[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4648 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4648

   To provide for the disposition of weapons-usable plutonium at the 
              Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 2, 2002

  Mr. Graham introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 
    and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide for the disposition of weapons-usable plutonium at the 
              Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina.

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

SECTION 1. DISPOSITION OF WEAPONS-USABLE PLUTONIUM AT THE SAVANNAH 
              RIVER SITE, AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) In September 2000, the United States and the Russian 
        Federation signed a Plutonium Management and Disposition 
        Agreement by which each agreed to dispose of 34 metric tons of 
        weapons-grade plutonium.
            (2) The agreement with Russia is a significant step toward 
        safeguarding nuclear materials and preventing their diversion 
        to rogue states and terrorists.
            (3) The Department of Energy plans to dispose of 34 metric 
        tons of weapons-grade plutonium of the United States before the 
        end of 2019 by converting the plutonium to a mixed-oxide fuel 
        to be used in commercial nuclear power reactors.
            (4) The Department has formulated a plan for implementing 
        the agreement with Russia through construction of a mixed-oxide 
        fuel fabrication facility and a pit disassembly and conversion 
        facility at the Savannah River Site.
            (5) The United States and the State of South Carolina have 
        a compelling interest in the safe, proper, and efficient 
        operation of the plutonium disposition facilities at the 
        Savannah River Site. The MOX facility will also be economically 
        beneficial to the State of South Carolina, and that economic 
        benefit will not be fully realized unless the MOX facility is 
        built. The State of South Carolina therefore desires to ensure 
        that all plutonium transferred to the State of South Carolina 
        is stored safely; that the full benefits of the MOX facility 
        are realized as soon as possible; and, specifically, that all 
        defense plutonium or defense plutonium materials transferred to 
        the Savannah River Site either be processed or be removed 
        expeditiously.
    (b) Plan Required.--
            (1) Not later than February 1, 2003, the Secretary of 
        Energy shall submit to Congress a plan for the construction and 
        operation of the MOX facility. The plan shall include a 
        schedule for construction and operations so as to achieve, as 
        of January 1, 2009, the MOX production objective and to produce 
        one metric ton of mixed-oxide fuel by December 31, 2009. The 
        plan shall also include a schedule of operations designed so 
        that 34 metric tons of defense plutonium and defense plutonium 
        materials at the Savannah River Site will be processed into 
        mixed-oxide fuel by January 1, 2019.
            (2) Not later than February 15 of each year beginning in 
        2004 and continuing for as long as the MOX facility is in use, 
        the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 
        implementation of the plan required by paragraph (1). Each such 
        report shall include an assessment of compliance with the 
        schedule referred to in paragraph (1) and a certification by 
        the Secretary that the MOX production objective can be met by 
        January 1, 2009.
            (3) For years after 2009, each such report shall address 
        whether the MOX production objective has been met and shall 
        report progress toward meeting the obligations of the United 
        States under the United States Plutonium Management and 
        Disposition Agreement dated September 2000.
            (4) For years after 2017, each such report shall also 
        include an assessment of compliance with the MOX production 
        objective and, if not in compliance, the plan of the Secretary 
        for achieving one of the following:
                    (A) Compliance with such objective.
                    (B) Removal of all remaining defense plutonium and 
                defense plutonium materials from the State of South 
                Carolina.
    (c) Corrective Actions.--
            (1) If any report under subsection (b)(2) for a year after 
        2003 indicates that construction or operation at the MOX 
        facility is behind, by 12 months or more, the schedule required 
        by subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress, 
not later than August 15 of the same year, a plan for corrective 
actions to be implemented by the Secretary to ensure that the project 
is capable of meeting the MOX production objective by January 1, 2009. 
For years after 2009, such plan shall include corrective actions to be 
implemented by the Secretary to ensure that the MOX production 
objective is met. The plan for corrective actions shall establish 
milestones for achieving such compliance with that objective.
            (2) If, by reason of a failure to achieve milestones set 
        forth in the corrective action plan referred to in paragraph 
        (1), there is a substantial and material risk that the MOX 
        production objective will not be achieved by 2009, the 
        Secretary shall suspend further transfers of defense plutonium 
        and defense plutonium materials to be processed by the MOX 
        facility until such risk is addressed and the Secretary 
        certifies that the MOX production objective can be met by 2009. 
        After January 1, 2009, if, by reason of a failure to achieve 
        milestones set forth in the corrective action plan referred to 
        in paragraph (1), the MOX production objective has not been 
        achieved, the Secretary shall suspend further transfers of 
        defense plutonium and defense plutonium materials to be 
        processed by the MOX facility until the Secretary certifies 
        that the MOX production objective can be met.
            (3) Upon a suspension of transfers under paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the options for 
        removing from the State of South Carolina an amount of defense 
        plutonium or defense plutonium materials equal to the amount of 
        such plutonium or plutonium materials transferred to the State 
        of South Carolina after April 15, 2002. The report shall 
        include an analysis of each such option, including costs, 
        schedules, and any implications relating to the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) 
        (hereinafter referred to as ``NEPA''). Upon submission of the 
        report, the Secretary shall commence any NEPA analysis that may 
