[Senate Report 104-248]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 360
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     104-248
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                    NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1995

                                _______


                 March 29, 1996.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                            ADDITIONAL VIEWS

                         [To accompany S. 1271]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1271) to amend the Nuclear Waste Policy 
Act of 1982, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

That the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 is amended to read as 
follows:

``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    ``(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the `Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1996'.
    ``(b) Table of Contents.--

``Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
``Sec. 2. Definitions.

                         ``TITLE I--OBLIGATIONS

``Sec. 101. Obligations of the Secretary of Energy.

      ``TITLE II--INTEGRATED SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

``Sec. 201. Intermodal transfer.
``Sec. 202. Transportation planning.
``Sec. 203. Transportation requirements.
``Sec. 204. Interim storage.
``Sec. 205. Permanent repository.
``Sec. 206. Land withdrawal.
``Sec. 207. Permanent Disposal Alternatives.

                 ``TITLE III--FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

``Sec. 301. Program funding.
``Sec. 302. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
``Sec. 303. Federal contribution.
``Sec. 304. Budget priorities.

            ``TITLE IV--GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

``Sec. 401. Compliance with other laws.
``Sec. 402. Judicial review of agency actions.
``Sec. 403. Licensing of facility expansions and transshipments.
``Sec. 404. Siting a second repository.
``Sec. 405. Financial arrangements for low-level radioactive waste site 
closure.
``Sec. 406. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authority.
``Sec. 407. Emplacement schedule.
``Sec. 408. Emergency relief.
``Sec. 409. Transfer of title.
``Sec. 410. Environmental requirements.

            ``TITLE V--NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

``Sec. 501. Defintions.
``Sec. 502. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
``Sec. 503. Functions.
``Sec. 504. Investigatory powers.
``Sec. 505. Compensation of members.
``Sec. 506. Staff.
``Sec. 507. Support services.
``Sec. 508. Report.
``Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations.
``Sec. 510. Termination of the board.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this Act:
          ``(1) Accept, acceptance.--The terms `accept' and 
        `acceptance' mean the Secretary's act of taking possession of 
        spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste.
          ``(2) Atomic energy defense activity.--The term `atomic 
        energy defense activity' means any activity of the Secretary 
        performed in whole or in part in carrying out any of the 
        following functions:
                  ``(A) Naval reactors development.
                  ``(B) Weapons activities including defense inertial 
                confinement fusion.
                  ``(C) Verification and control technology.
                  ``(D) Defense nuclear materials production.
                  ``(E) Defense nuclear waste and materials byproducts 
                management.
                  ``(F) Defense nuclear materials security and 
                safeguards and security investigations.
                  ``(G) Defense research and development.
          ``(3) Civilian nuclear power reactor.--The term `civilian 
        nuclear power reactor' means a civilian nuclear power plant 
        required to be licensed under section 103 or 104 b. of the 
        Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134(b)).
          ``(4) Commission.--The term `Commission' means the Nuclear 
        Regulatory Commission.
          ``(5) Contracts.--The term `contracts' means the contracts, 
        executed prior to the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste 
        Policy Act of 1996, under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste 
        Policy Act of 1982, by the Secretary and any person who 
        generates or holds title to spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste of domestic origin for acceptance of such 
        waste of fuel by the Secretary and the payment of fees to 
        offset the Secretary's expenditures, and any subsequent 
        contracts executed by the Secretary pursuant to section 301(a) 
        of this Act.
          ``(6) Contract holders.--The term `contract holders' means 
        parties (other than the Secretary) to contracts.
          ``(7) Department.--The term `Department' means the Department 
        of Energy.
          ``(8) Disposal.--The term `disposal' means the emplacement in 
        a repository of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive 
        waste, or other highly radioactive material with no foreseeable 
        intent of recovery, whether or not such emplacement permits 
        recovery of such material for any future purpose.
          ``(9) Disposal system.--The term `disposal system' means all 
        natural barriers and engineered barriers, and engineered 
        systems and components, that prevent the release of 
        radionuclides from the repository.
          ``(10) Emplacement schedule.--The term `emplacement schedule' 
        means the schedule established by the Secretary in accordance 
        with section 407(a) for emplacement of spent nuclear fuel and 
        high-level radioactive waste at the interim storage facility.
          ``(11) Engineered barriers and engineered systems and 
        components.--The terms `engineered barriers' and `engineered 
        systems and components' mean man-made components of a disposal 
        system. These terms include the spent nuclear fuel or high-
        level radioactive waste form, spent nuclear fuel package or 
        high-level radioactive waste package, and other materials 
        placed over and around such packages.
          ``(12) High-level radioactive waste.--The term `high-level 
        radioactive waste' means--
                  ``(A) the highly radioactive material resulting from 
                the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, including 
                liquid waste produced directly in reprocessing and any 
                solid material derived from such liquid waste that 
                contains fission products in sufficient concentrations; 
                and
                  ``(B) other highly radioactive material that the 
                Commission, consistent with existing law, determines by 
                rule requires permanent isolation, which includes any 
                low-level radioactive waste with concentrations of 
                radionuclides that exceed the limits established by the 
                Commission for class C radioactive waste, as defined by 
                section 61.55 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, 
                as in effect on January 26, 1983.
          ``(13) Federal agency.--The term `Federal agency' means any 
        Executive agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
          ``(14) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' means any 
        Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or 
        community of Indians recognized as eligible for the services 
        provided to Indians by the Secretary of the Interior because of 
        their status as Indians including any Alaska Native village, as 
        defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement 
        Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)).
          ``(15) Integrated management system.--The term `integrated 
        management system' means the system developed by the Secretary 
        for the acceptance, transportation, storage, and disposal of 
        spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste under title 
        II of this Act.
          ``(16) Interim storage facility.--The term `interim storage 
        facility' means a facility designed and constructed for the 
        receipt, handling, possession, safeguarding, and storage of 
        spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in 
        accordance with title II of this Act.
          ``(17) Interim storage facility site.--The term `interim 
        storage facility site' means the specific site within Area 25 
        of the Nevada Test Site that is designated by the Secretary and 
        withdrawn and reserved in accordance with this Act for the 
        location of the interim storage facility.
          ``(18) Low-level radioactive waste.--The term `low-level 
        radioactive waste' means radioactive material that--
                  ``(A) is not spent nuclear fuel, high-level 
                radioactive waste, transuranic waste, or byproduct 
                material as defined in section 11 e.(2) of the Atomic 
                Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(e)(2)); and
                  ``(B) the Commission, consistent with existing law, 
                classifies as low-level radioactive waste.
          ``(19) Metric tons uranium.--The terms `metric tons uranium' 
        and `MTU' mean the amount of uranium in the original 
        unirradiated fuel element whether or not the spent nuclear fuel 
        has been reprocessed.
          ``(20) Nuclear waste fund.--The terms `Nuclear Waste Fund' 
        and `waste fund' mean the nuclear waste fund established in the 
        United States Treasury prior to the date of enactment of this 
        Act under section 302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
        1982.
          ``(21) Office.--The term `Office' means the Office of 
        Civilian Radioactive Waste Management established within the 
        Department prior to the date of enactment of this Act under the 
        provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
          ``(22) Program approach.--The term `program approach' means 
        the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program Plan, dated 
        December 19, 1994, as modified by this Act, and as amended from 
        time to time by the Secretary in accordance with this Act.
          ``(23) Repository.--The term `repository' means a system 
        designed and constructed under title II of this Act for the 
        geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste, including both surface and subsurface areas 
        at which spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste 
        receipt, handling, possession, safeguarding, and storage are 
        conducted.
          ``(24) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
          ``(25) Site characterization.--The term `site 
        characterization' means activities, whether in a laboratory or 
        in the field, undertaken to establish the geologic condition 
        and the ranges of the parameters of a candidate site relevant 
        to the location of a repository, including borings, surface 
        excavations, excavations of exploratory facilities, limited 
        subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ testing 
        needed to evaluate the licensability of a candidate site for 
        the location of a repository, but not including preliminary 
        borings and geophysical testing needed to assess whether site 
        characterization should be undertaken.
          ``(26) Spent nuclear fuel.--The term `spent nuclear fuel' 
        means fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor 
        following irradiation, the constituent elements of which have 
        not been separated by reprocessing.
          ``(27) Storage.--The term `storage' means retention of spent 
        nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste with the intent to 
        recover such waste or fuel for subsequent use, processing, or 
        disposal.
          ``(28) Withdrawal.--The term `withdrawal' has the same 
        definition as that set forth in section 103(j) of the Federal 
        Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(j)).
          ``(29) Yucca mountain site.--The term `Yucca Mountain site' 
        means the area in the State of Nevada that is withdrawn and 
        reserved in accordance with this Act for the location of a 
        repository.

                         ``TITLE I--OBLIGATIONS

``SEC. 101. OBLIGATIONS OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY.

    ``(a) Disposal.--The Secretary shall develop and operate an 
integrated management system for the storage and permanent disposal of 
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
    ``(b) Interim Storage.--The Secretary shall store spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste from facilities designated by 
contract holders for storage at an interim storage facility pursuant to 
section 204 in accordance with the emplacement schedule, beginning not 
later than November 30, 1999.
    ``(c) Transportation.--The Secretary shall provide for the 
transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste 
accepted by the Secretary. The Secretary shall procure all systems and 
components necessary to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste from facilities designated by contract holders to and 
among facilities comprising the Integrated Management System.
    ``(d) Integrated Management System.--The Secretary shall 
expeditiously pursue the development of each component of the 
integrated management system, and in so doing shall seek to utilize 
effective private sector management and contracting practices.
    ``(e) Private Sector Participation.--In administering the 
Integrated Spent Nuclear Fuel Management System, the Secretary shall, 
to the maximum extent possible, utilize, employ, procure and contract 
with, the private sector to fulfill the Secretary's obligations and 
requirements under this Act.
    ``(f) Pre-existing Rights.--Nothing in this Act is intended to or 
shall be construed to modify--
          ``(1) any right of a contract holder under section 302(a) of 
        the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, or under a contract 
        executed prior to the date of enactment of this Act under that 
        section; or
          ``(2) obligations imposed upon the federal government by the 
        U.S. District Court of Idaho in an order entered on October 17, 
        1995 in United States v. Batt (No. 91-0054-S-EJL).
    ``(g) Liability.--Subject to any valid existing right under 
subsection (f), nothing in this Act shall be construed to subject the 
United States to financial liability for the Secretary's failure to 
meet any deadline for the acceptance or emplacement of spent nuclear 
fuel or high-level radioactive waste for storage or disposal under this 
Act.

                ``TITLE II--INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

SEC. 201. INTERMODAL TRANSFER.

    ``(a) Access.--The Secretary shall utilize heavy-haul truck 
transport to move spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste 
from the mainline rail line at Caliente, Nevada, to the interim storage 
facility site.
    ``(b) Capability Date.--The Secretary shall develop the capability 
to commence rail to truck intermodal transfer at Caliente, Nevada, no 
later than November 30, 1999. Intermodal transfer and related 
activities are incidental to the interstate transportation of spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
    ``(c) Acquisitions.--The Secretary shall acquire lands rights-of-
way along the `Chalk Mountain Heavy Haul Route' depicted on the map 
dated March 13, 1996, and on file with the Secretary, necessary to 
commence intermodal transfer at Caliente, Nevada.
    ``(d) Replacements.--The Secretary shall acquire and develop on 
behalf of, and dedicate to, the City of Caliente, Nevada, parcels of 
land right-of-way within Lincoln County, Nevada, as required to 
facilitate replacement of land and city wastewater disposal facilities 
necessary to commence intermodal transfer pursuant to this Act. 
Replacement of land and city wastewater disposal activities shall occur 
no later than November 30, 1999.
    ``(e) Notice and Map.--Within 6 months of the date of enactment of 
the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall--
          ``(1) publish in the Federal Register a notice containing a 
        legal description of the sites and rights-of-way to be acquired 
        under this subsection; and
          ``(2) file copies of a map of such sites and rights-of-way 
        with the Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, the State of 
        Nevada, the Archivist of the United States, the Board of 
        Lincoln County Commissioners, the Board of Nye County 
        Commissioners, and the Caliente City Council.
Such map and legal description shall have the same force and effect as 
if they were included in this Act. The Secretary may correct clerical 
and typographical errors and legal descriptions and make minor 
adjustments in the boundaries.
    ``(f) Improvements.--The Secretary shall make improvements to 
existing roadways selected for heavy-haul truck transport between 
Caliente, Nevada, and the interim storage facility site as necessary to 
facilitate year-round safe transport of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste.
    ``(g) National Environmental Policy Act.--The Secretary's 
activities in connection with the development of intermodal transfer 
capability and improvements to existing roadways pursuant to this 
section shall be considered preliminary decisionmaking activities for 
purposes of judicial review. Notwithstanding any other law, such 
activities shall not require the preparation of an environmental impact 
statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), or any environmental review under 
subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 102(2) of such Act.
    ``(h) Local Government Involvement.--The Commission shall enter 
into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Caliente and 
Lincoln County, Nevada, to provide advice to the Commission regarding 
intermodal transfer and to facilitate on-site representation. 
Reasonable expenses of such representation shall be paid by the 
Secretary.
    ``(i) Benefits Agreement.--
          ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall offer to enter into an 
        agreement with Lincoln County, Nevada concerning the integrated 
        management system.
          ``(2) Agreement content.--Any agreement shall contain such 
        terms and conditions, including such financial and 
        institutional arrangements, as the Secretary and agreement 
        entity determine to be reasonable and appropriate and shall 
        contain such provisions as are necessary to preserve any right 
        to participation or compensation of Lincoln County, Nevada.
          ``(3) Amendment.--An agreement entered into under this 
        subsection may be amended only with the mutual consent of the 
        parties to the amendment and terminated only in accordance with 
        paragraph (4).
          ``(4) Termination.--The Secretary shall terminate the 
        agreement under this subsection if any major element of the 
        integrated management system may not be completed.
          ``(5) Limitation.--Only 1 agreement may be in effect at any 
        one time.
          ``(6) Judicial review.--Decisions of the Secretary under this 
        section are not subject to judicial review.
    ``(j) Content of Agreement.--
          ``(1) Schedule.--In addition to the benefits to which Lincoln 
        County is entitled to under this title, the Secretary shall 
        make payments under the benefits agreement in accordance with 
        the following schedule:

                           Benefits Schedule

                         [Amounts in millions]                  Payment
                Event:
                        (A) Annual payments prior to first         $2.5
                            receipt of spent fuel.
                        (B) Annual payments beginning upon           $5
                            first spent fuel receipt.
                        (C) Payment upon closure of the              $5
                            intermodal transfer facility.

          ``(2) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the term--
                  ``(A) `spent fuel' means high-level radioactive waste 
                or spent nuclear fuel; and
                  ``(B) `first spent fuel receipt' does not include 
                receipt of spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste 
                for purposes of testing or operational demonstration.
          ``(3) Annual payments.--Annual payments prior to first spent 
        fuel receipt under paragraph (1)(A) shall be made on the date 
        of execution of the benefits agreement and thereafter on the 
        anniversary date of such execution. Annual payments after the 
        first spent fuel receipt until closure of the facility under 
        paragraph (1)(C) shall be made on the anniversary date of such 
        first spent fuel receipt.
          ``(4) Reduction.--If the first spent fuel payment under 
        paragraph (1)(B) is made within 6 months after the last annual 
        payment prior to the receipt of spent fuel under paragraph 
        (1)(A), such first spent fuel payment under paragraph (1)(B) 
        shall be reduced by an amount equal to \1/12\ of such annual 
        payment under paragraph (1)(A) for each full month less than 6 
        that has not elapsed since the last annual payment under 
        paragraph (1)(A).
          ``(5) Restrictions.--The Secretary may not restrict the 
        purposes for which the payments under this section may be used.
          ``(6) Dispute.--In the event of a dispute concerning such 
        plan, the Secretary shall resolve such dispute, consistent with 
        this Act and applicable State law.
          ``(7) Construction.--The signature of the Secretary on a 
        valid benefits agreement under this section shall constitute a 
        commitment by the United States to make payments in accordance 
        with such agreement under section 301(c)(2).
    ``(k) Initial Land Conveyances.--
          ``(1) Conveyances of public lands.--One hundred and twenty 
        days after enactment of this Act, all right, title and interest 
        of the United States in the property described in paragraph 
        (2), and improvements thereon, together with all necessary 
        easements for utilities and ingress and egress to such 
        property, including, but not limited, the right to improve 
        those easements, are conveyed by operation of law to the County 
        of Lincoln, Nevada, except that any lands conveyed to the 
        County of Lincoln under this subsection that are subject to a 
        Federal grazing permit or lease or a similar federally granted 
        permit or lease shall be conveyed between 60 and 120 days of 
        the earliest time the Federal agency administering or granting 
        the permit or lease would be able to legally terminate such 
        right under the statutes and regulations existing at the date 
        of enactment of this Act, unless Lincoln County and the 
        affected holder of the permit or lease negotiate an agreement 
        that allows for an earlier conveyance.
          ``(2) Special conveyances.--Nothwithstanding any other law, 
        the following public lands shall be conveyed under paragraph 
        (1) to the County of Lincoln, Nevada:
                  ``(A) Lincoln County, Parcel B, Community Expansion 
                Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4S.................  67 E............  MDM.............  5...............  E\1/2\NE\1/4\, W\1/2\NW\1/      320  
                                                                            4\, NW\1/4\SW\1/4\, E\1/            
                                                                            2\SE\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\.          
                                                         6...............  NE\1/4\...................      160  
                       D                                 7...............  N\1/2\NW\1/4\, SW\1/4\NW\1/     200  
                                                                            4\, W\1/2\SW\1/4\.                  
                                                         8...............  S\1/2\SE\1/4\.............       80  
                                                         9...............  SW\1/4\, W\1/2\SE\1/4\,         302.5
                                                                            SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, W\1/                
                                                                            2\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\, E\1/              
                                                                            2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\.            
                                                         9...............  N\1/2\N\1/2\..............      160  
                                                         17..............  NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\....      240  
                                                         18..............  SE\1/4\NE\1/4\............       40  
4S.................  66 E............  MDM.............  12..............  S\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\....      240  
                                                         13..............  NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\SE\1/4\...      200  
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                           Total.....................    1,942.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  ``(B) Lincoln County, Parcel E, Pioche Community 
                Expansion Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1N.................  67 E............  MDM.............  9...............  N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/2\......      480  
                                                         11..............  SW\1/4\...................      160  
                                                         12..............  W\1/2\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\NE\1/      120  
                                                                            4\SW\1/4\, N\1/2\NE\1/              
                                                                            4\SE\1/4\.                          
                                                         13..............  NW\1/4\NW\1/4\NW\1/4\, N\1/      15  
                                                                            2\SW\1/4\NW\1/4\NW\1/4\.            
                                                         15..............  N\1/2\NE\1/4\.............       80  
                                                         16..............  N\1/2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/ \1\ 110  
                                                                            4\, SE\1/4\ (excluding              
                                                                            mineral patents).                   
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                           Total.....................      985  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Approximately.                                                                                              

                  ``(C) Lincoln County, Parcel F, Panaca Community 
                Expansion Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2S.................  68 E............  MDM.............  2...............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         3...............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         4...............  N\1/2\SE\1/4\, N\1/2\SW\1/      140  
                                                                            4\SE\1/4\, SE\1/4\SE\1/4\.          
                                                         9...............  E\1/2\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\W\1/       340  
                                                                            2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/             
                                                                            4\, E\1/2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\,           
                                                                            SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, SW\1/               
                                                                            4\SE\1/4\, E\1/2\SE\1/4\.           
                                                         10..............  All.......................      640  
                                                         11..............  N\1/2\....................      320  
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                           Total.....................    2,080  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  ``(D) Lincoln County, Parcel J, Alamo Community and 
                Airport Expansion Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7S.................  60 E............  MDM.............  1...............  E\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         12..............  NE\1/4\...................      160  
7S.................  61 E............  MDM.............  4...............  W\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         5...............  All.......................      640  
                                                         6...............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         7...............  N\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         8...............  All.......................      640  
                                                         9...............  W\1/2\....................      320  
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                                 Total...............    1,920  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  ``(E) Lincoln County, Parcel M, Crestline Industrial 
                Site:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3S.................  70 E............  MDM.............  14..............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         23..............  All.......................      640  
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                           Total.....................      960  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          ``(3) Evidence of title transfer.--Upon the request of the 
        County of Lincoln, Nevada, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
        provide evidence of title transfer.

``SEC. 202. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.

    ``(a) Transportation Readiness.--The Secretary shall take those 
actions that are necessary and appropriate to ensure that the Secretary 
is able to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste from sites designated by the contract holders to mainline 
transportation facilities beginning not later than November 30, 1999. 
As soon as is practicable following enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall analyze each specific reactor facility designated by 
contract holders in the order of priority established in the 
emplacement schedule, and develop a logistical plan to assure the 
Secretary's ability to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste.
    ``(b) Transportation Planning.--In conjunction with the development 
of the logistical plan in accordance with subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall update and modify, as necessary, the Secretary's transportation 
institutional plans to ensure that institutional issues are addressed 
and resolved on a schedule to support the commencement of 
transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste 
to the interim storage facility no later than November 30, 1999. Among 
other things, such planning shall provide a schedule and process for 
addressing and implementing, as necessary, transportation routing 
plans, transportation contracting plans, transportation training in 
accordance with Section 203, and public education regarding 
transportation of spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste; and 
transportation tracking programs.

``SEC. 203. TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Package Certification.--No spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
radioactive waste may be transported by or for the Secretary under this 
Act except in packages that have been certified for such purposes by 
the Commission.
    ``(b) State Notification.--The Secretary shall abide by regulations 
of the Commission regarding advance notification of State and local 
governments prior to transportation of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
radioactive waste under this Act.
    ``(c) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide technical 
assistance and funds to States, units of local government, and Indian 
tribes through whose jurisdiction the Secretary plans to transport 
substantial amounts of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive 
waste for public safety officials of appropriate units of local 
government. Training shall cover procedures required for safe routine 
transportation of these materials, as well as procedures for dealing 
with emergency response situations. The Secretary's duty to provide 
technical and financial assistance under this subsection shall be 
limited to amounts specified in annual appropriations.
    ``(d) Public Education.--The Secretary shall conduct a program to 
educate the public regarding the transportation of spent nuclear fuel 
and high-level radioactive waste, with an emphasis upon those States, 
units of local government, and Indian tribes through whose jurisdiction 
the Secretary plans to transport substantial amounts of spent nuclear 
fuel or high-level radioactive waste.
    ``(e) Use of Private Carriers.--The Secretary, in providing for the 
transportation of spent nuclear fuel under this Act, shall utilize by 
contract private industry to the fullest extent possible in each aspect 
of such transportation. The Secretary shall use direct Federal services 
for such transportation only upon a determination by the Secretary of 
Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary, that private 
industry is unable to unwilling to provide such transportation services 
at a reasonable cost.

``SEC. 204. INTERIM STORAGE.

    ``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary shall design, construct, and 
operate a facility for the interim storage of spent unclear fuel and 
high-level radioactive waste at the interim storage facility site. The 
interim storage facility shall be subject to licensing pursuant to the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 in accordance with the Commission's 
regulations governing the licensing of independent spent fuel storage 
installations, which regulations shall be amended by the Commission as 
necessary to implement the provisions of this Act. The interim storage 
facility shall commence operation in phases by November 30, 1999.
    ``(b) Schedule.--The Secretary shall proceed forthwith and without 
further delay with all activities necessary to begin accepting spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste to the interim storage 
facility at the Yucca Mountain site by November 30, 1999, except that:
          ``(1) The Secretary shall not begin any construction 
        activities at the Yucca Mountain site before October 1, 1998.
          ``(2) The Secretary shall cease all activities (except 
        necessary termination activities) at the Yucca Mountain site 
        and undertake activities to establish an interim storage 
        facility and a repository at an alternative site if--
                  ``(A) the President designates an alternative site 
                and the alternative site is approved by law, or
                  ``(B) the Secretary determines, in his discretion, on 
                or before October 1, 1998, based on a prepondence of 
                the information available at such time, that the Yucca 
                Mountain site is unsuitable for development as a 
                repository because of a substantial likelihood that a 
                repository of useful size cannot be designed, licensed, 
                and constructed at the Yucca Mountain site.
          ``(3) In the event the Secretary makes the determination 
        under paragraph (2)(B) that the Yucca Mountain site is 
        unsuitable for development as a repository and the Secretary 
        has not constructed an alternative interim storage facility 
        site that accepts spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste 
        by November 30, 1999, the Secretary shall begin construction 
        activities for an interim storage facility at the interim 
        storage facility site. The interim storage facility constructed 
        under this paragraph shall begin acceptance of spent nuclear 
        fuel and high-level radioactive waste within one year after 
        construction begins under this paragraph.
    ``(c) Design.--
          ``(1) The interim storage facility shall be designed in two 
        phases in order to commence operations no later than November 
        30, 1999. The design of the interim storage facility shall 
        provide for the use of storage technologies, licensed, 
        approved, or certified by the Commission for use at the interim 
        storage facility as necessary to ensure compatibility between 
        the interim storage facility and contract holders' spent 
        nuclear fuel and facilities, and to facilitate the Secretary's 
        ability to meet the Secretary's obligations under this Act.
          ``(2) The Secretary shall consent to an amendment to the 
        contracts to provide for reimbursement to contract holders for 
        transportable storage systems purchased by contract holders if 
        the Secretary determines that it is cost effective to use such 
        transportable storage systems as part of the integrated 
        management system, provided that the Secretary shall not be 
        required to expend any funds to modify contract holders' 
        storage or transport systems or to seek additional regulatory 
        approvals in order to use such systems.
    ``(d) Licensing.--
          ``(1) Phases.--The interim storage facility shall be licensed 
        by the Commission in two phases in order to commence operations 
        no later than November 30, 1999.
          ``(2) First phase.--No later than 12 months after the date of 
        enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the 
        Secretary shall submit to the Commission an application for a 
        license for the first phase of the interim storage facility. 
        The Environmental Report and Safety Analysis Report submitted 
        in support of such license application shall be consistent with 
        the scope of authority requested in the license application. 
        The license issued for the first phase of the interim storage 
        facility shall have a term of 20 years and shall be renewable 
        for additional terms upon application of the Secretary. The 
        interim storage facility licensed in the first phase shall have 
        a capacity of not more than 20,000 MTU. The Commission shall 
        issue a final decision granting or denying the application for 
        the first phase license no later than 16 months from the date 
        of the submittal of the application for such license.
          ``(3) Second phase.--No later than 30 months after the date 
        of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the 
        Secretary shall submit to the Commission an application for a 
        license for the second phase interim storage facility. The 
        license for the second phase facility shall authorize a storage 
        capacity of 100,000 MTU. The license for the second phase shall 
        have an initial term of up to 100 years, and shall be renewable 
        for additional terms upon application of the Secretary. The 
        second phase of the interim storage facility shall commence 
        operations no later than December 31, 2002.
    ``(e) Additional Authority.--
          ``(1) Construction.--For purposes of complying with 
        subsection (a), the Secretary may commence site preparation for 
        the interim storage facility as soon as practicable after the 
        date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 and 
        shall commence construction of each phase of the interim 
        storage facility subsequent to submittal of the license 
        application or such phase except that the Commission shall 
        issue an order suspending such construction at any time if the 
        Commission determines that such construction poses an 
        unreasonable risk to public health and safety or the 
        environment. The Commission shall terminate all or part of such 
        order upon a determination that the Secretary has taken 
        appropriate action to eliminate such risk.
          ``(2) Facility use.--Notwithstanding any otherwise applicable 
        licensing requirement, the Secretary may utilize any facility 
        owned by the Federal Government on the date of enactment of the 
        Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 within the boundaries of the 
        interim storage facility site.
          ``(3) Emplacement of fuel and waste.--Subject to paragraph 
        (h), once the Secretary has achieved the annual acceptance rate 
        for spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors 
        established pursuant to the contracts executed prior to the 
        date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the 
        Secretary shall accept, in an amount not less than 25% of the 
        difference between the contractual acceptance rate and the 
        annual emplacement rate for spent nuclear fuel from civilian 
        nuclear power reactors established under section 407(a), the 
        following radioactive materials:
                  ``(A) spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive 
                waste of domestic origin from civilian nuclear power 
                reactors that have permanently ceased operation on or 
                before the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste 
                Policy Act of 1996;
                  ``(B) spent nuclear fuel from foreign research 
                reactors, as necessary to promote non-proliferation 
                objectives; and
                  ``(C) spent nuclear fuel, including spent nuclear 
                fuel from naval reactors, and high-level radioactive 
                waste from atomic energy defense activities.
    ``(f) National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.--
          ``(1) Preliminary decisionmaking activities.--The Secretary's 
        activities under this section, including the selection of a 
        site for the interim storage facility, the preparation and 
        submittal of a license application and supporting 
        documentation, the construction and operation of any facility, 
        and facility use pursuant to paragraph (d)(2) of this section 
        shall be considered preliminary decisionmaking activities for 
        purposes of judicial review. The Secretary shall not prepare an 
        environmental impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
        4332(2)(C)) or any environmental review under subparagraph (E) 
        or (F) of such Act before conducting these activities.
          ``(2) Environmental impact statement.--
                  ``(A) Final decision.--A final decision by the 
                Commission to grant or deny a license application for 
                the first or second phase of the interim storage 
                facility shall be accompanied by an Environmental 
                Impact Statement prepared under section 102(2)(C) of 
                the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
                U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). In preparing such Environmental 
                Impact Statement, the Commission--
                          ``(i) shall ensure that the scope of the 
                        Environmental Impact Statement is consistent 
                        with the scope of the licensing action; and
                          ``(ii) shall analyze the impacts of the 
                        transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-
                        level radioactive waste to the interim storage 
                        facility in a generic manner.
                  ``(B) Considerations.--Such Environmental Impact 
                Statement shall not consider--
                          ``(i) the need for the interim storage 
                        facility, including any individual component 
                        thereof;
                          ``(ii) the time of the initial availability 
                        of the interim storage facility;
                          ``(iii) any alternatives to the storage of 
                        spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
                        waste at the interim storage facility;
                          ``(iv) any alternatives to the site of the 
                        facility as designated by the Secretary in 
                        accordance with subsection (a);
                          ``(v) any alternatives to the design criteria 
                        for such facility or any individual component 
                        thereof, as specified by the Secretary in the 
                        license application; or
                          ``(vi) the environmental impacts of the 
                        storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
                        radioactive waste at the interim storage 
                        facility beyond the initial term of the license 
                        or the term of the renewal period for which a 
                        license renewal application is made.
    ``(g) Judicial Review.--Judicial review of the Commission's 
environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be consolidated with 
judicial review of the Commission's licensing decision. No court shall 
have jurisdiction to enjoin the construction or operation of the 
interim storage facility prior to its final decision on review of the 
Commission's licensing action.
    ``(h) Waste Confidence.--The Secretary's obligation to construct 
and operate the interim storage facility in accordance with this 
section and the Secretary's obligation to develop an integrated 
management system in accordance with the provisions of this Act, shall 
provide sufficient and independent grounds for any further findings by 
the Commission of reasonable assurance that spent nuclear fuel and 
high-level radioactive waste will be disposed of safely and on a timely 
basis for purposes of the Commission's decision to grant or amend any 
license to operate any civilian nuclear power reactor under the Atomic 
Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011, et seq.).
    ``(i) Storage of Other Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level 
Radioactive Waste.--No later than 18 months following the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Commission 
shall, by rule, establish criteria for the storage in the interim 
storage facility of fuel and waste listed in paragraph (d)(3) (A) 
through (C), to the extent such criteria are not included in 
regulations issued by the Commission and existing on the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996. Following 
establishment of such criteria, the Secretary shall seek authority, as 
necessary, to store fuel and waste listed in paragraph (d)(3) (A) 
through (C) at the interim storage facility. None of the activities 
carried out pursuant to this paragraph shall delay, or otherwise 
affect, the development, construction, licensing, or operation of the 
interim storage facility.
    ``(j) Savings Clause.--The Commission shall, by rule, establish 
procedures for the licensing of any technology for the dry storage of 
spent nuclear fuel by rule and without, to the maximum extent possible, 
the need for site-specific approvals by the Commission. Nothing in this 
Act shall affect any such procedures, or any licenses or approvals 
issued pursuant to such procedures in effect on the date of enactment.

``SEC. 205. PERMANENT REPOSITORY.

