[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 94 (Tuesday, July 19, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                               AMENDMENTS

  Under clause 6 of rule XXIII, proposed amendments were submitted as 
follows:

                               H.R. 3937

           By Mr. ABERCROMBIE:
     --At the end of the bill, add the following new title (and 
     conform the table of contents accordingly):

             TITLE   --TRANSPORTATION OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS

     SEC.   . TRANSSHIPMENT OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE [HLRW] 
                   THROUGH UNITED STATES PORTS.

       (a) Denial of Port Privileges.--Notwithstanding any other 
     provision of law, no vessel in transit from a foreign nation 
     to a foreign nation which is transporting HLRW shall be 
     permitted entry, even under emergency circumstances, to any 
     place in the United States and to the navigable waters of the 
     United States, unless the container for such HLRW is 
     certified as safe by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
     in accordance with subsection (b).
       (b) Responsibilities of the Nuclear Regulatory 
     Commission.--
       (1) Determination of safety.--The Nuclear Regulatory 
     Commission shall determine whether the container referred to 
     in subsection (a) is safe for use in transporting of HLRW by 
     vessel and transmit to Congress a certification for the 
     purpose of such subsection in the case of each type of 
     container determined to be safe.
       (2) Testing.--In order to make a determination with respect 
     to a container under paragraph (1), the Nuclear Regulatory 
     Commission shall test such container, to the fullest extent 
     possible, under conditions approximating a maximum credible 
     accident involving collision, fire and sinking, based upon 
     actual worst case maritime accident experience.
       (3) Limitation.--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission may not 
     certify under this section that a container is safe for use 
     in the transportation of HLRW by vessel if the container 
     ruptured or released any of its contents during tests 
     conducted in accordance with paragraph (2).
       (4) Evaluation.--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall 
     evaluate the container certification required by subsection 
     (a) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
     of 1969 (83 Stat. 852; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and all other 
     applicable law.
       (c) Contents of Certification.--A certification referred to 
     in subsection (a) with respect to a container shall include--
       (1) the determination of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
     as to the safety of such container;
       (2) a statement that the requirements of subsection (b)(2) 
     were satisfied in the testing of such container; and
       (3) a statement that the container did not rupture or 
     release any of its contents into the environment during 
     testing.
       (d) Design of Testing Procedures.--In designing the tests 
     required by subsection (b), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
     shall--
       (1) convene an independent scientific panel of marine 
     safety experts, a majority of whom shall be representatives 
     of the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board, 
     to assist in (A) the definition of a maximum credible 
     accident involving HLRW transport based upon a survey of 
     maritime accidents and an assessment of the most severe 
     conditions under which such accidents have occurred and (B) 
     the design of appropriate test procedures to replicate such 
     conditions;
       (2) provide for public notice of the proposed definition 
     and test procedures;
       (3) provide a reasonable opportunity for public comment on 
     such definition and procedures; and
       (4) consider such comments, if any, before making its final 
     determination with respect to such definition and procedures.
       (e) Testing Results: Reports and Public Disclosure.--The 
     Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall transmit to Congress a 
     report on the results of each test conducted under this 
     section and shall make such results available to the public.
       (f) Inapplicability to Medical Devices.--Subsections (a) 
     through (c) shall not apply with respect to HLRW in any form 
     contained in a medical device designed for individual human 
     application.
       (g) Inapplicability to Military Uses.--subsections (a) 
     through (c) shall not apply to HLRW in the form of nuclear 
     weapons or to other shipments of HLRW determined by the 
     Department of Energy to be directly connected with the United 
     States national security or defense programs.
       (h) Payment of Costs.--All costs incurred by the Nuclear 
     Regulatory Commission associated with the testing program 
     required by this section, and administrative costs related 
     thereto, shall be reimbursed to the Nuclear Regulatory 
     Commission by any foreign country receiving HLRW shipped 
     through the United States in containers specified by the 
     Commission.
       (i) Definition.--The term ``United States'' means the 
     several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
     Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
     Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and any 
     other territory or possession of the United States.
       (j) Definition.--For the purposes of this Act, ``high-level 
     radioactive waste'' means ``high-level radioactive waste'' as 
     defined in Section 2(12) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
     1982 (P.L. 97-425).