        be required to select among the options analyzed.
    (d) Limitation.--If the MOX production objective is not achieved as 
of January 1, 2009, the Secretary shall, consistent with NEPA and other 
governing laws, remove from the State of South Carolina, for storage or 
disposal elsewhere--
            (1) not later than January 1, 2011, not less than one 
        metric ton of defense plutonium or defense plutonium materials; 
        and
            (2) not later than January 1, 2017, an amount of defense 
        plutonium or defense plutonium materials equal to the amount of 
        such plutonium or plutonium materials transferred to the 
        Savannah River Site between April 15, 2002, and January 1, 
        2017, but not processed by the MOX facility.
    (e) Economic/Impact Assistance.--
            (1) If the MOX production objective is not achieved as of 
        January 1, 2011, the Secretary shall, from funds available to 
        the Secretary, pay economic/impact assistance to the State of 
        South Carolina in the amount of $1,000,000 per day, not to 
        exceed $100,000,000 per calendar year, until the MOX production 
        objective is achieved or until the Secretary has removed at 
        least one metric ton of defense plutonium or defense plutonium 
        materials from South Carolina.
            (2) If, as of January 1, 2017, the MOX facility has not 
        processed mixed-oxide fuel from defense plutonium and defense 
        plutonium materials in the amount of not less than--
                    (A) one metric ton, in each of any two consecutive 
                calendar years; and
                    (B) three metric tons total,
        the Secretary shall, from funds available to the Secretary, pay 
        economic/impact assistance to the State of South Carolina in 
        the amount of $1,000,000 per day, not to exceed $100,000,000 
        per calendar year, until an amount of defense plutonium or 
        defense plutonium material equal to the amount of such defense 
        plutonium or defense plutonium materials transferred to the 
        Savannah River Site between April 15, 2002, and January 1, 
        2017, but not processed by the MOX facility has been removed 
        from the State of South Carolina. Nothing in this paragraph 
        extinguishes other legal obligations set forth in this section.
            (3) If the State of South Carolina obtains an injunction 
        that prohibits the Department of Energy from taking any action 
        necessary for it to meet any deadline specified by this 
        section, that deadline shall be extended for a period of time 
        equal to the period of time during which the injunction is in 
        effect.
    (f) Failure To Complete Planned Disposition Program.--For each year 
beginning with 2020 and continuing for as long as the MOX facility is 
in use, if on July 1 of that year less than 34 metric tons of defense 
plutonium and defense plutonium materials have been processed by the 
MOX facility, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a plan for 
either--
            (1) completing the processing of 34 metric tons of defense 
        plutonium and defense plutonium materials; or
            (2) removing from the State of South Carolina an amount of 
        defense plutonium or defense plutonium materials equal to the 
        amount of such plutonium or plutonium materials transferred to 
        the Savannah River Site after April 15, 2002, but not processed 
        by the MOX facility.
    (g) Removal of Mixed-Oxide Fuel Upon Completion of Operations of 
the MOX Facility.--If, one year after the date on which operation of 
the MOX facility permanently ceases, any mixed-oxide fuel remains at 
the Savannah River Site, the Secretary shall submit to Congress 
either--
            (1) a report on when such fuel will be transferred for use 
        in commercial nuclear reactors; or
            (2) a plan for removing such fuel from the State of South 
        Carolina.
    (h) MOX Production Objective Defined.--In this section, the term 
``MOX production objective'' means production at the MOX facility of 
mixed-oxide fuel from defense plutonium and defense plutonium materials 
at an average rate equivalent to not less than one metric ton of mixed-
oxide fuel per year. The average rate shall be determined by measuring 
production at the MOX facility from the date the facility is declared 
operational to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through the date of 
assessment.
    (i) MOX Facility Defined.--In this section, the term ``MOX 
facility'' means the mixed-oxide fuel fabrication facility at the 
Savannah River Site, Aiken, South Carolina.
    (j) Defense Plutonium and Defense Plutonium Materials Defined.--In 
this section, the term ``defense plutonium or defense plutonium 
materials'' means weapons-usable plutonium.
    (k) Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Study.--
            (1) The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board shall 
        conduct a study of the adequacy of the K-Area Materials Storage 
        facility (KAMS) at the Savannah River Site for storage of 
        defense plutonium and defense plutonium materials in connection 
        with the disposition program provided in this section and in 
        the Department of Energy's amended Record of Decision for 
        fissile materials disposition. Not later than one year after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the Defense Nuclear 
        Facilities Safety Board shall submit to Congress and the 
        Secretary of Energy a report on the study. The report shall--
                    (A) at a minimum, address--
                            (i) the suitability of KAMS and related 
                        support facilities for monitoring and observing 
                        any such plutonium and plutonium materials 
                        stored in KAMS;
                            (ii) the adequacy of the provisions the 
                        Department has made for remote monitoring of 
                        such plutonium and plutonium materials by way 
                        of sensors and for handling of retrieval of 
                        such plutonium and plutonium materials; and
                            (iii) the adequacy of KAMS should such 
                        plutonium and plutonium materials continue to 
                        be stored there beyond 2019; and
                    (B) contain such recommendations as the Board 
                considers necessary or desirable to enhance the safety, 
                reliability, and functionality of KAMS.
            (2) Not later than six months after the date on which the 
        report under paragraph (1) is submitted to Congress, and every 
        one year thereafter, the Secretary and the Board shall each 
        submit to Congress a report on the Secretary's action with 
        respect to the recommendations.
                                 <all>