[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18860]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 18860]]

             CONGRESSIONAL RECORD 

                United States
                 of America



July 30, 1999





                          EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS

 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO EXTEND THE AUTHORIZATION OF TITLE X OF 
                     THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 1992

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARBARA CUBIN

                               of wyoming

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thurday, July 29, 1999

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, today on behalf of Representative Steve 
Largent and myself, we are introducing a bill that extends the 
authorization of Title X of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 which has 
been cleaning up the radioactive contamination created by the uranium 
and thorium milling operations. This program has been a valuable and 
generally successful endeavor, and has been instrumental in completing 
remediation at a number of uranium and thorium milling sites. This bill 
addresses the environmental hurdles and rising costs facing private 
industries in cleaning up those sites, five of which are in the State 
of Wyoming.
  For the most part, the tailings were created in the process of 
obtaining supplies of uranium and thorium for the Manhattan Project, 
which produced America's first nuclear weapons. Title X sites encompass 
a range of areas which have combined tailings of both civilian and 
military responsibility. At those sites, the private owners remediate 
the contamination, then are reimbursed by the government for that share 
of the tailings which were generated as a result of Federal activities.
  Without this legislation, DOE and the uranium/thorium industry may be 
unable to continue their cleanup of the remaining Title X sites. This 
bill is a responsible measure--and a positive one--which allows the 
Federal government to continue to clean up its environmental 
liabilities.
  The main purpose of the bill is to extend authority for title X 
cleanup from 2002 to 2007 and provide for a staged reimbursement 
increase from $6.25 per ton to $10.00 per ton. The need for the 
increase in the mill tailings reimbursement rate and program extension 
stems from several factors. Congress has decreased annual discretionary 
appropriations while clean-up costs have increased due to groundwater 
and environmental standards. After Congress' adoption of the ``Polluter 
Should Pay'' principle in CERCLA, the Federal government has the same 
responsibility for environmental clean-up as does private industry.
  This legislation would not require an increased spending 
authorization for uranium/thorium reimbursement for the Federal 
government's share of mill tailings clean-up costs. DOE has concluded 
that the requested increase in the per ton reimbursement rate from 
$6.25 to $10.00 would not exhaust the uranium tailings authorization of 
$350,000,000 and therefore would not require an increase.
  Representative Largent and I commend this legislation to my 
colleagues and encourage them to join us in cosponsoring it. It is our 
hope that it will be considered expeditiously by the Commerce 
Committee.

                          ____________________