS
Sec. 501. Administrative powers of Administrator.
Sec. 502. Personnel.
Sec. 503. Offices.
Sec. 504. Mission plan.
Sec. 505. Annual reports.
Sec. 506. Savings provisions; terminations.
Sec. 507. Technical assistance in the field of spent fuel storage and
disposal.
Sec. 508. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
Sec. 509. Application of volume limitation.
TITLE I--FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND DEFINITIONS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101
et seq.)--
(A) made the Federal Government responsible for
providing for the permanent disposal of nuclear waste;
(B) vested the responsibility for siting,
constructing, and operating a permanent geologic
repository for the disposal of nuclear waste in the
Secretary of Energy; and
(C) authorized the Secretary to enter into binding
contracts with the generators and owners of nuclear
waste pursuant to which the Secretary is obligated to
have begun disposing of the nuclear waste not later
than January 31, 1998;
(2) in 1987, Congress designated the Yucca Mountain site as
the site for the first repository and precluded consideration
of other sites;
(3) in 2002, the Secretary found the Yucca Mountain site to
be suitable for the development of the repository, the
President recommended the site to Congress, and Congress
enacted a joint resolution approving the Yucca Mountain site
for the repository;
(4) in 2008, the Secretary applied to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission for a license to construct a repository
at the Yucca Mountain site;
(5) in 2009, the Secretary found the Yucca Mountain site to
be unworkable and abandoned efforts to construct a repository
at the site;
(6) in 2010, the Secretary, at the request of the
President, established the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's
Nuclear Future to conduct a comprehensive review of the nuclear
waste management policies of the United States and recommend a
new strategy for managing the nuclear waste of the United
States; and
(7) the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future
recommended that Congress establish a new nuclear waste
management organization and adopt a new consent-based siting
approach to siting nuclear waste facilities.
SEC. 102. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to establish a new nuclear waste management
organization;
(2) to transfer to the new organization the functions of
the Secretary under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42
U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) relating to the siting, licensing,
construction, and operation of nuclear waste facilities;
(3) to establish a new consensual process for the siting of
nuclear waste facilities;
(4) to provide for one or more Federal storage facilities
for nuclear waste pending completion of a repository; and
(5) to ensure that--
(A) the generators and owners of nuclear waste pay
the full cost of the program; and
(B) funds collected for the program are used for
that purpose.
SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the
Nuclear Waste Administration established by section 201.
(2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Nuclear Waste Administrator appointed under section 202(a).
(3) Affected indian tribe.--The term ``affected Indian
Tribe'' means any Indian Tribe--
(A) within the reservation boundaries of which a
repository or storage facility is proposed to be
located; or
(B) that has federally defined possessory or usage
rights to other land outside of the reservation
boundaries that--
(i) arise out of a congressionally ratified
treaty; and
(ii) the Secretary of the Interior finds,
on petition of an appropriate governmental
official of the Indian Tribe, may be
substantially and adversely affected by the
repository or storage facility.
(4) Affected unit of general local government.--
(A) In general.--The term ``affected unit of
general local government'' means the unit of general
local government that has jurisdiction over the site of
a repository or storage facility.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``affected unit of general
local government'' may include, at the discretion of
the Administrator, units of general local government
that are contiguous with the unit that has jurisdiction
over the site of a repository or storage facility.
(5) Civilian nuclear power reactor.--The term ``civilian
nuclear power reactor'' has the meaning given the term in
section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C.
10101).
(6) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
(7) Compliance agreement.--The term ``compliance
agreement'' means a legally enforceable agreement between the
Secretary and a Federal or State agency requiring the removal
of nuclear waste from a Department of Energy facility.
(8) Contract holder.--The term ``contract holder'' means
any person who has entered into a contract for the disposal of
nuclear waste under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy
Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)) or this Act.
(9) Defense waste.--The term ``defense waste'' means
nuclear waste generated by an atomic energy defense activity
(as defined in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)).
(10) Disposal.--The term ``disposal'' has the meaning given
the term in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982
(42 U.S.C. 10101).
(11) Emergency delivery.--
(A) In general.--The term ``emergency delivery''
means nuclear waste accepted by the Administrator for
storage prior to the date provided in the contractual
delivery commitment schedule pursuant to article V.D.
of the standard contract for disposal of nuclear waste
codified in section 961.11 of title 10, Code of Federal
Regulations.
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``emergency delivery'' may
include, at the discretion of the Administrator,
nuclear waste that is required to be removed from a
Department of Energy facility--
(i) pursuant to a compliance agreement; or
(ii) to eliminate an imminent and serious
threat to the health and safety of the public
or the common defense and security.
(12) High-level radioactive waste.--The term ``high-level
radioactive waste'' means, as applicable--
(A) high-level radioactive waste (as defined in
section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42
U.S.C. 10101)); or
(B) in the case of the West Valley Demonstration
Project, high level radioactive waste (as defined in
section 6 of the West Valley Demonstration Project Act
(42 U.S.C. 2021a note; Public Law 96-368)).
(13) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term ``Indian tribe'' in section 2 of the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).
(14) Mission plan.--The term ``mission plan'' means the
comprehensive report required under section 504.
(15) Nuclear waste.--The term ``nuclear waste'' means--
(A) spent nuclear fuel; and
(B) high-level radioactive waste.
