[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 755 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 755

     To provide for the external regulation of nuclear safety and 
  occupational safety and health responsibilities at any nonmilitary 
    energy laboratory owned or operated by the Department of Energy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 10, 2005

 Mr. Costello (for himself, Mr. Calvert, Mr. Lipinski, Mr. Ehlers, Ms. 
Jackson-Lee of Texas, Ms. Woolsey, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, 
   Mr. Wu, and Mr. McNulty) 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 responsibilities at any nonmilitary 
    energy laboratory owned or operated by 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.

    (a) Elimination of Department Authority.--Effective 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Department 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.
    (e) Civil Penalties.--The Department'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 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 Reporting Requirement.--Not later than 18 months 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit 
to the Congress a plan for the termination of the Department'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'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.
    (i) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
            (1) the term ``Department'' means the Department of Energy;
            (2) the term ``nonmilitary energy laboratory'' means--
                    (A) Ames Laboratory;
                    (B) Argonne National Laboratory;
                    (C) Brookhaven National Laboratory;
                    (D) Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory;
                    (E) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory;
                    (F) Oak Ridge National Laboratory;
                    (G) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory;
                    (H) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory;
                    (I) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center; or
                    (J) Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility; 
                and
            (3) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Energy.
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