    ``(a) Repository Characterization.--
          ``(1) Guidelines.--The guidelines promulgated by the 
        Secretary and published at 10 CFR part 960 are annulled and 
        revoked and the Secretary shall make no assumptions or 
        conclusions about the licensability of the Yucca Mountain site 
        as a repository by reference to such guidelines.
          ``(2) Site characterization activities.--The Secretary shall 
        carry out appropriate site characterization activities at the 
        Yucca Mountain site in accordance with the Secretary's program 
        approach to site characterization. The Secretary shall modify 
        or eliminate those site characterization activities designed 
        only to demonstrate the suitability of the site under the 
        guidelines referenced in paragraph (1).
          ``(3) Schedule date.--Consistent with the schedule set forth 
        in the program approach, as modified to be consistent with the 
        Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996. No later than December 31, 
        2001, the Secretary shall apply to the Commission for 
        authorization to construct a repository. If, at any time prior 
        to the filing of such application, the Secretary determines 
        that the Yucca Mountain site cannot satisfy the Commission's 
        regulations applicable to the licensing of a geologic 
        repository, the Secretary shall terminate site characterization 
        activities at the site, notify Congress and the State of Nevada 
        of the Secretary's determination and the reasons therefor, and 
        recommend to Congress not later than 6 months after such 
        determination further actions, including the enactment of 
        legislation, that may be needed to manage the Nation's spent 
        nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
          ``(4) Maximizing capacity.--In developing an application for 
        authorization to construct the repository, the Secretary shall 
        seek to maximize the capacity of the repository, in the most 
        cost-effective manner, consistent with the need for disposal 
        capacity.
    ``(b) Repository Licensing.--Upon the completion of any licensing 
proceeding for the first phase of the interim storage facility, the 
Commission shall amend its regulations governing the disposal of spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in geologic repositories 
to the extent necessary to comply with this Act. Subject to subsection 
(c), such regulations shall provide for the licensing of the repository 
according to the following procedures:
          ``(1) Construction authorization.--The Commission shall grant 
        the Secretary a construction authorization for the repository 
        upon determining that there is reasonable assurance that spent 
        nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste can be disposed 
        of in the repository--
                  ``(A) in conformity with the Secretary's application, 
                the provisions of this Act, and the regulations of the 
                Commission;
                  ``(B) without unreasonable risk to the health and 
                safety of the public;
                  ``(C) consistent with the common defense and 
                security; and
                  ``(D) consistent with the most economic use of the 
                Nation's resources.
          ``(2) License.--Following substantial completion of 
        construction and the filing of any additional information 
        needed to complete the license application, the Commission 
        shall issue a license to dispose of spent nuclear fuel and 
        high-level radioactive waste in the repository if the 
        Commission determines that the repository has been constructed 
        and will operate--
                  ``(A) in conformity with the Secretary's application, 
                the provisions of this Act, and the regulations of the 
                Commission;
                  ``(B) without unreasonable risk to the health and 
                safety of the public;
                  ``(C) consistent with the common defense and 
                security; and
                  ``(D) consistent with the most economic use of the 
                Nation's resources.
          ``(3) Closure.--After emplacing spent nuclear fuel and high-
        level radioactive waste in the repository and collecting 
        sufficient confirmatory data on repository performance to 
        reasonably confirm the basis for repository closure consistent 
        with the Commission's regulations applicable to the licensing 
        of a repository, as modified in accordance with this Act, the 
        Secretary shall apply to the Commission to amend the license to 
        permit permanent closure of the repository. The Commission 
        shall grant such license amendment upon finding that there is 
        reasonable assurance that the repository can be permanently 
        closed--
                  ``(A) in conformity with the Secretary's application 
                to amend the license, the provisions of this Act, and 
                the regulations of the Commission;
                  ``(B) without unreasonable risk to the health and 
                safety of the public;
                  ``(C) consistent with the common defense and 
                security; and
                  ``(D) consistent with the most economic sue of the 
                Nation's resources.
          ``(4) Post-closure.--The Secretary shall take those actions 
        necessary and appropriate at the Yucca Mountain site to prevent 
        any activity at the site subsequent to repository closure that 
        poses an unreasonable risk of--
                  ``(A) breaking the repository's engineered or 
                geologic barriers; or
                  ``(B) increasing the exposure of individual members 
                of the public to radiation beyond the release standard 
                established in subsection (d)(1).
    ``(c) Modification of Repository Licensing Procedure.--The 
Commission's regulations shall provide for the modification of the 
repository licensing procedure, as appropriate, in the event that the 
Secretary seeks a license to permit the emplacement in the repository, 
on a retrievable basis, of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive 
waste as is necessary to provide the Secretary with sufficient 
confirmatory data on repository performance to reasonably confirm the 
basis for repository closure consistent with applicable regulations.
    ``(d) Repository Licensing Standards.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency shall not promulgate, by rule or otherwise, standards for 
protection of the public from releases of radioactive materials or 
radioactivity from the repository and any such standards existing on 
the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 shall not 
be incorporated in the Commission's licensing regulations. The 
Commission's repository licensing determinations for the protection of 
the public shall be based solely on a finding whether the repository 
can be operated in conformance with the overall system performance 
standard established in paragraph (1), applied in accordance with the 
provisions of paragraph (2). The Commission shall amend its regulations 
in accordance with subsection (b) to incorporate each of the following 
licensing standards:
          ``(1) Establishment of overall system performance standard.--
        The standard for protection of the public from release of 
        radioactive material or radioactivity from the repository shall 
        prohibit releases that would expose an average member of the 
        general population in the vicinity of the Yucca Mountain site 
        to an annual dose in excess of 100 millirems. Such standard 
        shall constitute an overall system performance standard.
          ``(2) Application of overall system performance standard.--
        The Commission shall issue the license if it finds reasonable 
        assurance that for the first 1,000 years following the 
        commencement of repository operations, the overall system 
        performance standard will be met based on a probabilistic 
        evaluation, as appropriate, of compliance with the overall 
        system performance standard in paragraph (1).
          ``(3) Factors.--For purposes of making the finding in 
        paragraph (2)--
                  ``(A) the Commission shall not consider catastrophic 
                events where the health consequences of individual 
                events themselves can be reasonably assumed to exceed 
                the health consequences due to the impact of the events 
                on repository performance;
                  ``(B) for the purpose of this section, an average 
                member of the general population in the vicinity of the 
                Yucca Mountain site means a person whose physiology, 
                age, general health, agricultural practices, eating 
                habits, and social behavior represent the average for 
                persons living in the vicinity of the site. Extremes in 
                social behavior, eating habits, or other relevant 
                practices or characteristics shall not be considered; 
                and
                  ``(C) the Commission shall assume that, following 
                repository closure, the inclusion of engineered 
                barriers and the Secretary's post-closure actions at 
                the Yucca Mountain site, in accordance with subsection 
                (b)(4), shall be sufficient to--
                          ``(i) prevent any human activity at the site 
                        that poses an unreasonable risk of breaching 
                        the repository's engineered or geologic 
                        barriers; and
                          ``(ii) prevent any increase in the exposure 
                        of individual members of the public to 
                        radiation beyond the allowable limits specified 
                        in paragraph (1).
          ``(4) Additional analysis.--The Commission shall analyze the 
        overall system performance through the use of probabilistic 
        evaluations that use best estimate assumptions, data, and 
        methods for the period commencing after the first 1,000 years 
        of operation of the repository and terminating at 10,000 years 
        after the commencement of operation of the repository.
    ``(e) National Environmental Policy Act.--
          ``(1) Submission of statement.--Construction and operation of 
        the repository shall be considered a major Federal action 
        significantly affecting the quality of the human environment 
        for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
        (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The Secretary shall submit an 
        environmental impact statement on the construction and 
        operation of the repository to the Commission with the license 
        application and shall supplement such environmental impact 
        statement as appropriate.
          ``(2) Considerations.--For purposes of complying with the 
        requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
        and this section, the Secretary shall not consider in the 
        environmental impact statement the need for the repository, or 
        alternative sites or designs for the repository.
          ``(3) Adoption by commission.--The Secretary's environmental 
        impact statement and any supplements thereto shall, to the 
        extent practicable, be adopted by the Commission in connection 
        with the issuance by the Commission of a construction 
        authorization under subsection (b)(1), a license under 
        subsection (b)(2), or a license amendment under subsection 
        (b)(3). To the extent such statement or supplement is adopted 
        by the Commission, such adoption shall be deemed to also 
        satisfy the responsibilities of the Commission under the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and no further 
        consideration shall be required, except that nothing in this 
        subsection shall affect any independent responsibilities of the 
        Commission to protect the public health and safety under the 
        Atomic Energy Act of 1954. In any such statement or supplement 
        prepared with respect to the repository, the Commission shall 
        not consider the need for a repository, or alternate sites or 
        designs for the repository.
    ``(f) Judicial Review.--No court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin 
issuance of the Commission repository licensing regulations prior to 
its final decision on review of such regulations.

``SEC. 206. LAND WITHDRAWAL.

    ``(a) Withdrawal and Reservation.--
          ``(1) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the 
        interim storage facility site and the Yucca Mountain site, as 
        described in subsection (b), are withdrawn from all forms of 
        entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws, 
        including the mineral leasing laws, the geothermal leasing 
        laws, the material sale laws, and the mining laws.
          ``(2) Jurisdiction.--Jurisdiction of any land within the 
        interim storage facility site and the Yucca Mountain site 
        managed by the Secretary of the Interior or any other Federal 
        officer is transferred to the Secretary.
          ``(3) Reservation.--The interim storage facility site and the 
        Yucca Mountain site are reserved for the use of the Secretary 
        for the construction and operation, respectively, of the 
        interim storage facility and the repository and activities 
        associated with the purposes of this title.
    ``(b) Land Description.--
          ``(1) Boundaries.--The boundaries depicted on the map 
        entitled `Interim Storage Facility Site Withdrawal Map,' dated 
        March 13, 1995, and on file with the Secretary, are established 
        as the boundaries of the Interim Storage Facility site.
          ``(2) Boundaries.--The boundaries depicted on the map 
        entitled `Yucca Mountain Site Withdrawal Map,' dated March 13, 
        1995, and on file with the Secretary, are established as the 
        boundaries of the Yucca Mountain site.
          ``(3) Notice and maps.--Within 6 months of the date of the 
        enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the 
        Secretary shall--
                  ``(A) publish in the Federal Register a notice 
                containing a legal description of the interim storage 
                facility site; and
                  ``(B) file copies of the maps described in paragraph 
                (1), and the legal description of the interim storage 
                facility site with the Congress, the Secretary of the 
                Interior, the Governor of Nevada, and the Archivist of 
                the United States.
          ``(4) Notice and maps.--Concurrent with the Secretary's 
        application to the Commission for authority to construct the 
        repository, the Secretary shall--
                  ``(A) publish in the Federal Register a notice 
                containing a legal description of the Yucca Mountain 
                site; and
                  ``(B) file copies of the maps described in paragraph 
                (2), and the legal description of the Yucca Mountain 
                site with the Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, 
                the Governor of Nevada, and the Archivist of the United 
                States.
          ``(5) Construction.--The maps and legal descriptions of the 
        interim storage facility site and the Yucca Mountain site 
        referred to in this subsection shall have the same force and 
        effect as if they were included in this Act. The Secretary may 
        correct clerical and typographical errors in the maps and legal 
        descriptions and make minor adjustments in the boundaries of 
        the sites.

``SEC. 207. PERMANENT DISPOSAL ALTERNATIVES.

    ``(a) Study.--Within 270 days after the date of the enactment of 
the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall report to 
Congress on alternatives for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The report under this section 
shall include--
          ``(1) an assessment of the current state of knowledge of 
        alternative technologies for the treatment and disposal of 
        spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste;
          ``(2) an estimate of the costs of research and development of 
        alternative technologies;
          ``(3) an analysis of institutional factors associated with 
        alternative technologies, including international aspects of a 
        decision of the United States to proceed with the development 
        of alternative technologies (including nuclear proliferation 
        concerns) as an option for nuclear waste management and 
        disposal;
          ``(4) a full discussion of environmental and public health 
        and safety aspects of alternative technologies;
          ``(5) recommendations on alternative ways to structure an 
        effort in research, development, and demonstration with respect 
        to alternative technologies; and
          ``(6) the recommendations of the Secretary with respect to 
        research, development, and demonstration of the most promising 
        alternative technologies for the treatment and disposal of 
        spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
    ``(b) Office of Nuclear Waste Disposal Research.--(1) There is 
hereby established an Office of Nuclear Waste Disposal Research within 
the Office of Energy Research of the Department of Energy. The Office 
shall be headed by the Director, who shall be a member of the Senior 
Executive Service appointed by the Director of the Office of Energy 
Research, and compensated at a rate determined by applicable law.
    ``(2) The Director of the Office of Nuclear Waste Research shall be 
responsible for carrying out research, development, and demonstration 
activities on alternative technologies for the treatment and disposal 
of high-level nuclear radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, subject 
to the general supervision of the Secretary. The Director of the Office 
shall be directly responsible to the Director of the Office of Energy 
Research, and the first such Director shall be appointed within 30 days 
of the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996.
    ``(3) In carrying out his responsibilities under this Section, the 
Secretary may make grants to, or enter into contracts with, the Nuclear 
Waste Research Consortium described in paragraph (4) of this section 
and other persons.
    ``(4)(A) Within 60 days of the date of enactment of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall establish a university-
based Nuclear Waste Disposal Consortium involving leading universities 
and institutions, national laboratories, the commercial nuclear 
industry, and other organizations to investigate technical and 
institutional feasibility of alternative technologies for the treatment 
and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
    ``(B) The Nuclear Waste Disposal Consortium shall develop a 
research plan and budget to achieve the following objectives by 2005:
          ``(i) identify promising alternative technologies for the 
        treatment and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste.
          ``(ii) conduct research and develop conceptual designs for 
        promising alternative technologies, including estimated costs 
        and institutional requirements for continued research and 
        development; and
          ``(iii) identify and assess potential impacts of promising 
        alternatives technologies on the environment.
    ``(C) In 2000, and again in 2005, the Nuclear Waste Disposal 
Consortium shall report to Congress on the progress being made in 
achieving the objectives of paragraph (2).
    ``(5) The Director of the Office of Nuclear Waste Disposal Research 
shall annually prepare and submit a report to the Congress on the 
activities and expenditures of the Office.

                 ``TITLE III--FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

``SEC. 301. PROGRAM FUNDING.

    ``(a) Contracts.--
          ``(1) Authority of secretary.--In the performance of the 
        Secretary's functions under this Act, the Secretary is 
        authorized to enter into contracts with any person who 
        generates or holds title to spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste of domestic origin for the acceptance of 
        title and possession, transportation, interim storage, and 
        disposal of such waste or spent fuel. Such contracts shall 
        provide for payment of annual fees to the Secretary in the 
        amount set by the Secretary pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3). 
        Subsequent to the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy 
        Act of 1996, the contracts executed under section 302(a) of the 
        Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 shall continue in effect under 
        this Act, provided that the Secretary shall consent to an 
        amendment to such contracts as necessary to implement the 
        provisions of this Act.
          ``(2) Annual fees.--For electricity generated by civilian 
        nuclear power reactors and sold on or after January 7, 1983, 
        the fee under paragraph (1) shall be equal to 1.0 mill per 
        kilowatt hour generated and sold.
          ``(3) One-time fee.--For spent nuclear fuel or solidified 
        high-level radioactive waste derived from spent nuclear fuel, 
        which fuel was used to generate electricity in a civilian 
        nuclear power reactor prior to January 7, 1983, the fee shall 
        be in an amount equivalent to an average charge of 1.0 mill per 
        kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by such spent nuclear 
        fuel, or such solidified high-level waste derived therefrom, 
        and incorporated in the contracts. Payment of such one-time fee 
        prior to the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 
        of 1996 shall satisfy the obligation imposed under this 
        paragraph. Any one-time fee paid and collected subsequent to 
        the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 
        pursuant to the contracts, including any interest due pursuant 
        to such contracts, shall be paid to the Nuclear Waste Fund. In 
        paying such a fee, the person delivering spent nuclear fuel or 
        high-level radioactive wastes derived therefrom, to the 
        Secretary shall have no further financial obligation to the 
        Federal Government for the long-term storage and permanent 
        disposal of such spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste.
          ``(4) Adjustments to fee.--The Secretary shall annually 
        review the amount of the fees established by paragraphs (2) and 
        (3), together with the existing balance of the Nuclear Waste 
        Fund on the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 
        of 1996, to evaluate whether collection of the fee will provide 
        sufficient revenues to offset the costs as defined in 
        subsection (c)(2). In the event the Secretary determines that 
        the revenues being collected are either insufficient or 
        excessive to recover the costs incurred by the Federal 
        Government that are specified in subsection (c)(2), the 
        Secretary shall propose an adjustment to the fee to ensure full 
        cost recovery. The Secretary shall immediately transmit the 
        proposal for such an adjustment to both houses of Congress.
    ``(b) Advance Contracting Requirement.--
          ``(1) In general.--
                  ``(A) License issuance and renewal.--The Commission 
                shall not issue or renew a license to any person to use 
                a utilization or production facility under the 
                authority of section 103 or 104 of the Atomic Energy 
                Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134) unless--
                          ``(i) such person has entered into a contract 
                        under subsection (a) with the Secretary; or
                          ``(ii) the Secretary affirms in writing that 
                        such person is actively and in good faith 
                        negotiating with the Secretary for a contract 
                        under this section.
                  ``(B) Precondition.--The Commission, as it deems 
                necessary or appropriate, may require as a precondition 
                to the issuance or renewal of a license under section 
                103 or 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 
                2133, 2134) that the applicant for such license shall 
                have entered into an agreement with the Secretary for 
                the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
                radioactive waste that may result from the use of such 
                license.
          ``(2) Disposal in repository.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (1), no spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive 
        waste generated or owned by any person (other than a department 
        of the United States referred to in section 101 or 102 of title 
        5, United States Code) may be disposed of by the Secretary in 
        the repository unless the generator or owner of such spent fuel 
        or waste has entered into a contract under subsection (a) with 
        the Secretary by not later than the date on which such 
        generator or owner commences generation of, or takes title to, 
        such spent fuel or waste.
          ``(3) Assignment.--The rights and duties of contract holders 
        are assignable.
    ``(c) Nuclear Waste Fund.--
          ``(1) In general.--The Nuclear Waste Fund established in the 
        Treasury of the United States under section 302(c) of the 
        Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 shall continue in effect under 
        this Act and shall consist of--
                  ``(A) the existing balance in the Nuclear Waste Fund 
                on the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy 
                Act of 1996; and
                  ``(B) all receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized 
                under subsections (a), and (c)(3) subsequent to the 
                date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
                1996, which shall be deposited in the Nuclear Waste 
                Fund immediately upon their realization.
          ``(2) Use.--The Secretary may make expenditures from the 
        Nuclear Waste Fund, subject to subsection (d), only for 
        purposes of the integrated management system.
          ``(3) Administration of nuclear waste fund.--
                  ``(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
                shall hold the Nuclear Waste Fund and, after 
                consultation with the Secretary, annually report to the 
                Congress on the financial condition and operations of 
                the Nuclear Waste Fund during the preceding fiscal 
                year.
                  ``(B) Amounts in excess of current needs.--If the 
                Secretary determines that the Nuclear Waste Fund 
                contains at any time amounts in excess of current 
                needs, the Secretary may request the Secretary of the 
                Treasury to invest such amounts, or any portion of such 
                amounts as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, 
                in obligations of the United States--
                          ``(i) having maturities determined by the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury to be appropriate to 
                        the needs of the Nuclear Waste Fund; and
                          ``(ii) bearing interest at rates determined 
                        to be appropriate by the Secretary of the 
                        Treasury, taking into consideration the current 
                        average market yield on outstanding marketable 
                        obligations of the United States with remaining 
                        periods to maturity comparable to the 
                        maturities of such investments, except that the 
                        interest rate on such investments shall not 
                        exceed the average interest rate applicable to 
                        existing borrowings.
                  ``(C) Exemption.--Receipts, proceeds, and recoveries 
                realized by the Secretary under this section, and 
                expenditures of amounts from the Nuclear Waste Fund, 
                shall be exempt from annual apportionment under the 
                provisions of subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, 
                United States Code.
    ``(d) Budget.--The Secretary shall submit the budget for 
implementation of the Secretary's responsibilities under this Act to 
the Office of Management and Budget annually along with the budget of 
the Department of Energy submitted at such time in accordance with 
chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code. The budget shall consist of 
the estimates made by the Secretary of expenditures under this Act and 
other relevant financial matters for the succeeding 3 fiscal years, and 
shall be included in the budget of the United States Government. The 
Secretary may make expenditures from the Waste Fund, subject to 
appropriations, which shall remain available until expended.

``SEC. 302. OFFICE OF CIVILIAN RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT.

    ``(a) Continuation of the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste 
Management.--The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management 
established under section 304(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1982 as constituted prior to the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1996, shall continue in effect subsequent to the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996.
    ``(b) Director.--The Office shall be headed by the Director, who 
shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, and who shall be compensated at the rate payable for 
level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, 
United States Code.

``SEC. 303. FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.

    ``(a) Allocation.--No later than one year from the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, acting pursuant to 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary shall issue a 
final rule establishing the appropriate portion of the costs of 
managing spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste under this 
Act allocable to the interim storage or permanent disposal of spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy 
defense activities and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research 
reactors. The share of costs allocable to the management of spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy 
defense activities and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research 
reactors shall include,
          ``(1) an appropriate portion of the costs associated with 
        research and development activities with respect to development 
        of an interim storage facility and repository; and
          ``(2) as appropriate, interest on the principal amounts due 
        calculated by reference to the appropriate Treasury bill rate 
        as if the payments were made at a point in time consistent with 
        the payment dates for spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste under the contracts.
    ``(b) Appropriation Request.--In addition to any request for an 
appropriation from the Nuclear Waste Fund, the Secretary shall request 
annual appropriations from general revenues in amounts sufficient to 
pay the costs of the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities as established 
under subsection (a).
    ``(c) Report.--In conjunction with the annual report submitted to 
Congress under Section 702, the Secretary shall advise the Congress 
annually of the amount of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste from atomic energy defense activities requiring management in the 
integrated management system.
    ``(d) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary, from general revenues, for carrying out the purposes of this 
Act, such sums as may be necessary to pay the costs of the management 
of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic 
energy defense activities as established under subsection (a).

SEC. 304 BUDGET PRIORITIES.

    ``(a) The Secretary.--For purposes of preparing annual requests for 
appropriations for the integrated management system and allocating 
funds among competing requirements, the Secretary shall give funding 
for the licensing, construction, and operation of the interim storage 
facility under section 204 and development of the transportation 
capability under sections 201, 202 and 203 the highest priority.
    ``(b) The Commission.--For purposes of preparing annual requests 
for appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund and allocating annual 
appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund among competing 
requirements, the Commission shall allocate funds in accordance with 
the following prioritization:
          ``(1) the issuance of regulations for and the licensing of an 
        interim storage facility under section 205 and any associated 
        storage and/or transport systems to be used in the integrated 
        management system shall be accorded the highest priority; and
          ``(2) the licensing of the repository under section 206 shall 
        be accorded the next highest priority.

            ``TITLE IV--GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

``SEC. 401. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS.

    The actions authorized by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 
shall be governed solely in accordance with the provisions of the 
Atomic Energy Act, the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the Hazardous 
Materials Transportation Act, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, and 
the regulations issued thereunder. Such activities shall not be subject 
to any other federal, state, or local atomic energy, environmental and 
land use laws, regulations or orders including, but not limited to, 
those requiring permits, licenses, rights-of-way, certifications or 
authorizations, that would otherwise apply to such activities.

``SEC. 402. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS.

    ``(a) Jurisdiction of the United States Courts of Appeals.--
          ``(1) Original and exclusive jurisdiction.--Except for review 
        in the Supreme Court of the United States, and except as 
        otherwise provided in this Act, the United States courts of 
        appeals shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any 
        civil action--
                  ``(A) for review of any final decision or action of 
                the Secretary, the President or the Commission under 
                this Act;
                  ``(B) alleging the failure of the Secretary, the 
                President, or the Commission to make any decision, or 
                take any action, required under this Act;
                  ``(C) challenging the constitutionality of any 
                decision made, or action taken, under any provision of 
                this Act; or
                  ``(D) for review of any environmental impact 
                statement prepared or environmental assessment pursuant 
                to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
                U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to any action under 
                this Act or alleging a failure to prepare such 
                statement with respect to any such action.
          ``(2) Venue.--The venue of any proceeding under this section 
        shall be in the judicial circuit in which the petitioner 
        involved resides or has its principal office, or in the United 
        States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
    ``(b) Deadline for Commencing Action.--A civil action for judicial 
review described under subsection (a)(l) may be brought no later than 
180 days after the date of the decision or action or failure to act 
involved, as the case may be, except that if a party shows that he did 
not know of the decision or action complained of (or of the failure to 
act), and that a reasonable person acting under the circumstances would 
not have known, such party may bring a civil action no later than 180 
days after the date such party acquired actual or constructive 
knowledge or such decision, action, or failure to act.
    ``(c) Application of Other Law.--The provisions of this section 
relating to any matter shall apply in lieu of the provisions of any 
other Act relating to the same matter.

``SEC. 403. LICENSING OF FACILITY EXPANSIONS AND TRANSSHIPMENTS.

    ``(a) Oral Argument.--In any Commission hearing under section 189 
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2239) on an application for 
a license, or for an amendment to an existing license, filed after 
January 7, 1983, to expand the spent nuclear fuel storage capacity at 
the site of a civilian nuclear power reactor, through the use of high-
density fuel storage racks, fuel rod compaction, the transshipment of 
spent nuclear fuel to another civilian nuclear power reactor within the 
same utility system, the construction of additional spent nuclear fuel 
pool capacity or dry storage capacity, or by other means, the 
Commission shall, at the request of any party, provide an opportunity 
for oral argument with respect to any matter which the Commission 
determines to be in controversy among the parties. The oral argument 
shall be preceded by such discovery procedures as the rules of the 
Commission shall provide. The Commission shall require each party, 
including the Commission staff, to submit in written form, at the time 
of the oral argument, a summary of the facts, data, and arguments upon 
which such party proposes to rely that are known at such time to such 
party. Only facts and data in the form of sworn testimony or written 
submission may be relied upon by the parties during oral argument. Of 
the materials that may be submitted by the parties during oral 
argument, the Commission shall only consider those facts and data that 
are submitted in the form of sworn testimony or written submission.
    ``(b) Adjudicatory Hearing.--
          ``(1) Designation.--At the conclusion of any oral argument 
        under subsection (a), the Commission shall designate any 
        disputed question of fact, together with any remaining 
        questions of law, for resolution in an adjudicatory hearing 
        only if it determines that--
                  ``(A) there is a genuine and substantial dispute of 
                fact which can only be resolved with sufficient 
                accuracy by the introduction of evidence in an 
                adjudicatory hearing; and
                  ``(B) the decision of the Commission is likely to 
                depend in whole or in part on the resolution of such 
                dispute.
          ``(2) Determination.--In making a determination under this 
        subsection, the Commission--
                  ``(A) shall designate in writing the specific facts 
                that are in genuine and substantial dispute, the reason 
                why the decision of the agency is likely to depend on 
                the resolution of such facts, and the reason why an 
                adjudicatory hearing is likely to resolve the dispute; 
                and
                  ``(B) shall not consider--
                          ``(i) any issue relating to the design, 
                        construction, or operation of any civilian 
                        nuclear power reactor already licensed to 
                        operate at such site, or any civilian nuclear 
                        power reactor to which a construction permit 
                        has been granted at such site, unless the 
                        Commission determines that any such issue 
                        substantially affects the design, construction, 
                        or operation of the facility or activity for 
                        which such license application, authorization, 
                        or amendment is being considered; or
                          ``(ii) any siting or design issue fully 
                        considered and decided by the Commission in 
                        connection with the issuance of a construction 
                        permit or operating license for a civilian 
                        nuclear power rector at such site, unless
                                  ``(I) such issue results from any 
                                revision of siting or design criteria 
                                by the Commission following such 
                                decision; and
                                  ``(II) the Commission determines that 
                                such issue substantially affects the 
                                design, construction, or operation of 
                                the facility or activity for which such 
                                license application, authorization, or 
                                amendment is begin considered.
          ``(3) Application.--The provisions of paragraph (2)(B) shall 
        apply only with respect to licenses, authorizations, or 
        amendments to licenses or authorizations, applied for under the 
        Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) before 
        December 31, 2005.
          ``(4) Construction.--The provisions of this sections hall not 
        apply to the first application for a license or license 
        amendment received by the Commission to expand on site spent 
        fuel storage capacity by the use of a new technology not 
        previously approved for use at any nuclear power plant by the 
        Commission.
    ``(c) Judicial Review.--No court shall hold unlawful or set aside a 
decision of the Commission in any proceeding described in subsection 
(a) because of a failure by the Commission to use a particular 
procedure pursuant to this section unless--
          ``(1) an objection to the procedure used with presented to 
        the Commission in a timely fashion or there are extraordinary 
        circumstances that excuse the failure to present a timely 
        objection; and
          ``(2) the court finds that such failure has precluded a fair 
        consideration and informed resolution of a significant issue of 
        the proceeding taken as a whole.

``SEC. 404. SITING A SECOND REPOSITORY.

    ``(a) Congressional Action Required.--The Secretary may not conduct 
site-specific activities with respect to a second repository unless 
Congress has specifically authorized and appropriated funds for such 
activities.
    ``(b) Report.--The Secretary shall report to the President and to 
Congress on or after January 1, 2007, but not later than January 1, 
2010, on the need for a second repository.

``SEC. 405. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE SITE 
                    CLOSURE.

    ``(a) Financial Arrangements.--
          (1) Standards and instructions.--The Commission shall 
        establish by rule, regulation, or order, after public notice, 
        and in accordance with section 181 of the Atomic Energy Act of 
        1954 (42 U.S.C. 2231), such standards and instructions as the 
        Commission may deem necessary or desirable to ensure in the 
        case of each license for the disposal of low-level radioactive 
        waste that an adequate bond, surety, or other financial 
        arrangement (as determined by the Commission) will be provided 
        by a licensee to permit completion of all requirements 
        established by the Commission for the decontamination, 
        decommissioning, site closure, and reclamation of sites, 
        structures, and equipment used in conjunction with such low-
        level radioactive waste. Such financial arrangements shall be 
        provided and approved by the Commission, or, in the case of 
        sites within the boundaries of any agreement State under 
        section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2021), 
        by the appropriate State or State entity, prior to issuance of 
        licenses for low-level radioactive waste disposal or, in the 
        case of licenses in effect on January 7, 1983, prior to 
        termination of such licenses.
          ``(2) Bonding, surety, or other financial arrangements.--If 
        the Commission determines that any long-term maintenance or 
        monitoring, or both, will be necessary at a site described in 
        paragraph (1), the Commission shall ensure before termination 
        of the license involved that the licensee has made available 
        such bonding, surety, or other financial arrangements as may be 
        necessary to ensure that any necessary long-term maintenance or 
        monitoring needed for such site will be carried out by the 
        person having title and custody for such site following license 
        termination.
    ``(b) Title and Custody.--
          ``(1) Authority of secretary.--The Secretary shall have 
        authority to assume title and custody of low-level radioactive 
        waste and the land on which such waste is disposed of, upon 
        request of the owner of such waste and land and following 
        termination of the license issued by the Commission for such 
        disposal, if the Commission determines that--
                  ``(A) the requirements of the Commission for site 
                closure, decommissioning, and decontamination have been 
                met by the licensee involved and that such licensee is 
                in compliance with the provisions of subsection (a);
                  ``(B) such title and custody will be transferred to 
                the Secretary without cost to the Federal Government; 
                and
                  ``(C) Federal ownership and management of such site 
                is necessary or desirable in order to protect the 
                public health and safety, and the environment.
          ``(2) Protection.--If the Secretary assumes title and custody 
        of any such waste and land under this subsection, the Secretary 
        shall maintain such waste and land in a manner that will 
        protect the public health and safety, and the environment.
    ``(c) Special Sites.--If the low-level radioactive waste involved 
is the result of a licensed activity to recover zirconium, hafnium, and 
rare earths from source material, the Secretary, upon request of the 
owner of the site involved, shall assume title and custody of such 
waste and the land on which it is disposed when such site has been 
decontaminated and stabilized in accordance with the requirements 
established by the Commission and when such owner has made adequate 
financial arrangements approved by the Commission for the long-term 
maintenance and monitoring of such site.

'`SEC. 406. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TRAINING AUTHORIZATION.

    ``The Commission is authorized and directed to promulgate 
regulations, or other appropriate regulatory guidance, for the training 
and qualifications of civilian nuclear power plant operators, 
supervisors, technicians, and other appropriate operating personnel. 
Such regulations or guidance shall establish simulator training 
requirements for applicants for civilian nuclear power plant operator 
licenses and for operator requalification programs; requirements 
governing Commission administration of requalification examinations, 
requirements for operating tests at civilian nuclear power plant 
simulators, and instructional requirements for civilian nuclear power 
plant licensee personnel training programs.

``SEC. 407. EMPLACEMENT SCHEDULE.

    ``(a) The emplacement schedule shall be implemented in accordance 
with the following:
          ``(1) Emplacement priority ranking shall be determined by the 
        Department's annual `Acceptance Priority Ranking' report.
          ``(2) The Secretary's spent fuel emplacement rate shall be no 
        less than the following: 1,200 MTU in 1999 and 1,200 MTU in 
        2000; 2,000 MTU in 2001 and 2000 MTU in 2002; 2,700 MTU in 
        2003; and 3,000 MTU annually thereafter.
    ``(b) If the Secretary is unable to begin emplacement by January 
31, 1999 at the rates specified in paragraph (a), or if the cumulative 
amount emplaced in any year thereafter is less than that which would 
have been accepted under the emplacement rate specified in paragraph 
(a), the Secretary shall, as a mitigation measure, adjust the 
emplacement schedule upward such that within 5 years of the start of 
emplacement by the Secretary,
          ``(1) the total quantity accepted by the Secretary is 
        consistent with the total quantity that the Secretary would 
        have accepted if the Secretary had begun emplacement in 1999, 
        and
          ``(2) thereafter the emplacement rate is equivalent to the 
        rate that would be in place pursuant to paragraph (a) above if 
        the Secretary had commenced emplacement in 1999.

``SEC. 408. EMERGENCY RELIEF.

    ``(a) If the Secretary determines that a contract holder qualifies 
for emergency relief under this paragraph, the contract holder may 
execute an emergency relief contract with entities qualified to provide 
interim storage and conditioning. Under the emergency relief contract, 
the qualified entities would package, ship, and receive a contract 
holder's spent nuclear fuel for interim storage and conditioning, with 
any spent nuclear fuel and the equivalent radioactive residues 
resulting from any conditioning services returned to the Secretary no 
later than December 31, 2045.
    ``(b) A contract holder qualifies for emergency relief under this 
section if the contract holder:
          ``(1) has exhausted its existing on-site storage capacity;
          ``(2) is unable to complete scheduled decommissioning because 
        spent nuclear fuel cannot be removed from the site;
          ``(3) the spent fuel is of a nonstandard form which cannot be 
        accepted at the central storage facility; or
          ``(4) the Secretary determines there is a situation that 
        requires emergency relief under this paragraph.
    ``(c) Title to all spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste resulting from the treatment of that fuel subject to an emergency 
relief contract under this paragraph shall transfer to the Secretary 
upon packaging of the fuel by the qualified entity.

``SEC. 409. TRANSFER OF TITLE.

    ``Acceptance by the Secretary of any spent nuclear fuel or high-
level radioactive waste shall constitute a transfer of title to the 
Secretary.

``SEC. 410. ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS.

    ``Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, the obligations of 
the Secretary and the Commission pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) in connection with the 
siting, design, licensing, construction or operation of any component 
of the integrated management system are as set forth in this Act and no 
further actions other than those specified are required to meet the 
Secretary's or the Commission's obligations under such Act.

``SEC. 411. DECOMMISSIONING PILOT PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Authorization.--The Secretary is authorized to establish a 
Decommissioning Pilot Program to decommission and decontaminate the 
sodium-cooled fast breeder experimental test-site reactor located in 
northwest Arkansas.
    ``(b) Funding.--No funds from the Nuclear Waste Fund may be used 
for the Decommissioning Pilot Program.

            ``TITLE V--NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

``SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this title--
          ``(1) Chairman.--The term ``Chairman'' means the Chairman of 
        the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
          ``(2) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Nuclear Waste 
        Technical Review Board continued under section 602.

``SEC. 502. NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD.

    ``(a) Continuation of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.--
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, established under section 
502(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 as constituted prior to 
the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, shall 
continue in effect subsequent to the date of enactment of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1996.
    ``(b) Members.--
          ``(1) Number.--The Board shall consist of 11 members who 
        shall be appointed by the President not later than 90 days 
        after December 22, 1987, from among persons nominated by the 
        National Academy of Sciences in accordance with paragraph (3).
          ``(2) Chair.--The President shall designate a member of the 
        Board to serve as Chairman.
          ``(3) National academy of sciences.--
                  ``(A) Nominations.--The National Academy of Sciences 
                shall, not later than 90 days after December 22, 1987, 
                nominate not less than 22 persons for appointment to 
                the Board from among persons who meet the 
                qualifications described in subparagraph (C).
                  ``(B) Vacancies.--The National Academy of Sciences 
                shall nominate not less than 2 persons to fill any 
                vacancy on the Board from among persons who meet the 
                qualifications described in subparagraph (C).
                  ``(C) Nominees.--
                          ``(i) Each person nominated for appointment 
                        to the Board shall be--
                                  ``(I) eminent in a field of science 
                                or engineering, including environmental 
                                sciences; and
                                  ``(II) selected solely on the basis 
                                of established records of distinguished 
                                service.
                          ``(ii) the membership of the Board shall be 
                        representatives of the broad range of 
                        scientific and engineering disciplines related 
                        to activities under this title.
                          ``(iii) No person shall be nominated for 
                        appointment to the Board who is an employee 
                        of--
                                  ``(I) the Department of Energy;
                                  ``(II) a national laboratory under 
                                contract with the Department of Energy; 
                                or
                                  ``(III) an entity performing spent 
                                nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive 
                                waste activities under contract with 
                                the Department of Energy.
          ``(4) Vacancies.--Any vacancy on the Board shall be filled by 
        the nomination and appointment described in paragraphs (1) and 
        (3).
          ``(5) Terms.--Members of the Board shall be appointed for 
        terms of 4 years, each such term to commence 120 days after 
        December 22, 1987, except that of the 11 members first 
        appointed to the Board, 5 shall serve for 2 years and 6 shall 
        serve for 4 years, to be designated by the President at the 
        time of appointment.

``SEC. 503. FUNCTIONS.

    ``The Board shall evaluate the technical and scientific validity of 
activities undertaken by the Secretary after December 22, 1987, 
including--
          ``(1) site characterization activities; and
          ``(2) activities relating to the packaging or transportation 
        of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste.

``SEC. 504. INVESTIGATORY POWERS.

    ``(a) Hearings.--Upon request of the Chairman or a majority of the 
members of the Board, the Board may hold such hearings, sit and act at 
such times and places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence, 
as the Board considers appropriate. Any member of the Board may 
administer oaths or affirmations to witnesses appearing before the 
Board.
    ``(b) Production of Documents.--
          ``(1) Response to inquiries.--Upon the request of the 
        Chairman or a majority of the members of the Board, and subject 
        to existing law, the Secretary (or any contractor of the 
        Secretary) shall provide the Board with such records, files, 
        papers, data, or information as may be necessary to respond to 
        any inquiry of the Board under this title.
          ``(2) Extent.--Subject to existing law, information 
        obtainable under paragraph (1) shall not be limited to final 
        work products of the Secretary, but shall include drafts of 
        such products and documentation of work in progress.

``SEC. 505. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.

    ``(a) In General.--Each member of the Board shall be paid at the 
rate of pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule for each 
day (including travel time) such member is engaged in the work of the 
Board.
    ``(b) Travel Expenses.--Each member of the Board may receive travel 
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsidence, in the same manner 
as is permitted under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, United States 
Code.

``SEC. 506. STAFF.

    ``(a) Clerical Staff.--
          ``(1) Authority of chairman.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
        Chairman may appoint and fix the compensation of such clerical 
        staff as may be necessary to discharge the responsibilities of 
        the Board.
          ``(2) Provisions of title 5.--Clerical staff shall be 
        appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, United States 
        Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and 
        shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 
        and subchapter III of chapter 3 of such title relating to 
        classification and General Schedule pay rates.
    ``(b) Professional Staff.--
          ``(1) Authority of chairman.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and 
        (3), the Chairman may appoint and fix the compensation of such 
        professional staff as may be necessary to discharge the 
        responsibilities of the Board.
          ``(2) Number.--Not more than 10 professional staff members 
        may be appointed under this subsection.
          ``(3) Title 5.--Professional staff members may be appointed 
        without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States 
        Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, and 
        may be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 
        subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 
        classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no 
        individual so appointed may receive pay in excess of the annual 
        rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule.

