[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 176 (Tuesday, December 18, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H10197-H10200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992 AMENDMENTS

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3343) to amend title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and 
for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3343

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. REAUTHORIZATION OF THORIUM REIMBURSEMENT.

       (a) Payments to Licensees.--Section 1001(b)(2)(C) of the 
     Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 2296a(b)(2)(C)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``$140,000,000'' and inserting 
     ``$365,000,000''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following: ``Such payments 
     shall not exceed the following amounts:
       ``(i) $90,000,000 in fiscal year 2002.
       ``(ii) $55,000,000 in fiscal year 2003.
       ``(iii) $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2004.
       ``(iv) $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2005.
       ``(v) $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2006.
       ``(vi) $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2007.
     Any amounts authorized to be paid in a fiscal year under this 
     subparagraph that are not paid in that fiscal year may be 
     paid in subsequent fiscal years.''.
       (b) Authorization.--Section 1003(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
     2296a-2(a)) is amended by striking ``$490,000,000'' and 
     inserting ``$715,000,000''.
       (c) Deposits.--Section 1802(a) of the Atomic Energy Act of 
     1954 (42 U.S.C. 2297g-1(a)) is amended by striking 
     ``$488,333,333'' and inserting ``$518,233,333'' and by 
     inserting after ``inflation'' the phrase ``beginning on the 
     date of the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 1992''.

[[Page H10198]]

       (d) Portsmouth.--(1) Chapter 19 of the Atomic Energy Act of 
     1954 (42 U.S.C. 2015 and following) is amended by inserting 
     the following after section 241:

     ``SEC. 242. COLD STANDBY.

       ``The Secretary is authorized to expend such funds as may 
     be necessary for the purposes of maintaining enrichment 
     capability at the Portsmouth, Ohio, facility.''.
       (2) The table of contents for such chapter is amended by 
     inserting the following new item after the item relating to 
     section 241:

``Sec. 242. Cold standby.''.

     SEC. 2. COMPTROLLER GENERAL AUDIT.

