[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3151 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3151

 To provide funding for the Portsmouth and Paducah, Tennessee, gaseous 
                           diffusion plants.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 26, 1999

Mr. Strickland (for himself and Mr. Whitfield) introduced the following 
         bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide funding for the Portsmouth and Paducah, Tennessee, gaseous 
                           diffusion plants.

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

SECTION 1. URANIUM ENRICHMENT DECONTAMINATION AND DECOMMISSIONING FUND.

    (a) Expenditures Beginning October 1, 1999.--Notwithstanding any 
other law, beginning on October 1, 1999, the Secretary of Energy may 
expend amounts collected under subsections (c) and (d) of section 1802 
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. section 2297g-1 (c), (d)) 
for the purposes set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 1803 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2297g-2 (b), (c)) without further appropriation 
and without fiscal year limitation.
    (b) Expenditures Beginning October 1, 2008.--Notwithstanding any 
other law, beginning October 1, 2008, the Secretary of Energy may 
expend amounts in the fund established by section 1801 of the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2297g) for the purposes set forth in 
subsections (b) and (c) of section 1803 of such Act (42 U.S.C. section 
2297g-1 (c), (d)) without further appropriation and without fiscal year 
limitation but subject to limitations that may be included in 
appropriations Acts.

SEC. 2. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

    (a) In General.--The funds referred to in section 1 shall be 
allocated to each decontamination and decommissioning program of the 3 
gaseous diffusion plants in, Portsmouth, Ohio, Paducah, Kentucky, and 
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, proportional to the total number of Separative 
Work Units processed at each such site. Such units shall be calculated 
as of the date of enactment of this Act. The Secretary of Energy shall 
report the allocation to Congress within 60 days of such date of 
enactment.
    (b) Advance Notification of Termination of Lease.--Upon receiving 
advance notification that the United States Enrichment Corporation, or 
its affiliates, is terminating all or part of its lease with the 
Department of Energy at the gaseous diffusion plant at Portsmouth, 
Ohio, or Paducah, Kentucky, the Department of Energy shall notify local 
and State officials, the congressional delegation, employee 
representatives, and community reuse organizations (if any).
    (c) Decontamination and Decommissioning Program.--If such a lease 
is terminated, in whole or in part, the Department of Energy shall, 
within 60 days, make a determination whether it will lease the facility 
involved in the lease to a successor entity, operate the facility as a 
government enterprise, operate the facility on standby, or close all or 
part of the operations of the facility. In the event that the 
Department of Energy determines that it will no longer operate or lease 
all or part of a gaseous diffusion plant, the Department of Energy 
shall immediately initiate a decontamination and decommissioning 
program. Within 30 days of such decision, the Department of Energy 
shall immediately commence all required environmental reviews, 
including compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969.
    (d) Report.--The Secretary of Energy shall transmit to Congress a 
decontamination and decommissioning program for the Portsmouth, Ohio 
and Paducah, Kentucky, gaseous diffusion plants no later than 180 days 
after the date a decision has been made to close all or part of one of 
the gaseous diffusion plants.

SEC. 3. PORTSMOUTH AND PADUCAH OPERATIONS OFFICE.

    (a) In General.--The Department of Energy shall establish, not 
later than March 30, 2000, a Portsmouth and Paducah Operations Office. 
The office shall manage the environmental restoration, nuclear energy, 
and uranium enrichment program activities at such 2 sites. The office 
shall be provided with budget authority and contracting authority over 
existing contracts and authority to award new contracts. The office 
shall manage and direct, among other projects, the depleted uranium 
hexafluoride conversion program and decontamination and decommissioning 
program. The office shall also have its own capacity to perform 
environmental, safety, health, and financal oversight.
    (b) Plan.--The Department shall submit, not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, a plan for establishing the 
Portsmouth and Paducah Operations Office. The plan shall describe 
actions required to transfer functions from the Oak Ridge Operations 
Office to the Portsmouth and Paducah Operations Office. The plan shall 
outline the personnel transfers, full-time equivalent requirements, 
budget requirements, physical space requirements, and identify the 
source of funds to accomplish the transfer of personnel, documents, and 
support systems. The plan shall include the provision for legal counsel 
and chief financial officer and describe the reporting relationships to 
the Headquarters Program Office. The plan shall detail which Operations 
Office functions shall be located at the Portsmouth Plant Area Office 
versus the Paducah Plant Area Office.
    (c) President's Budget.--The President's Budget request for fiscal 
year 2001 and for each fiscal year thereafter shall include funding for 
the Portsmouth and Paducah Operations Office as a separate line item 
from the Oak Ridge Operations Office budget.

SEC. 4. CLOSURE OF GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT.

    The Department of Energy shall minimize the social and economic 
impacts of any decisions related to the closure of all or part of a 
gaseous diffusion plant at Portsmouth, Ohio, or Paducah, Kentucky. As 
part of this effort, all contracts and subcontracts for safe shutdown, 
deactivation, decontamination, and decommissioning work at 
such Department of Energy's gaseous diffusion plants shall include 
requirements that--
            (1) consistent with site seniority practices, contractors 
        and subcontractors of all tiers directly provide a continuing 
        right of first refusal for available work to gaseous diffusion 
        plant employees and Department of Energy contractor employees 
        who were employed on the date of enactment of this Act and are 
        displaced or facing displacement and are qualified or can 
        qualify with a reasonable amount of training;
            (2) contractors and subcontractors provide requisite 
        training and retraining for incumbent employees not to exceed 
        $10,000 per worker, excluding wages and time spent in training;
            (3) pay wages and benefits not less than wages and fringes 
        provided under the Service Contract Act of 1965, and provide 
        pension and retiree health care benefit continuity using the 
        Multiple Employer Pension Plan now in place at the Portsmouth, 
        Ohio, Paducah, Kentucky, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee sites or an 
        equivalent instrument;
            (4) comply with the workforce restructuring plan 
        promulgated by the Department of Energy pursuant to section 
        3161 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        1993 (42 U.S.C. 7274h); and
            (5) suits alleging violations of this section may be 
        brought in any district court of the United States having 
        jurisdiction over the parties, without regard to the amount in 
        controversy or citizenship of the parties.
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