``SEC. 507. SUPPORT SERVICES.

    ``(a) General Services.--To the extent permitted by law and 
requested by the Chairman, the Administrator of General Services shall 
provide the Board with necessary administrative services, facilities, 
and support on a reimbursable basis.
    ``(b) Accounting, Research, and Technology Assessment Services.--
The Comptroller General, the Librarian of Congress, and the Director of 
the Office of Technology Assessment shall, to the extent permitted by 
law and subject to the availability of funds, provide the Board with 
such facilities, support, funds and services, including staff, as may 
be necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the 
Board.
    ``(c) Additional Support.--Upon the request of the Chairman, the 
Board may secure directly from the head of any department or agency of 
the United States information necessary to enable it to carry out this 
title.
    ``(d) Mails.--The Board may use the United States mails in the same 
manner and under the same conditions as other departments and agencies 
of the United States.
    ``(e) Experts and Consultants.--Subject to such rules as may be 
prescribed by the Board, the Chairman may procure temporary and 
intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5 of the United 
States Code, but at rates for individuals not to exceed the daily 
equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of 
the General Schedule.

``SEC. 508. REPORT.

    ``The Board shall report not less than 2 times per year to Congress 
and the Secretary its findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

``SEC. 509. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There are authorized to be appropriated for expenditures such 
sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this title.

``SEC. 510. TERMINATION OF THE BOARD.

    ``The Board shall cease to exist not later than one year after the 
date on which the Secretary begins disposal of spent nuclear fuel or 
high-level radioactive waste in the repository.''

                         Purpose of the Measure

    S. 1271, as reported by the Committee, would amend the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA of 1982) to direct the 
Secretary of Energy to develop an integrated management system 
for spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste. The bill 
provides for the construction and operation of a centralized 
interim storage facility and completion of siting and licensing 
activities with regard to a permanent geologic repository at 
Yucca Mountain.

                      Summary of Major Provisions

    The bill provides for enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy 
Act of 1996, as a replacement for the NWPA of 1982, as amended. 
Title I establishes the obligation of the Secretary of Energy 
(Secretary) to develop an integrated management system under 
which the Secretary shall accept, transport, store, and dispose 
of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Title I 
also provides that nothing in the bill is intended to modify 
any right of a contract holder under the NWPA of 1982, or 
modify obligations imposed on the Federal Government by the 
U.S. District Court of Idaho in United States v. Batt (No. 91-
0054-S-EJL).
    Title II requires the Secretary to commence emplacement of 
spent nuclear fuel and high level waste in an interim storage 
facility no later than November 30, 1999, with certain 
contingencies that could delay the commencement of facility 
operations by approximately one year. The Secretary is required 
to apply to the Commission for authorization to construct a 
repository by December 31, 2001. Title II also requires the 
Secretary to conduct research and report to Congress regarding 
alternatives for the permanent disposal of spent fuel and high-
level nuclear waste.
    Title III continues the Nuclear Waste Fund, as established 
under the NWPA of 1982, and provides for priorities for the 
spending of funds appropriated to the nuclear waste program. 
Titles IV and V of the bill continues various provisions of the 
NWPA of 1982, including the activities of the Office of 
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management and the Nuclear Waste 
Technical Review Board.

                          Background and Need

                               background

    Nuclear power plants, which provide 20% of the United 
States' electric generating capacity, are powered by small 
uranium pellets loaded into rods within the reactor. 
Approximately every 18 months, a reactor is refueled, at which 
time between one-fourth and one-third of the reactor's fuel, 
which has become inefficient, or ``spent,'' is removed. All 
nuclear reactors were designed with on-site storage pools that 
were intended to serve as temporary storage while the highly 
radioactive fuel cooled before transport to a permanent storage 
site. However, because no permanent storage site exists, the 
reactors have been forced to retain spent fuel in their storage 
pools indefinitely. A typical nuclear plant produces about 30 
tons of spent fuel a year. At this time, over 30,000 metric 
tons of spent fuel are now in temporary storage at nuclear 
power plants at 75 sites across the country. The fuel is very 
dense: all of the spent fuel produced by all of America's 
nuclear plants over the last 30 years would cover only an area 
the size of a football field to a depth of about three yards.
    In addition to the commercial nuclear power industry, the 
Federal Government has produced spent nuclear fuel and high-
level nuclear waste through defense and research activities. 
Research reactors owned by the Department of Energy (DOE) and 
universities produce spent nuclear fuel that is currently 
stored at DOE sites across the country. However, most of the 
fuel at DOE sites is from reactors at the Hanford and Savannah 
River Sites that produced materials for DOE's nuclear weapons 
program. These reactors are no longer operating. The fuel from 
the weapons facilities was intended to be processed to extract 
weapons-grade materials, and as a result, most must be 
stabilized in some manner before it can be safely stored for 
long periods of time.
    Also, since 1957, spent nuclear fuel from nuclear-powered 
naval vessels and naval reactor prototypes has been transported 
to the Naval Reactors Facility at the Idaho National 
Engineering Laboratory (INEL) for testing and examination, 
where it is then stored by DOE. In the course of litigation 
over the State of Idaho's attempt to stop the importation of 
further waste into the State, a court order was issued on 
December 22, 1993 that allowed only a limited number of 
shipments of spent fuel to Idaho pending the completion of an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) by DOE. In April 1995, DOE 
completed an EIS that confirmed DOE's plan to store spent naval 
fuel at INEL. The State of Idaho contested the adequacy of the 
EIS and objected to further shipments. On October 16, 1995, the 
State of Idaho, DOE and the Navy entered into a settlement 
agreement that allows limited shipments of navy fuel to Idaho 
in return for DOE's commitment to remove the fuel by January 1, 
2035.
    High-level nuclear waste has also been produced by defense 
activities. High-level waste is the highly radioactive waste 
material that results from the chemical reprocessing of spent 
nuclear fuel and irradiated targets. Government operations from 
1944 to the present have generated approximately 398,700 cubic 
meters of high-level waste at four sites--the Hanford Site, 
INEL, the Savannah River Site, and the West Valley 
Demonstration Project. The Hanford facility alone has 61 
million gallons of high-level radioactive waste in 177 tanks. 
DOE plans to stabilize these wastes by transforming them into a 
glass-like material, through a process called vitrification. 
DOE estimates that, depending upon canister design and waste 
composition, approximately 30,000 canisters of vitrified high-
level waste may require disposal.

              The Nuclear Waste Policy Act and Amendments

    In 1982, Congress adopted the NWPA of 1982, which required 
the DOE to design and implement a system to dispose of spent 
nuclear fuel in a permanent geologic repository. The NWPA of 
1982 required DOE to begin accepting spent fuel from commercial 
reactors at a repository by 1998. In 1985, the President 
determined that defense-related spent fuel held by DOE could be 
emplaced within the permanent repository. To fund the project, 
Congress ordered that the Department of Energy collect a fee of 
one mill (one-tenth of one cent) per kilowatt hour on 
electricity generated by nuclear energy. The fee is collected 
by utilities from their ratepayers in their monthly bills and 
placed into a special ``Nuclear Waste Fund'' in the Treasury. 
The Fund receives over half a billion dollars per year from 
collections and $300 million per year in interest on the 
unobligated balance. To date, approximately $11 billion in fees 
and interest has been placed in the Fund. In addition, funds 
are appropriated annually from the Defense Programs budget at 
DOE to the nuclear waste disposal program to pay for the 
disposal of defense spent fuel and waste.
    By 1987, DOE had focused on potential sites for a 
geological repository in Texas, the State of Washington, and 
Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as well as several sites in the eastern 
U.S. In the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act (NWPAA), 
Congress reaffirmed that DOE should construct a geologic 
repository, and instructed DOE to study the suitability of only 
the Yucca Mountain site. Due to litigation over the attempts of 
the State of Nevada to stop the study of Yucca Mountain, DOE 
was unable to begin site characterization activities until 
1991.
    Although DOE will have spend almost $6 billion through the 
second quarter of fiscal year 1996 on the program, DOE has 
conceded that the 1998 deadline for the acceptance of spent 
nuclear fuel will not be met.

                            Interim Storage

    As it became clear that a permanent repository would not be 
open by the 1998 deadline, the 1987 NWPAA established the 
Office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator, which was established 
to find a volunteer State or Indian tribe to host a temporary 
storage facility, referred to as a ``monitored retrievable 
storage'' facility or ``MRS.'' Although several Indian tribes 
applied for study grants, due to State and Congressional 
intervention in the process, the program was unable to make 
progress in siting an MRS. Although funds had been appropriated 
for the Office through the end of fiscal year 1995, under the 
terms of the NWPA, the Office terminated on December 22, 1994.
    In any case, because the NWPA of 1982 links the siting of 
an MRS to the siting of the permanent repository, DOE cannot 
select an MRS site until the Secretary has recommended that a 
permanent repository be built at Yucca Mountain, and cannot 
begin construction authorization for the permanent repository. 
The NWPA of 1982 also prohibits the construction of the MRS in 
Nevada.
    Twenty-three reactors will run out of room in their spent 
fuel storage pools by 1998, the deadline for the acceptance of 
waste by DOE. By 2010, DOE's rather optimistic target date for 
opening a permanent repository, an additional 55 reactors will 
be out of space. Thus, many utilities with limited space in 
their storage pools have begun to search for alternative 
storage facilities. At this time, six utilities have on-site 
dry canister storage at their reactors. In most cases, 
obtaining State approval for on-site storage has been quite 
controversial.
    The State regulators have become quite angry with the 
current situation, in which they are required to collect money 
from State ratepayers to fund a DOE waste program which will 
not accept waste any time in the forseeable future, while, at 
the same time, the utilities are faced with growing expenses 
for on-site storage. When DOE admitted that it would be unable 
to take spent fuel in 1998, a group of state regulatory 
agencies, nuclear utilities and state Attorneys General sued 
DOE for breaching the contracts entered into under the NWPA of 
1982. DOE denies that it ``has a clear legal obligation under 
the [NWPA of 1982] to accept spent nuclear fuel absent an 
operational repository or other facility,'' although DOE admits 
that is may have created an ``expectation'' that it would take 
fuel in 1998 under the contracts entered into with the 
utilities under the Act. The case is still pending in the 
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia 
(Indiana Michigan Power Company, et al. v. U.S. Department of 
Energy, Nos. 95-1279, 95-1321, and 95-1463). Currently, many 
State commissions are investigating the possibility of either 
refusing to allow the passthrough of the Nuclear Waste Fee in 
utility rates or placing the fee into escrow rather than 
forwarding it to the Federal Government.

                      Intermodal Transfer Facility

    Last year, the County Commission of Lincoln County, Nevada, 
a county adjacent to the Yucca Mountain site, passed a 
resolution inviting DOE to build a spent fuel cask handling 
facility and temporary storage facility in Lincoln County in 
return for specified payments and benefits to the county. At 
the facility, spent fuel casks would be removed from the Union 
Pacific Railroad line for transfer to the interim storage 
facility at the Nevada Test Site via heavy-haul truck. The 
State government in Nevada, which has been constant in its 
objections to the Yucca Mountain project, filed civil and 
criminal lawsuits against the Lincoln County Commissioners for 
making the proposal. These lawsuits have since been settled.

                          Legislative Activity

    On Thursday, March 2, 1995, the Senate Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources held a hearing regarding S. 443, the 
``Electric Consumers and Environmental Protection Act of 
1995,'' S. 167, the ``Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1995,'' S. 
429, the ``Independent Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Act of 
1995,'' S. 473, the ``Nuclear Energy Policy Act of 1995,'' and 
draft legislation that was later introduced as H.R. 1020. No 
further action has been taken on this legislation.
    At the Committee's May 16, 1995 hearing, Chairman Selin of 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission supported legislation to 
establish a centralized interim storage facility and continue 
characterization of the Yucca Mountain site. At the December 
14, 1996 hearing, Secretary O'Leary of the Department of Energy 
testified that the Administration would oppose any legislation 
that designates a site for an interim storage facility prior to 
an Administration decision regarding the suitability of the 
Yucca Mountain Site for a permanent geologic repository. On 
March 1, 1996, the Chairman received a letter from Alice 
Rivlin, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, that 
indicated that the Administration ``strongly oppose[s] 
designating an interim storage facility at a specific site at 
this time.''
    In the House of Representatives, a similar bill to S. 1271, 
H.R. 1020, was introduced by Representatives Upton, Towns, 
Bilirakis, Manton, Stearns, Hall of Texas, Norwood, Gordon, 
Burr, Thurman, Hastert, Gillmor, Moorhead, Graham, and Franks 
of Connecticut. The bill now has 187 cosponsors. The 
legislation was ordered reported by the Commerce Committee on 
August 2, 1995. The bill was referred to the House Budget and 
Resources Committees but was discharged from those Committees 
without action. The House has taken no further action on H.R. 
1020 at this time.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1271 was introduced on September 25, 1995 by Senator 
Craig for himself, Senator Abraham, Senator Faircloth, Senator 
Hollings, Senator Kempthorne, and Senator Kyl. The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 
After introduction, Senators Bond, Cochran, Coverdell, Helms, 
Heflin, Kassebaum, Levin, Lott, Mack, Nunn, Pressler, Robb, 
Santorum, Shelby, Simpson, Smith, Thomas, Thurmond, and Warner 
were added as co-sponsors.
    On December 14, 1995, the Committee held a hearing on S. 
1271. Additional Committee hearings on the Department of 
Energy's high-level nuclear waste disposal program were held on 
March 2, 1995, and May 16, 1995.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on March 13, 1996, and by a majority vote 
ordered favorably reported an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute offered by Senator Craig and Chairman Murkowski of 
the Committee.

            Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on March 13, 1996, by majority vote of a 
quorum present recommends that the Senate pass S. 1271, if 
amended as described herein.
    During the Committee's consideration of the bill, rollcall 
votes were taken on amendments offered to the amendment in the 
nature of a substitute to the bill. These votes were taken in 
open business session, have been announced publicly by the 
Committee, and are included in the minutes of the session.
    The rollcall vote on the motion to report an amendment in 
the nature of a substitute was 12 yeas, 6 nays, and 1 present 
as follows:
        YEAS                          NAYS
Murkowski                           Bumpers
Hatfield \1\                        Ford \1\
Domenici \1\                        Bingaman \1\
Nickles \1\                         Akaka
Craig                               Wellstone
Campbell                            Dorgan
Thomas
Kyl \1\
Grams
Jeffords \1\
Burns
Heflin \1\

    Note: Mr. Johnston voted ``present.''

    \1\ Indicates voted by proxy.

                          Committee Amendments

    The Committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to S. 1271.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

             section 1.--short title and table of contents

    The title of the Act is the ``Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1996.''

                        section 2.--definitions

    This section reenacts many of the definitions that were 
included in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, with 
modifications where necessary to reflect provisions of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, and eliminates those 
definitions that are no longer necessary. New definitions are 
provided for ``Accept,'' ``Acceptance,'' ``Contracts,'' 
``Contract Holders,'' ``Disposal System,'' ``Emplacement 
Schedule,'' ``Integrated Management System,'' ``Interim Storage 
Facility,'' ``Interim Storage Facility Site,'' ``Metric Tons 
Uranium,'' ``Program Approach,'' ``Withdrawal,'' and ``Yucca 
Mountain Site.'' The definitions are self-explanatory.

                          TITLE I--OBLIGATIONS

          section 101.--obligations of the secretary of energy

    Subsection (a) establishes the obligation of the Secretary 
to develop and operate an integrated management system for the 
storage and permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste. Subsection (b) requires the Secretary 
to commence storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste 
at an interim storage facility developed under the Act 
beginning not later than November 30, 1999. Under subsections 
(c) and (d), the Secretary is required to develop the remaining 
components of the integrated management system, including the 
procurement of all systems and components necessary to 
transport spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste to the 
integrated management system facilities.
    Subsection (e) requires the Secretary, in administering the 
integrated management system, to the maximum extent possible, 
to utilize, employ, procure and contract with the private 
sector to fulfill the Secretary's obligations and requirements 
under the Act. The Committee intends, by this section, to 
ensure that the integrated management system is operated, to 
the maximum extent possible, in an efficient and cost-effective 
manner, and benefits from private sector management practices, 
operations, procedures, and labor practices.
    Subsection (f) provides that nothing in the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1996 is intended to or shall be construed to 
modify any right of a contract holder under section 302(a) of 
the NWPA of 1982, or under a contract executed thereunder prior 
to the date of enactment of this Act; or (2) obligations 
imposed on the Federal government by the U.S. District Court of 
Idaho in United States v. Batt (No. 91-0054-S-EJL). This 
section is intended to make clear that the Committee does not 
intend the enactment of this Act to have any effect on the 
outcome of the lawsuits currently pending in the United States 
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Indiana Michigan 
Power Company, et al. v. U.S. Department of Energy, Nos. 95-
1279, 95-1321, and 95-1463) or any subsequent litigation 
regarding the obligations of the Department or the rights of 
contract holders under the contracts executed under the NWPA of 
1982. The rights of the plaintiffs in those cases, including 
utility contract holders and state government representatives, 
will be determined by the court and will not be impacted by the 
enactment of this Act. Nor is the enactment of this Act 
intended to impact the obligations and rights established in 
the court's order in United States v. Batt.
    Subsection (g) provides that subject to any valid existing 
rights under subsection (f), nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to subject the United States to financial liability 
for the Secretary's failure to meet any deadline for the 
acceptance or emplacement of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
waste under this Act. The Committee stresses that this section 
does not address the liability of the United States for the 
failure to meet any deadline for the acceptance of spent 
nuclear fuel or high-level waste established under the NWPA of 
1982 or the contracts executed thereunder, but rather is 
focused solely on the liability of the United States under the 
specific provisions of this Act.

                 TITLE II--INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

                   section 201.--intermodal transfer

    Subsection (a) requires the Secretary to utilize heavy-haul 
truck transport to move fuel and waste from the mainline rail 
line at Caliente, Nevada to the interim storage facility site. 
Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to develop the capability 
to commence rail to truck intermodal transfer at Caliente no 
later than November 30, 1999.
    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) does not currently 
have regulatory jurisdiction over the Secretary's intermodal 
transfer activities. See section 202 of the Energy 
Reorganization Act of 1974, 42 USC 5842. However, intermodal 
transfer operations, if carried out by private parties, are 
currently permitted by a general license issued by the NRC in 
1981 authorizing any person to possess spent nuclear fuel ``in 
the regular course of carriage for another or storage incident 
thereto.'' See 10 CFR 70.20a(a). A general license is 
``effective without the filing of applications with the [NRC] 
or the issuance of licensing documents to particular persons.'' 
10 CFR 70.18. Therefore, so long as the shipper meets the 
standards specified in the general license, including required 
compliance with applicable NRC security requirements for 
shipments of spent nuclear fuel (10 CFR 73.37), no specific NRC 
licensing authority is required. The Committee intends that the 
Secretary, and the Secretary's contractors, will conduct 
transportation activities in like manner as private parties, 
including compliance with applicable NRC security requirements. 
Thus, the Committee intends that the Secretary will conduct 
intermodal transfer operations in accordance with the 
requirements of the general license. Because the intermodal 
transfer operations would take place consistent with the 
requirements of the general license, NRC has no further 
responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 with respect to such operations. The NRC satisfied its 
NEPA obligations in conjunction with the rulemaking proceeding 
that issued the general license.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to acquire lands and 
rights-of-way along the Chalk Mountain Heavy Haul Route 
depicted on the map dated March 13, 1996, and on file with the 
Secretary, necessary to commence intermodal transfer at 
Caliente. Subsection (d) also requires Secretary to acquire and 
develop on behalf of, and dedicate to, the City of Caliente 
parcels of land and rights-of-way as required to facilitate 
replacement of land and city wastewater disposal activities 
necessary to commence intermodal transfer pursuant to this Act. 
Such replacement shall occur no later than November 30, 1999.
    Subsection (e) requires the Secretary, within 6 months of 
enactment, to publish a legal description of the sites and 
rights-of-way to be acquired and to file copies of a man of 
such sites and rights-of-way with specified Federal, State, and 
local entities. Under subsection (f), the Secretary is required 
to make improvements to existing roadways selected for heavy-
haul truck transport between Caliente and the interim storage 
facility site as necessary to facilitate year-round safe 
transport of fuel and waste.
    Subsection (g) clarifies that the Secretary's activities in 
connection with the development of intermodal transfer 
capability and roadway improvements do not require 
environmental review under NEPA. The Committee expects that the 
NRC will consider the environmental impacts of the development 
and operation of intermodal transfer capability at Caliente, 
Nevada, as well as the environmental impacts associated with 
required improvements to existing roadways selected for heavy-
haul transport between Caliente and the interim storage 
facility site, in the transportation sections of the EIS 
prepared in conjunction with the licensing of the first phase 
of the interim storage facility. Recognizing that environmental 
impacts associated with the intermodal transfer capacity and 
associated roadway improvements will be considered by the NRC, 
the bill clarifies that the Secretary is not required to 
prepare any separate NEPA documentation prior to development of 
the intermodal transfer capability or improvements to existing 
roadways. It is the Committee's intent that the Secretary's 
actions in developing intermodal transfer capability and 
upgrading roadways as necessary for heavy-haul transport not be 
preceded by any NEPA documentation. The Secretary would address 
these issues, as appropriate in the Environmental Report 
submitted to the NRC in support of the Secretary's license 
applications for the interim storage facility.
    Subsection (h) requires the NRC to enter a Memorandum of 
Understanding with the City of Caliente and Lincoln County, 
Nevada, to provide input to the Commission regarding intermodal 
transfer and to facilitate on-site representation. It also 
provides that reasonable expenses of such representation shall 
be paid by the Secretary. Subsection (i) requires the Secretary 
to offer to enter into a benefits agreement with Lincoln 
County, Nevada concerning the Integrated Management System. It 
provides that the agreement shall contain such terms and 
conditions, including financial and institutional arrangements, 
as the parties determine to be reasonable and appropriate and 
shall contain such provisions as are necessary to preserve any 
right to participation or compensation of Lincoln County, 
Nevada.
    Subsection (j) provides that, in addition to any benefits 
provided Lincoln County under the agreement, the Secretary 
shall make payments in accordance with the schedule provided in 
the bill and prevents the Secretary from restricting the 
purposes for which the payments under the schedule may be used. 
This section specifies other required terms of the agreement, 
including dates for payments and governing law.
    Subsection (k) provides that, with one exception, 120 days 
after enactment of the Act, all right, title and interest of 
the United States in thousands of acres of specifically 
designated property are conveyed by operation of law to Lincoln 
County, including all improvements thereon and all necessary 
easements. Pursuant to the exception, any designated property 
that is subject to a Federal grazing permit or lease or a 
similar federally granted permit or lease shall be conveyed 
between 60 and 120 days of the earliest time the Federal agency 
administering or granting the permit or lease would be able to 
terminate legally such permit or lease under applicable law, 
unless Lincoln County and the affected holder of the permit or 
lease negotiate an agreement that allows for an earlier 
conveyance. It also provides that, upon request of Lincoln 
County, the Secretary of the Interior shall provide evidence of 
title transfer.

                 SECTION 202.--TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

    This section requires the Secretary to take those actions 
necessary to ensure ability to transport fuel and waste from 
sites designed by contract holders to mainline transportation 
facilities beginning no later than November 30, 1999.
    This section requires the Secretary, as soon as is 
practicable, to analyze each specific reactor facility in the 
order of priority established in the emplacement schedule, and 
to develop a logistical plan to assure the Secretary's ability 
to transport fuel and waste. In conjunction with development of 
logistical plan, the Secretary is required to update and modify 
the Secretary's transportation institutional plans to support 
commencement of transportation by November 30, 1999.

               SECTION 203.--TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS

    This section reenacts, with some modifications, provisions 
in old law regarding NRC certification of shipping packages; 
the provision of advance notification to States of shipments in 
accordance with NRC regulations; and the Secretary's provision 
of technical and financial assistance to States, affected units 
of local government, and Indian Tribes through whose 
jurisdictions the Secretary plans to ship for training public 
safety officials of appropriate units of local government.
    The Committee emphasizes the concerns of Indian tribes that 
will be impacted by the transportation of spent nuclear fuel 
and high-level waste. The Department of Energy should take 
proactive steps to address impacts on Indian tribes and provide 
emergency response capabilities. Such emergency response 
capabilities must include technical assistance and funding to 
provide needs assessment reviews and programs to ensure 
adequate protection for their communities.
    This section reenacts provisions in existing law requiring 
the Secretary, in providing transportation of fuel and waste, 
to contract with private industry to the fullest extent 
possible. It also requires the Secretary to conduct a program 
to educate the public regarding the transportation of fuel and 
waste, with an emphasis on those State, localities, and Indian 
tribes through whose jurisdiction the Secretary plans to 
transport substantial amounts of fuel or waste.

                     section 204.--interim storage

    Subsection (a) instructs the Secretary to design, construct 
and operate a facility for the interim storage of spent fuel 
and high-level waste at the interim storage facility site. 
Section 2 of the Act defines interim storage facility site as 
the specific site within Area 25 of the Nevada Test Site that 
is designated by the Secretary and withdrawn and reserved in 
accordance with the Act for the location of the interim storage 
facility. Procedures for withdrawal and reservation are 
specified in section 207.
    Subsection (a) also provides that the interim storage 
facility shall be subject to licensing by the NRC pursuant to 
regulations governing the licensing of independent spent fuel 
storage installations (ISFSIs), which regulations shall be 
amended by the Commission as necessary to implement the 
provisions of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, and shall 
commence operation of the first phase by November 30, 1999. The 
intent of this provision is that the Secretary be treated in 
like manner as a private applicant for an ISFSI license.
    Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to proceed forthwith 
with all activities necessary to begin accepting fuel and waste 
at the interim storage facility at the Yucca Mountain site by 
November 30, 1999, with the following provisos: (1) the 
Secretary shall not begin any construction activities at the 
Yucca Mountain site before October 1, 1998; (2) the Secretary 
shall cease all activities (except termination activities) at 
the Yucca Mountain site and undertake activities to establish 
an interim storage facility and repository at an alternative 
site if (A) the President designates an alternative site and it 
is approved by law, or (B) the Secretary determines by October 
1, 1998 that the Yucca Mountain site is unsuitable for 
development as a repository, because of a substantial 
likelihood that a repository of useful size cannot be designed, 
licensed, and constructed at the Yucca Mountain site. It 
provides further that in the event that the Secretary 
determines that the Yucca Mountain site is unsuitable for 
development as a repository in accordance with this section, 
and the Secretary has not designated an alternative interim 
storage facility site that accepts fuel and waste by November 
30, 1999, the Secretary shall begin construction activities for 
an interim storage facility at the Yucca Mountain site with 
such construction activities to be completed within one year.
    A formal suitability determination as contemplated by the 
old law is not required by this bill (see Sec. 205, infra). For 
the purposes of the determination contemplated by this 
subsection, suitability means a substantial likelihood that a 
repository of useful size can be designed, licensed, and 
constructed at the Yucca Mountain site. This strikes a balance 
between the need to consider alternative interim storage 
facility sites in the event that the Secretary determines that 
the Yucca Mountain site is unsuitable for development of a 
repository, and the need for development and operation of an 
interim storage facility site in accordance with an expeditious 
schedule.
    Subsection (c) requires that the design of the interim 
storage facility provide for the use of storage technologies 
licensed, approved, or certified by the Commission for use as 
the interim storage facility as necessary to ensure 
compatibility between the interim storage facility and contract 
holders' spent fuel and facilities. It also requires the 
Secretary to consent to an amendment to the contracts to 
provide for reimbursement to contract holders for transportable 
storage systems purchased by contract holders if the Secretary 
determines that it is cost-effective to use such systems as 
part of the integrated management system, but precludes the 
Secretary from expending funds to modify contract holder 
storage or transport systems or to seek additional regulatory 
approves to use such systems. The intent of this requirement is 
to ensure that the interim storage facility design is 
compatible with transportable storage technologies currently 
being deployed at civilian nuclear power reactors and at any 
private storage facilities, and transportation technologies 
that may be used to transport spent nuclear fuel from such 
reactors to the interim storage facility.
    The Committee intends that the Secretary will discuss 
compatibility issues with contract holders prior to designing 
the interim storage facility, and that such discussions 
continue as necessary to ensure compatibility between the 
interim storage facility and contract holders' spent nuclear 
fuel and facilities. The contracts executed under section 
302(a) of the NWPA of 1982 anticipate the use of casks supplied 
by the Secretary to transport contract holders' spent nuclear 
fuel to the interim storage facility. Since the execution of 
those contracts, there have been many technological and 
regulatory developments with respect to spent nuclear fuel 
storage and transport, and many contract holders may be 
utilizing transportable storage systems for on-site spent 
nuclear fuel storage when the Secretary accepts the Spent 
nuclear fuel pursuant to the emplacement schedule. If the 
Secretary use of the transportable storage systems would 
provide a cost benefit to the integrated management system, the 
Committee believes that it would be appropriate for the 
Secretary to do so and to reimburse the contract holders for 
the cost of the transportable storage system. It is for this 
reason that the Committee directs the Secretary to consent to 
an amendment to the contracts to provide a basis for such 
reimbursement. However, if the Secretary would have to expend 
funds to modify contract holders' systems or seek additional 
regulatory approvals to use such systems, the cost of utilizing 
such systems would outweigh the benefits.
    Subsection (d) requires that the interim storage facility 
be licensed in two phases in order to commence operations no 
later than November 30, 1999. It requires the Secretary, no 
later than 12 months after the date of enactment of the Act, to 
submit to the NRC an application for a license for the first 
phase of the interim storage facility. It specifies that the 
first phase license shall have a term of 20 years, which shall 
be renewable for additional terms upon application by the 
Secretary, and a capacity, or not more than 20,000 MTU. It 
requires the NRC to issue a final decision on the Secretary's 
license application within 16 months of application submittal.
    Subsection (d)(2) requires that the Environmental Report 
and Safety Analysis Report submitted in support of the first 
phase license application be consistent with the scope of 
authority requested in the license application. The first phase 
storage facility will be a simple storage facility, consisting 
primary of a concrete pad and storage systems similar to those 
used at licensed ISFSI at reactor sites. The NRC has experience 
licensing such facilities, and should be able to complete the 
licensing process for a limited facility within the 16 month 
period.
    Subsection (d)(3) requires the Secretary to submit a 
license application for the second phase facility no later than 
30 months after enactment. This subsection specifies that the 
second phase facility license shall authorize a storage 
capacity of 100,000 MTU. It also requires that the second phase 
of the interim storage facility commences operation by Dec. 31, 
2002, shall have an initial term of up to 100 years, and shall 
be renewable for additional terms upon application by the 
Secretary.
    Subsection (e)(1) permits the Secretary to commence site 
preparation as soon as practicable following the date of 
enactment of the Act, and to commence construction of each 
phase of the interim storage facility subsequent to submittal 
of license application, but authorizes NRC to issue an order 
requiring the Secretary to suspend construction based on a 
finding of unreasonable risk to public health and safety and 
the environment. This provision must be read in conjunction 
with section 204(b)(1), which prohibits any site construction 
activities prior to October 1, 1998. The Committee believes 
that this provision appropriately balances the need to 
facilitate the Secretary's ability to meet the schedule for the 
commencement of the interim storage facility operations by 
November 30, 1999, and the need for adequate protection of 
public health and safety, and the environment. As noted above, 
the first phase interim storage facility will be a relatively 
simple facility that is similar to ISFSIs that have already 
been licensed at power reactor sites. The construction of the 
concrete pads and support buildings comprising the first phase 
facility design is a relatively benign process from the 
standpoint of impacts on the public health and safety and the 
environment. Of course, in undertaking prelicensing 
construction, the Secretary bears the risk that the facility 
may require modification as a result of the licensing process.
    Notwithstanding any otherwise applicable licensing 
requirement, subsection (e)(2) authorizes the Secretary to 
utilize any facility owned by the Federal Government on the 
date of enactment of the Act within the boundaries of the 
interim storage facility site. This provision is intended to 
authorize the Secretary to use the existing Engine-Maintenance 
and Disassembly (E-MAD) Facility to handle individual spent 
fuel assemblies as needed. The Secretary's determination that 
use of the E-MAD facility is necessary and appropriate to 
ensure satisfaction of the Secretary's obligations under this 
Act is committed to the Secretary's sole discretion and not 
subject to judicial review; the Commission has no licensing or 
oversight authority with respect to the use of the facility. 
The Secretary need not prepare any documentation under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 prior to utilizing 
the E-MAD facility.
    Subsection (e)(3) provides that, subject to the 
establishment of criteria and grant of authority necessary to 
store additional fuel and waste, including spent fuel from 
naval reactors, once the Secretary has achieved the annual 
acceptance rate for spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear 
power reactors established pursuant to contracts executed prior 
to the date of enactment of the Act, the Secretary shall accept 
additional fuel and waste, in an amount not less than 25% of 
the difference between the contractual acceptance rate and 
annual emplacement rate for spent nuclear fuel from civilian 
nuclear power reactors established under section 407(a) of the 
Act.
    Subsection (f) clarifies that the Secretary's actions in 
connection with the selection of an interim storage facility 
site, the submittal of any license application and supporting 
documentation, the construction and operation of any facility, 
and the use of any facility at the site owned by the federal 
government are preliminary decision making activities, and 
therefore not subject to judicial review, and do not require 
any NEPA documentation. This subsection require NRC to prepare 
an EIS in connection with any licensing decision and specifies 
what NRC must consider in the EIS, narrowing the scope of the 
EIS to reflect appropriately the scope of the Commission's 
licensing decisions. This subsection directs NRC to ensure that 
the scope of the EIS is consistent with the licensing action. 
Subsection (g) specifies that judicial review of the NRC's EIS 
shall be consolidated with judicial review of its licensing 
action; and precludes a reviewing court from enjoining facility 
construction or operation except in conjunction with final 
decision on licensing action.
    These provisions reflect the decision to treat the 
Secretary in like manner as a private applicant for an ISFSI 
license. A private applicant is required to submit an 
environmental report in support of a license application that 
contains data that will be utilized by the NRC in preparing the 
EIS. The Secretary is required to prepare an environmental 
report in accordance with the regulations governing preparation 
of an environmental report by a private party. The Committee 
does not intend for the Secretary to turn the environmental 
report into a functional EIS by content or by process. The 
responsibility to prepare an EIS appropriately lies with the 
NRC, the objective licensing agency, as opposed to the 
Secretary. Because the site for the interim storage facility 
has been selected by Congress, the Secretary's only role in 
site selection is to choose the specific location for the 
facility within the boundaries of the site selected by 
Congress. The purpose of NEPA analyses is to aid agency 
decisions and since the Committee has made certain decisions 
regarding the interim storage facility, which are reflected in 
the bill, no purpose would be served by NEPA analyses of these 
decisions. Thus, an EIS is not necessary to support the 
Secretary's site selection process. Finally, the impacts that 
would be reviewed in any EIS prepared by the Secretary would be 
the same as the impacts that will be reviewed by the NRC, e.g., 
the impacts of construction and operation of an interim storage 
facility at the designated site. There is no justification for 
requiring duplicative analyses by the Secretary and the NRC.
    The Committee recognizes that the two-step licensing 
process will result in two separate licensing hearings, and 
that in conjunction with the second phase license the NRC will 
have to prepare a supplement to the EIS prepared in conjunction 
with the first phase licensing. However, the Committee does not 
intend for the second phase licensing process to relitigate 
health and safety or environmental issues that were litigated 
and decided in the first phase licensing process. Thus, issues 
which are adjudicated in a hearing on the first phase license 
shall be final and shall not be readjudicated in hearings on 
the second phase license unless a request for a hearing on such 
an issues shows prima facie, that as a result of significantly 
changed circumstances, failure to grant hearing would be 
contrary to providing reasonable assurance of adequate 
protection of the public health and safety or the environment. 
The Committee believes that this standard is consistent with 
existing law as implemented by the NRC, and should govern the 
interim storage facility licensing process.
    Subsection (h) protects NRC's Waste Confidence decision by 
providing that the Secretary's obligation to construct and 
operate an interim storage facility in accordance with the Act, 
and the Secretary's obligation to develop an Integrated 
Management System in accordance with the Act, shall provide 
sufficient and independent grounds (in addition to grounds NRC 
has used in the past) for any further NRC finding of reasonable 
assurance that fuel and waste will be disposed of safely and on 
a timely basis or purposes of any decision to grant or amend a 
reactor license.
    Subsection (i) requires NRC, within 18 months of enactment, 
to establish criteria (to the extent such criteria are not 
incorporated in NRC regulations) for the storage in the interim 
storage facility of spent fuel and high-level waste from 
shutdown reactors, spent fuel and high-level waste from atomic 
energy defense activities, and spent fuel from foreign research 
reactors (referred to as additional fuel and waste). It reqires 
the Secretary, following establishment of such criteria, to 
seek authority, as necessary, to store such additional fuel and 
waste. It also provides that neither the establishment of such 
criteria or request for authority to store additional fuel and 
waste shall delay or otherwise affect, the development, 
construction, licensing, or operation of the interim storage 
facility.
    Subsection (j) reenacts the provisions of the NWPA of 1982 
that authorized the NRC to establish procedures for the 
licensing of any technology for the dry storage of spent 
nuclear fuel by rule and without, to the maximum extent 
possible, the need for site-specific approvals by the 
Commission. It protects the Commission's procedures governing 
the licensing of independent spent fuel storage installations, 
including the general license, by providing that nothing in the 
Act shall affect such procedures, or any licenses or approvals 
issued pursuant to such procedures, in effect on the date of 
enactment of the Act.

