[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 55 (Thursday, April 25, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S4250]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                       INTERGOVERNMENTAL MANDATES

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, pursuant to Public Law 104-4, 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has requested, and 
obtained, the opinion of the Congressional Budget Office regarding 
whether S. 1271, the Nuclear Policy Act of 1996 contains 
intergovernmental mandates as defined in that act. I ask that the 
opinion of the Congressional Budget Office be printed in the 
Congressional Record in its entirety.
  The opinion follows:
                                                    U.S. Congress,


                                  Congressional Budget Office,

                                   Washington, DC, April 18, 1996.
     Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
     Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. 
         Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
     reviewed S. 1271, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 as 
     ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources on March 13, 1996, in order to determine 
     whether the bill contains intergovernmental mandates. CBO 
     provided federal and private sector mandates cost estimates 
     for this bill on March 28, 1996. CBO is unsure whether the 
     bill contains intergovernmental mandates, as defined in 
     Public Law 104-4, but we estimate that if there are mandates, 
     they would impose costs on state, local and tribal 
     governments totaling significantly less than the $50 million 
     threshold established in the law.
       S. 1271 would amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act by 
     directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to:
       Begin storing spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear 
     waste at an interim storage facility in Nevada, no later than 
     November 30, 1999;
       Establish an intermodal transfer facility at Caliente, 
     Nevada, by November 30, 1999, to transfer material from rail 
     facilities to heavy-haul trucks for transport to the interim 
     storage facility;
       Enter into a benefits agreement with Lincoln County, Nevada 
     (the site of the transfer facility), and make payments to the 
     county under that agreement as specified in the bill; and
       Continue site characterization activities at the proposed 
     permanent repository site at Yucca Mountain, also in Nevada.
       In addition, the bill would authorize the appropriation of 
     such sums as are necessary to establish a pilot program to 
     decommission and decontaminate an experimental reactor owned 
     by the University of Arkansas.
       While S. 1271 would, by itself, establish no new 
     enforceable duties on state, local, or tribal governments, it 
     is possible that the construction and operation of an interim 
     storage facility as required by the bill would increase the 
     cost to the state of complying with existing federal 
     requirements. CBO has not yet determined whether these costs 
     would be considered the direct costs of a mandate for the 
     purposes of Public Law 104-4.
       Interim Storage Facility.--The state of Nevada and its 
     constituent local governments would incur additional costs as 
     a result of the interim storage facility required by this 
     bill. CBO expects that state spending would increase by as 
     much as $20 million per year until shipments to the facility 
     begin in 1999 and $5 million per year between that time and 
     the time that the permanent facility at Yucca Mountain begins 
     operations. This additional spending would support a number 
     of activities, including emergency response planning and 
     training, escort of waste shipments, and environmental 
     monitoring. In addition, spending by Nevada counties for 
     similar activities would probably increase, but by much 
     smaller amounts. Not all of this spending would be for the 
     purpose of complying with federal requirements.
       These costs are similar to those that the state would 
     eventually incur under current law as a result of the 
     permanent repository planned for Yucca Mountain. DOE 
     currently does not expect to begin receiving material at a 
     permanent repository until at least 2010, while under S. 1271 
     it would begin to receive material at an interim facility in 
     1999. As a result, the state would have to respond to the 
     shipment and storage of waste at least ten years sooner. 
     Further, state costs would increase because it would have to 
     plan for two facilities.
       The state could incur substantial additional costs relating 
     to road construction and maintenance as a result of the 
     shipment of waste by heavy-haul truck from the transfer 
     facility in Caliente to the interim storage facility. Based 
     on information provided by DOE, however, CBO expects that the 
     federal government would pay most of these costs.
       Federal Payments to State and Local Government.--S. 1271 
     would authorize payments to Lincoln County, Nevada, of $2.5 
     million in each year before waste is shipped to the interim 
     facility and $5 million annually after shipments begin. In 
     addition, the bill identifies several parcels of land that 
     would be conveyed to Lincoln County by the federal 
     government.
       The state government and other governments in Nevada would 
     lose payments from the federal government if S. 1271 is 
     enacted, however. The bill would eliminate section 116 of the 
     Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which authorizes payments to the 
     state of Nevada and to local governments within the state. 
     Section 116 currently authorizes DOE to make grants to the 
     state and to affected local governments to enable them to 
     participate in evaluating and developing a site for a 
     permanent repository and to offset any negative impacts of 
     such a site on those governments. Further, that section 
     authorizes DOE to make payments to the state and to local 
     governments equal to amounts they would have received in 
     taxes if all activities at the repository site were subject 
     to state and local taxes.
       In recent years, Congress has appropriated amounts ranging 
     from $12 million to $15 million per year under this section 
     for Nevada and for local governments in the state. No funds 
     have been specifically appropriated for these grants in 
     fiscal year 1996, but DOE is authorized to provide funds from 
     other appropriations.
       S. 1271 would continue the provision in current law that 
     directs DOE to provide technical assistance and funds to 
     state and local governments and Indian tribes through whose 
     jurisdictions radioactive material would be transported. This 
     assistance would primarily cover training of public safety 
     officials. In addition, DOE would be required to conduct a 
     program of public education in those states. The amount of 
     costs reimbursable under these provisions is very uncertain 
     and would depend largely on the routes selected by DOE for 
     transport of material to the storage sites. Based on 
     information provided by state officials, we believe that 
     states would be unlikely to spend their own funds on these 
     activities unless reimbursed by the federal government.
       If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
     pleased to provide them.
           Sincerely,
     June E. O'Neill, Director.

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