[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 871 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 871

     To provide for the management and disposition of the Hanford 
Reservation, to provide for environmental management activities at the 
                  Reservation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 26 (legislative day, May 15), 1995

 Mr. Johnston (for himself and Mr. Murkowski) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To provide for the management and disposition of the Hanford 
Reservation, to provide for environmental management activities at the 
                  Reservation, 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 ``Hanford Land Management Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``affected communities and Indian tribes'' 
        means--
                    (A) the counties of Benton, Franklin, and Grant, 
                Washington;
                    (B) the cities of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick, 
                Washington; and
                    (C) the Yakima Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of 
                the Umatilla, and the Nez Perce Tribe.
            (2) The term ``corrective action'' means such actions as 
        may be necessary to protect human health, safety, and the 
        environment from releases of hazardous waste or constituents 
        from any solid waste management facility at the Hanford 
        Reservation.
            (3) The term ``Department'' means the Department of Energy.
            (4) The term ``environmental management activities'' 
        means--
                    (A) corrective actions;
                    (B) removal or remedial actions; and
                    (C) the treatment, storage, or disposal of 
                hazardous substances or radioactive materials.
            (5) The term ``Hanford Reservation'' means the site located 
        in southeastern Washington owned by the United States and 
        reserved for the use of the Department of Energy.
            (6) The term ``hazardous substance'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 101(14) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
        Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 
        9601(14)).
            (7) The term ``remove'' or ``removal'' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 101(23) of the Comprehensive 
        Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 
        (42 U.S.C. 9601(23)).
            (8) The term ``remedy'' or ``remedial action'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 101(24) of the Comprehensive 
        Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 
        (42 U.S.C. 9601(24)).
            (9) The term ``radioactive material'' means--
                    (A) byproduct material as defined in section 11e. 
                of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(e));
                    (B) source material as defined in section 11z. of 
                the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(z));
                    (C) special nuclear material as defined in section 
                11aa. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 
                2014(aa));
                    (D) high-level radioactive waste as defined in 
                section 2(12) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 
                (42 U.S.C. 10101 (12));
                    (E) low-level radioactive waste as defined in 
                section 2(16) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 
                (42 U.S.C. 10101(16));
                    (F) spent nuclear fuel as defined in section 2(23) 
                of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 
                10101(23));
                    (G) mixed waste as defined in section 1004(41) of 
                the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6903(41)); and
                    (H) transuranic waste as defined in section 2(20) 
                of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act 
                (Public Law 102-579).
            (10) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Energy.
            (11) The term ``substitution risk'' means an increased risk 
        to human health, safety, or the environment likely to result 
        from a regulatory or nonregulatory option designed to decrease 
        other risks.
            (12) The terms ``treatment, storage, and disposal'' have 
        the meanings given such terms in section 1004 (34), (33), and 
        (3), respectively, of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 
        6903 (34), (33), and (3)).

SEC. 3. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN.

    (a) Policy.--The Secretary shall manage federal lands, manage 
hazardous substances and radioactive materials at the Reservation, 
perform corrective actions, and remove or remedy, as necessary, 
hazardous or radioactive contamination of land, structures, surface 
water, or ground water within the Hanford Reservation in accordance 
with this Act and the environmental management plan prepared in 
accordance with this Act.
    (b) Issuance of Plan.--Not later than two years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress an 
environmental management plan for the Hanford Reservation.
    (c) Contents of Plan.--The plan shall contain--
            (1) the land use plan required by section 4;
            (2) the risk assessment statement required by section 5;
            (3) the waste management plan required by section 6; and
            (4) the site restoration plan required by section 7.
    (d) Effective Date.--This Act shall take effect upon the date of 
enactment. The effectiveness of the Act shall not be delayed pending 
preparation of the environmental management plan.
    (e) Amendment of Plan.--The Secretary may revise the plan from time 
to time consistent with this Act and shall submit any amendments to 
Congress.

SEC. 4. LAND USE.