                    section 205.--permanent disposal

    Subsection (a) annuls and revokes the Secretary's site 
characterization guidelines codified at 10 CFR Part 960. It 
requires the Secretary to continue with site characterization 
activities in accordance with the program approach, and to 
eliminate or modify any site characterization activities 
designed to demonstrate suitability under the guidelines. This 
provision is necessary to reflect the changes in the 
Secretary's responsibilities since the passage of the NWPA of 
1982. Section 112 of the NWPA, as enacted in 1982, required the 
Secretary to nominate at least 5 sites as suitable for 
characterization for development as a repository, and to 
recommend 3 of the sites to the President for further 
characterization. The nominations and recommendations were to 
be based, in part, on the site suitability guidelines. Thus, 
the primary purpose of the guidelines was to assist the 
Secretary in comparing and evaluating the relative advantages 
and disadvantages of the various sites under consideration. In 
1987, Congress amended the NWPA to require the Secretary to 
characterize only the Yucca Mountain site and to cease site 
characterization activities at all other sites under 
consideration. However, Congress did not give the Secretary any 
direction as to the continued value of the site suitability 
guidelines. As a result, the Secretary has designed the site 
characterization program to enable the Secretary to reach a 
decision on site suitability as a precondition to preparing the 
license application. This is an inappropriate use of the 
guidelines, and a waste of the Secretary's limited resources. 
The relevant question is not whether the Yucca Mountain site is 
suitable, but whether the site can satisfy the Commission's 
repository licensing regulations in 10 CFR Part 60. Thus, the 
bill expressly annuls and revokes the guidelines, and in so 
doing makes clear that the Secretary is to focus the site 
characterization program solely on obtaining information 
necessary to make a determination whether the site can satisfy 
applicable licensing standards.
    Subsection (a)(3) requires the Secretary to submit a 
license application for the repository consistent with the 
schedule set forth in the program approach, as modified to be 
consistent with the Act, but no later than December 31, 2001. 
If, prior to the filing of the application, the Secretary 
determines that the Yucca Mountain site cannot satisfy the 
Commission's repository licensing regulations, the Secretary 
must terminate site characterization activities and report to 
Congress within six months. This subsection requires the 
Secretary to develop a repository design that maximizes 
repository capacity.
    Subsection (b) requires NRC, upon completion of the 
licensing proceeding for the first phase of the interim storage 
facility, to amend its repository licensing regulations as 
necessary to comply with the Act, including the licensing 
process and release standard established in the Act. This 
subsection establishes a three-step process for licensing the 
repository: first, a construction authorization; followed by a 
license to dispose of waste in the repository; and ultimately a 
license amendment permitting the Secretary to close the 
repository. For each step, NRC must find that the action 
complies with the Secretary's application, the Act, and the 
NRC's regulations; does not pose an unreasonable risk to public 
health and safety; is consistent with the common defense and 
security; and is consistent with the most economic use of the 
Nation's resources. This subsection requires the Secretary to 
take those actions necessary and appropriate at the site to 
prevent any activity at the site subsequent to repository 
closure that poses an unreasonable risk of breaching the 
repository's engineered or geologic barriers or increasing 
exposure to members of the public beyond the limits established 
in this section.
    Subsection (c) requires NRC to provide in its regulations 
for the modification of the repository licensing procedure, as 
appropriate, in the event that the Secretary seeks a license to 
permit the emplacement of waste in the repository, on a 
retrievable basis, as necessary to provide the Secretary with 
sufficient confirmatory data on repository performance to 
reasonably confirm the basis for repository closure.
    Subsection (d) establishes a standard that constitutes an 
overall system performance standard. Clarifies that EPA shall 
not promulgate, by rule or otherwise, standards for the 
repository and provides that any such standards existing on the 
date of enactment shall not be incorporated in the NRC's 
licensing regulations. The overall system performance standard 
established for the repository prohibits releases of 
radioactive material or radioactivity that would expose an 
average member of the general population in the vicinity of the 
Yucca Mountain site to an annual dose in excess of 100 
millirems. This is the maximum annual dose from manmade sources 
recommended by the National Council on Radiation Protection and 
Measurements, and the NRC's general public protection standard. 
An annual dose of 100 millirems is equivalent to one-third of 
the annual dose an individual receives from natural sources 
(often referred to as natural background radiation). This is an 
objectively measurable scientific standard that will not change 
over time. It is the limit for annual public exposure that is 
recommended by the International Commission for Radiological 
Protection (ICRP), and thus is consistent with the current 
international consensus. See ISSN-0146-6453, ICRP Publication 
60, 1990 Recommendations of the International Commission on 
Radiological Protection.
    Subsection (d)(2) specifies the manner in which the NRC is 
to apply the overall system performance standard. It requires 
the Commission to issue the license if it finds reasonable 
assurance that for the first 1,000 years following the 
commencement of repository operations, the overall system 
performance standard will be met based on a probabilistic 
evaluation, as appropriate, of compliance with the overall 
system performance standard. The Commission is also required to 
analyze the overall system performance through the use of 
probabilistic evaluations that use best estimate assumptions, 
data, and methods for the period commencing after the first 
1,000 years of operation of the repository and terminating at 
10,000 years after the commencement of operation of the 
repository.
    Subsection (d)(3) requires NRC to assume that, following 
repository closure, the inclusion of engineered barriers and 
Secretary's post-closure actions at the site will thwart human 
intrusion sufficient to prevent exposure of members of the 
public beyond limits established in this section. It clarifies 
that an average member of the general population in the 
vicinity of the Yucca Mountain site means a person whose 
behavior represents the average for persons living in the 
vicinity of the site. This subsection precludes NRC 
consideration of catastrophic events where health consequences 
of such events can be reasonably assumed to exceed the health 
consequences due to the impact of the events on repository 
performance.
    Subsection (e) requires the Secretary to prepare an EIS in 
connection with the license application and to supplement such 
EIS as appropriate, but relieves the Secretary of the need to 
consider the need for the repository, or alternative sites or 
designs for the repository. It requires NRC, in licensing the 
repository, to adopt the Secretary's EIS, and any supplement 
thereto, to the extent practicable.

                     section 206.--land withdrawal

    This section provides for withdrawal of the Interim Storage 
Facility Site, as designated by the Secretary within Area 25 of 
the Nevada Test Site, within 6 months of enactment of the Act 
through the publication of the required legal description in 
the Federal Register and the filing of the map with the 
appropriate government entities. It provides for the withdrawal 
of the Yucca Mountain Site at the same time that the Secretary 
submits a license application.
    When the withdrawals become effective, this section 
transfers jurisdiction of any land within such sites to the 
Secretary, and reserves such sites for the Secretary's 
exclusive use in connection with construction and operation of 
an interim storage facility and a repository. It also specifies 
procedures the Secretary must follow to depict the boundaries 
of the withdrawn sites.

             section 207.--permanent disposal alternatives

    Subsection (a) requires the Secretary, within 270 days 
after the date of enactment of the Act, to report to Congress 
on alternatives for the permanent disposal of spent fuel and 
high-level waste. Specifies issues that must be addressed in 
the report, including an assessment of alternative technologies 
for the treatment and disposal of fuel and waste, cost 
estimates of the research and development of alternative 
technologies, and the environmental and public health and 
safety aspects of such alternative technologies.
    Subsection (b) establishes an Office of Nuclear Waste 
Disposal Research within the Office of Energy Research of the 
Department of Energy, to be headed by a Director appointed by 
the Director of the Office of Energy Research. It charges the 
Director of the Office with responsibility for carrying out 
research, development, and demonstration activities on 
alternative technologies for the treatment and disposal of fuel 
and waste. This subsection also requires the Director to report 
annually to Congress on the activities and expenditures of the 
Office.
    Subsection (b) also requires the Secretary, within 60 days 
of the date of enactment of the Act, to establish a university-
based Nuclear Waste Disposal Consortium involving universities, 
national laboratories, the commercial nuclear industry, and 
other organizations to investigate the technical and 
institutional feasibility of alternative technologies for the 
treatment and disposal of fuel and waste. It authorizes the 
Secretary to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, the 
Consortium.
    Finally, the Consortium is required to develop a research 
plan and budget to achieve specified objectives by 2005. 
Objectives include the identification of promising alternative 
technologies for the treatment and disposal of fuel and waste; 
research and development of such conceptional designs, 
including costs and institutional requirements; and the 
identification and assessment of the potential impacts of such 
alternative technologies on the environment. It requires 
Consortium to report to Congress in 2000 and 2005 on the 
progress being made in achieving specified objectives.

                  TITLE III--FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

                     section 301.--program funding

    This section reenacts, with some modifications, provisions 
of existing law with respect to the execution of contracts for 
the Secretary's acceptance of title and possession, 
transportation, interim storage, and disposal of fuel and 
waste, in return for payment of specified fees to the 
Secretary. It clarifies that, subsequent to enactment of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the contracts executed under 
the NWPA of 1982 shall remain in effect, provided that the 
Secretary shall consent to an amendment to such contracts, as 
necessary, to implement the provisions of the NWPA of 1996. 
Thus, the Committee does not intend by this section to require 
the Secretary to execute new contracts with current contract 
holders. Rather, the Committee intends that the Secretary will, 
and has so directed the Secretary, to consent to an amendment 
to the existing contracts as necessary to reflect the 
provisions of the bill.
    Subsection (a) enacts the current ongoing fee of 1.0 mill 
per kilowatt hour generated and sold. Payment of a 1.0 mill per 
kilowatt hour fee under the Contracts prior to enactment of 
this Act shall fulfill all fee obligations related to fuel used 
to generate electricity prior to enactment. It reenacts the 
provisions of the NWPA of 1982 regarding the one-time fee for 
fuel used to generate electricity prior to April 7, 1983, 
clarifies that payment of such fees prior to date of enactment 
shall satisfy the one-time fee obligation, and provides that 
any future payments of such fees, including any interest due 
under the contracts, shall be made to the Nuclear Waste Fund.
    Subsection (a)(4) requires Secretary to review the fee 
annually to evaluate whether they, together with the existing 
balance in the Nuclear Waste Fund, provide sufficient revenues 
to offset program costs. In event the Secretary determines that 
the fees will provide either insufficient or excessive revenues 
to recover program costs, requires the Secretary to propose an 
adjustment of the fee to ensure full cost recovery, and to 
transmit immediately the proposal for such an adjustment to 
both houses of Congress.
    Subsection (b) reenacts with minor changes provisions of 
NWPA of 1982 that prohibit NRC from issuing or renewing a 
license for a utilization or production facility unless such 
person has executed a contract with the Secretary or the 
Secretary affirms that such person is negotiating such a 
contract. Similarly, it reenacts provisions of NWPA of 1982 
prohibiting disposal of fuel in the repository unless the 
generator or owner has executed a contract with the Secretary. 
This subsection provides that the rights and duties of contract 
holders are assignable.
    Subsection (c) provides for continuation of the Waste Fund 
established under the NWPA of 1982, which shall consist of the 
existing balance in the Waste Fund on the date of enactment; 
and all receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized due to fee 
payments and recoveries realized as a result of the investment 
of the balance in the Waste Fund. It reenacts provisions of 
NWPA of 1982 that authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to 
hold the Waste Fund and invest proceeds. This subsection 
authorizes Secretary to make expenditures for the Waste Fund 
only for purposes of the Integrated Management System.

     section 302.--office of civilian radioactive waste management

    This section reenacts provisions of the old law 
establishing the OCRWM. It provides that Office shall be headed 
by the Director, and specifies appointment procedure and pay 
level for Director.

                   section 303.--federal contribution

    This section requires the Secretary, within one year of 
enactment, to issue a final rule establishing the appropriate 
portion of program costs allocable to the storage and/or 
disposal of spent nuclear fuel and/or high-level radioactive 
waste from atomic energy defense activities, and spent nuclear 
fuel from foreign research reactors. It directs that such costs 
include (i) the costs associated with research and development 
activities, and (ii) as appropriate, interest on the principal 
amounts due by reference to the appropriate Treasury interest 
rate as if the payments were made at a point in time consistent 
with the payment dates for fuel and waste under the contracts.
    Subsection (b) authorizes appropriations from general 
revenues to cover the costs, as determined by the Secretary in 
the rulemaking proceeding, of storing and/or disposing of waste 
and fuel from atomic energy defense activities under the 
Integrated Management System and directs the Secretary to 
request such appropriations along with the Secretary's requests 
for appropriations from the Waste Fund.
    Subsection (c) requires the Secretary to advise the 
Congress, on an annual basis, of the amount of waste and fuel 
from atomic energy defense activities requiring management in 
the Integrated Management System.

                    section 304.--budget priorities

    This section specifies that, in preparing annual budget 
requests for appropriations for the Integrated Management 
System and allocating funds among competing requirements, the 
Secretary shall accord priority to the licensing, construction, 
and operation of the interim storage facility and the 
development of transportation capability, including 
transportation planning and the development of intermodal 
transfer capability.
    This section specifies that, in preparing annual requests 
for appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund, and allocating 
such funds among competing requirements, the NRC shall accord 
priority first to the licensing of an interim storage facility 
and any associated storage and/or transport systems to be used 
in the integrated management system, and second to the 
licensing of the repository.

             TITLE IV--GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

                section 401.--compliance with other laws

    This section states that actions authorized by the NWPA of 
1996 shall be governed solely by the Atomic Energy, Energy 
Reorganization Act of 1974, Hazardous Materials Transportation 
Act, the NWPA of 1996, and regulations issued thereunder. It 
provides that such activities shall not be subject to any other 
federal, state or local atomic energy, environmental, or land 
use requirements.

            section 402.--judicial review of agency actions

    This section reenacts provisions of existing law regarding 
judicial review. In addition, it specifies that any specific 
judicial review provisions in the Act take precedence over the 
more general judicial review provisions of other laws.

    section 403.--licensing of facility expansions and transhipments

    This section reenacts provisions in existing law regarding 
licensing proceedings for expansion of spent nuclear fuel 
storage capacity at the site of power reactors.

                section 404.--siting a second repository

    This section reenacts provisions in existing law barring 
the Secretary from developing a second repository without 
further authorization and requiring the Secretary to report on 
the need for a second repository between 2007 and 2010.

 SECTION 405.--FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE 
                              SITE CLOSURE

    This section reenacts provisions in existing law 
authorizing the Secretary to assume ownership of low-level 
waste sites after their decommissioning.

     SECTION 406.--NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TRAINING AUTHORITY

    This section reenacts provisions in existing law 
authorizing NRC to issue regulations on nuclear power plant 
operator training.

                   SECTION 407.--EMPLACEMENT SCHEDULE

    This section requires that the emplacement schedule shall 
be implemented in accordance with the acceptance priority 
ranking determined by the Department's annual ``Acceptance 
Priority Ranking'' report. It requires that the Secretary's 
spent fuel emplacement rate shall be no less than 1,200 MTU in 
1999 and 2000; 2,000 MTU in 2001 and 2002; 2,700 MTU in 1003; 
and 3,000 MTU annually thereafter.
    In the event the Secretary is unable to begin emplacement 
by January 21, 1999 at the rates specified, or if the 
cumulative amount accepted in any year thereafter is less than 
specified, provides as a mitigation measure that the Secretary 
is required to adjust the schedule upward such that within 5 
years of the start of emplacement, the total quantity emplaced 
is consistent with the total quantity that would have been 
accepted if emplacement commenced in 1999 and thereafter the 
emplacement rate is equivalent to the rate that would be in 
place if the Secretary had commenced acceptance in 1999.

                     SECTION 408.--EMERGENCY RELIEF

    This section specifies circumstances under which a contract 
holder qualifies for emergency relief. These circumstances 
include situations where the contract holder (i) exhausts 
existing on-site storage capacity; (ii) is unable to complete 
scheduled decommissioning because spent fuel cannot be removed 
from the site; or (iii) the spent fuel is of a nonstandard form 
and cannot be accepted at the interim storage facility. The 
Secretary is also authorized to determine whether other 
situations require emergency relief.
    If the Secretary determines that a contract holder 
qualifies for emergency relief, authorizes the contract holder 
to execute an emergency relief contract with entities qualified 
to provide interim storage and conditioning. This section 
provides that under any such contract, the qualified entities 
would be required to package, ship and receive the contract 
holder's spent fuel for interim storage and conditioning, and 
return any spent fuel and the equivalent radioactive residues 
resulting from conditioning to the Secretary no later than 
December 31, 2045.
    This section provides that title to all spent fuel and 
high-level waste resulting from the treatment of such fuel 
pursuant to an emergency relief contract shall transfer to the 
Secretary upon the packaging of the fuel by the qualified 
entity.

                    SECTION 409.--TRANSFER OF TITLE

    This section provides that acceptance by the Secretary of 
any spent fuel or high-level waste shall constitute a transfer 
of title to the Secretary. Acceptance is defined as the 
Secretary's act of taking possession of the fuel or waste 
involved.

                SECTION 410.--ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

    This section provides that, notwithstanding any other law 
or regulations, the obligations of the Secretary and the 
Commission pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 in connection with the development and operation of the 
Integrated Management System are limited to those set forth 
specifically in the NWPA of 1996.

              SECTION 411.--DECOMMISSIONING PILOT PROGRAM

    This section authorizes the Secretary to establish a 
Decommissioning Pilot Program to decommission and decontaminate 
the sodium-cooled fast breeder experimental test-site reactor 
located in northwest Arkansas. This section precludes the use 
of the Nuclear Waste Fund to fund the Decommissioning Pilot 
Program.

             TITLE V--NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

    This section reenacts provisions in the NWPA of 1982 
establishing the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    In compliance with paragraph 11(a) of the rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following estimate of the 
costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional 
Budget Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, March 28, 1996.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1271, the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1996.
    Enactment of S. 1271 would not affect direct spending or 
receipts. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply 
to the bill.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    1. Bill number: S. 1271.
    2. Bill title: Nuclear Waster Policy Act of 1996.
    3. Bill status: As ordered reported by the Senate Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources on March 13, 1996.
    4. Bill purpose: S. 1271 would amend the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act by directing the Department of Energy (DOE) to begin 
storing spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste at an 
interim facility in Nevada, no later than November 30, 1999. 
The bill would direct DOE to continue site characterization 
activities at the proposed permanent repository site at Yucca 
Mountain, also in Nevada. Under the bill, DOE would apply to 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by December 31, 2001, 
for authorization to construct a permanent repository, provided 
that DOE determines that the Yucca Mountain site can satisfy 
the NRC's regulations for the licensing of a permanent nuclear 
waste repository.
    5. Estimated cost to the Federal Government: Assuming 
appropriations of the necessary amounts, the Department of 
Energy would incur obligations totaling about $1.3 billion over 
the 1997-2000 period for costs of the interim storage facility 
to be constructed in Nevada. In addition, the bill would 
require DOE to continue site characterization work at the Yucca 
Mountain site according to the plan of December 19, 1994, as 
modified for enactment of this legislation. Based on 
information from DOE and assuming appropriations of the 
necessary funds, CBO estimates that the Yucca Mountain work, 
including program management costs, would require obligations 
of $2.7 billion over the 1997-2000 period. In total, CBO 
estimates that the bill would authorize funding of $4 billion, 
from 1997 through 2000, as shown in the following table.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              1996       1997       1998       1999       2000  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spending under current law:                                                                                     
    Budget authority.....................................        403  .........  .........  .........  .........
    Estimated outlays....................................        413         31  .........  .........  .........
Proposed changes:                                                                                               
    Estimated authorization level........................  .........        910      1,010      1,100      1,000
    Estimated outlays....................................  .........        546        879      1,054      1,031
Spending under S. 1271:                                                                                         
    Estimated authorization level........................        403        910      1,010      1,100      1,000
    Estimated outlays....................................        413        577        879      1,054      1,031
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The costs of this bill fall within budget functions 270 and 
050.
    6. Basis of estimate: This estimate is based on DOE's 
program plan issued on December 19, 1994, and on preliminary 
information from the department concerning the costs of the 
interim storage facility described in the bill.

                             yucca mountain

    S. 1271 would direct DOE to proceed with the agency's 
Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program Plan of December 
19, 1994. The plan calls for continuing to evaluate the 
potential site for waste disposal at Yucca Mountain, applying 
for construction authorization from the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission in 2001, and accepting spent nuclear fuel starting 
in 2010. Based on information from DOE, we estimate that this 
effort would cost about $2.7 billion over the 1997-2000 
period--an average of $675 million annually, compared to 1996 
spending for the Yucca Mountain project of about $320 million. 
Spending after 2000 would continue at a level of about $600 
million a year until a decision is made as to whether or not to 
construct a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain in 2002.

                        interim storage facility

    The bill would require DOE to design and develop an interim 
nuclear waste storage facility accessible by heavy-haul truck 
in Nevada. The facility would need to accept 1,200 metric tons 
of waste in 1999 and have a total capacity of 120,000 metric 
tons. Based on information from DOE, we estimate that securing 
property and rights of way, acquiring transportation 
infrastructure equipment for the interim repository, completing 
the design, constructing the facility, and beginning operation 
would cost about $1.3 billion over the 1997-2000 period, based 
on information from DOE.
    The bill would prohibit DOE from commencing construction of 
the interim repository until after October 1, 1998. Starting in 
2001, facility expansion and operations would continue at a 
cost of about $260 million annually for another six years. The 
bill would require the operating license for the first phase of 
the interim repository to have a term of 20 years and be 
renewable; the second phase of the interim repository would 
have a license for 100 years and also be renewable. In 1996, 
DOE received an appropriation of $85 million for work on an 
interim repository. However, the appropriations bill specified 
that these funds would remain unavailable for obligation until 
legislation is enacted to authorize the construction of such a 
repository.

                            other provisions

    Section 201 would authorize payments to Lincoln County, 
Nevada of $2.5 million annually before waste is shipped to the 
interim facility and $5 million annually after waste shipments 
begin. Section 411 would authorize such sums as are necessary 
to establish a decommissioning pilot program to decommission 
and decontaminate a sodium-cooled fast breeder experimental 
test-site reactor acquired by the University of Arkansas in 
1976. Based on information from the university, this activity 
could cost $20 million and take about four years to complete. 
This estimate assumes that all fuel has been removed from the 
facility. Section 509 authorizes appropriation of such sums as 
are necessary for the activities of the Nuclear Waste Technical 
Review Board. Based on the board's ongoing work, CBO estimates 
this agency would spend about $3 million annually over the 
1997-2000 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary 
amounts.
    7. Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
    8. Estimated impact on State, local, and tribal 
governments: CBO has not completed its analysis of the 
intergovernmental impact of S. 1271. We will provide that 
analysis at a later date.
    9. Estimated impact on the private sector: This bill would 
impose no new federal private sector mandates, as defined in 
Public Law 104-4.
    10. Previous CBO estimate: None.
    11. Estimate prepared by: Kim Cawley.
    12. Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, for Paul N. 
Van de Water, Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                       Federal Mandate Evaluation

    The Congressional Budget Office Federal mandate evaluation 
has been requested but was not received at the time the report 
was filed. When the report is available, the Chairman will 
request that it be printed in the Congressional Record for the 
advice of the Senate.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
implementing S. 1271. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses above those in existing law.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    There are not likely to be significant paperwork 
requirements for the Department of Energy above those required 
by existing law.

                        Executive Communications

    On December 5, 1995, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
Energy and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth 
Executive agency recommendations on S. 1271. The report from 
the Department of Energy had not been received at the time the 
report on S. 1271 was filed. When the report becomes available, 
the Chairman will request that it be printed in the 
Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. The Report 
from the Office of Management and Budget is as follows:

                 Executive Office of the President,
                           Office of Management and Budget,
                                     Washington, DC, March 1, 1996.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: Thank you for your letter of January 
10th to the President outlining your continuing concern about 
the direction of the civilian nuclear waste program. He has 
asked that I respond on his behalf.
    The Administration appreciates and shares the concern that 
you and many of your colleagues have expressed about the time 
and resources that the government has invested in the search 
for a suitable site for a geologic repository for spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level nuclear waste. We also appreciate the 
concerns that you and others have raised about the costs of 
extended storage of spent nuclear fuel at reactor sites from 
the nation's commercial nuclear power plants and about the need 
for centralized interim storage pending completion of a 
permanent facility. We share your desire to resolve this 
complex and important issue. At the same time, as the President 
has stated, we are committed to doing so in a way that is 
objective and fair to both the citizens of Nevada and the rest 
of the Nation.
    In response to your concerns, both my October 13th letter 
to leaders of the Conference Committee on the FY 1996 Energy 
and Water Appropriations bill and Secretary O'Leary's testimony 
before your committee on December 14th provide the 
Administration's views on how the issue should be approached. 
We believe that the government's long-standing commitment to 
geologic disposal should remain the basic goal of Federal high-
level radioactive waste management policy. Significantly 
deferring or abandoning that commitment would jeopardize the 
entire waste management program, with potentially adverse 
consequences for ratepayers, utilities, the national energy 
outlook and defense policy, the cleanup of the Department of 
Energy's nuclear weapons complex, and international 
nonproliferation and environmental policy. The prospects for 
timely development of any necessary interim storage facilities 
could be particularly damaged by any potential weakening of our 
long-term strategy for disposal. As Idaho Governor Batt 
indicated in your December 14th hearing, the willingness of any 
State to accept interim storage is likely to be contingent upon 
confidence in the availability of a permanent facility. 
Furthermore, the technical requirements of any interim facility 
also will be significantly affected by the likelihood that the 
Yucca Mountain site ultimately will be available as the 
permanent repository site.
    Accordingly, we strongly oppose designating an interim 
storage facility at a specific site at this time. We believe 
that any potential siting decision concerning such a facility 
ultimately should be based on objective criteria and informed 
by the likelihood of success of the Yucca Mountain repository 
site. Thus, we feel it is necessary to complete the scientific 
and other assessments that are now underway to determine the 
viability of the site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, to serve as 
the permanent repository before considering specific options 
for an interim storage facility. Our current schedule 
anticipates completing the viability assessment in the 1998-
1999 time frame. We hope that the Congress will provide 
resources sufficient to keep us on that schedule. Any effort 
expended on an interim facility in the meantime should only 
focus on non-site-specific design and engineering.
    The accelerated progress that the nuclear waste program has 
made recently results from planning and management innovations 
begun by this Administration. As Secretary O'Leary made clear 
in her testimony, we agree with you that the status quo is not 
an option. Consistent with the principles outlined here, the 
Department is continuing to make strategic adjustments to 
maintain and improve performance within anticipated resource 
levels.
    Thank you for your continuing commitment to a sound nuclear 
waste policy. We look forward to continuing to work with you 
toward that end in the months and years to come.
            Sincerely,
                                         Alice M. Rivlin, Director.
            ADDITIONAL VIEWS OF SENATOR JOHNSTON ON S. 1271

    I deeply regret not being able to vote to report this bill. 
Legislation to address the problems facing the existing nuclear 
waste program is urgently needed and long overdue. 
Unfortunately, the committee's effort is not well suited to 
being enacted.
    The President has made it clear that he will veto any 
nuclear waste bill that places an interim storage facility at 
Yucca Mountain before the Department of Energy has a chance to 
determine if the site is suitable for the repository. We may 
disagree with that policy, but we imperil the enactment of the 
bill if we ignore it.
    I yield to no one in my support for interim storage. I 
authored and managed the retrievable storage bill that passed 
the Senate in 1980. I kept monitored retrievable storage part 
of our waste management program when Congress decided to place 
primary emphasis on deep geologic disposal in 1982. I kept the 
option alive against implacable House opposition in 1987.
    I believe there is a clear path around the President's veto 
threat that will still lead us, inexorably, to interim storage 
at Yucca Mountain. That path is to authorize interim storage at 
Yucca Mountain but to withhold construction until October 1, 
1998, by which time the Department of Energy is to have decided 
whether the site is suitable repository. I offered an amendment 
charting that path.
    The Committee adopted my amendment, but not before adopting 
a second degree amendment that mandates interim storage at 
Yucca Mountain even if the site is found unsuitable for the 
repository. Thus, while my amendment was adopted, its utility 
was undermined and its purpose defeated. In trying to eliminate 
every conceivable obstacle to its goal, the majority has 
endangered the ultimate enactment of its bill.
    Edmund Burke tells us that ``prudence (in all things a 
virtue, in politics the first of virtues) [should] lead us to 
acquiesce in some qualified plan that does not come up to the 
full perfection of the abstract idea, than to push for the more 
perfect, which cannot be attained. * * *'' Unfortunately, the 
majority declined the counsel of prudence. I fear it has made a 
difficult job that much harder.

                                               J. Bennett Johnston.
                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 1271, as ordered reported, are shown as follows 
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black 
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in 
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):

                    NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY ACT OF 1982

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

                   [short title and table of contents

    [Section 1. This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1982''.

                           [TABLE OF CONTENTS

[Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
[Sec. 2. Definitions.
[Sec. 3. Separability.
[Sec. 4. Territories and possessions.
[Sec. 5. Ocean disposal.
[Sec. 6. Limitation on spending authority.
[Sec. 7. Protection of classified national security information.
[Sec. 8. Applicability.
[Sec. 9. Applicability.

 [TITLE I--DISPOSAL AND STORAGE OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, SPENT 
              NUCLEAR FUEL, AND LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

[Sec. 101. State and affected Indian tribe participation in development 
          of proposed repositories for defense waste.

 [Subtitle A--Repositories for Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste 
                         and Spent Nuclear Fuel

[Sec. 111. Findings and purposes.
[Sec. 112. Recommendation of candidate sites for site characterization.
[Sec. 113. Site characterization.
[Sec. 114. Site approval and construction authorization.
[Sec. 115. Review of repository site selection.
[Sec. 116. Participation of States.
[Sec. 117. Consultation with States and Indian tribes.
[Sec. 118. Participation of Indian tribes.
[Sec. 119. Judicial review of agency actions.
[Sec. 120. Expedited authorizations.
[Sec. 121. Certain standards and criteria.
[Sec. 122. Disposal of spent nuclear fuel.
[Sec. 123. Title to material.
[Sec. 124. Consideration of effect of acquisition of water rights.
[Sec. 125. Termination of certain provisions.

                  [Subtitle B--Interim Storage Program

[Sec. 131. Findings and purposes.
[Sec. 132. Available capacity for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel.
[Sec. 133. Interim at-reactor storage.
[Sec. 134. Licensing of facility expansions and transshipments.
[Sec. 135. Storage of spent nuclear fuel.
[Sec. 136. Interim Storage Fund.
[Sec. 137. Transportation.

               [Subtitle C--Monitored Retrievable Storage

[Sec. 141. Monitored retrievable storage.
[Sec. 142. Authorization of monitored retrievable storage.
[Sec. 143. Monitored Retrievable Storage Commission.
[Sec. 144. Survey.
[Sec. 145. Site selection.
[Sec. 146. Notice of disapproval.
[Sec. 147. Benefits agreement.
[Sec. 148. Construction authorization.
[Sec. 159. Financial assistance.

                [Subtitle D--Low-Level Radioactive Waste

[Sec. 151. Financial arrangements for site closure.

          [Subtitle E--Redirection of the Nuclear Waste Program

[Sec. 160. Selection of Yucca Mountain site.
[Sec. 161. Siting a second repository.

                          [Subtitle F--Benefits

[Sec. 170. Benefits agreements.
[Sec. 171. Content of agreements.
[Sec. 172. Review panel.
[Sec. 173. Termination.

                       [Subtitle G--Other Benefits

[Sec. 174. Consideration in siting facilities.
[Sec. 175. Report.

                       [Subtitle H--Transportation

[Sec. 180. Transportation.

 [TITLE II--RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION REGARDING DISPOSAL 
         OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL

[Sec. 211. Purpose.
[Sec. 212. Applicability.
[Sec. 213. Identification of sites.
[Sec. 214. Siting research and related activities.
[Sec. 215. Test and evaluation facility siting review and reports.
[Sec. 216. Federal agency actions.
[Sec. 217. Research and development on disposal of high-level 
          radioactive waste.
[Sec. 218. Research and development on spent nuclear fuel.
[Sec. 219. Payments to States and affected Indian tribes.
[Sec. 220. Study of research and development needs for monitored 
          retrievable storage proposal.
[Sec. 221. Judicial review.
[Sec. 222. Research on alternatives for the permanent disposal of high-
          level radioactive waste.
[Sec. 223. Technical assistance to non-nuclear weapon states in the 
          field of spent fuel storage and disposal.
[Sec. 224. Subseabed disposal.

       [TITLE III--OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE

[Sec. 301. Mission plan.
[Sec. 302. Nuclear Waste Fund.
[Sec. 303. Alternate means of financing.
[Sec. 304. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
[Sec. 305. Location of test and evaluation facility.
[Sec. 306. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authorization.

                   [TITLE IV--NUCLEAR WASTE NEGOTIATOR

[Sec. 401. Definition.
[Sec. 402. The Office of Nuclear Waste Negotiator.
[Sec. 403. Duties of the Negotiator.
[Sec. 404. Environmental assessment of sites.
[Sec. 405. Site characterization; licensing.
[Sec. 406. Monitored retrievable storage.
[Sec. 407. Environmental impact statement.
[Sec. 408. Administrative powers of the Negotiator.
[Sec. 409. Cooperation of other departments and agencies.
[Sec. 410. Termination of the office.
[Sec. 411. Authorization of appropriations.

             [TITLE V--NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

[Sec. 501. Definitions.
[Sec. 502. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
[Sec. 503. Functions.
[Sec. 504. Investigatory powers.
[Sec. 505. Compensatory of members.
[Sec. 506. Staff.
[Sec. 507. Support services.
[Sec. 508. Report.
[Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations.
[Sec. 510. Termination of the Board.

