[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3984 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3984

  To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an Office of River 
 Protection at the Hanford Reservation, Richland, Washington, for the 
              management of Hanford Tank Farm operations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 3, 1998

  Mr. Hastings of Washington introduced the following bill; which was 
                 referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Energy to establish an Office of River 
 Protection at the Hanford Reservation, Richland, Washington, for the 
              management of Hanford Tank Farm operations.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. HANFORD TANK CLEANUP PROGRAM REFORMS.

    (a) Establishment of Office of River Protection.--The Secretary of 
Energy shall establish an office at the Hanford Reservation, Richland, 
Washington, to be known as the ``Office of River Protection''.
    (b) Management.--The Office shall be headed by a senior official of 
the Department of Energy, who shall be responsible for managing all 
aspects of the Tank Waste Remediation System (also referred to as the 
Hanford Tank Farm operations), including those portions under 
privatization contracts, of the Department of Energy at the Hanford 
Reservation. The Office shall be responsible for developing the 
integrated management plan under subsection (d).
    (c) Department of Energy Responsibilities.--The Secretary of Energy 
shall--
            (1) provide the manager of the Office of River Protection 
        with the resources and personnel necessary to manage the tank 
        waste privatization program in an efficient and streamlined 
        manner; and
            (2) establish a five-member advisory committee, including 
        the manager of the Richland operations office and a 
        representative of the Office of Privatization and Contract 
        Reform, to advise the Office.
    (d) Integrated Management Plan.--Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall submit 
to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on 
National Security of the House of Representatives an integrated 
management plan for all aspects of the Hanford Tank Farm operations, 
including the roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships of 
the Office of River Protection. In developing the plan, the Secretary 
shall consider the extent to which the Office should be physically and 
administratively separate from the Richland operations office.
    (e) Report.--After the Office of River Protection has been in 
operation for two years, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to 
Congress a report on the success of the Tank Waste Remediation System 
and the Office in improving the management structure of the Department 
of Energy.
    (f) Termination.--The Office of River Protection shall terminate 
after it has been in operation for five years, unless the Secretary of 
Energy determines that such termination would disrupt effective 
management of Hanford Tank Farm operations. The Secretary shall inform 
the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on 
National Security of the House of Representatives of this determination 
in writing.
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