    (a) Policy.--Lands within the Hanford Reservation shall be retained 
in Federal ownership unless, as a result of the land use planning 
procedure provided in this section, Congress determines that disposal 
of a particular parcel will serve the national interest.
    (b) Land Use Plan.--The Secretary shall include in the 
environmental management plan a land use plan designating--
            (1) parcels within the Hanford Reservation that need to be 
        retained by the Department for its use or for the maintenance 
        of institutional controls needed to protect the public or the 
        environment from hazardous substances or radioactive materials;
            (2) parcels recommended for inclusion in the National Park 
        System, the National Refuge System, or the National Wild and 
        Scenic Rivers System; and
            (3) parcels recommended for transfer to the Secretary of 
        the Interior to be managed as public lands or to be sold or 
        exchanged in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and 
        Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701-1784).
    (c) Criteria.--In designating parcels under subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall consider--
            (1) the risk to human health, safety, or the environment 
        presented by hazardous substances and radioactive materials at 
        the site;
            (2) the risk to workers from exposure to hazardous 
        substances or radioactive materials in the course of performing 
        removal or remedial actions;
            (3) the availability of effective technologies to remedy or 
        remove hazardous substances or radioactive materials or to 
        reduce the risk to human health, safety, or the environment;
            (4) the cost to the United States or releasing the parcel 
        from federal ownership and control, including--
                    (A) the cost of remedying or removing the hazardous 
                substances or radioactive materials or reducing the 
                risk to human health, safety, or the environment from 
                such substances or materials at the parcel;
                    (B) the cost of remedying or removing the hazardous 
                substances or radioactive materials or reducing the 
                risk to the human health, safety, or the environment 
                from such substances or materials at parts of the 
                Reservation that remain under federal ownership or 
                control; and
                    (C) the cost of assessing the incremental risk to 
                the human health, safety, or the environment that may 
                result from releasing the parcel;
            (5) the importance of the area for scenic, historical, 
        recreational, ecological, cultural, or archeological values, 
        water resources, community expansion, or economic development;
            (6) the views of the Secretary of the Interior, the 
        Governor of Washington, and affected communities and Indian 
        tribes; and
            (7) the availability of Federal funds to clean up the 
        parcel to the level needed for the recommended use.
    (d) Future Ownership.--The Secretary shall not sell, exchange, or 
convey any part of the Hanford Reservation except as authorized by 
legislation enacted after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 5. RISK ASSESSMENT.

    (a) Policy.--The Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive risk 
assessment of all major activities, substances, and conditions at the 
Hanford Reservation that pose a risk to human health, safety, or the 
environment. The risk assessment shall be based on the best available, 
scientifically replicable data and realistic assumptions that shall not 
exaggerate risk by inappropriately compounding multiple, hypothetical, 
conservative policy judgments. The Secretary shall recommend future use 
of the Hanford Reservation under section 4, establish standards and 
select environmental management activities under sections 6 and 7, and 
establish priorities and allocate Federal resources among such 
activities based upon the risk assessment conducted under this section.
    (b) Risk Assessment Statement.--(1) The Secretary shall include in 
the environmental management plan a clear and concise statement that--
            (A) describes and, to the extent practicable, quantifies 
        the risks to human health, safety, and the environment to be 
        addressed by environmental management activities under this 
        Act;
            (B) compares the human health, safety or environmental 
        risks to be addressed by such environmental management 
        activities to other risks chosen by the Secretary, including--
                    (i) at least 3 other risks regulated by a Federal 
                agency; and
                    (ii) at least 3 other risks that are familiar to 
                the general public;
            (C) describes and, to the extent practicable, quantifies 
        any known, plausible substitution risks when information on 
        such risks is known to or has been provided to the Secretary;
            (D) estimates--
                    (i) the costs of carrying out the environmental 
                management activities under this Act; and
                    (ii) the benefits of such activities, including 
                both quantifiable measures of costs and benefits, to 
                the fullest extent that they can be estimated, and 
                qualitative measures that are difficult to quantify; 
                and
            (E) contains a certification by the Secretary that--
                    (i) the analyses performed under subparagraphs (A), 
                (B), (C), and (D) are based on the best reasonably 
                obtainable scientific information;
                    (ii) the planned environmental management 
                activities are likely to reduce significantly the human 
                health, safety, or environmental risks to be addressed;
                    (iii) there is no alternative environmental 
                management activity that would achieve an equivalent 
                reduction in risk in a more cost-effective manner, 
                along with a brief explanation of why other 
                alternatives considered by the Secretary were found to 
                be less cost-effective; and
                    (iv) the planned environmental management 
                activities are likely to produce benefits to human 
                health, safety, or the environment that will justify 
                the costs to the United States.
    (2) If the Secretary cannot certify one or more of the matters 
specified in paragraph (1)(D), the Secretary shall identify those 
matters for which certification cannot be made and shall include a 
statement of the reasons therefor in the environmental management plan.
    (c) Rule of Reason.--In assessing the risk of individual 
activities, substances, or conditions as part of the comprehensive risk 
assessment required by this section, the Secretary shall employ the 
level of detail and rigor appropriate and practicable for reasoned 
decision making on the matter involved, taking into account the 
significance and complexity of the environmental management plan and 
the need for expedition.