                              [definitions

    [Sec. 2. For purposes of this Act:
          [(1) The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
          [(2) The term ``affected Indian tribe'' means any 
        Indian tribe--
                  [(A) within whose reservation boundaries a 
                monitored retrievable storage facility, test 
                and evaluation facility, or a repository for 
                high-level radioactive waste or spent fuel is 
                proposed to be located;
                  [(B) whose federally defined possessory or 
                usage rights to other lands outside of the 
                reservation's boundaries arising out of 
                congressionally ratified treaties may be 
                substantially and adversely affected by the 
                locating of such a facility: Provided, That the 
                Secretary of the Interior finds, upon the 
                petition of the appropriate governmental 
                officials of the tribe, that such effects are 
                both substantial and adverse to the tribe;
          [(3) The term ``atomic energy defense activity'' 
        means any activity of the Secretary performed in whole 
        or in part in carrying out any of the following 
        functions:
                  [(A) naval reactors development;
                  [(B) weapons activities including defense 
                inertial confinement fusion;
                  [(C) verification and control technology;
                  [(D) defense nuclear materials production;
                  [(E) defense nuclear waste and materials by-
                products management;
                  [(F) defense nuclear materials security and 
                safeguards and security investigations; and
                  [(G) defense research and development.
          [(4) The term ``candidate site'' means an area, 
        within a geologic and hydrologic system, that is 
        recommended by the Secretary under section 112 for site 
        characterization, approved by the President under 
        section 112 for site characterization, or undergoing 
        site characterization under section 113.
          [(5) The term ``civilian nuclear activity'' means any 
        atomic energy activity other than an atomic energy 
        defense activity.
          [(6) The term ``civilian nuclear power reactor'' 
        means a civilian nuclear powerplant required to be 
        licensed under section 103 or 104 b. of the Atomic 
        Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134(b)).
          [(7) The term ``Commission'' means the Nuclear 
        Regulatory Commission.
          [(8) The term ``Department'' means the Department of 
        Energy.
          [(9) The term ``disposal'' means the emplacement in a 
        repository of high-level radioactive waste, spent 
        nuclear fuel, or other highly radioactive material with 
        no foreseeable intent of recovery, whether or not such 
        emplacement permits the recovery of such waste.
          [(10) The terms ``disposal package'' and ``package'' 
        mean the primary container that holds, and is in 
        contact with, solidified high-level radioactive waste, 
        spent nuclear fuel, or other radioactive materials, and 
        any overpacks that are emplaced at a repository.
          [(11) The term ``engineered barriers'' means manmade 
        components of a disposal system designed to prevent the 
        resale of radionuclides into the geologic medium 
        involved. Such term includes the high-level radioactive 
        waste form, high-level radioactive waste canisters, and 
        other materials placed over and around such canisters.
          [(12) The term ``high-level radioactive waste'' 
        means--
                  [(A) the highly radioactive material 
                resulting from the reprocessing of spent 
                nuclear fuel, including liquid waste produced 
                directly in reprocessing and any solid material 
                derived from such liquid waste that contains 
                fission products in sufficient concentrations; 
                and
                  [(B) other highly radioactive material that 
                the Commission, consistent with existing law, 
                determines by rule requires permanent 
                isolation.
          [(13) The term ``Federal agency'' means any Executive 
        agency, as defined in section 105 of title 5, United 
        States Code.
          [(14) The term ``Governor'' means the chief executive 
        officer of a State.
          [(15) The term ``Indian tribe'' means any Indian 
        tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or 
        community of Indians recognized as eligible for the 
        services provided to Indians by the Secretary of the 
        Interior because of their status as Indians, including 
        any Alaska Native village, as defined in section 3(c) 
        of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 
        1602(c)).
          [(16) The term ``low-level radioactive waste'' means 
        radioactive material that--
                  [(A) is not high-level radioactive waste, 
                spent nuclear fuel, transuranic waste, or by-
                product material as defined in section 11e(2) 
                of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 
                2014(e)(2)); and
                  [(B) the Commission, consistent with existing 
                law, classifies as low-level radioactive waste.
          [(17) The term ``Office'' means the Office of 
        Civilian Radioactive Waste Management established in 
        section 305.
          [(18) The term ``repository'' means any system 
        licensed by the Commission that is intended to be used 
        for, or may be used for, the permanent deep geologic 
        disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent 
        nuclear fuel, whether or not such system is designed to 
        permit the recovery, for a limited period during 
        initial operation, of any materials placed in such 
        system. Such term includes both surface and subsurface 
        areas at which high-level radioactive waste and spent 
        nuclear fuel handling activities are conducted.
          [(19) The term ``reservation'' means--
                  [(A) any Indian reservation or dependent 
                Indian community referred to in clause (a) or 
                (b) of section 1151 of title 18, United States 
                Code; or
                  [(B) any land selected by an Alaska Native 
                village or regional corporation under the 
                provisions of the Alaska Native Claims 
                Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
          [(20) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Energy.
          [(21) The term ``site characterization'' means--
                  [(A) siting research activities with respect 
                to a test and evaluation facility at a 
                candidate site; and
                  [(B) activities, whether in the laboratory or 
                in the field, undertaken to establish the 
                geologic condition and the ranges of the 
                parameters of a candidate site relevant to the 
                location of a repository, including borings, 
                surface excavations, excavations of exploratory 
                shafts, limited subsurface lateral excavations 
                and borings, and in situ testing needed to 
                evaluate the suitability of a candidate site 
                for the location of a repository, but not 
                including preliminary borings and geophysical 
                testing needed to assess whether site 
                characterization should be undertaken.
          [(22) The term ``siting research'' means activities, 
        including borings, surface excavations, and in situ 
        testing, to determine the suitability of a site for a 
        test and evaluation facility.
          [(23) The term ``spent nuclear fuel'' means fuel that 
        has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following 
        irradiation, the constituent elements of which have not 
        been separated by reprocessing.
          [(24) The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, 
        the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of 
        the Pacific Islands, and any other territory or 
        possession of the United States.
          [(25) The term ``storage'' means retention of high-
        level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or 
        transuranic waste with the intent to recover such waste 
        or fuel for subsequent use, processing, or disposal.
          [(26) The term ``Storage Fund'' means the Interim 
        Storage Fund established in section 137(c).
          [(27) The term ``test and evaluation facility'' means 
        an at-depth, prototypic, underground cavity with 
        subsurface lateral excavations extending from a central 
        shaft that is used for research and development 
        purposes, including the development of data and 
        experience for the safe handling and disposal of 
        solidified high-level radioactive waste, transuranic 
        waste, or spent nuclear fuel.
          [(28) The term ``unit of general local government'' 
        means any borough, city, county, parish, town, 
        township, village, or other general purpose political 
        subdivision of a State.
          [(29) The term ``Waste Fund'' means the Nuclear Waste 
        Fund established in section 302(c).
          [(30) The term ``Yucca Mountain site'' means the 
        candidate site in the State of Nevada recommended by 
        the Secretary to the President under section 
        112(b)(1)(B) on May 27, 1986.
          [(31) The term ``affected unit of local government'' 
        means the unit of local government with jurisdiction 
        over the site of a repository or a monitored 
        retrievable storage facility. Such term may, at the 
        discretion of the Secretary, include units of local 
        government that are contiguous with such unit.
          [(32) The term ``Negotiator'' means the Nuclear Waste 
        Negotiator.
          [(33) As used in title IV, the term ``Office'' means 
        the Office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator established 
        under title IV of this Act.
          [(34) The term ``monitored retrievable storage 
        facility'' means the storage facility described in 
        section 141(b)(1).

                             [separability

    [Sec. 3. If any provision of this Act, or the application 
of such provision to any person or circumstance, is held 
invalid, the remainder of this Act, or the application of such 
provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to 
which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby.

                      [territories and possessions

    [Sec. 4. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to repeal, 
modify, or amend the provisions of section 605 of the Act of 
March 12, 1980 (48 U.S.C. 1491).

                            [ocean disposal

    [Sec. 5. Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to affect the 
Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 (33 
U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).

                   [limitation on spending authority

    [Sec. 6. The authority under this Act to incur 
indebtedness, or enter into contracts, obligating amounts to be 
expended by the Federal Government shall be effective for any 
fiscal year only to such extent or in such amounts as are 
provided in advance by appropriation Acts.

        [protection of classified national security information

    [Sec. 7. Nothing in this Act shall require the release or 
disclosure to any person or to the Commission of any classified 
national security information.

                             [applicability

    [Sec. 8. (a) Atomic Energy Defense Activities.--Subject to 
the provisions of subsection (c), the provisions of this Act 
shall not apply with respect to any atomic energy defense 
activity or to any facility used in connection with any such 
activity.
    [(b) Evaluation by President.--(1) Not later than 2 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 
shall evaluate the use of disposal capacity at one or more 
repositories to be developed under subtitle A of title I for 
the disposal of high-level radioactive waste resulting from 
atomic energy defense activities. Such evaluation shall take 
into consideration factors relating to cost efficiency, health 
and safety, regulation, transportation, public acceptability, 
and national security.
    [(2) Unless the President finds, after conducting the 
evaluation required in paragraph (1), that the development of a 
repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste 
resulting from atomic energy defense activities only is 
required, taking into account all of the factors described in 
such subsection, the Secretary shall proceed promptly with 
arrangement for the use of one or more of the repositories to 
be developed under subtitle A of title I of the disposal of 
such waste. Such arrangements shall include the allocation of 
costs of developing, constructing, and operating this 
repository or repositories. The costs resulting from permanent 
disposal of high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy 
defense activities shall be paid by the Federal Government, 
into the special account established under section 302.
    [(3) Any repository for the disposal of high-level 
radioactive waste resulting from atomic energy defense 
activities only shall (A) be subject to licensing under section 
202 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. 5842); 
and (B) comply with all requirements of the Commission for the 
siting, development, construction, and operation of a 
repository.
    [(c) Applicability to Certain Repositories.--The provisions 
of this Act shall apply with respect to any repository not used 
exclusively for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste or 
spent nuclear fuel resulting from atomic energy defense 
activities, research and development activities of the 
Secretary, or both.

                             [applicability

    [Sec. 9. Transportation.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to affect Federal, State, or local laws pertaining to 
the transportation of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
radioactive waste.

 [TITLE I--DISPOSAL AND STORAGE OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, SPENT 
             NUCLEAR FUEL, AND LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE

   [state and affected Indian tribe participation in development of 
                proposed repositories for defense waste

    [Sec. 101. (a) Notification to States and Affected Indian 
Tribes.--Notwithstanding the provisions of section 8, upon any 
decision by the Secretary or the President to develop a 
repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste or 
spent nuclear fuel resulting exclusively from atomic energy 
defense activities, research and development activities of the 
Secretary, or both, and before proceeding with any site-
specific investigations with respect to such repository, the 
Secretary shall notify the Governor and legislature of the 
State in which such repository is proposed to be located, or 
the governing body of the affected Indian tribe on whose 
reservation such repository is proposed to be located, as the 
case may be, of such decision.
    [(b) Participation of States and Affected Indian Tribes.--
Following the receipt of any notification under subsection (a), 
the State or Indian tribe involved shall be entitled, with 
respect to the proposed repository involved, to rights of 
participation and consultation identical to those provided in 
sections 115 through 118, except that any financial assistance 
authorized to be provided to such State or affected Indian 
tribe under section 116(c) or 118(b) shall be made from amounts 
appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of carrying out this 
section.

[Subtitle A--Repositories for Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste 
                         and Spent Nuclear Fuel

                         [findings and purposes

    [Sec. 111. (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
          [(1) radioactive waste creates potential risks and 
        requires safe and environmentally acceptable methods of 
        disposal;
          [(2) a national problem has been created by the 
        accumulation of (A) spent nuclear fuel from nuclear 
        reactors; and (B) radioactive waste from (i) 
        reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel; (ii) activities 
        related to medical research, diagnosis, and treatment; 
        and (iii) other sources;
          [(3) Federal efforts during the past 30 years to 
        devise a permanent solution to the problems of civilian 
        radioactive waste disposal have not been adequate;
          [(4) while the Federal Government has the 
        responsibility to provide for the permanent disposal of 
        high-level radioactive waste and such spent nuclear 
        fuel as may be disposed of in order to protect the 
        public health and safety and the environment, the costs 
        of such disposal should be the responsibility of the 
        generators and owners of such waste and spent fuel;
          [(5) the generators and owners of high-level 
        radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel have the 
        primary responsibility to provide for, and the 
        responsibility to pay the costs of, the interim storage 
        of such waste and spent fuel until such waste and spent 
        fuel is accepted by the Secretary of Energy in 
        accordance with the provisions of this Act;
          [(6) State and public participation in the planning 
        and development of repositories is essential in order 
        to promote public confidence in the safety of disposal 
        of such waste and spent fuel; and
          [(7) high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear 
        fuel have become major subjects of public concern, and 
        appropriate precautions must be taken to ensure that 
        such waste and spent fuel do not adversely affect the 
        public health and safety and the environment for this 
        or future generations.
    [(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this subtitle are--
          [(1) to establish a schedule for the siting, 
        construction, and operation of repositories that will 
        provide a reasonable assurance that the public and the 
        environment will be adequately protected from the 
        hazards posed by high-level radioactive waste and such 
        spent nuclear fuel as may be disposed of in a 
        repository;
          [(2) to establish the Federal responsibility, and a 
        definite Federal policy, for the disposal of such waste 
        and spent fuel;
          [(3) to define the relationship between the Federal 
        Government and the State governments with respect to 
        the disposal of such waste and spent fuel; and
          [(4) to establish a Nuclear Waste Fund, composed of 
        payments made by the generators and owners of such 
        waste and spent fuel, that will ensure that the costs 
        of carrying out activities relating to the disposal of 
        such waste and spent fuel will be borne by the persons 
        responsible for generating such waste and spent fuel.

      [recommendation of candidate sites for site characterization

    [Sec. 112. (a) Guidelines.--Not later than 180 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, following 
consultation with the Council on Environmental Quality, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Director of the Geological Survey, and interested Governors, 
and the concurrence of the Commission shall issue general 
guidances for the recommendation of sites for repositories. 
Such guidelines shall specify detailed geologic considerations 
that shall be primary criteria for the selection of sites in 
various geologic media. Such guidelines shall specify factors 
that qualify or disqualify any site from development as a 
repository, including factors pertaining to the location of 
valuable natural resources, hydrology, geophysics, seismic 
activity, and atomic energy defense activities, proximity to 
water supplies, proximity to populations, the effect upon the 
rights of users of water, and proximity to components of the 
National Park System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, the National Wilderness 
Preservation System, or National Forest Lands. Such guidelines 
shall take into consideration the proximity to sites where 
high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel is 
generated or temporarily stored and the transportation and 
safety factors involved in moving such waste to a repository. 
Such guidelines shall specify population factors that will 
disqualify any site from development as a repository if any 
surface facility of such repository would be located (1) in a 
highly populated area; or (2) adjacent to an area 1 mile by 1 
mile having a population of not less than 1,000 individuals. 
Such guidelines also shall require the Secretary to consider 
the cost and impact of transporting to the repository site the 
solidified high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel to be 
disposed of in the repository and the advantages of regional 
distribution in the siting of repositories. Such guidelines 
shall require the Secretary to consider the various geologic 
media in which sites for repositories may be located and, to 
the extent practicable, to recommend sites in different 
geologic media. The Secretary shall use guidelines established 
under this subsection in considering candidate sites for 
recommendation under subsection (b). The Secretary may revise 
such guidelines from time to time, consistent with the 
provisions of this subsection.
    [(b) Recommendation by Secretary to the President.--(1)(A) 
Following the issuance of guidelines under subsection (a) and 
consultation with the Governors of affected States, the 
Secretary shall nominate at least 5 sites that he determines 
suitable for site characterization for selection of the first 
repository site.
    [(B) Subsequent to such nomination, the Secretary shall 
recommend to the President 3 of the nominated sites not later 
than January 1, 1985 for characterization as candidate sites.
    [(C) Such recommendations under subparagraph (B) shall be 
consistent with the provisions of section 305.
    [(D) Each nomination of a site under this subsection shall 
be accompanied by an environmental assessment, which shall 
include a detailed statement of the basis for such 
recommendation and of the probable impacts of the site 
characterization activities planned for such site, and a 
discussion of alternative activities relating to site 
characterization that may be undertaken to avoid such impacts. 
Such environmental assessment shall include--
          [(i) an evaluation by the Secretary as to whether 
        such site is suitable for site characterization under 
        the guidelines established under subsection (a);
          [(ii) an evaluation by the Secretary as to whether 
        such site is suitable for development as a repository 
        under each such guideline that does not require site 
        characterization as a prerequisite for application of 
        such guideline;
          [(iii) an evaluation by the Secretary of the effects 
        of the site characterization activities at such site on 
        the public health and safety and the environment;
          [(iv) a reasonable comparative evaluation by the 
        Secretary of such site with other sites and locations 
        that have been considered;
          [(v) a description of the decision process by which 
        such site was recommended; and
          [(vi) an assessment of the regional and local impacts 
        of locating the proposed repository at such site.
    [(E)(i) The issuance of any environmental assessment under 
this paragraph shall be considered to be a final agency action 
subject to judicial review in accordance with the provisions of 
chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, and section 119. Such 
judicial review shall be limited to the sufficiency of such 
environmental assessment with respect to the items described in 
clauses (i) through (vi) of subparagraph (E).
    [(F) Each environmental assessment prepared under this 
paragraph shall be made available to the public.
    [(G) Before nominating a site, the Secretary shall notify 
the Governor and legislature of the State in which such site is 
located, or the governing body of the affected Indian tribe 
where such site is located, as the case may be, of such 
nomination and the basis for such nomination.
    [(2) Before nominating any site the Secretary shall hold 
public hearings in the vicinity of such site to inform the 
residents of the area in which such site is located of the 
proposed nomination of such site and to receive their comments. 
At such hearings, the Secretary shall also solicit and receive 
any recommendations of such residents with respect to issues 
that should be addressed in the environmental assessment 
described in paragraph (1) and the site characterization plan 
described in section 113(b)(1).
    [(3) In evaluating the sites nominated under this section 
prior to any decision to recommend a site as a candidate site, 
the Secretary shall use available geophysical, geologic, 
geochemical and hydrologic, and other information and shall not 
conduct any preliminary borings or excavations at a site unless 
(i) such preliminary boring or excavation activities were in 
progress upon the date of enactment of this Act or (ii) the 
Secretary certifies that such available information from other 
sources, in the absence of preliminary borings or excavations, 
will not be adequate to satisfy applicable requirements of this 
Act or any other law: Provided, That preliminary borings or 
excavations under this section shall not exceed a diameter of 6 
inches.
    [(c) Presidential Review of Recommended Candidate Sites.--
(1) The President shall review each candidate site 
recommendation made by the Secretary under subsection (b). Not 
later than 60 days after the submission by the Secretary of a 
recommendation of a candidate site, the President, in his 
discretion, may either approve or disapprove such candidate 
site, and shall transmit any such decision to the Secretary and 
to either the Governor and legislature of the State in which 
such candidate site is located, or the governing body of the 
affected Indian tribute where such candidate site is located, 
as the case may be. If, during such 60-day period, the 
President fails to approve or disapprove such candidate site, 
or fails to invoke his authority under paragraph (2) to delay 
his decision, such candidate site shall be considered to be 
approved, and the Secretary shall notify such Governor and 
legislature, or governing body of the affected Indian tribe, of 
the approval of such candidate site by reason of the inaction 
of the President.
    [(2) The President may delay for not more than 6 months his 
decision under paragraph (1) to approve or disapprove a 
candidate site, upon determining that the information provided 
with the recommendation of the Secretary is insufficient to 
permit a decision within the 60-day period referred to in 
paragraph (1). The President may invoke his authority under 
this paragraph by submitting written notice to the Congress, 
within such 60-day period, of his intent to invoke such 
authority. If the President invokes such authority, but fails 
to approve or disapprove the candidate site involved by the end 
of such 6-month period, such candidate site shall be considered 
to be approved, and the Secretary shall notify such Governor 
and legislature, or governing body of the affected Indian 
tribe, of the approval of such candidate site by reason of the 
inaction of the President.
    [(d) Preliminary Activities.--Except as otherwise provided 
in this section, each activity of the President or the 
Secretary under this section shall be considered to be a 
preliminary decisionmaking activity. No such activity shall 
require the preparation of an environmental impact statement 
under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), or to require any 
environmental review under subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 
102(2) of such Act.

                         [site characterization

    [Sec. 113. (a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out, 
in accordance with the provisions of this section, appropriate 
site characterization activities at the Yucca Mountain site. 
The Secretary shall consider fully the comments received under 
subsection (b)(2) and section 112(b)(2) and shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable and in consultation with the 
Governor of the State of Nevada, conduct site characterization 
activities in a manner that minimizes any significant adverse 
environmental impacts identified in such comments or in the 
environmental assessment submitted under subsection (b)(1).
    [(b) Commission and States.--(1) Before proceeding to sink 
shafts at the Yucca Mountain site, the Secretary shall submit 
for such candidate site to the Commission and to the Governor 
or legislature of the State of Nevada, for their review and 
comment--
          [(A) a general plan for site characterization 
        activities to be conducted at such candidate site, 
        which plan shall include--
                  [(i) a description of such candidate site;
                  [(ii) a description of such site 
                characterization activities, including the 
                following: the extent of planned excavations, 
                plans for any onsite testing with radioactive 
                or nonradioactive material, plans for any 
                investigation activities that may affect the 
                capability of such candidate site to isolate 
                high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear 
                fuel, and plans to control any adverse, safety-
                related impacts from such site characterization 
                activities;
                  [(iii) plans for the decontamination and 
                decommissioning of such candidate site, and for 
                the mitigation of any significant adverse 
                environmental impacts caused by site 
                characterization activities if it is determined 
                unsuitable for application for a construction 
                authorization for a repository;
                  [(iv) criteria to be used to determine the 
                suitability of such candidate site for the 
                location of a repository, developed pursuant to 
                section 112(a); and
                  [(v) any other information required by the 
                Commission;
          [(B) a description of the possible form or packaging 
        for the high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear 
        fuel to be emplaced in such repository, a description, 
        to the extent practicable, of the relationship between 
        such waste form or packaging and the geologic medium of 
        such site, and a description of the activities being 
        conducted by the Secretary with respect to such 
        possible waste form or packaging or such relationship; 
        and
          [(C) a conceptual repository design that takes into 
        account likely site-specific requirements.
    [(2) Before proceeding to sink shafts at the Yucca Mountain 
site, the Secretary shall (A) make available to the public the 
site characterization plan described in paragraph (1); and (B) 
hold public hearings in the vicinity of such candidate site to 
inform the residents of the area in which such candidate site 
is located of such plan, and to receive their comments.
    [(3) During the conduct of site characterization activities 
at the Yucca Mountain site, the Secretary shall report not less 
than once every 6 months to the Commission and to the Governor 
and legislature of the State of Nevada, on the nature and 
extent of such activities and the information from such 
activities.
    [(c) Restrictions.--(1) The Secretary may conduct at the 
Yucca Mountain site only such site characterization activities 
as the Secretary considers necessary to provide the data 
required for evaluation of the suitability of such site for an 
application to be submitted to the Commission for a 
construction authorization for a repository at such site, and 
for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
    [(2) In conducting site characterization activities--
          [(A) the Secretary may not use any radioactive 
        material at a site unless the Commission concurs that 
        such use is necessary to provide data for the 
        preparation of the required environmental reports and 
        an application for a construction authorization for a 
        repository at such site; and
          [(B) if any radioactive material is used at a site--
                  [(i) the Secretary shall use the minimum 
                quantity necessary to determine the suitability 
                of such site for a repository, but in no event 
                more than the curie equivalent of 10 metric 
                tons of spent nuclear fuel; and
                  [(ii) such radioactive material shall be 
                fully retrievable.
    [(3) If the Secretary at any time determines the Yucca 
Mountain site to be unsuitable for development as a repository, 
the Secretary shall--
          [(A) terminate all site characterization activities 
        at such site;
          [(B) notify the Congress, the Governor and 
        legislature of Nevada of such termination and the 
        reasons for such termination;
          [(C) remove any high-level radioactive waste, spent 
        nuclear fuel, or other radioactive materials at or in 
        such site as promptly as practicable;
          [(D) take reasonable and necessary steps to reclaim 
        the site and to mitigate any significant adverse 
        environmental impacts caused by site characterization 
        activities at such site;
          [(E) suspend all future benefits payments under 
        subtitle F with respect to such site; and
          [(F) report to Congress not later than 6 months after 
        such determination the Secretary's recommendations for 
        further action to assure the safe, permanent disposal 
        of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, 
        including the need for new legislative authority.
    [(d) Preliminary Activities.--Each activity of the 
Secretary under this section that is in compliance with the 
provisions of subsection (c) shall be considered a preliminary 
decisionmaking activity. No such activity shall require the 
preparation of an environmental impact statement under section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), or to require any environmental review 
under subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 102(2) of such Act.

             [site approval and construction authorization

    [Sec. 114. (a) Hearings and Presidential Recommendation.--
(1) The Secretary shall hold public hearings in the vicinity of 
the Yucca Mountain site, for the purposes of informing the 
residents of the area of such consideration and receiving their 
comments regarding the possible recommendation of such site. 
If, upon completion of such hearings and completion of site 
characterization activities at the Yucca Mountain site, under 
section 113, the Secretary decides to recommend approval of 
such site to the President, the Secretary shall notify the 
Governor and legislature of the State of Nevada, of such 
decision. No sooner than the expiration of the 30-day period 
following such notification, the Secretary shall submit to the 
President a recommendation that the President approve such site 
for the development of a repository. Any such recommendation by 
the Secretary shall be based on the record of information 
developed by the Secretary under section 113 and this section, 
including the information described in subparagraph (A) through 
subparagraph (G). Together with any recommendation of a site 
under this paragraph, the Secretary shall make available to the 
public, and submit to the President, a comprehensive statement 
of the basis of such recommendation, including the following:
          [(A) a description of the proposed repository, 
        including preliminary engineering specifications for 
        the facility;
          [(B) a description of the waste form or packaging 
        proposed for use at such repository, and an explanation 
        of the relationship between such waste form or 
        packaging and the geologic medium of such site;
          [(C) a discussion of data, obtained in site 
        characterization activities, relating to the safety of 
        such site;
          [(D) a final environmental impact statement prepared 
        for the Yucca Mountain site pursuant to subsection (f) 
        and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
        U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), together with comments made 
        concerning such environmental impact statement by the 
        Secretary of the Interior, the Council on Environmental 
        Quality, the Administrator, and the Commission, except 
        that the Secretary shall not be required in any such 
        environmental impact statement to consider the need for 
        a repository, the alternatives to geological disposal, 
        or alternative sites to the Yucca Mountain site;
          [(E) preliminary comments of the Commission 
        concerning the extent to which the at-depth site 
        characterization analysis and the waste form proposal 
        for such site seem to be sufficient for inclusion in 
        any application to be submitted by the Secretary for 
        licensing of such site as a repository;
          [(F) the views and comments of the Governor and 
        legislature of any State, or the governing body of any 
        affected Indian tribe, as determined by the Secretary, 
        together with the response of the Secretary to such 
        views;
          [(G) such other information as the Secretary 
        considers appropriate; and
          [(H) any impact report submitted under section 
        116(c)(2)(B) by the State of Nevada.
    [(2)(A) If, after recommendation by the Secretary, the 
President considers the Yucca Mountain site qualified for 
application for a construction authorization for a repository, 
the President shall submit a recommendation of such site to 
Congress.
    [(B) The President shall submit with such recommendation a 
copy of the statement of such site prepared by the Secretary 
under paragraph (1).
    [(3)(A) The President may not recommend the approval of the 
Yucca Mountain site unless the Secretary has recommended to the 
President under paragraph (1) approval of such site and has 
submitted to the President a statement for such site as 
required under such paragraph.
    [(B) No recommendation of a site by the President under 
this subsection shall require the preparation of an 
environmental impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C), or to require any environmental review under 
subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 102(2) of such Act.
    [(b) Submission of Application.--If the President 
recommends to the Congress the Yucca Mountain site under 
subsection (a) and the site designation is permitted to take 
effect under section 115, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Commission an application for a construction authorization for 
a repository at such site not later than 90 days after the date 
on which the recommendation of the site designation is 
effective under such section and shall provide to the Governor 
and legislature of the State of Nevada a copy of such 
application.
    [(c) Status Report on Application.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date on which an application for a construction 
authorization is submitted under subsection (b), and annually 
thereafter until the date on which such authorization is 
granted, the Commission shall submit a report to the Congress 
describing the proceedings undertaken through the date of such 
report with regard to such application, including a description 
of--
          [(1) any major unresolved safety issues, and the 
        explanation of the Secretary with respect to design and 
        operation plans for resolving such issues;
          [(2) any matters of contention regarding such 
        application; and
          [(3) any Commission actions regarding the granting or 
        denial of such authorization.
    [(d) Commisson Action.--The Commission shall consider an 
application for a construction authorization for all or part of 
a repository in accordance with the laws applicable to such 
applications, except that the Commission shall issue a final 
decision approving or disapproving the issuance of a 
construction authorization not later than the expiration of 3 
years after the date of the submission of such application, 
except that the Commission may extend such deadline by not more 
than 12 months if, not less than 30 days before such deadline, 
the Commission complies with the reporting requirements 
established in subsection (e)(2). The Commission decision 
approving the first such application shall prohibit the 
emplacement in the first repository of a quantity of spent fuel 
containing in excess of 70,000 metric tons of heavy metal or a 
quantity of solidified high-level radioactive waste resulting 
from the reprocessing of such a quantity of spent fuel until 
such time as a second repository is in operation. In the event 
that a monitored retrievable storage facility, approved 
pursuant to subtitle C of this Act, shall be located, or is 
planned to be located, within 50 miles of the first repository, 
then the Commission decision approving the first such 
application shall prohibit the emplacement of a quantity of 
spent fuel containing in excess of 70,000 metric tons of heavy 
metal or a quantity of solidified high-level radioactive waste 
resulting from the reprocessing of spent fuel in both the 
repository and monitored retrievable storage facility until 
such time as a second repository is in operation.
    [(e) Project Decision Schedule.--(1) The Secretary shall 
prepare and update, as appropriate, in cooperation with all 
affected Federal agencies, a project decision schedule that 
portrays the optimum way to attain the operation of the 
repository, within the time periods specified in this subtitle. 
Such schedule shall include a description of objectives and a 
sequence of deadlines for all Federal agencies required to take 
action, including an identification of the activities in which 
a delay in the start, or completion, of such activities will 
cause a delay in beginning repository operation.
    [(2) Any Federal agency that determines that it cannot 
comply with any deadline in the project decision schedule, or 
fails to so comply, shall submit to the Secretary and to the 
Congress a written report explaining the reason for its failure 
or expected failure to meet such deadline, the reason why such 
agency could not reach an agreement with the Secretary, the 
estimated time for completion of the activity or activities 
involved, the associated effect on its other deadlines in the 
project decision schedule, and any recommendations it may have 
or actions it intends to take regarding any improvements in its 
operation or organization, or changes to its statutory 
directives or authority, so that it will be able to mitigate 
the delay involved. The Secretary, within 30 days after 
receiving any such report, shall file with the Congress his 
response to such report, including the reasons why the 
Secretary could not amend the project decision schedule to 
accommodate the Federal agency involved.
    [(f) Environmental Impact Statement.--(1) Any 
recommendation made by the Secretary under this section shall 
be considered a major Federal action significantly affecting 
the quality of the human environment for purposes of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.). A final environmental impact statement prepared by the 
Secretary under such Act shall accompany any recommendation to 
the President to approve a site for a repository.
    [(2) With respect to the requirements imposed by the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), compliance with the procedures and requirements of this 
Act shall be deemed adequate consideration of the need for a 
repository, the time of the initial availability of a 
repository, and all alternatives to the isolation of high-level 
radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel in a repository.
    [(3) For purposes of complying with the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.) and this section, the Secretary need not consider 
alternate sites to the Yucca Mountain site for the repository 
to be developed under this subtitle.
    [(4) Any environmental impact statement prepared in 
connection with a repository proposed to be constructed by the 
Secretary under this subtitle shall, to the extent practicable, 
be adopted by the Commission in connection with the issuance by 
the Commission of a construction authorization and license for 
such repository. To the extent such statement is adopted by the 
Commission, such adoption shall be deemed to also satisfy the 
responsibilities of the Commission under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and 
no further consideration shall be required, except that nothing 
in this subsection shall affect any independent 
responsibilities of the Commission to protect the public health 
and safety under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 
et seq.).
    [(5) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to amend or 
otherwise detract from the licensing requirements of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission established in title II of the 
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5841 et seq.).
    [(6) In any such statement prepared with respect to the 
repository to be constructed under this subtitle, the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission need not consider the need for a 
repository, the time of initial availability of a repository, 
alternate sites to the Yucca Mountain site, or nongeologic 
alternatives to such site.

                  [review of repository site selection

    [Sec. 115. (a) Definition.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``resolution of repository siting approval'' means a 
joint resolution of the Congress, the matter after the 
resolving clause of which is as follows: ``That there hereby is 
approved the site at .......... for a repository, with respect 
to which a notice of disapproval was submitted by .......... on 
..........''. The first blank space in such resolution shall be 
filled with the name of the geographic location of the proposed 
site of the repository to which such resolution pertains; the 
second blank space in such resolution shall be filled with the 
designation of the State Governor and legislature or Indian 
tribe governing body submitting the notice of disapproval to 
which such resolution pertains; and the last blank space in 
such resolution shall be filled with the date of such 
submission.
    [(b) State or Indian Tribe Petitions.--The designation of a 
site as suitable for application for a construction 
authorization for a repository shall be effective at the end of 
the 60-day period beginning on the date that the President 
recommends such site to the Congress under section 114, unless 
the Governor and legislature of the State in which such site is 
located, or the governing body of an Indian tribe on whose 
reservation such site is located, as the case may be, has 
submitted to the Congress a notice of disapproval under section 
116 or 118. If any such notice of disapproval has been 
submitted, the designation of such site shall not be effective 
except as provided under subsection (c).
    [(c) Congressional Review of Petitions.--If any notice of 
disapproval of a repository site designation has been submitted 
to the Congress under section 116 or 118 after a recommendation 
or approval of such site is made by the President under section 
114, such site shall be disapproved unless, during the first 
period of 90 calendar days of continuous session of the 
Congress after the date of the receipt by the Congress of such 
notice of disapproval, the Congress passes a resolution of 
repository siting approval in accordance with this subsection 
approving such site, and such resolution thereafter becomes 
law.
    [(d) Procedures Applicable to the Senate.--(1) The 
provisions of this subsection are enacted by the Congress--
          [(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 
        Senate, and as such they are deemed a part of the rules 
        of the Senate, but applicable only with respect to the 
        procedure to be followed in the Senate in the case of 
        resolutions of repository siting approval, and such 
        provisions supersede other rules of the Senate only to 
        the extent that they are inconsistent with such other 
        rules; and
          [(B) with full recognition of the constitutional 
        right of the Senate to change the rules (so far as 
        relating to the procedure of the Senate) at any time, 
        in the same manner and to the same extent as in the 
        case of any other rule of the Senate.
    [(2)(A) Not later than the first day of session following 
the day on which any notice of disapproval of a repository site 
selection is submitted to the Congress under section 116 or 
118, a resolution of repository siting approval shall be 
introduced (by request) in the Senate by the chairman of the 
committee to which such notice of disapproval is referred, or 
by a Member or Members of the Senate designated by such 
chairman.
    [(B) Upon introduction, a resolution of repository siting 
approval shall be referred to the appropriate committee or 
committees of the Senate by the President of the Senate, and 
all such resolutions with respect to the same repository site 
shall be referred to the same committee or committees. Upon the 
expiration of 60 calendar days of continuous session after the 
introduction of the first resolution of repository siting 
approval with respect to any site, each committee to which such 
resolution was referred shall make its recommendations to the 
Senate.
    [(3) If any committee to which is referred a resolution of 
siting approval introduced under paragraph (2)(A), or, in the 
absence of such a resolution, any other resolution of siting 
approval introduced with respect to the site involved, has not 
reported such resolution at the end of 60 days of continuous 
session of Congress after introduction of such resolution, such 
committee shall be deemed to be discharged from further 
consideration of such resolution, and such resolution shall be 
placed on the appropriate calendar of the Senate.
    [(4)(A) When each committee to which a resolution of siting 
approval has been referred has reported, or has been deemed to 
be discharged from further consideration of, a resolution 
described in paragraph (3), it shall at any time thereafter be 
in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has 
been disagreed to) for any Member of the Senate to move to 
proceed to the consideration of such resolution. Such motion 
shall be highly privileged and shall not be debatable. Such 
motion shall not be subject to amendment, to a motion to 
postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of 
other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which such 
motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a 
motion to proceed to the consideration of such resolution is 
agreed to, such resolution shall remain the unfinished business 
of the Senate until disposed of.
    [(B) Debate on a resolution of siting approval, and on all 
debatable motions and appeals in connection with such 
resolution, shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, which 
shall be divided equally between Members favoring and Members 
opposing such resolution. A motion further to limit debate 
shall be in order and shall not be debatable. Such motion shall 
not be subject to amendment, to a motion to postpone, or to a 
motion to recommit such resolution shall not be in order. A 
motion to reconsider the vote by which such resolution is 
agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order.
    [(C) Immediately following the conclusion of the debate on 
a resolution of siting approval, and a single quorum call at 
the conclusion of such debate if requested in accordance with 
the rules of the Senate, the vote on final approval of such 
resolution shall occur.
    [(D) Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to 
the application of the rules of the Senate to the procedure 
relating to a resolution of siting approval shall be decided 
without debate.
    [(5) If the Senate receives from the House a resolution of 
repository siting approval with respect to any site, then the 
following procedure shall apply:
          [(A) The resolution of the House with respect to such 
        site shall not be referred to a committee.
          [(B) With respect to the resolution of the Senate 
        with respect to such site--
                  [(i) the procedure with respect to that or 
                other resolutions of the Senate with respect to 
                such site shall be the same as if no resolution 
                from the House with respect to such site had 
                been received; but
                  [(ii) on any vote on final passage of a 
                resolution of the Senate with respect to such 
                site, a resolution from the House with respect 
                to such site where the text is identical shall 
                be automatically substituted for the resolution 
                of the Senate.
    [(e) Procedures Applicable to the House of 
Representatives.--(1) The provisions of this section are 
enacted by the Congress--
          [(A) as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the 
        House of Representatives, and as such they are deemed a 
        part of the rules of the House, but applicable only 
        with respect to the procedure to be followed in the 
        House in the case of resolutions of repository siting 
        approval, and such provisions supersede other rules of 
        the House only to the extent that they are inconsistent 
        with such other rules; and
          [(B) with full recognition of the constitutional 
        right of the House to change the rules (so far as 
        relating to the procedure of the House) at any time, in 
        the same manner and to the same extent as in the case 
        of any other rule of the House.
    [(2) Resolutions of repository siting approval shall upon 
introduction, be immediately referred by the Speaker of the 
House to the appropriate committee or committees of the House. 
Any such resolution received from the Senate shall be held at 
the Speaker's table.
    [(3) Upon the expiration of 60 days of continuous session 
after the introduction of the first resolution of repository 
siting approval with respect to any site, each committee to 
which such resolution was referred shall be discharged from 
further consideration of such resolution, and such resolution 
shall be referred to the appropriate calendar, unless such 
resolution or an identical resolution was previously reported 
by each committee to which it was referred.
    [(4) It shall be in order for the Speaker to recognize a 
Member favoring a resolution to call up a resolution of 
repository siting approval after it has been on the appropriate 
calendar for 5 legislative days. When any such resolution is 
called up, the House shall proceed to its immediate 
consideration and the Speaker shall recognize the Member 
calling up such resolution and a Member opposed to such 
resolution for 2 hours of debate in the House, to be equally 
divided and controlled by such Members. When such time has 
expired, the previous question shall be considered as ordered 
on the resolution to adoption without intervening motion. No 
amendment to any such resolution shall be in order, nor shall 
it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which such 
resolution is agreed to or disagreed to.
    [(5) If the House receives from the Senate a resolution of 
repository siting approval with respect to any site, then the 
following procedure shall apply:
          [(A) The resolution of the Senate with respect to 
        such site shall not be referred to a committee.
          [(B) With respect to the resolution of the House with 
        respect to such site--
                  [(i) the procedure with respect to that or 
                other resolutions of the House with respect to 
                such site shall be the same as if no resolution 
                from the Senate with respect to such site had 
                been received; but
                  [(ii) on any vote on final passage of a 
                resolution of the House with respect to such 
                site, a resolution from the Senate with respect 
                to such site where the text is identical shall 
                be automatically substituted for the resolution 
                of the House.
    [(f) Computation of Days.--For purposes of this section--
          [(1) continuity of session of Congress is broken only 
        by an adjournment sine die; and
          [(2) the days on which either House is not in session 
        because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day 
        certain are excluded in the computation of the 90-day 
        period referred to in subsection (c) and the 60-day 
        period referred to in subsections (d) and (e).
    [(g) Information Provided to Congress.--In considering any 
notice of disapproval submitted to the Congress under section 
116 or 118, the Congress may obtain any comments of the 
Commission with respect to such notice of disapproval. The 
provision of such comments by the Commission shall not be 
construed as binding the Commission with respect to any 
licensing or authorization action concerning the repository 
involved.

