[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 5, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H2330-H2332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REAUTHORIZING WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 1138) to reauthorize the West Valley demonstration project, and
for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1138
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.
(a) Reauthorization.--Section 3(a) of the West Valley
Demonstration Project Act (Public Law 96-368; 42 U.S.C. 2021a
note) is amended by striking ``$5,000,000 for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 1981'' and inserting ``$75,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2020 through 2026''.
(b) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit
to Congress a report that describes--
(1) the volumes, origins, and types of radioactive waste at
the Western New York Service Center in West Valley, New York;
(2) what options have been identified for disposal of each
such type of radioactive waste;
(3) what is known about the costs of, and timeframes for,
each such option;
[[Page H2331]]
(4) the benefits and challenges of each such option,
according to the State of New York and the Department of
Energy; and
(5) as of the date of enactment of this Act--
(A) how much has been spent on the disposal of radioactive
waste associated with the demonstration project prescribed by
section 2(a) of the West Valley Demonstration Project Act;
and
(B) what volumes and types of radioactive waste have been
disposed of from the Western New York Service Center.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York (Mr. Tonko) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
General Leave
Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.R. 1138.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, last September, the House approved an identical bill,
H.R. 2389, in the 115th Congress, by a voice vote.
Unfortunately, that bill did not move in the Senate. Today, we will
reconsider H.R. 1138, which has been reintroduced by my New York
colleague and friend, Mr. Reed.
The Western New York Nuclear Service Center in West Valley, New York,
has been the center of disputes and legislative actions since the
1980s. This site is a difficult reminder that we are still dealing with
the consequences of our Nation's entry into the atomic age.
While the site is owned by New York State, between 1966 and 1972 it
was operated by a private business to reprocess spent nuclear fuel
primarily provided by the Federal Government. Those reprocessing
activities ended decades ago, but high-level waste and transuranic
waste continue to be stored at the site.
A cost-sharing agreement for the site's remediation has been
resolved, but disposal of the waste remains a point of contention.
Since 1986, DOE has classified the waste as commercial rather than
waste deriving from atomic energy defense activities.
Under this classification, DOE believes that the cost for disposal of
the wastes should be borne by the State of New York. New York State
believes that since 60 percent of the material sent to West Valley was
from facilities that conducted defense activities, and 80 percent of
the reprocessed plutonium shipped out of West Valley was sent to
defense facilities, it should be categorized as defense-related waste.
This classification disagreement has major consequences for how the
waste can be disposed of and who will be responsible for covering the
costs. While I would prefer more certainty in clarifying the wastes'
classification, this legislation puts us on a path towards solving this
issue by requiring a GAO report on the origins of and disposal
pathways, including cost estimates.
In addition, the bill reauthorizes the West Valley Demonstration
Project at $75 million annually for 7 years. This funding level is in
line with historic appropriations levels and will ensure the cleanup
will continue on schedule.
This bill may not resolve the decades-old dispute between New York
and the Department of Energy. It does address funding for the
remediation of the site and attempts to move the ball forward to ensure
that wastes are disposed of properly and, most importantly, fairly.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1138, a bill to reauthorize the West Valley
Demonstration Project, was introduced recently by our New York
colleague, Tom Reed. I also see my good friend, Brian Higgins on the
floor, and I know the chairman has been personally involved with this
for many, many, many years.
The House passed an essentially identical version of this bill this
past September on suspension. Prior to that vote, the bipartisan
legislation had moved through the Energy and Commerce Committee by
regular order, including a legislative hearing and markups as part of
our broader nuclear waste management agenda. It was reported by the
full committee with a bipartisan amendment by a voice vote.
H.R. 1138 authorizes appropriations to support the Department of
Energy's environmental remediation at its West Valley cleanup site in
New York through 2026. It also directs a study to help Congress
determine the final disposition of radioactive waste that DOE is
cleaning up at the site.
H.R. 1138 continues the work of Congress to address the Federal
Government's obligations for treatment and disposal of the legacy waste
produced during the Cold War, and through the Federal Government's
early efforts to develop a civilian nuclear energy industry.
The Department of Energy has successfully remediated 92 sites of this
waste, but the most technologically challenging projects remain in
process at 17 locations, one of which is the West Valley site.
In 1980, Congress passed the West Valley Demonstration Project Act to
direct DOE to address legacy environmental issues and authorized
appropriations only through fiscal year 1981. The project has not been
reauthorized since that time, despite Congress funding DOE's work at
the site for the past 37 years.
H.R. 1138 corrects this situation, provides a path to answering
important questions concerning the waste disposition, and ensures
spending at the site is subject to an active authorization.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1138,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1630
Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins), my colleague and friend from the
26th Congressional District.
Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of
Congressman Tom Reed's bill, H.R. 1138, which authorizes funding for
the cleanup of the West Valley demonstration project, the nuclear waste
remediation site in western New York.
Mr. Speaker, advocates are in Washington this week to remind Congress
of the importance of the Great Lakes as a source of clean water for
millions of Americans. The long-term cleanup at West Valley, which sits
30 miles from Lake Erie and at the foot of a tributary stream, will
prevent harmful contamination to the region.
The Department of Energy has an obligation to ensure that 600,000
gallons of high-level radioactive waste are solidified and disposed of
safely and expeditiously. The funding in this bill will allow us to do
just that.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed), the author of the legislation.
Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Shimkus) for yielding me the time and his leadership on this issue, as
well as my good friends Paul Tonko and Brian Higgins for joining me in
the effort today in regards to the West Valley Reauthorization Act
before us.
Obviously, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation.
This legislation deals with the project located in our district in
western New York and the great community of West Valley.
West Valley, New York, is the home of radioactive waste that has been
distributed there and deposited there over the years way back when. But
I will tell you, over the last 15 years, this site has led the Nation,
in my humble opinion, in coming up with techniques and technologies
that are deployed across other nuclear waste facilities and sites in
order to handle that high-level radioactive waste from those facilities
as well as those in West Valley.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is only right to bring further clarity and
certainty to our area of the district at West Valley in regards to this
bill, giving 7 years' worth of reauthorization legislation, to send the
signal that not only do we stand and support the appropriations that go
to this facility in order to clean it up in the most efficient and
effective manner, but, also, we stand as authorizers to say that this
type of facility and this type of program needs
[[Page H2332]]
to be renewed for at least 7 years because, Mr. Speaker, it is going to
take many more years to clean this site up.
Giving this site 7 years of that additional certainty is the only
right thing to do in order to have these folks who are doing the hard
work be given the indications from Congress that we stand with them as
they engage in this effort.
As I close, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the entire Energy and
Commerce Committee and Mr. Shimkus for his tireless work on the issue
of nuclear waste cleanup and standing with us on this piece of
legislation.
In particular, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the local
officials: the town of Ashford supervisor, Charles Davis; the West
Valley deputy general manager, Scott Anderson; and the other local
leaders who have stood in a community effort in order to bring this
West Valley demonstration site to a complete closure, hopefully, in the
near future with the legislation that we have before us.
So I ask my colleagues to join in support of this legislation, and I
truly appreciate their efforts to join us today.
Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting H.R. 1138, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, West Valley, as an issue, has been there for
a long time. It is good to know that we are moving the ball forward.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this measure, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1138.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________