[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1961 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1961

     To provide for the external regulation of nuclear safety and 
      occupational safety and health at the Department of Energy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 6, 2003

  Mr. Costello (for himself and Mr. Calvert) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, and in addition 
    to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Education and the 
 Workforce, 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 external regulation of nuclear safety and 
      occupational safety and health at the Department of Energy.

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

SECTION 1. EXTERNAL REGULATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

    (a) Elimination of Department of Energy Authority.--Effective 2 
years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Department of Energy 
shall have no regulatory or enforcement authority with respect to 
nuclear safety and occupational safety and health responsibilities 
assumed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under subsection (b) or by 
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under subsection (c) 
at any nonmilitary energy laboratory owned or operated by the 
Department.
    (b) Nuclear Regulatory Commission Authority.--
            (1) Nuclear safety regulatory and enforcement 
        responsibilities.--Effective 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall 
        assume the nuclear safety regulatory and enforcement 
        responsibilities of the Department of Energy under the Atomic 
        Energy Act of 1954 with regard to nonmilitary energy 
        laboratories owned or operated by the Department.
            (2) Licensed entities.--For the purposes of carrying out at 
        nonmilitary energy laboratories owned or operated by the 
        Department of Energy regulatory and enforcement 
        responsibilities described in paragraph (1), the Nuclear 
        Regulatory Commission may regulate, through licensing, 
        certification, or other appropriate means, the Department's 
        contractors.
            (3) Decommissioning.--A contractor operating a nonmilitary 
        energy laboratory owned by the Department of Energy shall not 
        be responsible for the costs of decommissioning that facility. 
        No enforcement action may be taken against such contractor for 
        any violation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission decommissioning 
        requirements, if such violation is the result of a failure of 
        the Department to authorize or fund decommissioning activities. 
        The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department shall, not 
        later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
        enter into a memorandum of understanding establishing 
        decommissioning procedures and requirements for nonmilitary 
        energy laboratories owned or operated by the Department.
            (4) Accelerators.--Notwithstanding the provisions of the 
        Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et. seq.), effective 
        2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear 
        Regulatory Commission shall have exclusive regulatory authority 
        over accelerators, other electronic sources of radiation not 
        assigned to the Commission as of the date of enactment of this 
        Act, accelerator-produced radioisotopes, and naturally 
        occurring radioactive materials at nonmilitary energy 
        laboratories, consistent with the authorities granted the 
        Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 
        Until such time as the Commission has completed a rulemaking 
        for the foregoing equipment and radioisotopes, nonmilitary 
        energy laboratories shall be required to meet the requirements 
        stipulated in a license for the facility.
            (5) Administration.--The responsibilities assumed by the 
        Nuclear Regulatory Commission under this subsection shall be 
        administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, not by 
        States.
            (6) Judicial review.--Section 189 b. of the Atomic Energy 
        Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2239(b)) is amended by adding the 
        following paragraph after paragraph (4):
            ``(5) Any final order or regulation of the Commission 
        establishing standards to govern nonmilitary energy 
        laboratories owned or operated by the Department of Energy that 
        is issued to implement the Commission's responsibilities under 
        the Act which enacted this paragraph, and any final 
        determination of the Commission relating to whether a 
        nonmilitary energy laboratory owned or operated by the 
        Department is in compliance with such standards and all 
        applicable Commission regulations or orders.''.
            (7) Employee protection.--Any Department of Energy 
        contractor operating a nonmilitary energy laboratory that is 
        regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission under this 
        section shall be subject to section 211 of the Energy 
        Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5851) to the same extent 
        as any other employer subject to such section 211.
            (8) Conflict of interest.--Section 170A of the Atomic 
        Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210a) applies to contracts, 
        agreements, or other arrangements of the Nuclear Regulatory 
        Commission proposed or entered into pursuant to its 
        responsibilities assumed under this subsection.
    (c) Occupational Safety and Health.--
            (1) OSHA jurisdiction.--Notwithstanding section 4(b)(1) of 
        the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
        653(b)(1)), effective 2 years after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
        shall assume the exclusive regulatory and enforcement 
        responsibilities of the Department of Energy relating to 
        matters covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 
        1970 with regard to all nonmilitary energy laboratories owned 
        or operated by the Department, except as provided in paragraph 
        (2). The responsibilities assumed by the Occupational Safety 
        and Health Administration under this subsection shall be 
        administered by the Occupational Safety and Health 
        Administration, not by States. Any Department of Energy 
        contractor operating such a laboratory shall, with respect to 
        matters relating to occupational safety and health, be 
        considered to be an employer for purposes of the Occupational 
        Safety and Health Act of 1970.
            (2) Regulation of hazards containing radiological and non-
        radiological component.--If a hazard at a nonmilitary energy 
        laboratory owned or operated by the Department of Energy 
        presents a risk of occupational exposure and contains both a 
        radiological and non-radiological component, the Occupational 
        Safety and Health Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory 
        Commission shall, effective 2 years after the date of enactment 
        of this Act, share regulatory and enforcement responsibilities 
        with respect to the hazard in accordance with the memorandum of 
        understanding entered into pursuant to subsection (d).
    (d) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shall, not later 
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, enter into and 
transmit to the Congress a memorandum of understanding to govern the 
exercise of their respective authorities over nuclear safety and 
occupational safety and health at nonmilitary energy laboratories owned 
or operated by the Department of Energy.
    (e) Civil Penalties.--The Department of Energy's contractor 
operating a nonmilitary energy laboratory owned or operated by the 
Department shall not be liable for civil penalties under the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954 or the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 
for any actions taken before the date of transfer of regulatory 
authority under this section, pursuant to the instructions of a Federal 
agency in preparation for the transfer of regulatory and enforcement 
responsibilities required by this section.
    (f) Indemnification.--The Secretary of Energy shall continue to 
indemnify nonmilitary energy laboratories owned or operated by the 
Department in accordance with the provisions of section 170 d. of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
    (g) Department of Energy Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy 
shall transmit to the Congress a plan for the termination of the 
Department of Energy's regulatory and enforcement responsibilities for 
nonmilitary energy laboratories owned or operated by the Department 
required by this section. The report shall include--
            (1) a detailed transition plan, drafted in coordination 
        with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Occupational 
        Safety and Health Administration, giving the schedule for 
        termination of self-regulation authority as outlined in 
        subsection (a), including the activities to be coordinated with 
        the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Occupational Safety 
        and Health Administration;
            (2) a description of any issues remaining to be resolved 
        with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Occupational Safety 
        and Health Administration, or other external regulators, and a 
        timetable for resolving such issues by the authority transfer 
        date established under this section; and
            (3) an estimate of--
                    (A) the annual cost of administering and 
                implementing self-regulation of the nuclear safety and 
                occupational safety and health responsibilities 
                described in subsections (b) and (c) at nonmilitary 
                energy laboratories owned or operated by the 
                Department;
                    (B) the number of Federal and contractor employees 
                administering and implementing such self-regulation; 
                and
                    (C) the extent and schedule by which the Department 
                and the staffs at its nonmilitary energy laboratories 
                will be reduced as a result of implementation of this 
                section.
    (h) General Accounting Office Reporting Requirement.--The 
Comptroller General of the United States shall periodically report to 
the Congress on the progress made in implementing this section. The 
Comptroller General shall provide a report not later than 20 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act on the Department of Energy's 
transition plan, and not later than 26 months after the date of 
enactment of this Act on the implementation of Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission and Occupational Safety and Health Administration 
regulations in the nonmilitary energy laboratories.
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