                        [participation of states

    [Sec. 116. (a) Notification of States and Affected 
Tribes.--The Secretary shall identify the States with one or 
more potentially acceptable sites for a repository within 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act. Within 90 days of 
such identification, the Secretary shall notify the Governor, 
the State legislature, and the tribal council of any affected 
Indian tribe in any State of the potentially acceptable sites 
within such State. For the purposes of this title, the term 
``potentially acceptable site'' means any site at which, after 
geologic studies and field mapping but before detailed geologic 
data gathering, the Department undertakes preliminary drilling 
and geophysical testing for the definition of site location.
    [(b) State Participation in Repository Siting Decisions.--
(1) Unless otherwise provided by State law, the Governor or 
legislature of each State shall have authority to submit a 
notice of disapproval to the Congress under paragraph (2). In 
any case in which State law provides for submission of any such 
notice of disapproval by any other person or entity, any 
reference in this subtitle to the Governor or legislature of 
such State shall be considered to refer instead to such other 
person or entity.
    [(2) Upon the submission by the President to the Congress 
of a recommendation of a site for a repository, the Governor or 
legislature of the State in which such site is located may 
disapprove the site designation and submit to the Congress a 
notice of disapproval. Such Governor or legislature may submit 
such a notice of disapproval to the Congress not later than the 
60 days after the date that the President recommends such site 
to the Congress under section 114. A notice of disapproval 
shall be considered to be submitted to the Congress on the date 
of the transmittal of such notice of disapproval to the Speaker 
of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate. Such 
notice of disapproval shall be accompanied by a statement of 
reasons explaining why such Governor or legislature disapproved 
the recommended repository site involved.
    [(3) The authority of the Governor or legislature of each 
State under this subsection shall not be applicable with 
respect to any site located on a reservation.
    [(c) Financial Assistance.--(1)(A) The Secretary shall make 
grants to the State of Nevada and any affected unit of local 
government for the purpose of participating in activities 
required by this section and section 117 or authorized by 
written agreement entered into pursuant to section 117(c). Any 
salary or travel expense that would ordinarily be incurred by 
such State or affected unit of local government, may not be 
considered eligible for funding under this paragraph.
    [(B) The Secretary shall make grants to the State of Nevada 
and any affected unit of local government for purposes of 
enabling such State or affected unit of local government--
          [(i) to review activities taken under this subtitle 
        with respect to the Yucca Mountain site for purposes of 
        determining any potential economic, social, public 
        health and safety, and environmental impacts of a 
        repository on such State, or affected unit of local 
        government and its residents;
          [(ii) to develop a request for impact assistance 
        under paragraph (2);
          [(iii) to engage in any monitoring, testing, or 
        evaluation activities with respect to site 
        characterization programs with regard to such site;
          [(iv) to provide information to Nevada residents 
        regarding any activities of such State, the Secretary, 
        or the Commission with respect to such site; and
          [(v) to request information from, and make comments 
        and recommendations to, the Secretary regarding any 
        activities taken under this subtitle with respect to 
        such site.
    [(C) Any salary or travel expense that would ordinarily be 
incurred by the State of Nevada or any affected unit of local 
government may not be considered eligible for funding under 
this paragraph.
    [(2)(A)(i) The Secretary shall provide financial and 
technical assistance to the State of Nevada, and any affected 
unit of local government requesting such assistance.
    [(ii) Such assistance shall be designed to mitigate the 
impact on such State or affected unit of local government of 
the development of such repository and the characterization of 
such site.
    [(iii) Such assistance to such State or affected unit of 
local government of such State shall commence upon the 
initiation of site characterization activities.
    [(B) The State of Nevada and any affected unit of local 
government may request assistance under this subsection by 
preparing and submitting to the Secretary a report on the 
economic, social, public health and safety, and environmental 
impacts that are likely to result from site characterization 
activities at the Yucca Mountain site. Such report shall be 
submitted to the Secretary after the Secretary has submitted to 
the State a general plan for site characterization activities 
under section 113(b).
    [(C) As soon as practicable after the Secretary has 
submitted such site characterization plan, the Secretary shall 
seek to enter into a binding agreement with the State of Nevada 
setting forth--
          [(i) the amount of assistance to be provided under 
        this subsection to such State or affected unit of local 
        government; and
          [(ii) the procedures to be followed in providing such 
        assistance.
    [(3)(A) In addition to financial assistance provided under 
paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall grant to the State 
of Nevada and any affected unit of local government an amount 
each fiscal year equal to the amount such State or affected 
unit of local government, respectively, would receive if 
authorized to tax site characterization activities at such 
site, and the development and operation of such repository, as 
such State or affected unit of local government taxes the non-
Federal real property and industrial activities occurring 
within such State or affected unit of local government.
    [(B) Such grants shall continue until such time as all such 
activities, development, and operation are terminated at such 
site.
    [(4)(A) The State of Nevada or any affected unit of local 
government may not receive any grant under paragraph (1) after 
the expiration of the 1-year period following--
          [(i) the date on which the Secretary notifies the 
        Governor and legislature of the State of Nevada of the 
        termination of site characterization activities at the 
        site in such State;
          [(ii) the date on which the Yucca Mountain site is 
        disapproved under section 115; or
          [(iii) the date on which the Commission disapproves 
        an application for a construction authorization for a 
        repository at such site;
whichever occurs first.
    [(B) The State of Nevada or any affected unit of local 
government may not receive any further assistance under 
paragraph (2) with respect to a site if repository construction 
activities or site characterization activities at such site are 
terminated by the Secretary or if such activities are 
permanently enjoined by any court.
    [(C) At the end of the 2-year period beginning on the 
effective date of any license to receive and possess for a 
repository in a State, no Federal funds, shall be made 
available to such State or affected unit of local government 
under paragraph (1) or (2), except for--
          [(i) such funds as may be necessary to support 
        activities related to any other repository located in, 
        or proposed to be located in, such State, and for which 
        a license to receive and possess has not been in effect 
        for more than 1 year;
          [(ii) such funds as may be necessary to support State 
        activities pursuant to agreements or contracts for 
        impact assistance entered into, under paragraph (2), by 
        such State with the Secretary during such 2-year 
        period; and
          [(iii) such funds as may be provided under an 
        agreement entered into under title IV.
    [(5) Financial assistance authorized in this subsection 
shall be made out of amounts held in the Waste Fund.
    [(6) No State, other than the State of Nevada, may receive 
financial assistance under this subsection after the date of 
the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 
1987.
    [(d) Additional Notification and Consultation.--Whenever 
the Secretary is required under any provision of this Act to 
notify or consult with the governing body of an affected Indian 
tribe where a site is located, the Secretary shall also notify 
or consult with, as the case may be, the Governor of the State 
in which such reservation is located.

          [consultation with states and affected indian tribes

  [Sec. 117. (a) Provision of Information.--(1) The Secretary, 
the Commission, and other agencies involved in the 
construction, operation, or regulation of any aspect of a 
repository in a State shall provide to the Governor and 
legislature of such State, and to the governing body of any 
affected Indian tribe, timely and complete information 
regarding determinations or plans made with respect to the site 
characterization siting, development, design, licensing, 
construction, operation, regulation, or decommissioning of such 
repository.
  [(2) Upon written request for such information by the 
Governor or legislature of such State, or by the governing body 
of any affected Indian tribe, as the case may be, the Secretary 
shall provide a written response to such request within 30 days 
of the receipt of such request. Such response shall provide the 
information requested or, in the alternative, the reasons why 
the information cannot be so provided. If the Secretary fails 
to so respond within such 30 days, the Governor or legislature 
of such State, or the governing body of any affected Indian 
tribe, as the case may be, may transmit a formal written 
objection to such failure to respond to the President. If the 
President or Secretary fails to respond to such written request 
within 30 days of the receipt by the President of such formal 
written objection, the Secretary shall immediately suspend all 
activities in such State authorized by this subtitle, and shall 
not renew such activities until the Governor or legislature of 
such State, or the governing body of any affected Indian tribe, 
as the case may be, has received the written response to such 
written request required by this subsection.
  [(b) Consultation and Cooperation.--In performing any study 
of an area within a State for the purpose of determining the 
suitability of such area for a repository pursuant to section 
112(c), and in subsequently developing and loading any 
repository within such State, the Secretary shall consult and 
cooperate with the Governor and legislature of such State and 
the governing body of any affected Indian tribe in an effort to 
resolve the concerns of such State and any affected Indian 
tribe regarding the public health and safety, environmental, 
and economic impacts of any such repository. In carrying out 
his duties under this subtitle, the Secretary shall take such 
concerns into account to the maximum extent feasible and as 
specified in written agreements entered into under subsection 
(c).
  [(c) Written Agreement.--Not later than 60 days after (1) the 
approval of a site for site characterization for such a 
repository under section 112(c), or (2) the written request of 
the State or Indian tribe in any affected State notified under 
section 116(a) to the Secretary, whichever, first occurs, the 
Secretary shall seek to enter into a binding written agreement, 
and shall begin negotiations, with such State and, where 
appropriate, to enter into a separate binding agreement with 
the governing body of any affected Indian tribe, setting forth 
(but not limited to) the procedures under which the 
requirements of subsections (a) and (b), and the provisions of 
such written agreement, shall be carried out. Any such written 
agreement shall not affect the authority of the Commission 
under existing law. Each such written agreement shall, to the 
maximum extent feasible, be completed not later than 6 months 
after such notification. If such written agreement is not 
completed within such period, the Secretary shall report to the 
Congress in writing within 30 days on the status of 
negotiations to develop such agreement and the reasons why such 
agreement has not been completed. Prior to submission of such 
report to the Congress, the Secretary shall transmit such 
report to the Governor of such State or the governing body of 
such affected Indian tribe, as the case may be, for their 
review and comments. Such comments shall be included in such 
report prior to submission to the Congress. Such written 
agreement shall specify procedures--
          [(1) by which such State or governing body of an 
        affected Indian tribe, as the case may be, may study, 
        determine, comment on, and make recommendations with 
        regard to the possible public health and safety, 
        environmental, social, and economic impacts of any such 
        repository;
          [(2) by which the Secretary shall consider and 
        respond to comments and recommendations made by such 
        State or governing body of an affected Indian tribe, 
        including the period in which the Secretary shall so 
        respond;
          [(3) by which the Secretary and such State or 
        governing body of an affected Indian tribe may review 
        or modify the agreement periodically;
          [(4) by which such State or governing body of an 
        affected Indian tribe is to submit an impact report and 
        request for impact assistance under section 116(c) or 
        section 118(b), as the case may be;
          [(5) by which the Secretary shall assist such State, 
        and the units of general local government in the 
        vicinity of the repository site, in resolving the 
        offsite concerns of such State and units of general 
        local government, including, but not limited to, 
        questions of State liability arising from accidents, 
        necessary road upgrading and access to the site, 
        ongoing emergency preparedness and emergency response, 
        monitoring of transportation of high-level radioactive 
        waste and spent nuclear fuel through such State, 
        conduct of baseline health studies of inhabitants in 
        neighboring communities near the repository site and 
        reasonable periodic monitoring thereafter, and 
        monitoring of the repository site upon any 
        decommissioning and decontamination;
          [(6) by which the Secretary shall consult and 
        cooperate with such State on a regular, ongoing basis 
        and provide for an orderly process and timely schedule 
        for State review and evaluation, including 
        identification in the agreement of key events, 
        milestones, and decision points in the activities of 
        the Secretary at the potential repository site;
          [(7) by which the Secretary shall notify such State 
        prior to the transportation of any high-level 
        radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel into such 
        State for disposal at the repository site;
          [(8) by which such State may conduct reasonable 
        independent monitoring and testing of activities on the 
        repository site, except that such monitoring and 
        testing shall not unreasonably interfere with or delay 
        onsite activities;
          [(9) for sharing, in accordance with applicable law, 
        of all technical and licensing information, the 
        utilization of available expertise, the facilitating of 
        permit procedures, joint project review, and the 
        formulation of joint surveillance and monitoring 
        arrangements to carry out applicable Federal and State 
        laws;
          [(10) for public notification of the procedures 
        specified under the preceding paragraphs; and
          [(11) for resolving objections of a State and 
        affected Indian tribes at any stage of the planning, 
        siting, development, construction, operation, or 
        closure of such a facility within such State through 
        negotiation, arbitration, or other appropriate 
        mechanisms.
  [(d) On-Site Representative.--The Secretary shall offer to 
any State, Indian tribe or unit of local government within 
whose jurisdiction a site for a repository or monitored 
retrievable storage facility is located under this title an 
opportunity to designate a representative to conduct on-site 
oversight activities at such site. Reasonable expenses of such 
representatives shall be paid out of the Waste Fund.

                    [participation of indian tribes

  [Sec. 118. (a) Participation of Indian Tribes in Repository 
Siting Decisions.--Upon the submission by the President to the 
Congress of a recommendation of a site for a repository located 
on the reservation of an affected Indian tribe, the governing 
body of such Indian tribe may disapprove the site designation 
and submit to the Congress a notice of disapproval. The 
governing body of such Indian tribe may submit such a notice of 
disapproval to the Congress not later than the 60 days after 
the date that the President recommends such site to the 
Congress under section 114. A notice of disapproval shall be 
considered to be submitted to the Congress on the date of the 
transmittal of such notice of disapproval to the Speaker of the 
House and the President pro tempore of the Senate. Such notice 
of disapproval shall be accompanied by a statement of reasons 
explaining why the governing body of such Indian tribe 
disapproved the recommended repository site involved.
  [(b) Financial Assistance.--(1) The Secretary shall make 
grants to each affected tribe notified under section 116(a) for 
the purpose of participating in activities required by section 
117 or authorized by written agreement entered into pursuant to 
section 117(c). Any salary or travel expense that would 
ordinarily be incurred by such tribe, may not be considered 
eligible for funding under this paragraph.
  [(2)(A) The Secretary shall make grants to each affected 
Indian tribe where a candidate site for a repository is 
approved under section 112(c). Such grants may be made to each 
such Indian tribe only for purposes of enabling such Indian 
tribe--
          [(i) to review activities taken under this subtitle 
        with respect to such site for purposes of determining 
        any potential economic, social, public health and 
        safety, and environmental impacts of such repository on 
        the reservation and its residents;
          [(ii) to develop a request for impact assistance 
        under paragraph (2);
          [(iii) to engage in any monitoring, testing, or 
        evaluation activities with respect to site 
        characterization programs with regard to such site;
          [(iv) to provide information to the residents of its 
        reservation regarding any activities of such Indian 
        tribe, the Secretary, or the Commission with respect to 
        such site; and
          [(v) to request information from, and make comments 
        and recommendations to, the Secretary regarding any 
        activities taken under this subtitle with respect to 
        such site.
  [(B) The amount of funds provided to any affected Indian 
tribe under this paragraph in any fiscal year may not exceed 
100 percent of the costs incurred by such Indian tribe with 
respect to the activities described in clauses (i) through (v) 
of subparagraph (A). Any salary or travel expense that would 
ordinarily be incurred by such Indian tribe may not be 
considered eligible for funding under this paragraph.
  [(3)(A) The Secretary shall provide financial and technical 
assistance to any affected Indian tribe requesting such 
assistance and where there is a site with respect to which the 
Commission has authorized construction of a repository. Such 
assistance shall be designed to mitigate the impact on such 
Indian tribe of the development of such repository. Such 
assistance to such Indian tribe shall commence within 6 months 
following the granting by the Commission of a construction 
authorization for such repository and following the initiation 
of construction activities at such site.
  [(B) Any affected Indian tribe desiring assistance under this 
paragraph shall prepare and submit to the Secretary a report on 
any economic, social, public health and safety, and 
environmental impacts that are likely as a result of the 
development of a repository at a site on the reservation of 
such Indian tribe. Such report shall be submitted to the 
Secretary following the completion of site characterization 
activities at such site and before the recommendation of such 
site to the President by the Secretary for application for a 
construction authorization for a repository. As soon as 
practicable following the granting of a construction 
authorization for such repository, the Secretary shall seek to 
enter into a binding agreement with the Indian tribe involved 
setting forth the amount of assistance to be provided to such 
Indian tribe under this paragraph and the procedures to be 
followed in providing such assistance.
  [(4) The Secretary shall grant to each affected Indian tribe 
where a site for a repository is approved under section 112(c) 
an amount each fiscal year equal to the amount such Indian 
tribe would receive were it authorized to tax site 
characterization activities at such site, and the development 
and operation of such repository, as such Indian tribe taxes 
the other commercial activities occurring on such reservation. 
Such grants shall continue until such time as all such 
activities, development, and operation are terminated at such 
site.
  [(5) An affected Indian tribe may not receive any grant under 
paragraph (1) after the expiration of the 1-year period 
following--
          [(i) the date on which the Secretary notifies such 
        Indian tribe of the termination of site 
        characterization activities at the candidate site 
        involved on the reservation of such Indian tribe;
          [(ii) the date on which such site is disapproved 
        under section 115;
          [(iii) the date on which the Commission disapproves 
        an application for a construction authorization for a 
        repository at such site;
          [(iv) the date of the enactment of the Nuclear Waste 
        Policy Amendments Act of 1987;
whichever occurs first, unless there is another candidate site 
on the reservation of such Indian tribe that is approved under 
section 112(c) and with respect to which the actions described 
in clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) have not been taken.
  [(B) An affected Indian tribe may not receive any further 
assistance under paragraph (2) with respect to a site if 
repository construction activities at such site are terminated 
by the Secretary or if such activities are permanently enjoined 
by any court.
  [(C) At the end of the 2-year period beginning on the 
effective date of any license to receive and possess for a 
repository at a site on the reservation of an affected Indian 
tribe, no Federal funds shall be made available under paragraph 
(1) or (2) to such Indian tribe, except for--
          [(i) such funds as may be necessary to support 
        activities of such Indian tribe related to any other 
        repository where a license to receive and possess has 
        not been in effect for more than 1 year; and
          [(ii) such funds as may be necessary to support 
        activities of such Indian tribe pursuant to agreements 
        or contracts for impact assistance entered into, under 
        paragraph (2), by such Indian tribe with the Secretary 
        during such 2-year period.
  [(6) Financial assistance authorized in this subsection shall 
be made out of amounts held in the Nuclear Waste Fund 
established in section 302.

                   [judicial review of agency actions

  [Sec. 119. (a) Jurisdiction of United States Courts of 
Appeals.--(1) Except for review in the Supreme Court of the 
United States, the United States courts of appeals shall have 
original and exclusive jurisdiction over any civil action--
          [(A) for review of any final decision or action of 
        the Secretary, the President, or the Commission under 
        this subtitle;
          [(B) alleging the failure of the Secretary, the 
        President, or the Commission to make any decision, or 
        take any action, required under this subtitle;
          [(C) challenging the constitutionality of any 
        decision made, or action taken, under any provision of 
        this subtitle;
          [(D) for review of any environmental impact statement 
        prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect to 
        any action under this subtitle, or as required under 
        section 135(c)(1), or alleging a failure to prepare 
        such statement with respect to any such action;
          [(E) for review of any environmental assessment 
        prepared under section 112(b)(1) or 135(c)(2); or
          [(F) for review of any research and development 
        activity under title II.
  [(2) The venue of any proceeding under this section shall be 
in the judicial circuit in which the petitioner involved 
resides or has its principal office, or in the United States 
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
  [(c) Deadline for Commencing Action.--A civil action for 
judicial review described under subsection (a)(1) may be 
brought not later than the 180th day after the date of the 
decision or action or failure to act involved, as the case may 
be, except that if a party shows that he did not know of the 
decision or action complained of (or of the failure to act), 
and that a reasonable person acting under the circumstances 
would not have known, such party may bring a civil action not 
later than the 180th day after the date such party acquired 
actual or constructive knowledge of such decision, action, or 
failure to act.

                       [expedited authorizations

  [Sec. 120. (a) Issuance of Authorizations.--(1) To the extent 
that the taking of any action related to the site 
characterization of a site or the construction or initial 
operation of a repository under this subtitle requires a 
certificate, right-of-way, permit, lease, or other 
authorization from a Federal agency or officer, such agency or 
officer shall issue or grant any such authorization at the 
earliest practicable date, to the extent permitted by the 
applicable provisions of law administered by such agency or 
officer. All actions of a Federal agency or officer with 
respect to consideration of applications or requests for the 
issuance or grant of any such authorization shall be expedited, 
and any such application or request shall take precedence over 
any similar applications or requests not related to such 
repositories.
  [(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to any 
certificate, right-of-way, permit, lease, or other 
authorization issued or granted by, or requested from, the 
Commission.
  [(b) Terms of Authorizations.--Any authorization issued or 
granted pursuant to subsection (a) shall include such terms and 
conditions as may be required by law, and may include terms and 
conditions permitted by law.

                    [certain standards and criteria

  [Sec. 121. (a) Environmental Protection Agency Standards.--
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator, pursuant to authority under other 
provisions of law, shall, by rule, promulgate generally 
applicable standards for protection of the general environment 
from offsite releases from radioactive material in 
repositories.
  [(b) Commission Requirements and Criteria.--(1)(A) Not later 
than January 1, 1984, the Commission, pursuant to authority 
under other provisions of law, shall, by rule, promulgate 
technical requirements and criteria that it will apply, under 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) and the 
Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.), in 
approving or disapproving--
          [(i) applications for authorization to construct 
        repositories;
          [(ii) applications for licenses to receive and 
        possess spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
        waste in such repositories; and
          [(iii) applications for authorization for closure and 
        decommissioning of such repositories.
  [(B) Such criteria shall provide for the use of a system of 
multiple barriers in the design of the repository and shall 
include such restrictions on the retrievability of the 
solidified high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel emplaced 
in the repository as the Commission deems appropriate.
  [(C) Such requirements and criteria shall not be inconsistent 
with any comparable standards promulgated by the Administrator 
under subsection (a).
  [(2) For purposes of this Act, nothing in this section shall 
be construed to prohibit the Commission from promulgating 
requirements and criteria under paragraph (1) before the 
Administrator promulgates standards under subsection (a). If 
the Administrator promulgates standards under subsection (a) 
after requirements and criteria are promulgated by the 
Commission under paragraph (1), such requirements and criteria 
shall be revised by the Commission if necessary to comply with 
paragraph (1)(C).
  [(c) Environmental Impact Statement.--The promulgation of 
standards or criteria in accordance with the provisions of this 
section shall not require the preparation of an environmental 
impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), or to 
require any environmental review under subparagraph (E) or (F) 
of section 102(2) of such Act.

                    [disposal of spent nuclear fuel

  [Sec. 122. Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
subtitle, any repository constructed on a site approved under 
this subtitle shall be designed and constructed to permit the 
retrieval of any spent nuclear fuel placed in such repository, 
during an appropriate period of operation of the facility, for 
any reason pertaining to the public health and safety, or the 
environment, or for the purpose of permitting the recovery of 
the economically valuable contents of such spent fuel. The 
Secretary shall specify the appropriate period of 
retrievability with respect to any repository at the time of 
design of such repository, and such aspect of such repository 
shall be subject to approval or disapproval by the Commission 
as part of the construction authorization process under 
subsections (b) through (d) of section 114.

                           [title to material

  [Sec. 123. Delivery, and acceptance by the Secretary, of any 
high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel for a 
repository constructed under this subtitle shall constitute a 
transfer to the Secretary of title to such waste or spent fuel.

        [consideration of effect of acquisition of water rights

  [Sec. 124. The Secretary shall give full consideration to 
whether the development, construction, and operation of a 
repository may require any purchase or other acquisition of 
water rights that will have a significant adverse effect on the 
present or future development of the area in which such 
repository is located. The Secretary shall mitigate any such 
adverse effects to the maximum extent practicable.

                   [termination of certain provisions

  [Sec. 125. Sections 119 and 120 shall cease to have effect at 
such time as a repository developed under this subtitle is 
licensed to receive and possess high-level radioactive waste 
and spent nuclear fuel.

                  [Subtitle B--Interim Storage Program

                         [findings and purposes

  [Sec. 131. (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
          [(1) the persons owning and operating civilian 
        nuclear power reactors have the primary responsibility 
        for providing interim storage of spent nuclear fuel 
        from such reactors, by maximizing, to the extent 
        practical, the effective use of existing storage 
        facilities at the site of each civilian nuclear power 
        reactor, and by adding new onsite storage capacity in a 
        timely manner where practical;
          [(2) the Federal Government has the responsibility to 
        encourage and expedite the effective use of existing 
        storage facilities and the addition of needed new 
        storage capacity at the site of each civilian nuclear 
        power reactor; and
          [(3) the Federal Government has the responsibility to 
        provide, in accordance with the provisions of this 
        subtitle, not more than 1,900 metric tons of capacity 
        for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel for civilian 
        nuclear power reactors that cannot reasonably provide 
        adequate storage capacity at the sites of such reactors 
        when needed to assure the continued, orderly operation 
        of such reactors.
  [(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this subtitle are--
          [(1) to provide for the utilization of available 
        spent nuclear fuel pools at the site of each civilian 
        nuclear power reactor to the extent practical and the 
        addition of new spent nuclear fuel storage capacity 
        where practical at the site of such reactor; and
          [(2) to provide, in accordance with the provisions of 
        this subtitle, for the establishment of a federally 
        owned and operated system for the interim storage of 
        spent nuclear fuel at one or more facilities owned by 
        the Federal Government with not more than 1,900 metric 
        tons of capacity to prevent disruptions in the orderly 
        operation of any civilian nuclear power reactor that 
        cannot reasonably provide adequate spent nuclear fuel 
        storage capacity at the site of such reactor when 
        needed.

     [available capacity for interim storage of spent nuclear fuel

  [Sec. 132. The Secretary, the Commission, and other 
authorized Federal officials shall each take such actions as 
such official considers necessary to encourage and expedite the 
effective use of available storage, and necessary additional 
storage, at the site of each civilian nuclear power reactor 
consistent with--
          [(1) the protection of the public health and safety, 
        and the environment;
          [(2) economic considerations;
          [(3) continued operation of such reactor;
          [(4) any applicable provisions of law; and
          [(5) the views of the population surrounding such 
        reactor.

                      [interim at reactor storage

  [Sec. 133. The Commission shall, by rule, establish 
procedures for the licensing of any technology approved by the 
Commission under section 219(a) for use at the site of any 
civilian nuclear power reactor. The establishment of such 
procedures shall not preclude the licensing, under any 
applicable procedures or rules of the Commission in effect 
prior to such establishment, of any technology for the storage 
of civilian spent nuclear fuel at the site of any civilian 
nuclear power reactor.

          [licensing of facility expansions and transshipments

  [Sec. 134. (a) Oral Argument.--In any Commission hearing 
under section 189 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 
2239) on an application for a license, or for an amendment to 
an existing license, filed after the date of the enactment of 
this Act, to expand the spent nuclear fuel storage capacity at 
the site of a civilian nuclear power reactor, through the use 
of high-density fuel storage racks, fuel rod compaction, the 
transshipment of spent nuclear fuel to another civilian nuclear 
power reactor within the same utility system, the construction 
of additional spent nuclear fuel pool capacity or dry storage 
capacity, or by other means, the Commission shall, at the 
request of any party, provide an opportunity for oral argument 
with respect to any matter which the Commission determines to 
be in controversy among the parties. The oral argument shall be 
preceded by such discovery procedures as the rules of the 
Commission shall provide. The Commission shall require each 
party, including the Commission staff, to submit in written 
form, at the time of the oral argument, a summary of the facts, 
data, and arguments upon which such party proposes to rely that 
are known at such time to such party. Only facts and data in 
the form of sworn testimony or written submission may be relied 
upon by the parties during oral argument. Of the materials that 
may be submitted by the parties during oral argument, the 
Commission shall only consider those facts and data that are 
submitted in the form of sworn testimony or written submission.
  [(b) Adjudicatory Hearing.--(1) At the conclusion of any oral 
argument under subsection (a), the Commission shall designate 
any disputed question of fact, together with any remaining 
questions of law, for resolution in an adjudicatory hearing 
only if it determines that--
          [(A) there is a genuine and substantial dispute of 
        fact which can only be resolved with sufficient 
        accuracy by the introduction of evidence in an 
        adjudicatory hearing; and
          [(B) the decision of the Commission is likely to 
        depend in whole or in part on the resolution of such 
        dispute.
  [(2) In making a determination under this subsection, the 
Commission--
          [(A) shall designate in writing the specific facts 
        that are in genuine and substantial dispute, the reason 
        why the decision of the agency is likely to depend on 
        the resolution of such facts, and the reason why an 
        adjudicatory hearing is likely to resolve the dispute; 
        and
          [(B) shall not consider--
                  [(i) any issue relating to the design, 
                construction, or operation of any civilian 
                nuclear power reactor already licensed to 
                operate at such site, or any civilian nuclear 
                power reactor for which a construction permit 
                has been granted at such site, unless the 
                Commission determines that any such issue 
                substantially affects the design, construction, 
                or operation of the facility or activity for 
                which such license application, authorization, 
                or amendment is being considered; or
                  [(ii) any siting or design issue fully 
                considered and decided by the Commission in 
                connection with the issuance of a construction 
                permit or operating license for a civilian 
                nuclear power reactor at such site, unless (I) 
                such issue results from any revision of siting 
                or design criteria by the Commission following 
                such decision; and (II) the Commission 
                determines that such issue substantially 
                affects the design, construction, or operation 
                of the facility or activity for which such 
                license application, authorization, or 
                amendment is being considered.
  [(3) The provisions of paragraph (2)(B) shall apply only with 
respect to licenses, authorizations, or amendments to licenses 
or authorizations, applied for under the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) before December 31, 2005.
  [(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the 
first application for a license or license amendment received 
by the Commission to expand onsite spent fuel storage capacity 
by the use of a new technology not previously approved for use 
at any nuclear powerplant by the Commission.
  [(c) Judicial Review.--No court shall hold unlawful or set 
aside a decision of the Commission in any proceeding described 
in subsection (a) because of a failure by the Commission to use 
a particular procedure pursuant to this section unless--
          [(1) an objection to the procedure used was presented 
        to the Commission in a timely fashion or there are 
        extraordinary circumstances that excuse the failure to 
        present a timely objection; and
          [(2) the court finds that such failure has precluded 
        a fair consideration and informed resolution of a 
        significant issue of the proceeding taken as a whole.