       The Comptroller General shall conduct an audit on the 
     Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund 
     established under section 1801 of the Atomic Energy Act of 
     1954 (42 U.S.C. 2297g). Not later than March 1, 2003, the 
     Comptroller General shall transmit to the Congress a report 
     on the results of the audit. Such report shall assess whether 
     the Fund as currently authorized will be of sufficient size 
     and duration for carrying out decontamination and 
     decommissioning and remedial action activities anticipated to 
     be paid for from the fund, and shall include recommendations 
     for minimizing increases in such activities. In conducting 
     the audit, the Comptroller General shall specifically address 
     whether the deposits collected under sections 1802(c) and 
     1802(d) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2297g-
     1(c) and 2297g-1(d)) are sufficient to--
       (1) pay for decontamination and decommissioning activities 
     pursuant to section 1803(b) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 
     (42 U.S.C. 2297g-2(b));
       (2) pay for the remedial action costs pursuant to section 
     1803(c) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2297g-2(c)); and
       (3) pay for the remedial action costs pursuant to section 
     1001(b)(2)(C) and (D) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 
     U.S.C. 2296a(b)(2)(C) and (D)).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
on this legislation and to insert extraneous material on the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, first let me pay tribute to our former colleague on the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce, Speaker Hastert, who has put much 
time into this legislation. His support and help is greatly 
appreciated.
  Mr. Speaker, this legislation will authorize the Federal Government, 
pursuant to title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, to continue to 
pay its share of decommissioning and remediation costs for a thorium 
site in West Chicago, Illinois. The thorium facility was utilized 
extensively by the government during the development of our country's 
nuclear defense program, including the Manhattan Project.
  Under title X of EPACT, the Department of Energy determined that the 
government was responsible for 55.2 percent of West Chicago cleanup 
costs, reflecting the portion of tailings attributable to government 
contracts. Remediation activities in West Chicago involve the 
decommissioning of the original factory site as well as remediation of 
certain vicinity properties. Cleanup of the original factory site is 
expected to conclude in 2004.
  Congress has been fiscally responsible in adjusting the thorium 
payment limitation to match actual remediation activities. EPACT 
initially set this authorization ceiling at $40 million in 1992, which 
was a reasonable approximation of known estimated costs at that time. 
In 1996, as additional costs were incurred, this cap was raised to $65 
million. Again in 1998 as cleanup activities proceeded, the cap was 
raised to its current level of $140 million. We have taken great care 
in the past to adjust this level only in conjunction with demonstrated 
needs.
  The $225 million adjustment in this bill will further increase the 
thorium cap consistent with identified costs at the West Chicago site. 
It is also important to note that this increased authorization will 
continue to be subject to the annual appropriations process. What we 
are seeking to do is provide authority for the Federal Government to 
meet its obligations.
  Today, there is already a shortfall in authorized funding for the 
Federal share of West Chicago cleanup cost of more than $60 million. 
The $225 million reauthorization requested by this bill will allow the 
government to begin meeting its obligation to reimburse those costs, 
which will be after verification and auditing by the government. 
Equally important, this legislation will provide the authorization 
necessary to fund the government's share of all West Chicago 
decommissioning and remediation costs.
  During the committee markup, an amendment was agreed to that 
attempted to address issues that were raised by both Democratic and 
Republican members. The amendment included language directing a 
Comptroller General audit of the D&D fund to see if the fund is capable 
of meeting the expected cleanup costs of all the facilities that 
receive, or will receive, funding from this program. All Members of 
this body are supportive of cleaning up contaminated facilities. This 
audit will give us a better idea of just exactly what we are up 
against.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. Boucher asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3343, legislation 
amending title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and chapter 28 of 
the Atomic Energy Act to increase the authorization ceiling on the 
Federal share of cleanup costs at a thorium site in West Chicago, 
Illinois.
  Section 1001 of the Energy Policy Act establishes the responsibility 
of licensees for bearing the costs of decontamination, decommissioning, 
reclamation and other remedial action at active uranium and thorium 
sites where by-product material has been produced. However, the section 
also requires the Secretary of Energy to reimburse annually a licensee 
for that portion of the remedial cost that the Secretary has determined 
is attributable to by-product material generated as the result of sales 
to the Federal Government. In the case of the West Chicago site, DOE 
has determined that 55.2 percent of the remedial cost is attributable 
to government contracts.
  The money for the Federal Government's share of the cleanup comes 
from the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund 
established in Chapter 28 of the Atomic Energy Act from revenues 
collected from the utility industry and deposited in the fund by the 
Secretary of Energy. This fund also is used to pay the cleanup costs at 
13 uranium mining sites and three uranium enrichment facilities. 
Therein lies the potential problem associated with raising the ceiling 
on the thorium cleanup: Competition between 17 cleanup sites for the 
finite, and probably insufficient, amount of money that will be 
deposited in the decontamination and decommissioning fund.
  Fortunately, as reported by the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
this legislation avoids that competition and hopefully leaves everyone 
at least a bit better off than they otherwise would be under current 
law. This compromise is the result of the dedication and hard work of a 
number of Members and staff on both sides of the aisle. In particular, 
I want to express commendation to our full committee ranking member the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) and to the chairman of the full 
Committee on Energy and Commerce the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. 
Tauzin) for crafting this compromise language in a truly bipartisan 
manner. I also want to commend the outstanding efforts of the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield) 
and the bill's sponsor the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) for 
their fine work in arriving at the product that we are considering 
today. As always, I want to thank the chairman of the Subcommittee on 
Energy and Air Quality, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton) for his 
outstanding assistance in processing this measure.
  I will take just a moment, Mr. Speaker, to point out the five main 
provisions of the compromise embodied in the bill now before the House.
  First, it accomplishes the original objective of the bill, to 
increase the total thorium reimbursement authorization from $140 
million to $365 million and increase the total authorization for 
appropriations for title X programs from $490 million to $715 million.

