[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3225 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3225

 To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to prohibit the importation of 
      certain low-level radioactive waste into the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 7, 2008

  Mr. Alexander (for himself and Mr. Cardin) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to prohibit the importation of 
      certain low-level radioactive waste into the United States.

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

SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 8 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
U.S.C. 2111 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 85. IMPORTATION OF LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.

    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c), the 
Commission shall not issue a license authorizing the importation into 
the United States of--
            ``(1) low-level radioactive waste (as defined in section 2 
        of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 
        2021b)); or
            ``(2) specific radioactive waste streams exempted from 
        regulation by the Commission under section 10 of that Act (42 
        U.S.C. 2021j).
    ``(b) Nonapplication.--Subsection (a) shall not apply to--
            ``(1) low-level radioactive waste being returned to a 
        United States Government or military facility that is 
        authorized to possess the material; or
            ``(2) low-level radioactive waste resulting from the use in 
        a foreign country of nuclear material obtained by the foreign 
        user from an entity in the United States that is being returned 
        to the United States for management and disposal.
    ``(c) Waivers.--
            ``(1) In general.--The President may waive the prohibition 
        under this section and authorize the grant of a specific 
        license to import materials prohibited under subsection (a) 
        under the rules of the Commission, only after a finding that 
        the importation would meet an important national or 
        international policy goal, such as the use of waste for 
        research purposes.
            ``(2) Specifications.--A waiver under paragraph (1) shall 
        specify--
                    ``(A) the policy goal to be achieved;
                    ``(B) how the policy goal is to be achieved; and
                    ``(C) the quantity of material to be imported.
    ``(d) Current Licenses.--A license not permitted under this section 
that was issued before the date of enactment of this section may 
continue in effect according to the terms of the license, but may not 
be extended or amended with respect to the quantity of material 
permitted to be imported.''.
    (b) Table of Contents Amendment.--The table of contents for the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting at the end of the 
items relating to chapter 8 the following:

``Sec. 85. Importation of low-level radioactive waste.''.
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