                     [storage of spent nuclear fuel

  [Sec. 135. (a) Storage Capacity.--(1) Subject to section 8, 
the Secretary shall provide, in accordance with paragraph (5), 
not more than 1,900 metric tons of capacity for the storage of 
spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors. Such 
storage capacity shall be provided through any one or more of 
the following methods, used in any combination determined by 
the Secretary to be appropriate:
          [(A) use of available capacity at one or more 
        facilities owned by the Federal Government on the date 
        of the enactment of this Act, including the 
        modification and expansion of any such facilities, if 
        the Commission determines that such use will adequately 
        protect the public health and safety, except that such 
        use shall not--
                  [(i) render such facilities subject to 
                licensing under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 
                (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) or the Energy 
                Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5801 et 
                seq.); or
                  [(ii) except as provided in subsection (c) 
                require the preparation of an environmental 
                impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the 
                National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 
                U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), such facility is already 
                being used, or has previously been used, for 
                such storage or for any similar purpose.
          [(B) acquisition of any modular or mobile spent 
        nuclear fuel storage equipment, including spent nuclear 
        fuel storage casks, and provision of such equipment, to 
        any person generating or holding title to spent nuclear 
        fuel, at the site of any civilian nuclear power reactor 
        operated by such person or at any site owned by the 
        Federal Government on the date of enactment of this 
        Act;
          [(C) construction of storage capacity at any site of 
        a civilian nuclear power reactor.
  [(2) Storage capacity authorized by paragraph (1) shall not 
be provided at any Federal or non-Federal site within which 
there is a candidate site for a repository. The restriction in 
the preceding sentence shall only apply until such time as the 
Secretary decides that such candidate site is no longer a 
candidate site under consideration for development as a 
repository.
  [(3) In selecting methods of providing storage capacity under 
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider the timeliness of 
the availability of each such method and shall seek to minimize 
the transportation of spent nuclear fuel, the public health and 
safety impacts, and the costs of providing such storage 
capacity.
  [(4) In providing storage capacity through any method 
described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall comply with any 
applicable requirements for licensing or authorization of such 
method, except as provided in paragraph (1)(A)(i).
  [(5) The Secretary shall ensure that storage capacity is made 
available under paragraph (1) when needed, as determined on the 
basis of the storage needs specified in contracts entered into 
under section 136(a), and shall accept upon request any spent 
nuclear fuel as covered under such contracts.
  [(6) For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the term ``facility'' 
means any building or structure.
  [(b) Contracts.--(1) Subject to the capacity limitation 
established in subsections (a) (1) and (d) the Secretary shall 
offer to enter into, and may enter into, contracts under 
section 136(a) with any person generating or owning spent 
nuclear fuel for purposes of providing storage capacity for 
such spent fuel under this section only if the Commission 
determines that--
          [(A) adequate storage capacity to ensure the 
        continued orderly operation of the civilian nuclear 
        power reactor at which such spent nuclear fuel is 
        generated cannot reasonably be provided by the person 
        owning and operating such reactor at such site, or at 
        the site of any other civilian nuclear power reactor 
        operated by such person, and such capacity cannot be 
        made available in a timely manner through any method 
        described in subparagraph (B); and
          [(B) such person is diligently pursuing licensed 
        alternatives to the use of Federal storage capacity for 
        the storage of spent nuclear fuel expected to be 
        generated by such person in the future, including--
                  [(i) expansion of storage facilities at the 
                site of any civilian nuclear power reactor 
                operated by such person;
                  [(ii) construction of new or additional 
                storage facilities at the site of any civilian 
                nuclear power reactor operated by such person;
                  [(iii) acquisition of modular or mobile spent 
                nuclear fuel storage equipment, including spent 
                nuclear fuel storage casks, for use at the site 
                of any civilian nuclear power reactor operated 
                by such person; and
                  [(iv) transshipment to another civilian 
                nuclear power reactor owned by such person.
  [(2) In making the determination described in paragraph 
(1)(A), the Commission shall ensure maintenance of a full core 
reserve storage capability at the site of the civilian nuclear 
power reactor involved unless the Commission determines that 
maintenance of such capability is not necessary for the 
continued orderly operation of such reactor.
  [(3) The Commission shall complete the determinations 
required in paragraph (1) with respect to any request for 
storage capacity not later than 6 months after receipt of such 
request by the Commission.
  [(c) Environmental Review.--(1) The provision of 300 or more 
metric tons of storage capacity at any one Federal site under 
subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be considered to be a major Federal 
action requiring preparation of an environmental impact 
statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).
  [(2)(A) The Secretary shall prepare, and make available to 
the public, an environmental assessment of the probable impacts 
of any provision of less than 300 metric tons of storage 
capacity at any one Federal site under subsection (a)(1)(A) 
that requires the modification or expansion of any facility at 
the site, and a discussion of alternative activities that may 
be undertaken to avoid such impacts. Such environmental 
assessment shall include--
          [(i) an estimate of the amount of storage capacity to 
        be made available at such site;
          [(ii) an evaluation as to whether the facilities to 
        be used at such site are suitable for the provision of 
        such storage capacity;
          [(iii) a description of activities planned by the 
        Secretary with respect to the modification or expansion 
        of the facilities to be used at such site;
          [(iv) an evaluation of the effects of the provision 
        of such storage capacity at such site on the public 
        health and safety, and the environment;
          [(v) a reasonable comparative evaluation of current 
        information with respect to such site and facilities 
        and other sites and facilities available for the 
        provision of such storage capacity;
          [(vi) a description of any other sites and facilities 
        that have been considered by the Secretary for the 
        provision of such storage capacity; and
          [(vii) an assessment of the regional and local 
        impacts of providing such storage capacity at such 
        site, including the impacts on transportation.
  [(B) The issuance of any environmental assessment under this 
paragraph shall be considered to be a final agency action 
subject to judicial review in accordance with the provisions of 
chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. Such judicial review 
shall be limited to the sufficiency of such assessment with 
respect to the items described in clauses (i) through (vii) of 
subparagraph (A).
  [(3) Judicial review of any environmental impact statement or 
environmental assessment prepared pursuant to this subsection 
shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of section 
119.
  [(d) Review of Sites and State Participation.--(1) In 
carrying out the provisions of this subtitle with regard to any 
interim storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear power 
reactors which the Secretary is authorized by section 135 to 
provide, the Secretary shall, as soon as practicable, notify, 
in writing, the Governor and the State legislature of any State 
and the Tribal Council of any affected Indian tribe in such 
State in which is located a potentially acceptable site or 
facility for such interim storage of spent fuel of his 
intention to investigate that site or facility.
  [(2) During the course of investigation of such site or 
facility, the Secretary shall keep the Governor, State 
legislature, and affected Tribal Council currently informed of 
the progress of the work, and results of the investigation. At 
the time of selection by the Secretary of any site or existing 
facility, but prior to undertaking any site-specific work or 
alterations, the Secretary shall promptly notify the Governor, 
the legislature, and any affected Tribal Council in writing of 
such selection, and subject to the provisions of paragraph (6) 
of this subsection, shall promptly enter into negotiations with 
such State and affected Tribal Council to establish a 
cooperative agreement under which such State and Council shall 
have the right to participate in a process of consultation and 
cooperation, based on public health and safety and 
environmental concerns, in all stages of the planning, 
development, modification, expansion, operation, and closure of 
storage capacity at a site or facility within such State for 
the interim storage of spent fuel from civilian nuclear power 
reactors. Public participation in the negotiation of such an 
agreement shall be provided for and encouraged by the 
Secretary, the State, and the affected Tribal Council. The 
Secretary, in cooperation with the States and Indian tribes, 
shall develop and publish minimum guidelines for public 
participation in such negotiations, but the adequacy of such 
guidelines or any failure to comply with such guidelines shall 
not be a basis for judicial review.
  [(3) The cooperative agreement shall include, but need not be 
limited to, the sharing in accordance with applicable law of 
all technical and licensing information, the utilization of 
available expertise, the facilitating of permitting procedures, 
joint project review, and the formulation of joint surveillance 
and monitoring arrangements to carry out applicable Federal and 
State laws. The cooperative agreement also shall include a 
detailed plan or schedule of milestones, decision points and 
opportunities for State or eligible Tribal Council review and 
objection. Such cooperative agreement shall provide procedures 
for negotiating and resolving objections of the State and 
affected Tribal Council in any stage of planning, development, 
modification, expansion, operation, or closure of storage 
capacity at a site or facility within such State. The terms of 
any cooperative agreement shall not affect the authority of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission under existing law.
  [(4) For the purpose of this subsection, ``process of 
consultation and cooperation'' means a methodology by which the 
Secretary (A) keeps the State and eligible Tribal Council fully 
and currently informed about the aspects of the project related 
to any potential impact on the public health and safety and 
environment; (B) solicits, receives, and evaluates concerns and 
objections of such State and Council with regard to such 
aspects of the project on an ongoing basis; and (C) works 
diligently and cooperatively to resolve, through arbitration or 
other appropriate mechanisms, such concerns and objections. The 
process of consultation and cooperation shall not include the 
grant of a right to any State or Tribal Council to exercise an 
absolute veto of any aspect of the planning, development, 
modification, expansion, or operation of the project.
  [(5) The Secretary and the State and affected Tribal Council 
shall seek to conclude the agreement required by paragraph (2) 
as soon as practicable, but not later than 180 days following 
the date of notification of the selection under paragraph (2). 
The Secretary shall periodically report to the Congress 
thereafter on the status of the agreements approved under 
paragraph (3). Any report to the Congress on the status of 
negotiations of such agreement by the Secretary shall be 
accompanied by comments solicited by the Secretary from the 
State and eligible Tribal Council.
  [(6)(A) Upon deciding to provide an aggregate of 300 or more 
metric tons of storage capacity under subsection (a)(1) at any 
one site, the Secretary shall notify the Governor and 
legislature of the State where such site is located, or the 
governing body of the Indian tribe in whose reservation such 
site is located, as the case may be, of such decision. During 
the 60-day period following receipt of notification by the 
Secretary of his decision to provide an aggregate of 300 or 
more metric tons of storage capacity at any one site, the 
Governor or legislature of the State in which such site is 
located, or the governing body of the affected Indian tribe 
where such site is located, as the case may be, may disapprove 
the provision of 300 or more metric tons of storage capacity at 
the site involved and submit to the Congress a notice of such 
disapproval. A notice of disapproval shall be considered to be 
submitted to the Congress on the date of the transmittal of 
such notice of disapproval to the Speaker of the House and the 
President pro tempore of the Senate. Such notice of disapproval 
shall be accompanied by a statement of reasons explaining why 
the provision of such storage capacity at such site was 
disapproved by such Governor or legislature or the governing 
body of such Indian tribe.
  [(B) Unless otherwise provided by State law, the Governor or 
legislature of each State shall have authority to submit a 
notice of disapproval to the Congress under subparagraph (A). 
In any case in which State law provides for submission of any 
such notice of disapproval by any other person or entity, any 
reference in this subtitle to the Governor or legislature of 
such State shall be considered to refer instead to such other 
person or entity.
  [(C) The authority of the Governor and legislature of each 
State under this paragraph shall not be applicable with respect 
to any site located on a reservation.
  [(D) If any notice of disapproval is submitted to the 
Congress under subparagraph (A), the proposed provision of 300 
or more metric tons of storage capacity at the site involved 
shall be disapproved unless, during the first period of 90 
calendar days of continuous session of the Congress following 
the date of the receipt by the Congress of such notice of 
disapproval, the Congress passes a resolution approving such 
proposed provision of storage capacity in accordance with the 
procedures established in this paragraph and subsections (d) 
through (f) of section 115 and such resolution thereafter 
becomes law. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 
``resolution'' means a joint resolution of either House of the 
Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as 
follows: ``That there hereby is approved the provision of 300 
or more metric tons of spent nuclear fuel storage capacity at 
the site located at ----------------, with respect to which a 
notice of disapproval was submitted by ---------------- on ----
------------.''. The first blank space in such resolution shall 
be filled with the geographic location of the site involved; 
the second blank space in such resolution shall be filled with 
the designation of the State Governor and legislature or 
affected Indian tribe governing body submitting the notice of 
disapproval involved; and the last blank space in such 
resolution shall be filled with the date of submission of such 
notice of disapproval.
  [(E) For purposes of the consideration of any resolution 
described in subparagraph (D), each reference in subsections 
(d) and (e) of section 115 to a resolution of repository siting 
approval shall be considered to refer to the resolution 
described in such subparagraph.
  [(7) As used in this section, the term ``affected Tribal 
Council'' means the governing body of any Indian tribe within 
whose reservation boundaries there is located a potentially 
acceptable site for interim storage capacity of spent nuclear 
fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors, or within whose 
boundaries a site for such capacity is selected by the 
Secretary, or whose federally defined possessory or usage 
rights to other lands outside of the reservation's boundaries 
arising out of congressionally ratified treaties, as determined 
by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to a petition filed 
with him by the appropriate governmental officials of such 
tribe, may be substantially and adversely affected by the 
establishment of any such storage capacity.
  [(e) Limitations.--Any spent nuclear fuel stored under this 
section shall be removed from the storage site or facility 
involved as soon as practicable, but in any event not later 
than 3 years following the date on which a repository or 
monitored retrievable storage facility developed under this Act 
is available for disposal of such spent nuclear fuel.
  [(f) Report.--The Secretary shall annually prepare and submit 
to the Congress a report on any plans of the Secretary for 
providing storage capacity under this section. Such report 
shall include a description of the specific manner of providing 
such storage selected by the Secretary, if any. The Secretary 
shall prepare and submit the first such report not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
  [(g) Criteria for Determining Adequacy of Available Storage 
Capacity.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Commission pursuant to section 553 
of the Administrative Procedures Act, shall propose, by rule, 
procedures and criteria for making the determination required 
by subsection (b) that a person owning and operating a civilian 
nuclear power reactor cannot reasonably provide adequate spent 
nuclear fuel storage capacity at the civilian nuclear power 
reactor site when needed to ensure the continued orderly 
operation of such reactor. Such criteria shall ensure the 
maintenance of a full core reserve storage capability at the 
site of such reactor unless the Commission determines that 
maintenance of such capability is not necessary for the 
continued orderly operation of such reactor. Such criteria 
shall identify the feasibility of reasonably providing such 
adequate spent nuclear fuel storage capacity, taking into 
account economic, technical, regulatory, and public health and 
safety factors, through the use of high-density fuel storage 
racks, fuel rod compaction, transshipment of spent nuclear fuel 
to another civilian nuclear power reactor within the same 
utility system, construction of additional spent nuclear fuel 
pool capacity, or such other technologies as may be approved by 
the Commission.
  [(h) Application.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, nothing in this Act shall be construed to encourage, 
authorize, or require the private or Federal use, purchase, 
lease, or other acquisition of any storage facility located 
away from the site of any civilian nuclear power reactor and 
not owned by the Federal Government on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
  [(i) Coordination With Research and Development Program.--To 
the extent available, and consistent with the provisions of 
this section, the Secretary shall provide spent nuclear fuel 
for the research and development program authorized in section 
217 from spent nuclear fuel received by the Secretary for 
storage under this section. Such spent nuclear fuel shall not 
be subject to the provisions of subsection (e).

                         [interim storage fund

  [Sec. 136. (a) Contracts.--(1) During the period following 
the date of the enactment of this Act, but not later than 
January 1, 1990, the Secretary is authorized to enter into 
contracts with persons who generate or own spent nuclear fuel 
resulting from civilian nuclear activities for the storage of 
such spent nuclear fuel in any storage capacity provided under 
this subtitle: Provided, however, That the Secretary shall not 
enter into contracts for spent nuclear fuel in amounts in 
excess of the available storage capacity specified in section 
135(a). Those contracts shall provide that the Federal 
Government will (1) take title at the civilian nuclear power 
reactor site, to such amounts of spent nuclear fuel from the 
civilian nuclear power reactor as the Commission determines 
cannot be stored onsite, (2) transport the spent nuclear fuel 
to a federally owned and operated interim away-from-reactor 
storage facility, and (3) store such fuel in the facility 
pending further processing, storage, or disposal. Each such 
contract shall (A) provide for payment to the Secretary of fees 
determined in accordance with the provisions of this section; 
and (B) specify the amount of storage capacity to be provided 
for the person involved.
  [(2) The Secretary shall undertake a study and, not later 
than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
submit to the Congress a report, establishing payment charges 
that shall be calculated on an annual basis, commencing on or 
before January 1, 1984. Such payment charges and the 
calculation thereof shall be published in the Federal Register, 
and shall become effective not less than 30 days after 
publication. Each payment charge published in the Federal 
Register under this paragraph shall remain effective for a 
period of 12 months from the effective date as the charge for 
the cost of the interim storage of any spent nuclear fuel. The 
report of the Secretary shall specify the method and manner of 
collection (including the rates and manner of payment) and any 
legislative recommendations determined by the Secretary to be 
appropriate.
  [(3) Fees for storage under this subtitle shall be 
established on a nondiscriminatory basis. The fees to be paid 
by each person entering into a contract with the Secretary 
under this subsection shall be based upon an estimate of the 
pro rata costs of storage and related activities under this 
subtitle with respect to such person, including the 
acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of any 
facilities under this subtitle.
  [(4) The Secretary shall establish in writing criteria 
setting forth the terms and conditions under which such storage 
services shall be made available.
  [(5) Except as provided in section 137, nothing in this or 
any other Act requires the Secretary, in carrying out the 
responsibilities of this section, to obtain a license or permit 
to possess or own spent nuclear fuel.
  [(b) Limitation.--No spent nuclear fuel generated or owned by 
any department of the United States referred to in section 101 
or 102 of title 5, United States Code, may be stored by the 
Secretary in any storage capacity provided under this subtitle 
unless such department transfers to the Secretary, for deposit 
in the Interim Storage Fund, amounts equivalent to the fees 
that would be paid to the Secretary under the contracts 
referred to in this section if such spent nuclear fuel were 
generated by any other person.
  [(c) Establishment of Interim Storage Fund.--There hereby is 
established in the Treasury of the United States a separate 
fund, to be known as the Interim Storage Fund. The Storage Fund 
shall consist of--
          [(1) all receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized 
        by the Secretary under subsections (a), (b), and (e), 
        which shall be deposited in the Storage Fund 
        immediately upon their realization;
          [(2) any appropriations made by the Congress to the 
        Storage Fund; and
          [(3) any unexpended balances available on the date of 
        the enactment of this Act for functions or activities 
        necessary or incident to the interim storage of 
        civilian spent nuclear fuel, which shall automatically 
        be transferred to the Storage Fund on such date.
  [(d) Use of Storage Fund.--The Secretary may make 
expenditures from the Storage Fund, subject to subsection (e), 
for any purpose necessary or appropriate to the conduct of the 
functions and activities of the Secretary, or the provision or 
anticipated provision of services, under this subtitle, 
including--
          [(1) the identification, development, licensing, 
        construction, operation, decommissioning, and post-
        decommissioning maintenance and monitoring of any 
        interim storage facility provided under this subtitle;
          [(2) the administrative cost of the interim storage 
        program;
          [(3) the costs associated with acquisition, design, 
        modification, replacement, operation, and construction 
        of facilities at an interim storage site, consistent 
        with the restrictions in section 135;
          [(4) the cost of transportation of spent nuclear 
        fuel; and
          [(5) impact assistance as described in subsection 
        (e).
  [(e) Impact Assistance.--(1) Beginning the first fiscal year 
which commences after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary shall make annual impact assistance payments to a 
State or appropriate unit of local government, or both, in 
order to mitigate social or economic impacts occasioned by the 
establishment and subsequent operation of any interim storage 
capacity within the jurisdictional boundaries of such 
government or governments and authorized under this subtitle: 
Provided, however, That such impact assistance payments shall 
not exceed (A) ten per centum of the costs incurred in 
paragraphs (1) and (2), or (B) $15 per kilogram of spent fuel, 
whichever is less;
  [(2) Payments made available to States and units of local 
government pursuant to this section shall be--
          [(A) allocated in a fair and equitable manner with a 
        priority to those States or units of local government 
        suffering the most severe impacts; and
          [(B) utilized by States or units of local governments 
        only for (i) planning, (ii) construction and 
        maintenance of public services, (iii) provision of 
        public services related to the providing of such 
        interim storage authorized under this title, and (iv) 
        compensation for loss of taxable property equivalent to 
        that if the storage had been provided under private 
        ownership.
  [(3) Such payments shall be subject to such terms and 
conditions as the Secretary determines necessary to ensure that 
the purposes of this subsection shall be achieved. The 
Secretary shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to 
carry out the provisions of this subsection.
  [(4) Payments under this subsection shall be made available 
solely from the fees determined under subsection (a).
  [(5) The Secretary is authorized to consult with States and 
appropriate units of local government in advance of 
commencement of establishment of storage capacity authorized 
under this subtitle in an effort to determine the level of the 
payment such government would be eligible to receive pursuant 
to this subsection.
  [(6) As used in this subsection, the term ``unit of local 
government'' means a county, parish, township, municipality, 
and shall include a borough existing in the State of Alaska on 
the date of the enactment of this subsection, and any other 
unit of government below the State level which is a unit of 
general government as determined by the Secretary.
  [(f) Administration of Storage Fund.--(1) The Secretary of 
the Treasury shall hold the Storage Fund and, after 
consultation with the Secretary, annually report to the 
Congress on the financial condition and operations of the 
Storage Fund during the preceding fiscal year.
  [(2) The Secretary shall submit the budget of the Storage 
Fund to the Office of Management and Budget triennially along 
with the budget of the Department of Energy submitted at such 
time in accordance with chapter 11 of title 31, United States 
Code. The budget of the Storage Fund shall consist of estimates 
made by the Secretary of expenditures from the Storage Fund and 
other relevant financial matters for the succeeding 3 fiscal 
years, and shall be included in the Budget of the United States 
Government. The Secretary may make expenditures from the 
Storage Fund, subject to appropriations which shall remain 
available until expended. Appropriations shall be subject to 
triennial authorization.
  [(3) If the Secretary determines that the Storage Fund 
contains at any time amounts in excess of current needs, the 
Secretary may request the Secretary of the Treasury to invest 
such amounts, or any portion of such amounts as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate, in obligations of the United 
States--
          [(A) having maturities determined by the Secretary of 
        the Treasury to be appropriate to the needs of the 
        Storage Fund; and
          [(B) bearing interest at rates determined to be 
        appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking 
        into consideration the current average market yield on 
        outstanding marketable obligations of the United States 
        with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the 
        maturities of such investments, except that the 
        interest rate on such investments shall not exceed the 
        average interest rate applicable to existing 
        borrowings.
  [(4) Receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized by the 
Secretary under this section, and expenditures of amounts from 
the Storage Fund, shall be exempt from annual apportionment 
under the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 
31, United States Code.
  [(5) If at any time the moneys available in the Storage Fund 
are insufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge his 
responsibilities under this subtitle, the Secretary shall issue 
to the Secretary of the Treasury obligations in such forms and 
denominations, bearing such maturities, and subject to such 
terms and conditions as may be agreed to by the Secretary and 
the Secretary of the Treasury. The total of such obligations 
shall not exceed amounts provided in appropriation Acts. 
Redemption of such obligations shall be made by the Secretary 
from moneys available in the Storage Fund. Such obligations 
shall bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of 
the Treasury, which shall be not less than a rate determined by 
taking into consideration the average market yield on 
outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of 
comparable maturities during the month preceding the issuance 
of the obligations under this paragraph. The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall purchase any issued obligations, and for such 
purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as a 
public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any 
securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States 
Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under 
such Act are extended to include any purchase of such 
obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury may at any time sell 
any of the obligations acquired by him under this paragraph. 
All redemptions, purchases, and sales by the Secretary of the 
Treasury of obligations under this paragraph shall be treated 
as public debt transactions of the United States.
  [(6) Any appropriations made available to the Storage Fund 
for any purpose described in subsection (d) shall be repaid 
into the general fund of the Treasury, together with interest 
from the date of availability of the appropriations until the 
date of repayment. Such interest shall be paid on the 
cumulative amount of appropriations available to the Storage 
Fund, less the average undisbursed cash balance in the Storage 
Fund account during the fiscal year involved. The rate of such 
interest shall be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury 
taking into consideration the average market yield during the 
month preceding each fiscal year on outstanding marketable 
obligations of the United States of comparable maturity. 
Interest payments may be deferred with the approval of the 
Secretary of the Treasury, but any interest payments so 
deferred shall themselves bear interest.
  [Sec. 137. (a) Transportation.--(1) Transportation of spent 
nuclear fuel under section 136(a) shall be subject to licensing 
and regulation by the Commission and by the Secretary of 
Transportation as provided for transportation of commercial 
spent nuclear fuel under existing law.
  [(2) The Secretary, in providing for the transportation of 
spent nuclear fuel under this Act, shall utilize by contract 
private industry to the fullest extent possible in each aspect 
of such transportation. The Secretary shall use direct Federal 
services for such transportation only upon a determination of 
the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the 
Secretary, that private industry is unable or unwilling to 
provide such transportation services at reasonable cost.

               [Subtitle C--Monitored Retrievable Storage

                     [monitored retrievable storage

  [Sec. 141. (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
          [(1) long-term storage of high-level radioactive 
        waste or spent nuclear fuel in monitored retrievable 
        storage facilities is an option for providing safe and 
        reliable management of such waste or spent fuel;
          [(2) the executive branch and the Congress should 
        proceed as expeditiously as possible to consider fully 
        a proposal for construction of one or more monitored 
        retrievable storage facilities to provide such long-
        term storage;
          [(3) the Federal Government has the responsibility to 
        ensure that site-specific designs for such facilities 
        are available as provided in this section;
          [(4) the generators and owners of the high-level 
        radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel to be stored 
        in such facilities have the responsibility to pay the 
        costs of the long-term storage of such waste and spent 
        fuel; and
          [(5) disposal of high-level radioactive waste and 
        spent nuclear fuel in a repository developed under this 
        Act should proceed regardless of any construction of a 
        monitored retrievable storage facility pursuant to this 
        section.
  [(b) Submission of Proposal by Secretary.--(1) On or before 
June 1, 1985, the Secretary shall complete a detailed study of 
the need for and feasibility of, and shall submit to the 
Congress a proposal for, the construction of one or more 
monitored retrievable storage facilities for high-level 
radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Each such facility 
shall be designed--
          [(A) to accommodate spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste resulting from civilian nuclear 
        activities;
          [(B) to permit continuous monitoring, management, and 
        maintenance of such spent fuel and waste for the 
        foreseeable future;
          [(C) to provide for the ready retrieval of such spent 
        fuel and waste for further processing or disposal; and
          [(D) to safely store such spent fuel and waste as 
        long as may be necessary by maintaining such facility 
        through appropriate means, including any required 
        replacement of such facility.
  [(2) Such proposal shall include--
          [(A) the establishment of a Federal program for the 
        siting, development, construction, and operation of 
        facilities capable of safely storing high-level 
        radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, which 
        facilities are to be licensed by the Commission;
          [(B) a plan for the funding of the construction and 
        operation of such facilities, which plan shall provide 
        that the costs of such activities shall be borne by the 
        generators and owners of the high-level radioactive 
        waste and spent nuclear fuel to be stored in such 
        facilities;
          [(C) site-specific designs, specifications, and cost 
        estimates sufficient to (i) solicit bids for the 
        construction of the first such facility; (ii) support 
        congressional authorization of the construction of such 
        facility; and (iii) enable completion and operation of 
        such facility as soon as practicable following 
        congressional authorization of such facility; and
          [(D) a plan for integrating facilities constructed 
        pursuant to this section with other storage and 
        disposal facilities authorized in this Act.
  [(3) In formulating such proposal, the Secretary shall 
consult with the Commission and the Administrator, and shall 
submit their comments on such proposal to the Congress at the 
time such proposal is submitted.
  [(4) The proposal shall include, for the first such facility, 
at least 3 alternative sites and at least 5 alternative 
combinations of such proposed sites and facility designs 
consistent with the criteria of paragraph (b)(1). The Secretary 
shall recommend the combination among the alternatives that the 
Secretary deems preferable. The environmental assessment under 
subsection (c) shall include a full analysis of the relative 
advantages and disadvantages of all 5 such alternative 
combinations of proposed sites and proposed facility designs.
  [(c) Environmental Impact Statements.--(1) Preparation and 
submission to the Congress of the proposal required in this 
section shall not require the preparation of an environmental 
impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). The 
Secretary shall prepare, in accordance with regulations issued 
by the Secretary implementing such Act, an environmental 
assessment with respect to such proposal. Such environmental 
assessment shall be based upon available information regarding 
alternative technologies for the storage of spent nuclear fuel 
and high-level radioactive waste. The Secretary shall submit 
such environmental assessment to the Congress at the time such 
proposal is submitted.
  [(2) If the Congress by law, after review of the proposal 
submitted by the Secretary under subsection (b), specifically 
authorizes construction of a monitored retrievable storage 
facility, the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall apply with respect 
to construction of such facility, except that any environmental 
impact statement prepared with respect to such facility shall 
not be required to consider the need for such facility or any 
alternative to the design criteria for such facility set forth 
in subsection (b)(1).
  [(d) Licensing.--Any facility authorized pursuant to this 
section shall be subject to licensing under section 202(3) of 
the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5842(3)). In 
reviewing the application filed by the Secretary for licensing 
of the first such facility, the Commission may not consider the 
need for such facility or any alternative to the design 
criteria for such facility set forth in subsection (b)(1).
  [(e) Clarification.--Nothing in this section limits the 
consideration of alternative facility designs consistent with 
the criteria of paragraph (b)(1) in any environmental impact 
statement, or in any licensing procedure of the Commission, 
with respect to any monitored, retrievable facility authorized 
pursuant to this section.
  [(f) Impact Assistance.--(1) Upon receipt by the Secretary of 
congressional authorization to construct a facility described 
in subsection (b), the Secretary shall commence making annual 
impact aid payments to appropriate units of general local 
government in order to mitigate any social or economic impacts 
resulting from the construction and subsequent operation of any 
such facility within the jurisdictional boundaries of any such 
unit.
  [(2) Payments made available to units of general local 
government under this subsection shall be--
          [(A) allocated in a fair and equitable manner, with 
        priority given to units of general local government 
        determined by the Secretary to be most severely 
        affected; and
          [(B) utilized by units of general local government 
        only for planning, construction, maintenance, and 
        provision of public services related to the siting of 
        such facility.
  [(3) Such payments shall be subject to such terms and 
conditions as the Secretary determines are necessary to ensure 
achievement of the purposes of this subsection. The Secretary 
shall issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out 
the provisions of this subsection.
  [(4) Such payments shall be made available entirely from 
funds held in the Nuclear Waste Fund established in section 
302(c) and shall be available only to the extent provided in 
advance in appropriation Acts.
  [(5) The Secretary may consult with appropriate units of 
general local government in advance of commencement of 
construction of any such facility in an effort to determine the 
level of payments each such unit is eligible to receive under 
this subsection.
  [(g) Limitation.--No monitored retrievable storage facility 
developed pursuant to this section may be constructed in any 
State in which there is located any site approved for site 
characterization under section 112. The restriction in the 
preceding sentence shall only apply until such time as the 
Secretary decides that such candidate site is no longer a 
candidate site under consideration for development as a 
repository. Such restriction shall continue to apply to any 
site selected for construction as a repository.
  [(h) Participation of States and Indian Tribes.--Any facility 
authorized pursuant to this section shall be subject to the 
provisions of sections 115, 116(a), 116(b), 116(d), 117, and 
118. For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this 
subsection, any reference in sections 115 through 118 to a 
repository shall be considered to refer to a monitored 
retrievable storage facility.

            [AUTHORIZATION OF MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE

    [Sec. 142. (a) Nullification of Oak Ridge Siting 
Proposal.--The proposal of the Secretary (EC-1022, 100th 
Congress) to locate a monitored retrievable storage facility at 
a site on the Clinch River in the Roane County portion of Oak 
Ridge, Tennessee, with alternative sites on the Oak Ridge 
Reservation of the Department of Energy and on the former site 
of a proposed nuclear powerplant in Hartsville, Tennessee, is 
annulled and revoked. In carrying out the provisions of 
sections 144 and 145, the Secretary shall make no presumption 
or preference to such sites by reason of their previous 
selection.
    [(b) Authorization.--The Secretary is authorized to site, 
construct, and operate one monitored retrievable storage 
facility subject to the conditions described in sections 143 
through 149.

               [MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE COMMISSION

    [Sec. 143. (a) Establishment.--(1)(A) There is established 
a Monitored Retrievable Storage Review Commission (hereinafter 
in this section referred to as the ``MRS Commission''), that 
shall consist of 3 members who shall be appointed by and serve 
at the pleasure of the President pro tempore of the Senate and 
the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
    [(B) Members of the MRS Commission shall be appointed not 
later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 from among persons 
who as a result of training, experience and attainments are 
exceptionally well qualified to evaluate the need for a 
monitored retrievable storage facility as a part of the 
Nation's nuclear waste management system.
    [(C) The MRS Commission shall prepare a report on the need 
for a monitored retrievable storage facility as a part of a 
national nuclear waste management system that achieves the 
purposes of this Act. In preparing the report under this 
subparagraph, the MRS Commission shall--
          [(i) review the status and adequacy of the 
        Secretary's evaluation of the systems advantages and 
        disadvantages of bringing such a facility into the 
        national nuclear waste disposal system;
          [(ii) obtain comment and available data on monitored 
        retrievable storage from affected parties, including 
        States containing potentially acceptable sites;
          [(iii) evaluate the utility of a monitored 
        retrievable storage facility from a technical 
        perspective; and
          [(iv) make a recommendation to Congress as to whether 
        such a facility should be included in the national 
        nuclear waste management system in order to achieve the 
        purposes of this Act, including meeting needs for 
        packaging and handling of spent nuclear fuel, improving 
        the flexibility of the repository development schedule, 
        and providing temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel 
        accepted for disposal.
    [(2) In preparing the report and making its recommendation 
under paragraph (1) the MRS Commission shall compare such a 
facility to the alternative of at-reactor storage of spent 
nuclear fuel prior to disposal of such fuel in a repository 
under this Act. Such comparison shall take into consideration 
the impact on--
          [(A) repository design and construction;
          [(B) waste package design, fabrication and 
        standardization;
          [(C) waste preparation;
          [(D) waste transportation systems;
          [(E) the reliability of the national system for the 
        disposal of radioactive waste;
          [(F) the ability of the Secretary to fulfill 
        contractual commitments of the Department under this 
        Act to accept spent nuclear fuel for disposal; and
          [(G) economic factors, including the impact on the 
        costs likely to be imposed on ratepayers of the 
        Nation's electric utilities for temporary at-reactor 
        storage of spent nuclear fuel prior to final disposal 
        in a repository, as the costs likely to be imposed on 
        ratepayers of the Nation's electric utilities in 
        building and operating such a facility.
    [(3) The report under this subsection, together with the 
recommendation of the MRS Commission, shall be transmitted to 
Congress on November 1, 1989.
    [(4)(A)(i) Each member of the MRS Commission shall be paid 
at the rate provided for level III of the Executive Schedule 
for each day (including travel time) such member is engaged in 
the work of the MRS Commission, and shall receive travel 
expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence in the same 
manner as is permitted under sections 5702 and 5703 of title 5, 
United States Code.
    [(ii) The MRS Commission may appoint and fix compensation, 
not to exceed the rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the 
General Schedule, for such staff as may be necessary to carry 
out its functions.
    [(B)(i) The MRS Commission may hold hearings, sit and act 
at such times and places, take such testimony and receive such 
evidence as the MRS Commission considers appropriate. Any 
member of the MRS Commission may administer oaths or 
affirmations to witnesses appearing before the MRS Commission.
    [(ii) The MRS Commission may request any Executive agency, 
including the Department, to furnish such assistance or 
information, including records, data, files, or documents, as 
the Commission considers necessary to carry out its functions. 
Unless prohibited by law, such agency shall promptly furnish 
such assistance or information.
    [(iii) To the extent permitted by law, the Administrator of 
the General Services Administration shall, upon request of the 
MRS Commission, provide the MRS Commission with necessary 
administrative services, facilities, and support on a 
reimbursable basis.
    [(iv) The MRS Commission may procure temporary and 
intermittent services from experts and consultants to the same 
extent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of title 5, United 
States Code, at rates and under such rules as the MRS 
Commission considers reasonable.
    [(C) The MRS Commission shall cease to exist 60 days after 
the submission to Congress of the report required under this 
subsection.

                                [SURVEY

    [Sec. 144. After the MRS Commission submits its report to 
the Congress under section 143, the Secretary may conduct a 
survey and evaluation of potentially suitable sites for a 
monitored retrievable storage facility. In conducting such 
survey and evaluation, the Secretary shall consider the extent 
to which siting a monitored retrievable storage facility at 
each site surveyed would--
          [(1) enhance the reliability and flexibility of the 
        system for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-
        level radioactive waste established under this Act;
          [(2) minimize the impacts of transportation and 
        handling of such fuel and waste;
          [(3) provide for public confidence in the ability of 
        such system to safely dispose of the fuel and waste;
          [(4) impose minimal adverse effects on the local 
        community and the local environment;
          [(5) provide a high probability that the facility 
        will meet applicable environmental, health, and safety 
        requirements in a timely fashion;
          [(6) provide such other benefits to the system for 
        the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste as the Secretary deems appropriate; 
        and
          [(7) unduly burden a State in which significant 
        volumes of high-level radioactive waste resulting from 
        atomic energy defense activities are stored.

                            [Site Selection

    [Sec. 145. (a) In General.--The Secretary may select the 
site evaluated under section 144 that the Secretary determines 
on the basis of available information to be the most suitable 
for a monitored retrievable storage facility that is an 
integral part of the system for the disposal of spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste established under this 
Act.
    [(b) Limitation.--The Secretary may not select a site under 
subsection (a) until the Secretary recommends to the President 
the approval of a site for development as a repository under 
section 114(a).
    [(c) Site Specific Activities.--The Secretary may conduct 
such site specific activities at each site surveyed under 
section 144 as he determines may be necessary to support an 
application to the Commission for a license to construct a 
monitored retrievable storage facility at such site.
    [(d) Environmental Assessment.--Site specific activities 
and selection of a site under this section shall not require 
the preparation of an environmental impact statement under 
section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). The Secretary shall prepare an 
environmental assessment with respect to such selection in 
accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary 
implementing such Act. Such environmental assessment shall be 
based upon available information regarding alternative 
technologies for the storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste. The Secretary shall submit such 
environmental assessment to the Congress at the time such site 
is selected.
    [(e) Notification Before Selection.--(1) At least 6 months 
before selecting a site under subsection (a), the Secretary 
shall notify the Governor and legislature of the State in which 
such site is located, or the governing body of the affected 
Indian tribe where such site is located, as the case may be, of 
such potential selection and the basis for such selection.
    [(2) Before selecting any site under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall hold at least one public hearing in the 
vicinity of such site to solicit any recommendations of 
interested parties with respect to issues raised by the 
selection of such site.
    [(f) Notification of Selection.--The Secretary shall 
promptly notify Congress and the appropriate State or Indian 
tribe of the selection under subsection (a).
    [(g) Limitation.--No monitored retrievable storage facility 
authorized pursuant to section 142(b) may be constructed in the 
State of Nevada.

                         [NOTICE OF DISAPPROVAL

    [Sec. 146. (a) In General.--The selection of a site under 
section 145 shall be effective at the end of the period of 60 
calendar days beginning on the date of notification under such 
subsection, unless the governing body of the Indian tribe on 
whose reservation such site is located, or, if the site is not 
on a reservation, the Governor and the legislature of the State 
in which the site is located, has submitted to Congress a 
notice of disapproval with respect to such site. If any such 
notice of disapproval has been submitted under this subsection, 
the selection of the site under section 145 shall not be 
effective except as provided under section 115(c).
    [(b) References.--For purposes of carrying out the 
provisions of this subsection, references in section 115(c) to 
a repository shall be considered to refer to a monitored 
retrievable storage facility and references to a notice of 
disapproval of a repository site designation under section 
116(b) or 118(a) shall be considered to refer to a notice of 
disapproval under this section.

                          [benefits agreement

    [Sec. 147. Once selection of a site for a monitored 
retrievable storage facility is made by the Secretary under 
section 145, the Indian tribes on whose reservation the site is 
located, or, in the case that the site is not located on a 
reservation, the State in which the site is located, shall be 
eligible to enter into a benefits agreement with the Secretary 
under section 170.

