[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 6 (Wednesday, February 4, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E92]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                SOLVE OUR NATION'S NUCLEAR WASTE PROBLEM

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                          HON. CHARLIE NORWOOD

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 4, 1998

  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, before the larger issues of election year 
politics and balancing the federal budget eclipse this short 
legislative cycle, there is an urgent need for Congress to solve the 
nation's nuclear waste problem.
  For 16 years, we have witnessed the Department of Energy's (DOE) 
hesitation to move this project forward, despite a clear statutory 
obligation established in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. As we 
are aware, January 31 marked the deadline for DOE to begin accepting 
used nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants and defense facilities in 
41 states and storing it in a single, federally monitored location.
  This failure by DOE to act is simply irresponsible. I can find no 
reason that the department has disregarded the deadline other than a 
slate of serious consequences or the miscarriage of its fiscal duty and 
unconscionable behavior.
  For one, DOE had a clear obligation to accept used nuclear fuel, not 
only according to a federal statute, but also according to federal 
court. In two rulings since 1996, a federal appellate court reaffirmed 
DOE's legal obligation to take nuclear fuel under a contract with 
electric utilities.
  As if those rulings were not enough, DOE's offense could land it in 
court again--this time to defend challenges that utilities and 
electricity consumers are entitled to a full refund, plus damages for 
financing a disposal program that never materialized. Those damages 
could amount to $56 million by some estimates. Where will that money 
come from? Taxpayers, no doubt. Whatever the source, one thing's for 
certain--any refund or damages owed to utility customers undermine this 
Congress's efforts to balance the federal budget. It also puts all 
taxpayers at risk of paying a hefty lawsuit for capricious delays.
  For these reasons, it is essential that the House and the Senate 
leaders appoint conferees to negotiate minor differences in the nuclear 
waste reform bills passed overwhelmingly by both chambers last year.
  I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation as early as possible, 
so that it is not obscured by other weighty matters that await us this 
session. Let us solve the nuclear waste problem swiftly, for the sake 
of taxpayers--our constituents--who have already sent $14 billion to 
the Nuclear Waste fund without getting anything in return.

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