[[Page H10199]]

  Secondly, it stipulates annual amounts to be authorized for thorium 
activities in each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2007. The amounts 
for each year are sufficient to cover the likely receipts from thorium 
cleanup and structured in such a way that aims to prevent competition 
within the cleanups at the Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee facilities.
  Third, the compromise language increases by $37.5 million the total 
amount currently required by law to be deposited in the uranium 
enrichment decontamination and decommissioning fund each year. This 
provision increases the size of the fund by at least the additional 
amount of money that will be authorized for thorium cleanup in order to 
hold harmless the cleanups at the Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee 
facilities and at the 13 uranium mine sites.
  Fourth, the substitute authorizes the Secretary of Energy to expend 
funds to keep the Portsmouth, Ohio uranium enrichment facility in cold 
standby mode. Maintaining the Portsmouth facility in this mode is wise 
because it allows the facility to be used again if needed to protect 
the continuity of domestic supply or to meet DOE's contract demands.

                              {time}  1530

  I want to be sure to note that this authorization neither expands nor 
contracts the current universe of activities that can be paid for with 
monies from the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning 
Fund. In fact, the cold-standby authorization was drafted to amend 
chapter 19 of the Atomic Energy Act, rather than chapter 28, in order 
to help make clear that Congress expects the Department to use money 
other than that deposited in the Decontamination Fund for the very 
worthwhile purpose of keeping the Portsmouth facility in cold-standby 
mode.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3343 requires the General Accounting 
Office to audit the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and 
Decommissioning Fund and the cleanups authorized to receive 
appropriations from the fund and report to us by March 1, 2003. The 
audit has two general purposes: first, to ensure that the fund is and 
will be sufficient to cover the costs of all the activities authorized, 
and, if not, to make legislative recommendations to maintain the 
adequacy of the fund; secondly, to look at the current and likely costs 
of cleanup activities at each site in order to project the total needs 
of the fund, identify the factors resulting in increased cleanup costs, 
and to identify potential sources of savings.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this legislation. I encourage the Members to 
approve it.
  I want to commend all of the Members who worked to craft this 
compromise language, which is meritorious and deserves the support of 
the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I already mentioned the gentleman from Illinois (Speaker 
Hastert) and his work, but I would also be remiss if I did not mention 
the staff on both our side and the minority side for their great work 
in working out the difficulties and differences. Because of their 
efforts, we are able to be here on the suspension calendar and pass 
this bill.
  I also want to mention my colleagues who were personally engaged in 
this. One is going to speak on the floor in a minute, the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), who is a fervent supporter of many issues, 
and this is one of them. I appreciate his help and friendship.
  I also want to recognize the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Whitfield), 
who also had some vested interests involved in this, the gentlewoman 
from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson), who was very engaged, and the gentleman 
from Oklahoma (Mr. Largent), who all took an active role in working 
with us to craft legislation that would be acceptable to the whole 
body.
  This is a good product, and I urge its passage.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), a valuable member of the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  (Mr. Strickland asked and was given permission to revise and extend 
his remarks.)
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, first I would like to thank the chairman 
and the ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and 
especially my friend, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus), the 
sponsor of this bill. I would like to thank the gentleman from Illinois 
(Speaker Hastert) and his staff for their work on the bill.
  I am pleased that the substitute offered in committee helps to ensure 
that cleanup activities at the three uranium enrichment sites in our 
country do not suffer a setback as we increase funding available for 
the thorium processing site under title X of the Energy Policy Act of 
1992. There is no doubt that all of these sites need to be cleaned up 
and these activities do not come cheaply.
  It is important that we clean up the thorium processing site in West 
Chicago, Illinois; and I completely understand the Speaker's desire to 
ensure Federal funds are available to do so. However, because the funds 
to clean up the thorium site come from the Uranium Decommissioning and 
Decontamination Fund, it is important to me and my friends from 
Kentucky and Tennessee that the reimbursement for cleanup of the 
Illinois site does not shift funds from the cleanup activities at the 
three uranium enrichment sites. It is also important that the burden 
for cleaning up the thorium site does not fall on nuclear-powered 
ratepayers.
  I know the intent of this bill is to address both of those issues by 
holding harmless the uranium enrichment sites' cleanup schedule and 
protecting our nuclear ratepayers from shouldering the additional costs 
of cleaning up the site in West Chicago, Illinois.
  I would like to say a special thanks to the Speaker, to the gentleman 
from Louisiana (Chairman Tauzin), to the ranking member, the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Dingell) and to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Shimkus) for their help to include a provision in the bill that 
authorizes the Department of Energy to carry out necessary activities 
at the Portsmouth, Ohio, enrichment plant so that we can maintain our 
country's uranium enrichment capability.
  I have talked about our domestic uranium enrichment industry on 
numerous occasions before this Chamber, and I am pleased to see this 
bill includes a cold-standby provision for the Portsmouth site.
  I would also like to make clear that this cold-standby authority for 
the Department is not intended to compete for funds from the 
Department's cleanup Uranium Enrichment D&D Fund. Instead, this 
important energy security objective should be met by expending funds 
from the USEC Privatization Fund or from other discretionary funds.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill; and I urge my colleagues to support 
it as well.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to follow up on my colleagues' thank-you's to 
thank the chairman, the gentleman from Louisiana (Chairman Tauzin); the 
ranking member, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell); the 
subcommittee chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Barton); and, of 
course, managing on the minority side, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Boucher), for their great work in helping us move this bill 
expeditiously.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3343.
  H.R. 3343 would amend Title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 
(EPACT) and Chapter 28 of the Atomic Energy Act to increase the 
authorization ceiling on the Federal share of cleanup costs at a 
thorium site in West Chicago, Illinois.
  The Committee on Energy and Commerce reported this bill unanimously 
last week. The reason for that was the development of compromise 
language that avoids competition for money between cleanup sites and 
leaves everyone at least a little bit better off than they would 
otherwise be under current law.
  As reported, the bill not only increases the total thorium 
reimbursement authorization so that Federal contribution to the cleanup 
effort can continue, but it accomplishes that goal without robbing 
Peter to pay Paul. By establishing annual amounts to be authorized for 
thorium activities in each of the fiscal years 2002-2007, it ensures 
there will be adequate

