[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 3 (Thursday, January 29, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S202-S203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       TAXPAYERS ON THE HOOK: THE NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE COUNTDOWN

  Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today because after 16 years of 
denials, delays, and indifference on the part of the U.S. Department of 
Energy, the American taxpayers are about to find themselves saddled 
with the liability for our nation's nuclear waste.
  It is a liability they do not deserve, and one they most certainly 
cannot afford. Unfortunately, the President failed to warn them on 
Tuesday night during his State of the Union address that many of the 
achievements he acknowledged are at risk--threatened by a federal 
government failure so massive that it may take the taxpayers years, 
even decades, to burrow out from underneath it.
  What could be so potentially devastating? The failure of the U.S. 
Department of Energy to begin accepting the nation's spent commercial 
nuclear fuel.
  And, Mr. President, the taxpayers will inherit the responsibility for 
that failure just three days from now.
  At midnight on January 31, 1998, the DOE is required by law to begin 
accepting spent nuclear fuel from sites across the nation.
  The clock was set in motion 16 years ago, upon enactment of the 
``Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.''
  Since then, utility ratepayers have been required to pay the federal 
government more than 13 billion of their hard-earned dollars in 
exchange for the promise that the DOE would develop and build a 
centralized repository for the safe and efficient storage of spent 
nuclear fuel.
  But that's yet another government promise that won't be kept.
  Today, 16 years later--with 7 billion of those ratepayer dollars 
already spent--the waste is piling up.
  Nobody at the DOE wants it--nobody at the DOE is prepared to claim 
it--and because there's no place to put it, nobody at the DOE would be 
ready to take it by the January 31st deadline anyway. That's just three 
days from now.
  At the same time energy consumers are pouring billions into the waste 
fund, ratepayers and utilities are continuing to pay for on-site 
storage at more than 70 commercial nuclear plants throughout the 
country.
  In other words, ratepayers are being forced to pay twice for nuclear 
waste storage--all because the Department of Energy has failed to meet 
its legal obligations to the American people.
  Sadly, these costs pale in comparison to the true catastrophe the DOE 
has in store for the taxpayers beginning just three days from now.
  The United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, in a ruling 
issued on November 14, said that not only is the DOE authorized to 
begin accepting waste on January 31, but also able to fulfill its 
contractual obligations to remove it.
  By failing to do so, the court ruled, the DOE makes the federal 
government liable for any damages resulting from even the smallest 
delay in performance.
  And we all know who foots government's bills.
  By failing to take possession of the nation's nuclear waste just 
three days from now, the DOE will in essence make the American taxpayer 
responsible for those damages.
  According to the Nuclear Energy Institute, the estimated cost of 
storing spent nuclear fuel at power plants across the nation through 
2020 is $56 billion, with the federal government--the taxpayers--liable 
for every dollar.

[[Page S203]]

  And when nuclear power plants begin to shut down because the 
utilities don't have the facilities to store fuel on site, the chain 
reaction of higher energy costs and lost jobs that are certain to 
follow represents yet another costly economic consequence of this 
federal folly.
  The impact on the environment of alternative energy sources must also 
be examined.
  How is it possible that all of this will be set into motion just 
three days from now, and yet it didn't merit a single sentence in the 
President's State of the Union address?
  Mr. President, it's ironic that, while the DOE has failed to meet 
America's nuclear waste storage needs, the DOE has resumed collecting 
spent nuclear fuel from a total of 41 other countries under the ``Atoms 
for Peace'' program.
  Similar to the large number of our states which are facing nuclear 
waste storage problems, countries from around the world are 
experiencing the same problems. The only difference is that their 
needs--not our own ratepayers' needs--are being met by our federal 
government.
  In fact, the DOE has completed ``urgent relief'' shipments of spent 
nuclear fuel assemblies from European nations to the agency's facility 
at Savannah River. It has also accepted nuclear spent fuel from Latin 
American countries.
  Ultimately, up to 890 foreign research reactor cores will be accepted 
by the DOE over a 13-year period.
  Mr. President, an important point to discuss when it comes to these 
foreign nuclear waste shipments is how they are transported once they 
reach the continental United States.
  Nuclear assemblies from these 41 countries have been and will 
continue to be transported by rail and truck to the Savannah River 
Facility. The safety record of these shipments speaks for itself.
  The federal government won't accept commercial spent nuclear fuel, 
but it's actively accepting nuclear waste from many American 
universities.
  Nuclear waste from research reactors at our finest educational 
institutions is being accepted at the DOE's Savannah River facility. 
Again, this nuclear waste is being safely transported by rail and truck 
across the nation.
  These shipments serve as a very small portion of the 2,400 shipments 
of high-level nuclear waste that have already been shipped across the 
United States, including naval spent fuel.
  So, Mr. President, transportation is no longer a question of 
technology but becomes one of politics.
  I understand the rationale behind reducing our international nuclear 
dangers by collecting and transporting spent fuel within our borders.
  But what I and many others cannot comprehend is how our government 
has made it a priority to help foreign countries with their nuclear 
waste problems while simultaneously ignoring the concerns right here in 
our own country.
  Our ratepayers are paying the bill to take care of our own waste 
problem. Yet that isn't being addressed but our ratepayers and our 
taxpayers are paying to help foreign countries do the same thing.
  The President on Tuesday also failed to mention that the costs of 
missing the January 31st deadline will be borne as much by grandma and 
grandpa as they will by any corporate executives or Members of 
Congress.
  He didn't mention that nuclear power is a fuel that burns nothing, 
thereby helping us achieve cleaner air and a better environment.
  He failed to mention that the costs of his global warming treaty will 
be even higher for every American if we continue to shut down nuclear 
power plants in favor of coal-burning technologies.
  Most regrettably, he failed to offer any kind of explanation into why 
his administration supports the Department of Energy as they unlawfully 
stick it to the American taxpayers.
  It therefore falls to Congress to step forward and offer a solution.
  Along with my colleagues, Senators Murkowski and Craig, I've 
coauthored legislation that will protect the American public from the 
costs they face from this impending crisis.
  Our bill will reform the current civilian nuclear waste program to 
avoid the squandering of billions of dollars of ratepayers' and 
taxpayers' money.
  It will eliminate the current need for on-site storage at our 
nation's nuclear plants, keep plants from shutting down prematurely due 
to lack of storage space, and maintain stable energy prices.
  Our bill will also assure that transportation of nuclear waste will 
continue to be conducted in a safe manner.
  The ``Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1997'' passed both houses of 
Congress last session by overwhelming, bipartisan votes.
  While conferees have yet to be appointed, a veto threat from the 
White House continues to prevent a responsible solution from becoming 
law.
  Again, a veto threat from the White House on this issue continues to 
prevent the responsible solution from becoming law.
  As representatives of the people, it's the responsibility of the 
government to ensure that every taxpayer dollar entrusted to us is 
spent in a responsible and meaningful way. In the case of nuclear waste 
storage, the government has failed this most important of tests.
  While the DOE waits, and hides behind courtroom appeals, and shirks 
responsibilities it is legally bound to accept, Americans across our 
country can expect yet more rate increases and yet higher taxes from a 
government that's either too afraid or to incompetent to act.
  Just three days from now, who's going to explain that to the 
taxpayers?
  Americans deserve to hear from their leader on this issue. They 
deserve and expect a rational explanation for the Administration's 
inaction on their behalf. Silence, Mr. President, is not the answer 
they so desperately need.
  Thank you very much, Mr. President.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I assume we are in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. We are.

                          ____________________