[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 443 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 443

 To reaffirm the Federal Government's commitment to electric consumers 
  and environmental protection by reaffirming the requirement of the 
 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 that the Secretary of Energy provide 
 for the safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than 
               January 31, 1998, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            February 16 (legislative day, January 30), 1995

   Mr. Grams introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To reaffirm the Federal Government's commitment to electric consumers 
  and environmental protection by reaffirming the requirement of the 
 Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 that the Secretary of Energy provide 
 for the safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than 
               January 31, 1998, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Electric Consumers and Environmental 
Protection Act of 1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the generation of electricity by nuclear reactors 
        results in the production of spent nuclear fuel;
            (2) about 24,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel have 
        been produced by the Nation's operating nuclear power plants, 
        and an additional 50,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel is 
        expected to be produced during the terms of their current 
        licenses;
            (3) the vast majority of commercial spent nuclear fuel is 
        currently stored in individual water-filled pools at reactor 
        sites throughout the Nation;
            (4) the storage pools for the temporary storage of spent 
        nuclear fuel are nearing capacity at many of the reactor sites;
            (5) since the beginning of the commercial nuclear power 
        industry in the 1960's, the Federal Government has had the 
        responsibility to provide for the disposal of commercial spent 
        nuclear fuel;
            (6) Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 
        (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) in order to codify the Federal 
        responsibility and policy to provide for the safe and timely 
        disposal of spent nuclear fuel by establishing a schedule for 
        the siting, construction, and operation of deep geologic 
        repositories, assigning the responsibility for implementation 
        of the program to the Department of Energy, and establishing 
        the Nuclear Waste Fund to cover the costs of the Federal 
        disposal program to be paid by utility ratepayers and owners;
            (7) since the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
        1982, utility ratepayers and owners have paid more than 
        $10,000,000,000 into the Nuclear Waste Fund;
            (8) under the schedule established in the Nuclear Waste 
        Policy Act of 1982, the Department of Energy, in return for the 
        payment of the fees by utility ratepayers and owners, is 
        directed to dispose of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later 
        than January 31, 1998;
            (9) despite the 13 years that have passed since the 
        enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the 
        expenditure of over $3,800,000,000, the Department of Energy 
        has fallen behind schedule, and the projected date for 
        commencement of operation of a repository, under optimistic 
        assumptions, is 2010;
            (10) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 currently 
        prohibits the selection of a site for a monitored retrievable 
        storage facility until a site for a permanent repository has 
        been selected; and
            (11) the Department of Energy, under the Nuclear Waste 
        Policy Act of 1982, has an absolute obligation to accept spent 
        nuclear fuel beginning not later than January 31, 1998.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to ensure that the Department of Energy fulfills its 
        responsibility to site, construct, and operate temporary and 
        permanent nuclear waste disposal facilities in a safe and 
        timely manner; and
            (2) to reaffirm the obligation of the Secretary of Energy 
        under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide for the 
        safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than 
        January 31, 1998.

SEC. 3. REAFFIRMATION OF OBLIGATION OF SECRETARY OF ENERGY.

    Section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 
10222(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(7) The obligation of the Secretary under paragraph (5) to accept 
high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel beginning not later 
than January 31, 1998, is absolute and is not dependent on the 
commencement of operation of a repository or a monitored retrievable 
storage facility. That obligation shall not be voided or delayed for 
any reason.''.

SEC. 4. SITING OF MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE FACILITY.

    (a) Repeal of Site Selection Limitation.--Section 145 of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10165) is amended by 
striking subsection (b).
    (b) Repeal of Licensing Conditions.--Section 148 of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10168) is amended by striking 
subsection (d).
                                 <all>