[[Page H10200]]

funds remaining for cleanups at the Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee 
facilities. The bill also increase the sizes of the Uranium Enrichment 
Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund in order to hold harmless the 
cleanups at the other facilities and mine sites, without raising the 
fees currently assessed on utility ratepayers. In addition the bill 
requires the General Accounting Office to audit the Fund to ensure it 
is, and will be, sufficient to cover the costs of all the activities 
authorized and to look at the current and likely costs of the cleanup 
activity at the various sites.
  Last but not least, the bill contains language authored by the 
gentleman from Ohio, Representative Strickland, that provides specific 
authorization for the Secretary of Energy to expend funds to keep the 
Portsmouth, Ohio, uranium enrichment facility in ``cold-standby'' mode. 
I believe this to be wise, for it allows the Secretary to use the 
facility again if needed to protect the continuity of domestic supply 
or to meet the contract demands of the Department.
  I want to again thank my good friend, Chairman Tauzin, and commend 
all the Members who worked with us to craft this compromise language, 
including Representatives Strickland and Whitfield, Chairman Barton and 
Ranking Member Boucher, of course the sponsor of the bill, 
representative Shimkus. I also want to thank Speaker Hastert, with whom 
I have worked many times on legislation to ensure the cleanup of 
thorium wastes, for his assistance in moving this bill forward with 
bipartisan support.
  H.R. 3343 is good legislation and deserves the support of all 
Members.
  Mr. BOUCHER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I urge 
support for this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3343, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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