[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 104 (Tuesday, August 2, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 2, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 INTRODUCTION OF THE SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL DISPOSAL ASSURANCE ACT OF 1994

                                 ______


                             HON. ROD GRAMS

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 2, 1994

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. Speaker, today I am introducing the Spent Nuclear Fuel 
Disposal Assurance Act which will reaffirm the existing legal 
requirement that the Secretary of Energy provide for the safe disposal 
of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than January 31, 1998. Only 
by reaffirming this requirement will the Department of Energy [DOE] be 
forced to fix a Government program which is now seriously broken.
  The Secretary of Energy recently acknowledged that it is highly 
unlikely that DOE will be able to fulfill its legal obligation to begin 
accepting commercial spent nuclear fuel by 1998, as it is required to 
do so by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act. Moreover, DOE now is attempting 
to avoid its responsibility altogether by maintaining that it has no 
legal obligation to accept spent nuclear fuel absent an operational 
permanent waste repository, which only the DOE has the authority to 
build.
  If the Department of Energy fails to meet its commitment to accept 
nuclear waste by 1998, an industry which today provides more than 30 
percent of Minnesota's energy needs and 20 percent of all the 
electricity used in the United States will be threatened. Most 
importantly, electricity costs to tens of millions of consumers, our 
constituents, could unnecessarily increase. We cannot afford to let 
this happen.
  In 1982, Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act which required 
the Department of Energy to site and build a permanent repository for 
electric utility spent nuclear fuel. The act also required the DOE to 
accept nuclear fuel for disposal beginning not later than January 31, 
1998. All utilities with nuclear generating plants have signed 
contracts with the Department of Energy which obligate the DOE to 
accept waste accordingly.
  The civilian nuclear waste program financed almost entirely by annual 
fees paid by the ratepayers of nuclear utilities. To date, our 
constituents have paid more than $9.7 billion into a special fund which 
is intended to finance the waste program. In Minnesota alone, 
ratepayers have contributed more than $200 million to the nuclear trust 
fund. Despite the expenditure of over $3.8 billion, the DOE has fallen 
far behind in its schedule for siting and constructing a permanent 
nuclear waste storage facility. Originally promised for 1998, the DOE 
now says that a permanent facility will not be available before 2010, 
at the earliest.
  Similarly, the DOE has made little progress in finding a site for a 
temporary monitored retrievable storage facility where spent fuel could 
be stored until a permanent repository becomes available.
  Realizing the unlikelihood of its ability to fulfill its legal 
obligation to begin accepting waste by January 31, 1998, the Department 
of Energy issued a notice of inquiry on May 25, 1994 which raises 
questions about its obligations or willingness to accept nuclear waste. 
The notice indicated that it is the ``Department's preliminary view 
that it does not have a statutory obligation to accept spent nuclear 
fuel in 1998 in the absence of an operational repository or other 
facility constructed under the [Nuclear Waste Policy Act].''
  Mr. Speaker, the Government's failure to keep the waste program on 
schedule is not acceptable. The recent problems Minnesota faced with 
storage at Prairie Island should serve as a wake up call to the DOE--
states are no longer willing to sit idly by as DOE drags its feet in 
accepting spent nuclear fuel--they are not willing to become de facto 
permanent storage facilities. And electric consumers are being burdened 
with unnecessary costs: Costs for continued onsite storage and with the 
prospect of having to purchase alternative supplies of power if we are 
forced to close powerplants before the end of their useful lives.
  The Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Assurance Act will force the 
Department of Energy to move expeditiously to construct interim storage 
by reaffirming the Department's legal obligation to begin accepting 
spent nuclear fuel no later than January 31, 1998. My legislation will 
also make it easier for the Department to construct a temporary 
monitored retrievable storage facility by eliminating the current 
requirement that a permanent repository be selected and licensed before 
construction of such a temporary facility would be permitted.
  Enactment of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Assurance Act is 
necessary in order to avoid saddling our constituents with the costs of 
yet another failed Federal program. I urge all members to join me in 
support of this important legislation. Thank you.