SEC. 6. MATERIALS AND WASTE MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Policy.--The Secretary shall manage hazardous substances and 
radioactive materials at the Hanford Reservation in compliance with the 
standards established under subsection (b) and in accordance with the 
waste management plan prepared under subsection (c).
    (b) Standards.--(1) The Secretary shall, by rule, establish such 
standards for the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste 
and radioactive materials at the Hanford Reservation as may be 
necessary to protect human health, safety, and the environment.
    (2) Such standards shall be in accord with the common defense and 
security and provide adequate protection to the health and safety of 
the public.
    (3) In establishing any standard under this subsection, the 
Secretary shall take into account--
            (A) reasonably anticipated future land uses;
            (B) the views of the affected communities and Indian 
        tribes;
            (C) the availability of cost-effective treatment, storage, 
        and disposal technologies;
            (D) the risk assessment required by section 5;
            (E) other human health, safety, or environmental protection 
        standards established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 
        other Federal agencies, or the State of Washington for 
        comparable risks; and
            (F) the recommendations of the Defense Nuclear Facilities 
        Safety Board.
    (c) Waste Management Plan.--The Secretary shall include in the 
environmental management plan a waste management plan containing--
            (1) the standards established under subsection (b);
            (2) an inventory of hazardous substances and radioactive 
        materials at the Hanford Reservation to a level of detail 
        determined reasonable by the Secretary; and
            (3) for each type of hazardous substance or radioactive 
        material, the treatment, storage, disposal, or other management 
        method selected by the Secretary to manage the substance or 
        material in compliance with the standards established under 
        subsection (b).
    (d) Criteria.--In selecting treatment, storage, or disposal methods 
under subsection (c), the Secretary shall consider--
            (1) the risk to human health, safety, or the environment 
        presented by the hazardous substance or radioactive material;
            (2) the risk to workers from exposure to the substance or 
        material in the course of treatment, storage, or disposal of 
        the substance or material;
            (3) the cost of the treatment, storage, or disposal method 
        in relation to--
                    (A) the risk to the public, workers, or the 
                environment; and
                    (B) alternative treatment, storage, or disposal 
                options;
            (4) the extent to which the risk to the public, workers, or 
        the environment may be reduced by interim storage of the waste 
        or material until--
                    (A) the hazard is reduced as a result of 
                radioactive decay or chemical decomposition; or
                    (B) more cost-effective treatment or disposal 
                technologies are developed and are reasonably 
                available; and
            (5) the views of Federal and State regulators of the 
        substance or material and the affected communities and Indian 
        tribes.

SEC. 7. SITE RESTORATION.

    (a) Policy.--The Secretary shall take corrective and remedial 
actions at the Hanford Reservation in compliance with the standards 
established in subsection (b) and in accordance with the site 
restoration plan prepared under subsection (c).
    (b) Standards.--(1) The Secretary shall, by rule, establish such 
standards for the performance of corrective, remedial, and removal 
actions at the Hanford Reservation as may be necessary to protect human 
health, safety, and the environment.
    (2) Such standards shall be in accord with the common defense and 
security and provide adequate protection to the health and safety of 
the public.
    (3) In establishing any standard under this subsection, the 
Secretary shall take into account--
            (A) reasonably anticipated future land uses;
            (B) the views of the affected communities and Indian 
        tribes;
            (C) the availability of cost-effective technology for 
        performing corrective, removal, or remedial actions;
            (D) the risk assessment required by section 5;
            (E) other human health, safety, or environmental protection 
        standards established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
        other Federal agencies, or the State of Washington for 
        comparable risks; and
            (F) the recommendations of the Defense Nuclear Facilities 
        Safety Board.
    (c) Remedy Selection.--(1) The Secretary shall select remedial 
actions that achieve the level of cleanup under subsection (b), taking 
into account the following factors--
            (A) the effectiveness of the remedy;
            (B) the capability of the remedy to achieve long-term 
        protection of human health, safety, and the environment;
            (C) the risk posed by the remedy to the public, to workers 
        engaged in the remedial actions, and to the environment;
            (D) the acceptability of the remedy to the affected 
        communities and Indian tribes; and
            (E) the reasonableness of the cost of the remedy in 
        relation to the preceding factors.
    (2) The Secretary shall give due consideration to the selection of 
interim containment as a remedy where--
            (A) the risk to human health, safety, and the environment 
        diminishes over time as a result of radioactive decay or 
        chemical decomposition; or
            (B) alternative remedies are technically infeasible or 
        unreasonably costly.
    (3) The Secretary shall establish cost-effective generic remedies 
and expedited procedures for selecting generic remedies, as 
appropriate, at multiple sites within the Reservation.

SEC. 8. WORK FORCE RESTRUCTURING.

    Notwithstanding section 3161 of the National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 1993 (Public Law 102-484) or any other provision of 
law, the Secretary shall reduce the number of employees employed by the 
Department or its contractors at the Hanford Reservation to the number 
needed to accomplish authorized activities.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums 
as may be necessary for environmental management activities at the 
Hanford Reservation.
                                 <all>