[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2026 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
114th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2026
To foster bilateral engagement and scientific analysis of storing
nuclear waste in permanent repositories in the Great Lakes Basin.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 10, 2015
Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Peters, Mr. Kirk, and Mr. Durbin)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To foster bilateral engagement and scientific analysis of storing
nuclear waste in permanent repositories in the Great Lakes Basin.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Stop Nuclear Waste by Our Lakes Act
of 2015''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Ontario Power Generation is proposing to build the Deep
Geologic Repository to dispose of low- and intermediate-level
nuclear waste less than 1 mile from Lake Huron in Kincardine,
Ontario, Canada.
(2) Members of Congress, citizens of the United States, and
citizens of Canada have expressed concern with the proposal to
permanently store 7,000,000 cubic feet of nuclear waste in the
Great Lakes Basin.
(3) These boundary waters are protected from pollution
under the Treaty Between the United States and Great Britain
Relating to Boundary Waters and Questions Arising Between the
United States and Canada, signed at Washington January 11,
1909, and entered into force May 5, 1910 (36 Stat. 2448; TS
548) (commonly referred to as the ``Boundary Waters Treaty of
1909'').
(4) Article VII of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909
established the International Joint Commission, which has
jurisdiction over any case involving the use, obstruction, or
diversion of boundary waters.
(5) Under Article IX of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909,
either the United States or Canada may request the
International Joint Commission to conduct an examination and
issue a report for any question or matter of difference
involving the rights, obligations, or interests of either
party.
(6) Under Article X of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909,
any questions or matters of difference between the United
States and Canada involving rights, obligations, or interests
either in relation to each other or to their respective
inhabitants, may be referred for decision to the International
Joint Commission by the consent of the two Parties.
SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION.
(a) Deep Geological Repository.--Not later than 30 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall request
that, pursuant to Article IX of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, the
International Joint Commission--
(1) conduct a review of the long-term impacts of the
location of the Deep Geological Repository, including an
examination of the conclusions reached in the Environmental
Assessment Report issued by the Joint Review Panel on May 6,
2015 (CEAA Reference No. 17520), and whether those conclusions
would adequately protect Lake Huron and the other Great Lakes
from the risks posed by the operation of the Deep Geological
Repository for low and intermediate-level nuclear waste; and
(2) issue a report on the findings of the Commission to the
Governments of the United States and Canada.
(b) Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste.--In the event the
Government of Canada decides to permanently dispose of high-level
nuclear waste at a site in close proximity to the Deep Geological
Repository or another site in the Great Lakes Basin--
(1) the Secretary of State shall request that, pursuant to
Article IX of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, the
International Joint Commission conduct a study on the risks to
the Great Lakes Basin of storing high-level nuclear waste in
close proximity to the Deep Geological Repository or another
site in the Great Lakes Basin; and
(2) the Secretary of State shall invoke Article X of the
Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 to bring the matter before the
International Joint Commission.
SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS.
The Secretary of State shall undertake negotiations with the
Government of Canada--
(1) to delay the final decision on the Deep Geologic
Repository until after the International Joint Commission
delivers the report issued pursuant to section 3(a)(2); and
(2)(A) to delay any final decision to store high-level
nuclear waste in close proximity to the Deep Geological
Repository or another site in the Great Lakes Basin until after
the International Joint Commission conducts the study described
under section 3(b); and
(B) to consent to bringing the matter of such disposal of
high-level nuclear waste before the International Joint
Commission pursuant to Article X of the Boundary Waters Treaty
of 1909.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Deep geologic repository.--The term ``Deep Geologic
Repository'' means the proposal by Ontario Power Generation to
dispose of 7,000,000 cubic feet of low- and intermediate-level
nuclear waste at the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant in Kincardine,
Ontario.
(2) Great lakes basin.--The term ``Great Lakes Basin''
means--
(A) Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Huron (including
Lake St. Clair), Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior;
(B) the connecting channels (Saint Mary's River,
Saint Clair River, Detroit River, Niagara River, and
Saint Lawrence River to the Canadian Border); and
(C) all streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of
water within the drainage basin of the lakes listed in
subparagraph (A).
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