(16) Nuclear waste activities.--The term ``nuclear waste
activities'' has the meaning given the term in section 11 of
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).
(17) Nuclear waste facility.--The term ``nuclear waste
facility'' means--
(A) a repository; and
(B) a storage facility.
(18) Nuclear waste fund.--The term ``Nuclear Waste Fund''
means the separate fund in the Treasury established by section
302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C.
10222(c)).
(19) Oversight board.--The term ``Oversight Board'' means
the Nuclear Waste Oversight Board established by section 205.
(20) Priority waste.--The term ``priority waste'' means--
(A) any emergency delivery; and
(B) spent nuclear fuel removed from a civilian
nuclear power reactor that, as of the date of enactment
of this Act, is stored at a civilian nuclear power
reactor site that has been permanently shut down.
(21) Public liability.--The term ``public liability'' has
the meaning given the term in section 11 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014).
(22) Repository.--The term ``repository'' has the meaning
given the term in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).
(23) Reservation.--The term ``reservation'' has the meaning
given the term in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of
1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).
(24) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Energy.
(25) Site characterization.--
(A) In general.--The term ``site characterization''
means the site-specific activities that the
Administrator determines necessary to support an
application to the Commission for a license to
construct a repository or storage facility under this
Act.
(B) Repository site characterization.--In the case
of a site for a repository, the term ``site
characterization'' may include borings, surface
excavations, excavations of exploratory shafts,
subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ
testing needed to evaluate the suitability of a
candidate site for the location of a repository.
(C) Storage site characterization.--In the case of
a site being considered solely for an above-ground
storage facility, the term ``site characterization''
does not include subsurface borings and excavations
that the Administrator determines are uniquely
associated with underground disposal and unnecessary to
evaluate the suitability of a candidate site for the
location of an above-ground storage facility.
(D) Preliminary activities.--The term ``site
characterization'' does not include preliminary borings
and geophysical testing needed to assess whether site
characterization should be undertaken.
(26) Spent nuclear fuel.--The term ``spent nuclear fuel''
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Nuclear
Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).
(27) Storage.--The term ``storage'' means the temporary
retention of nuclear waste with the intent to recover such
waste for subsequent use, processing, or disposal.
(28) Storage facility.--The term ``storage facility'' means
a facility for the consolidated interim storage of nuclear
waste from multiple contract holders or the Secretary.
(29) Unit of general local government.--The term ``unit of
general local government'' has the meaning given the term in
section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C.
10101).
(30) Working capital fund.--The term ``Working Capital
Fund'' means the Nuclear Waste Administration Working Capital
Fund established by section 401.
(31) Yucca mountain site.--The term ``Yucca Mountain site''
has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Nuclear
Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).
SEC. 104. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
The use of the term ``nuclear waste'' in this Act to mean high-
level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel does not mean (and shall
not be construed to mean) that spent nuclear fuel is, or should be,
classified as or otherwise considered to be ``waste'' or ``radioactive
waste'' for purposes of this Act or any other law, including the Solid
Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) (commonly known as the
``Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976'').
TITLE II--NUCLEAR WASTE ADMINISTRATION
SEC. 201. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) Establishment.--There is established an independent agency in
the executive branch to be known as the ``Nuclear Waste
Administration''.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the Administration are--
(1) to discharge the responsibility of the Federal
Government under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42
U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) to provide for the permanent disposal of
nuclear waste;
(2) to protect the public health and safety and the
environment in discharging the responsibility under paragraph
(1); and
(3) to ensure that the costs of activities under paragraph
(1) are borne by the persons responsible for generating the
nuclear waste.
SEC. 202. PRINCIPAL OFFICERS.
(a) Administrator.--
(1) Appointment.--There shall be at the head of the
Administration a Nuclear Waste Administrator, who shall be
appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent
of the Senate, from among persons who are, by reason of
education, experience, and attainments, exceptionally well
qualified to perform the duties of the Administrator.
(2) Term.--The term of service of the Administrator shall
be 6 years, except that the Administrator may continue to serve
after the expiration of that term until reappointed or a
successor is appointed and has been confirmed and taken the
oath of office.
(3) Reappointment.--An Administrator may serve more than 1
term.
(4) Functions and powers.--The functions and powers of the
Administration shall be vested in and exercised by the
Administrator.
(5) Supervision and direction.--The Administration shall be
administrated under the supervision and direction of the
Administrator, who shall be responsible for the efficient and
coordinated management of the Administration.
(6) Delegation.--The Administrator may, from time to time
and to the extent permitted by law, delegate such functions of
the Administrator as the Administrator determines to be
appropriate.
(7) Compensation.--The President shall fix the total annual
compensation of the Administrator in an amount that--
(A) is sufficient to recruit and retain a person of
demonstrated ability and achievement in managing large
corporate or governmental organizations; and
(B) does not exceed the maximum amount of annual
compensation payable to a member of the Senior
Executive Service under subsection (b) of section 5382
of title 5, United States Code.
(b) Deputy Administrator.--
(1) Appointment.--The Administrator shall appoint a Deputy
Administrator from among persons who are, by reason of
education, experience, and attainments, exceptionally well
qualified to perform the duties of the Deputy Administrator.
(2) Duties.--The Deputy Administrator shall--
(A) perform such functions as the Administrator
shall from time to time assign or delegate; and