                      [construction authorization

    [Sec. 148. (a) Environmental Impact Statement.--(1) Once 
the selection of a site is effective under section 146, the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C 4321 et seq.) shall apply with respect to 
construction of a monitored retrievable storage facility, 
except that any environmental impact statement prepared with 
respect to such facility shall not be required to consider the 
need for such facility or any alternative to the design 
criteria for such facility set forth in section 141(b)(1).
    [(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit 
the consideration of alternative facility designs consistent 
with the criteria described in section 141(b)(1) in any 
environmental impact statement, or in any licensing procedure 
of the Commission, with respect to any monitored retrievable 
storage facility authorized under section 142(b).
    [(b) Application for Construction License.--Once the 
selection of a site for a monitored retrievable storage 
facility is effective under section 146, the Secretary may 
submit an application to the Commission for a license to 
construct such a facility as part of an integrated nuclear 
waste management system and in accordance with the provisions 
of this section and applicable agreements under this Act 
affecting such facility.
    [(c) Licensing.--Any monitored retrievable storage facility 
authorized pursuant to section 142(b) shall be subject to 
licensing under section 202(3) of the Energy Reorganization Act 
of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5842(3)). In reviewing the application filed 
by the Secretary for licensing of such facility, the Commission 
may not consider the need for such facility or any alternative 
to the design criteria for such facility set forth in section 
141(b)(1).
    [(d) Licensing Conditions.--Any license issued by the 
Commission for a monitored retrievable storage facility under 
this section shall provide that--
          [(1) construction of such facility may not begin 
        until the Commission has issued a license for the 
        construction of a repository under section 115(d);
          [(2) construction of such facility or acceptance of 
        spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste 
        shall be prohibited during such time as the repository 
        license is revoked by the Commission or construction of 
        the repository ceases;
          [(3) the quantity of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste at the site of such facility at any 
        one time may not exceed 10,000 metric tons of heavy 
        metal until a repository under this Act first accepts 
        spent nuclear fuel or solidified high-level radioactive 
        waste; and
          [(4) the quantity of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste at the site of such facility at any 
        one time may not exceed 15,000 metric tons of heavy 
        metal.

                         [financial assistance

    [Sec. 149. The provisions of section 116(c) or 118(b) with 
respect to grants, technical assistance, and other financial 
assistance shall apply to the State, to affected Indian tribes 
and to affected units of local government in the case of a 
monitored retrievable storage facility in the same manner as 
for a repository.

                [Subtitle D--Low-Level Radioactive Waste

  [financial arrangements for low-level radioactive waste site closure

  [Sec. 151. (a) Financial Arrangements.--(1) The Commission 
shall establish by rule, regulation, or order, after public 
notice, and in accordance with section 181 of the Atomic Energy 
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2231), such standards and instructions 
as the Commission may deem necessary or desirable to ensure in 
the case of each license for the disposal of low-level 
radioactive waste that an adequate bond, surety, or other 
financial arrangement (as determined by the Commission) will be 
provided by a licensee to permit completion of all requirements 
established by the Commission for the decontamination, 
decommissioning, site closure, and reclamation of sites, 
structures, and equipment used in conjunction with such low-
level radioactive waste. Such financial arrangements shall be 
provided and approved by the Commission, or, in the case of 
sites within the boundaries of any agreement State under 
section 274 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2021), 
by the appropriate State or State entity, prior to issuance of 
licenses for low-level radioactive waste disposal or, in the 
case of licenses in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
Act, prior to termination of such licenses.
  [(2) If the Commission determines that any long-term 
maintenance or monitoring, or both, will be necessary at a site 
described in paragraph (1), the Commission shall ensure before 
termination of the license involved that the licensee has made 
available such bonding, surety, or other financial arrangements 
as may be necessary to ensure that any necessary long-term 
maintenance or monitoring needed for such site will be carried 
out by the person having title and custody for such site 
following license termination.
  [(b) Title and Custody.--(1) The Secretary shall have 
authority to assume title and custody of low-level radioactive 
waste and the land on which such waste is disposed of, upon 
request of the owner of such waste and land and following 
termination of the license issued by the Commission for such 
disposal, if the Commission determines that--
          [(A) the requirements of the Commission for site 
        closure, decommissioning, and decontamination have been 
        met by the licensee involved and that such licensee is 
        in compliance with the provisions of subsection (a);
          [(B) such title and custody will be transferred to 
        the Secretary without cost to the Federal Government; 
        and
          [(C) Federal ownership and management of such site is 
        necessary or desirable in order to protect the public 
        health and safety, and the environment.
  [(2) If the Secretary assumes title and custody of any such 
waste and land under this subsection, the Secretary shall 
maintain such waste and land in a manner that will protect the 
public health and safety, and the environment.
  [(c) Special Sites.--If the low-level radioactive waste 
involved is the result of a licensed activity to recover 
zirconium, hafnium, and rare earths from source material, the 
Secretary, upon request of the owner of the site involved, 
shall assume title and custody of such waste and the land on 
which it is disposed when such site has been decontaminated and 
stabilized in accordance with the requirements established by 
the Commission and when such owner has made adequate financial 
arrangements approved by the Commission for the long-term 
maintenance and monitoring of such site.

         [Subtitle E--Redirection of the Nuclear Waste Program

                   [selection of yucca mountain site

    [Sec. 160. (a) In General.--(1) The Secretary shall provide 
for an orderly phase-out of site specific activities at all 
candidate sites other than the Yucca Mountain site.
    [(2) The Secretary shall terminate all site specific 
activities (other than reclamation activities) at all candidate 
sites, other than the Yucca Mountain site, within 90 days after 
the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments 
Act of 1987.
    [(b) Effective on the date of enactment of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the State of Nevada shall 
be eligible to enter into a benefits agreement with the 
Secretary under section 170.

                      [siting a second repository

    [Sec. 161. (a) Congressional Action Required.--The 
Secretary may not conduct site-specific activities with respect 
to a second repository unless Congress has specifically 
authorized and appropriated funds for such activities.
    [(b) Report.--The Secretary shall report to the President 
and to Congress on or after January 1, 2007, but not later than 
January 1, 2010, on the need for a second repository.
    [(c) Termination of Granite Research.--Not later than 6 
months after the date of the enactment of the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Amendments Act of 1987, \1\ the Secretary shall phase 
out in an orderly manner funding for all research programs in 
existence on such date of enactment designated to evaluate the 
suitability of crystalline rock as a potential repository host 
medium.
    [(d) Additional Siting Criteria.--In the event that the 
Secretary at any time after such date of enactment considers 
any sites in crystalline rock for characterization or selection 
as a repository, the Secretary shall consider (as a supplement 
to the siting guidelines under section 112) such potentially 
disqualifying factors as--
          [(1) seasonally increases in population;
          [(2) proximity to public drinking water supplies, 
        including those of metropolitan areas; and
          [(3) the impact that characterization or siting 
        decisions would have on lands owned or placed in trust 
        by the United States for Indian tribes.

                         [Subtitle F--Benefits

                          [BENEFITS AGREEMENTS

    [Sec. 170. (a) In General.--(1) The Secretary may enter 
into a benefits agreement with the State of Nevada concerning a 
repository or with a State or an Indian tribe concerning a 
monitored retrievable storage facility for the acceptance of 
high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel in that 
State or on the reservation of that tribe, as appropriate.
    [(2) The State or Indian tribe may enter into such an 
agreement only if the State Attorney General or the appropriate 
governing authority of the Indian tribe or the Secretary of the 
Interior, in the absence of an appropriate governing authority, 
as appropriate, certifies to the satisfaction of the Secretary 
that the laws of the State or Indian tribe provide adequate 
authority for that entity to enter into the benefits agreement.
    [(3) Any benefits agreement with a State under this section 
shall be negotiated in consultation with affected units of 
local government in such State.
    [(4) Benefits and payments under this subtitle may be made 
available only in accordance with a benefits agreement under 
this section.
    [(b) Amendment.--A benefits agreement entered into under 
subsection (a) may be amended only by the mutual consent of the 
parties to the agreement and terminated only in accordance with 
section 173.
    [(c) Agreement With Nevada.--The Secretary shall offer to 
enter into a benefits agreement with the Governor of Nevada. 
Any benefits agreement with a State under this subsection shall 
be negotiated in consultation with any affected units of local 
government in such State.
    [(d) Monitored Retrievable Storage.--The Secretary shall 
offer to enter into a benefits agreement relating to a 
monitored retrievable storage facility with the governing body 
of the Indian tribe on whose reservation the site for such 
facility is located, or, if the site is not located on a 
reservation, with the Governor of the State in which the site 
is located and in consultation with affected units of local 
government in such State.
    [(e) Limitation.--Only one benefits agreement for a 
repository and only one benefits agreement for a monitored 
retrievable storage facility may be in effect at any one time.
    [(f) Judicial Review.--Decisions of the Secretary under 
this section are not subject to judicial review.

                         [CONTENT OF AGREEMENTS

    [Sec. 171. (a) In General.--(1) In addition to the benefits 
to which a State, an affected unit of local government or 
Indian tribe is entitled under title I, the Secretary shall 
make payments to a State or Indian tribe that is a party to a 
benefits agreement under section 170 in accordance with the 
following schedule:

                           [BENEFITS SCHEDULE

                                                                        
                          [Amounts in millions]                         
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Event                           MRS     Repository
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(A) Annual payments prior to first spent fuel                           
 receipt.........................................         $5         $10
(B) Upon first spent fuel receipt................         10          20
(C) Annual payments after first spent fuel                              
 receipt until closure of the facility...........         10          20
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [(2) For purposes of this section, the term--
          [(A) ``MRS'' means a monitored retrievable storage 
        facility,
          [(B) ``spent fuel'' means high-level radioactive 
        waste or spent nuclear fuel, and
          [(C) ``first spent fuel receipt'' does not include 
        receipt of spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste 
        for purposes of testing or operational demonstration.
    [(3) Annual payments prior to first spent fuel receipt 
under paragraph (1)(A) shall be made on the date of execution 
of the benefits agreement and thereafter on the anniversary 
date of such execution. Annual payments after the first spent 
fuel receipt until closure of the facility under paragraph 
(1)(C) shall be made on the anniversary date of such first 
spent fuel receipt.
    [(4) If the first spent fuel payment under paragraph (1)(B) 
is made within six months after the last annual payment prior 
to the receipt of spent fuel under paragraph (1)(A), such first 
spent fuel payment under paragraph (1)(B) shall be reduced by 
an amount equal to one-twelfth of such annual payment under 
paragraph (1)(A) for each full month less than six that has not 
elapsed since the last annual payment under paragraph (1)(A).
    [(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), (2), or (3), no payment 
under this section may be made before January 1, 1989, and any 
payment due under this title before January 1, 1989, shall be 
made on or after such date.
    [(6) Except as provided in paragraph (7), the Secretary may 
not restrict the purposes for which the payments under this 
section may be used.
    [(7)(A) Any State receiving a payment under this section 
shall transfer an amount equal to not less than one-third of 
the amount of such payment to affected units of local 
government of such State.
    [(B) A plan for this transfer and appropriate allocation of 
such portion among such governments shall be included in the 
benefits agreement under section 170 covering such payments.
    [(C) In the event of a dispute concerning such plan, the 
Secretary shall resolve such dispute, consistent with this Act 
and applicable State law.
    [(b) Contents.--A benefits agreement under section 170 
shall provide that--
          [(1) a Review Panel be established in accordance with 
        section 172;
          [(2) the State or Indian tribe that is party to such 
        agreement waive its rights under title I to disapprove 
        the recommendation of a site for a repository;
          [(3) the parties to the agreement shall share with 
        one another information relevant to the licensing 
        process for the repository or monitored retrievable 
        storage facility, as it becomes available;
          [(4) the State or Indian tribe that is party to such 
        agreement participate in the design of the repository 
        or monitored retrievable storage facility and in the 
        preparation of documents required under law or 
        regulations governing the effects of the facility on 
        the public health and safety; and
          [(5) the State or Indian tribe waive its rights, if 
        any, to impact assistance under sections 
        116(c)(1)(B)(ii), 116(c)(2), 118(b)(2)(A)(ii), and 
        118(b)(3).
    [(c) The Secretary shall make payments to the States or 
affected Indian tribes under a benefits agreement under this 
section from the Waste Fund. The signature of the Secretary on 
a valid benefits agreement under section 170 shall constitute a 
commitment by the United States to make payments in accordance 
with such agreement.

                             [review panel

    [Sec. 172. (a) In General.--The Review Panel required to be 
established by section 171(b)(1) of this Act shall consist of a 
Chairman selected by the Secretary in consultation with the 
Governor of the State or governing body of the Indian tribe, as 
appropriate, that is party to such agreement and 6 other 
members as follows:
          [(1) 2 members selected by the Governor of such State 
        or governing body of such Indian tribe;
          [(2) 2 members selected by units of local government 
        affected by the repository or monitored retrievable 
        storage facility;
          [(3) 1 member to represent persons making payments 
        into the Waste Fund, to be selected by the Secretary; 
        and
          [(4) 1 member to represent other public interests, to 
        be selected by the Secretary.
    [(b) Terms.--(1) The members of the Review Panel shall 
serve for terms of 4 years each.
    [(2) Members of the Review Panel who are not full-time 
employees of the Federal Government, shall receive a per diem 
compensation for each day spent conducting work of the Review 
Panel, including their necessary travel or other expenses while 
engaged in the work of the Review Panel.
    [(3) Expenses of the Panel shall be paid by the Secretary 
from the Waste Fund.
    [(c) Duties.--The Review Panel shall--
          [(1) advise the Secretary on matters relating to the 
        proposed repository or monitored retrievable storage 
        facility, including issues relating to design, 
        construction, operation, and decommissioning of the 
        facility;
          [(2) evaluate performance of the repository or 
        monitored retrievable storage facility, as it considers 
        appropriate;
          [(3) recommend corrective actions to the Secretary;
          [(4) assist in the presentation of State or affected 
        Indian tribe and local perspectives to the Secretary; 
        and
          [(5) participate in the planning for and the review 
        of preoperational data on environmental, demographic, 
        and socioeconomic conditions of the site and the local 
        community.
    [(d) Information.--The Secretary shall promptly make 
available promptly any information in the Secretary's 
possession requested by the Panel or its Chairman.
    [(e) Federal Advisory Committee Act.--The requirements of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to a Review 
Panel established under this title.

                              [termination

    [Sec. 173. (a) In General.--The Secretary may terminate a 
benefits agreement under this title if--
          [(1) the site under consideration is disqualified for 
        its failure to comply with guidelines and technical 
        requirements established by the Secretary in accordance 
        with this Act; or
          [(2) the Secretary determines that the Commission 
        cannot license the facility within a reasonable time.
    [(b) Termination by State or Indian Tribe.--A State or 
Indian tribe may terminate a benefits agreement under this 
title only if the Secretary disqualifies the site under 
consideration for its failure to comply with technical 
requirements established by the Secretary in accordance with 
this Act or the Secretary determines that the Commission cannot 
license the facility within a reasonable time.
    [(c) Decisions of the Secretary.--Decisions of the 
Secretary under this section shall be in writing, shall be 
available to Congress and the public, and are not subject to 
judicial review.

                      [Subtitle G--Other Benefits

                  [consideration in siting facilities

    [Sec. 174. The Secretary, in siting Federal research 
projects, shall give special consideration to proposals from 
States where a repository is located.

                                [report

    [Sec. 175. (a) In General.--Within one year of the date of 
the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 
1987, the Secretary shall report to Congress on the potential 
impacts of locating a repository at the Yucca Mountain site, 
including the recommendations of the Secretary for mitigation 
of such impacts and a statement of which impacts should be 
dealt with by the Federal Government, which should be dealt 
with by the State with State resources, including the benefits 
payments under section 171, and which should be a joint 
Federal-State responsibility. The report under this subsection 
shall include the analysis of the Secretary of the authorities 
available to mitigate these impacts and the appropriate sources 
of funds for such mitigation.
    [(b) Impacts To Be Considered.--Potential impacts to be 
addressed in the report under this subsection (a) shall include 
impacts on--
          [(1) education, including facilities and personnel 
        for elementary and secondary schools, community 
        colleges, vocational and technical schools and 
        universities;
          [(2) public health, including the facilities and 
        personnel for treatment and distribution of water, the 
        treatment of sewage, the control of pests and the 
        disposal of solid waste;
          [(3) law enforcement, including facilities and 
        personnel for the courts, police and sheriff's 
        departments, district attorneys and public defenders 
        and prisons;
          [(4) fire protection, including personnel, the 
        construction of fire stations, and the acquisition of 
        equipment;
          [(5) medical care, including emergency services and 
        hospitals;
          [(6) cultural and recreational needs, including 
        facilities and personnel for libraries and museums and 
        the acquisition and expansion of parks;
          [(7) distribution of public lands to allow for the 
        timely expansion of existing, or creation of new, 
        communities and the construction of necessary 
        residential and commercial facilities;
          [(8) vocational training and employment services;
          [(9) social services, including public assistance 
        programs, vocational and physical rehabilitation 
        programs, mental health services, and programs relating 
        to the abuse of alcohol and controlled substances;
          [(10) transportation, including any roads, terminals, 
        airports, bridges, or railways associated with the 
        facility and the repair and maintenance of roads, 
        terminals, airports, bridges, or railways damaged as a 
        result of the construction, operation, and closure of 
        the facility;
          [(11) equipment and training for State and local 
        personnel in the management of accidents involving 
        high-level radioactive waste;
          [(12) availability of energy;
          [(13) tourism and economic development, including the 
        potential loss of revenue and future economic growth; 
        and
          [(14) other needs of the State and local governments 
        that would not have arisen but for the characterization 
        of the site and the constructions operation, and 
        eventual closure of the repository facility.

                      [Subtitle H--Transportation

                            [transportation

    [Sec. 180. (a) No spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
radioactive waste may be transported by or for the Secretary 
under subtitle A or under subtitle C except in packages that 
have been certified for such purposes by the Commission.
    [(b) The Secretary shall abide by regulations of the 
Commission regarding advance notification of State and local 
governments prior to transportation of spent nuclear fuel or 
high-level radioactive waste under subtitle A or under subtitle 
C.
    [(c) The Secretary shall provide technical assistance and 
funds to States for training for public safety officials of 
appropriate units of local government and Indian tribes through 
whose jurisdiction the Secretary plans to transport spent 
nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste under subtitle A 
or under subtitle C. Training shall cover procedures required 
for safe routine transportation of these materials, as well as 
procedures for dealing with emergency response situations. The 
Waste Fund shall be the source of funds for work carried out 
under this subsection.

[TITLE II--RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, AND DEMONSTRATION REGARDING DISPOSAL 
         OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL

                                [purpose

  [Sec. 211. It is the purpose of this title--
          [(1) to provide direction to the Secretary with 
        respect to the disposal of high-level radioactive waste 
        and spent nuclear fuel;
          [(2) to authorize the Secretary, pursuant to this 
        title--
                  [(A) to provide for the construction, 
                operation, and maintenance of a deep geologic 
                test and evaluation facility; and
                  [(B) to provide for a focused and integrated 
                high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear 
                fuel research and development program, 
                including the development of a test and 
                evaluation facility to carry out research and 
                provide an integrated demonstration of the 
                technology for deep geologic disposal of high-
                level radioactive waste, and the development of 
                the facilities to demonstrate dry storage of 
                spent nuclear fuel; and
          [(3) to provide for an improved cooperative role 
        between the Federal Government and States, affected 
        Indian tribes, and units of general local government in 
        the siting of a test and evaluation facility.

                             [applicability

  [Sec. 212. The provisions of this title are subject to 
section 8 and shall not apply to facilities that are used for 
the disposal of high-level radioactive waste, low-level 
radioactive waste, transuranic waste, or spent nuclear fuel 
resulting from atomic energy defense activities.

                        [identification of Sites

  [Sec. 213. (a) Guidelines.--Not later than 6 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act and notwithstanding the 
failure of other agencies to promulgate standards pursuant to 
applicable law, the Secretary, in consultation with the 
Commission, the Director of the Geological Survey, the 
Administrator, the Council on Environmental Quality, and such 
other Federal agencies as the Secretary considers appropriate, 
is authorized to issue, pursuant to section 553 of title 5, 
United States Code, general guidelines for the selection of a 
site for a test and evaluation facility. Under such guidelines 
the Secretary shall specify factors that qualify or disqualify 
a site for development as a test and evaluation facility, 
including factors pertaining to the location of valuable 
natural resources, hydrogeophysics, seismic activity, and 
atomic energy defense activities, proximity to water supplies, 
proximity to populations, the effect upon the rights of users 
of water, and proximity to components of the National Park 
System, the National Wildlife Refuge System, the National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers System, the National Wilderness Preservation 
System, or National Forest Lands. Such guidelines shall require 
the Secretary to consider the various geologic media in which 
the site for a test and evaluation facility may be located and, 
to the extent practicable, to identify sites in different 
geologic media. The Secretary shall use guidelines established 
under this subsection in considering and selecting sites under 
this title.
  [(b) Site Identification by the Secretary.--(1) Not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
following promulgation of guidelines under subsection (a), the 
Secretary is authorized to identify 3 or more sites, at least 2 
of which shall be in different geologic media in the 
continental United States, and at least 1 of which shall be in 
media other than salt. Subject to Commission requirements, the 
Secretary shall give preference to sites for the test and 
evaluation facility in media possessing geochemical 
characteristics that retard aqueous transport of radionuclides. 
In order to provide a greater possible protection of public 
health and safety as operating experience is gained at the test 
and evaluation facility, and with the exception of the primary 
areas under review by the Secretary on the date of the 
enactment of this Act for the location of a test and evaluation 
facility or repository, all sites identified under this 
subsection shall be more than 15 statute miles from towns 
having a population of greater than 1,000 persons as determined 
by the most recent census unless such sites contain high-level 
radioactive waste prior to identification under this title. 
Each identification of a site shall be supported by an 
environmental assessment, which shall include a detailed 
statement of the basis for such identification and of the 
probable impacts of the siting research activities planned for 
such site, and a discussion of alternative activities relating 
to siting research that may be undertaken to avoid such 
impacts. Such environmental assessment shall include--
          [(A) an evaluation by the Secretary as to whether 
        such site is suitable for siting research under the 
        guidelines established under subsection (a);
          [(B) an evaluation by the Secretary of the effects of 
        the siting research activities at such site on the 
        public health and safety and the environment;
          [(C) a reasonable comparative evaluation by the 
        Secretary of such site with other sites and locations 
        that have been considered;
          [(D) a description of the decision process by which 
        such site was recommended; and
          [(E) an assessment of the regional and local impacts 
        of locating the proposed test and evaluation facility 
        at such site.
  [(2) When the Secretary identifies a site, the Secretary 
shall as soon as possible notify the Governor of the State in 
which such site is located, or the governing body of the 
affected Indian tribe where such site is located, of such 
identification and the basis of such identification. Additional 
sites for the location of the test and evaluation facility 
authorized in section 302(d) may be identified after such 1 
year period, following the same procedure as if such sites had 
been identified within such period.

                [siting research and related activities

  [Sec. 214. (a) In General.--Not later than 30 months after 
the date on which the Secretary completes the identification of 
sites under section 213, the Secretary is authorized to 
complete sufficient evaluation of 3 sites to select a site for 
expanded siting research activities and for other activities 
under section 218. The Secretary is authorized to conduct such 
preconstruction activities relative to such site selection for 
the test and evaluation facility as he deems appropriate. 
Additional sites for the location of the test and evaluation 
facility authorized in section 302(d) may be evaluated after 
such 30-month period, following the same procedures as if such 
sites were to be evaluated within such period.
  [(b) Public Meetings and Environmental Assessment.--Not later 
than 6 months after the date on which the Secretary completes 
the identification of sites under section 213, and before 
beginning siting research activities, the Secretary shall hold 
at least 1 public meeting in the vicinity of each site to 
inform the residents of the area of the activities to be 
conducted at such site and to receive their views.
  [(c) Restrictions.--Except as provided in section 218 with 
respect to a test and evaluation facility, in conducting siting 
research activities pursuant to subsection (a)--
          [(1) the Secretary shall use the minimum quantity of 
        high-level radioactive waste or other radioactive 
        materials, if any, necessary to achieve the test or 
        research objectives;
          [(2) the Secretary shall ensure that any radioactive 
        material used or placed on a site shall be fully 
        retrievable; and
          [(3) upon termination of siting research activities 
        at a site for any reason, the Secretary shall remove 
        any radioactive material at or in the site as promptly 
        as practicable.
  [(d) Title to Material.--The Secretary may take title, in the 
name of the Federal Government, to the high-level radioactive 
waste, spent nuclear fuel, or other radioactive material 
emplaced in a test and evaluation facility. If the Secretary 
takes title to any such material, the Secretary shall enter 
into the appropriate financial arrangements described in 
subsection (a) or (b) of section 302 for the disposal of such 
material.

        [test and evaluation facility siting review and reports

  [Sec. 215. (a) Consultation and Cooperation.--The Governor of 
a State, or the governing body of an affected Indian tribe, 
notified of a site identification under section 213 shall have 
the right to participate in a process of consultation and 
cooperation as soon as the site involved has been identified 
pursuant to such section and throughout the life of the test 
and evaluation facility. For purposes of this section, the term 
``process of consultation and cooperation'' means a 
methodology--
          [(1) by which the Secretary--
                  [(A) keeps the Governor or governing body 
                involved fully and currently informed about any 
                potential economic or public health and safety 
                impacts in all stages of the siting, 
                development, construction, and operation of a 
                test and evaluation facility;
                  [(B) solicits, receives, and evaluates 
                concerns and objections of such Governor or 
                governing body with regard to such test and 
                evaluation facility on an ongoing basis; and
                  [(C) works diligently and cooperatively to 
                resolve such concerns and objections; and
          [(2) by which the State or affected Indian tribe 
        involved can exercise reasonable independent monitoring 
        and testing of onsite activities related to all stages 
        of the siting, development, construction and operation 
        of the test and evaluation facility, except that any 
        such monitoring and testing shall not unreasonably 
        interfere with onsite activities.
  [(b) Written Agreements.--The Secretary shall enter into 
written agreements with the Governor of the State in which an 
identified site is located or with the governing body of any 
affected Indian tribe where an identified site is located in 
order to expedite the consultation and cooperation process. Any 
such written agreement shall specify--
          [(1) procedures by which such Governor or governing 
        body may study, determine, comment on, and make 
        recommendations with regard to the possible health, 
        safety, and economic impacts of the test and evaluation 
        facility;
          [(2) procedures by which the Secretary shall consider 
        and respond to comments and recommendations made by 
        such Governor or governing body, including the period 
        in which the Secretary shall so respond;
          [(3) the documents the Department is to submit to 
        such Governor or governing body, the timing for such 
        submissions, the timing for such Governor or governing 
        body to identify public health and safety concerns and 
        the process to be followed to try to eliminate those 
        concerns;
          [(4) procedures by which the Secretary and either 
        such Governor or governing body may review or modify 
        the agreement periodically; and
          [(5) procedures for public notification of the 
        procedures specified under subparagraphs (A) through 
        (D).
  [(c) Limitation.--Except as specifically provided in this 
section, nothing in this title is intended to grant any State 
or affected Indian tribe any authority with respect to the 
siting, development, or loading of the test and evaluation 
facility.

                        [federal agency actions

  [Sec. 216. (a) Cooperation and Coordination.--Federal 
agencies shall assist the Secretary by cooperating and 
coordinating with the Secretary in the preparation of any 
necessary reports under this title and the mission plan under 
section 301.
  [(b) Environmental Review.--(1) No action of the Secretary or 
any other Federal agency required by this title or section 301 
with respect to a test and evaluation facility to be taken 
prior to the initiation of onsite construction of a test and 
evaluation facility shall require the preparation of an 
environmental impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), or to 
require the preparation of environmental reports, except as 
otherwise specifically provided for in this title.
  [(2) The Secretary and the heads of all other Federal 
agencies shall, to the maximum extent possible, avoid 
duplication of efforts in the preparation of reports under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.).

 [research and development on disposal of high-level radioactive waste

  [Sec. 217. (a) Purpose.--Not later than 64 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary is authorized 
to, to the extent practicable, begin at a site evaluated under 
section 214, as part of and as an extension of siting research 
activities of such site under such section, the mining and 
construction of a test and evaluation facility. Prior to the 
mining and construction of such facility, the Secretary shall 
prepare an environmental assessment. The purpose of such 
facility shall be--
          [(1) to supplement and focus the repository site 
        characterization process;
          [(2) to provide the conditions under which known 
        technological components can be integrated to 
        demonstrate a functioning repository-like system;
          [(3) to provide a means of identifying, evaluating, 
        and resolving potential repository licensing issues 
        that could not be resolved during the siting research 
        program conducted under section 212;
          [(4) to validate, under actual conditions, the 
        scientific models used in the design of a repository;
          [(5) to refine the design and engineering of 
        repository components and systems and to confirm the 
        predicted behavior of such components and systems;
          [(6) to supplement the siting data, the generic and 
        specific geological characteristics developed under 
        section 214 relating to isolating disposal materials in 
        the physical environment of a repository;
          [(7) to evaluate the design concepts for packaging, 
        handling, and emplacement of high-level radioactive 
        waste and spent nuclear fuel at the design rate; and
          [(8) to establish operating capability without 
        exposing workers to excessive radiation.
  [(b) Design.--The Secretary shall design each test and 
evaluation facility--
          [(1) to be capable of receiving not more than 100 
        full-sized canisters of solidified high-level 
        radioactive waste (which canisters shall not exceed an 
        aggregate weight of 100 metric tons), except that spent 
        nuclear fuel may be used instead of such waste if such 
        waste cannot be obtained under reasonable conditions;
          [(2) to permit full retrieval of solidified high-
        level radioactive waste, or other radioactive material 
        used by the Secretary for testing, upon completion of 
        the technology demonstration activities; and
          [(3) based upon the principle that the high-level 
        radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or other 
        radioactive material involved shall be isolated from 
        the biosphere in such a way that the initial isolation 
        is provided by engineered barriers functioning as a 
        system with the geologic environment.
  [(c) Operation.--(1) Not later than 88 months after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall begin an in 
situ testing program at the test and evaluation facility in 
accordance with the mission plan developed under section 301, 
for purposes of--
          [(A) conducting in situ tests of bore hole sealing, 
        geologic media fracture sealing, and room closure to 
        establish the techniques and performance for isolation 
        of high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or 
        other radioactive materials from the biosphere;
          [(B) conducting in situ tests with radioactive 
        sources and materials to evaluate and improve reliable 
        models for radionuclide migration, absorption, and 
        containment within the engineered barriers and geologic 
        media involved, if the Secretary finds there is 
        reasonable assurance that such radioactive sources and 
        materials will not threaten the use of such site as a 
        repository;
          [(C) conducting in situ tests to evaluate and improve 
        models for ground water or brine flow through fractured 
        geologic media;
          [(D) conducting in situ tests under conditions 
        representing the real time and the accelerated time 
        behavior of the engineered barriers within the geologic 
        environment involved;
          [(E) conducting in situ tests to evaluate the effects 
        of heat and pressure on the geologic media involved, on 
        the hydrology of the surrounding area, and on the 
        integrity of the disposal packages;
          [(F) conducting in situ tests under both normal and 
        abnormal repository conditions to establish safe design 
        limits for disposal packages and to determine the 
        effects of the gross release of radionuclides into 
        surroundings, and the effects of various credible 
        failure modes, including--
                  [(i) seismic events leading to the coupling 
                of aquifers through the test and evaluation 
                facility;
                  [(ii) thermal pulses significantly greater 
                than the maximum calculated; and
                  [(iii) human intrusion creating a direct 
                pathway to the biosphere; and
          [(G) conducting such other research and development 
        activities as the Secretary considers appropriate, 
        including such activities necessary to obtain the use 
        of high-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear fuel, or 
        other radioactive materials (such as any highly 
        radioactive material from the Three Mile Island nuclear 
        powerplant or from the West Valley Demonstration 
        Project) for test and evaluation purposes, if such 
        other activities are reasonably necessary to support 
        the repository program and if there is reasonable 
        assurance that the radioactive sources involved will 
        not threaten the use of such site as a repository.
  [(2) The in situ testing authorized in this subsection shall 
be designed to ensure that the suitability of the site involved 
for licensing by the Commission as a repository will not be 
adversely affected.
  [(d) Use of Existing Department Facilities.--During the 
conducting of siting research activities under section 214 and 
for such period thereafter as the Secretary considers 
appropriate, the Secretary shall use Department facilities 
owned by the Federal Government on the date of the enactment of 
this Act for the conducting of generically applicable tests 
regarding packaging, handling, and emplacement technology for 
solidified high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel 
from civilian nuclear activities.
  [(e) Engineered Barriers.--The system of engineered barriers 
and selected geology used in a test and evaluation facility 
shall have a design life at least as long as that which the 
Commission requires by regulations issued under this Act, or 
under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), 
for repositories.
  [(f) Role of Commission.--(1)(A) Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the 
Commission shall reach a written understanding establishing the 
procedures for review, consultation, and coordination in the 
planning, construction, and operation of the test and 
evaluation facility under this section. Such understanding 
shall establish a schedule, consistent with the deadlines set 
forth in this subtitle, for submission by the Secretary of, and 
review by the Commission of and necessary action on--
          [(i) the mission plan prepared under section 301; and
          [(ii) such reports and other information as the 
        Commission may reasonably require to evaluate any 
        health and safety impacts of the test and evaluation 
        facility.
  [(B) Such understanding shall also establish the conditions 
under which the Commission may have access to the test and 
evaluation facility for the purpose of assessing any public 
health and safety concerns that it may have. No shafts may be 
excavated for the test and evaluation until the Secretary and 
the Commission enter into such understanding.
  [(2) Subject to section 305, the test and evaluation 
facility, and the facilities authorized in section 217, shall 
be constructed and operated as research, development, and 
demonstration facilities, and shall not be subject to licensing 
under section 202 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (42 
U.S.C. 5842).
  [(3)(A) The Commission shall carry out a continuing analysis 
of the activities undertaken under this section to evaluate the 
adequacy of the consideration of public health and safety 
issues.
  [(B) The Commission shall report to the President, the 
Secretary, and the Congress as the Commission considers 
appropriate with respect to the conduct of activities under 
this section.
  [(g) Environmental Review.--The Secretary shall prepare an 
environmental impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)) prior to conducting tests with radioactive 
materials at the test and evaluation facility. Such 
environmental impact statement shall incorporate, to the extent 
practicable, the environmental assessment prepared under 
section 217(a). Nothing in this subsection may be construed to 
limit siting research activities conducted under section 214. 
This subsection shall apply only to activities performed 
exclusively for a test and evaluation facility.
  [(h) Limitations.--(1) If the test and evaluation facility is 
not located at the site of a repository, the Secretary shall 
obtain the concurrence of the Commission with respect to the 
decontamination and decommissioning of such facility.
  [(2) If the test and evaluation facility is not located at a 
candidate site or repository site, the Secretary shall conduct 
only the portion of the in situ testing program required in 
subsection (c) determined by the Secretary to be useful in 
carrying out the purposes of this Act.
  [(3) The operation of the test and evaluation facility shall 
terminate not later than--
          [(A) 5 years after the date on which the initial 
        repository begins operation; or
          [(B) at such time as the Secretary determines that 
        the continued operation of a test and evaluation 
        facility is not necessary for research, development, 
        and demonstration purposes;
whichever occurs sooner.
  [(4) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, 
as soon as practicable following any determination by the 
Secretary, with the concurrence of the Commission, that the 
test and evaluation facility is unsuitable for continued 
operation, the Secretary shall take such actions as are 
necessary to remove from such site any radioactive material 
placed on such site as a result of testing and evaluation 
activities conducted under this section. Such requirement may 
be waived if the Secretary, with the concurrence of the 
Commission, finds that short-term testing and evaluation 
activities using radioactive material will not endanger the 
public health and safety.

            [research and development on spent nuclear fuel

  [Sec. 218. (a) Demonstration and Cooperative Programs.--The 
Secretary shall establish a demonstration program, in 
cooperation with the private sector, for the dry storage of 
spent nuclear fuel at civilian nuclear power reactor sites, 
with the objective of establishing one or more technologies 
that the Commission may, by rule, approve for use at the sites 
of civilian nuclear power reactors without, to the maximum 
extent practicable, the need for additional site-specific 
approvals by the Commission. Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall select 
at least 1, but not more than 3, sites evaluated under section 
214 at such power reactors. In selecting such site or sites, 
the Secretary shall give preference to civilian nuclear power 
reactors that will soon have a shortage of interim storage 
capacity for spent nuclear fuel. Subject to reaching agreement 
as provided in subsection (b), the Secretary shall undertake 
activities to assist such power reactors with demonstration 
projects at such sites, which may use one of the following 
types of alternate storage technologies: spent nuclear fuel 
storage casks, caissons, or silos. The Secretary shall also 
undertake a cooperative program with civilian nuclear power 
reactors to encourage the development of the technology for 
spent nuclear fuel rod consolidation in existing power reactor 
water storage basins.
  [(b) Cooperative Agreements.--To carry out the programs 
described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall enter into a 
cooperative agreement with each utility involved that 
specifies, at a minimum, that--
          [(1) such utility shall select the alternate storage 
        technique to be used, make the land and spent nuclear 
        fuel available for the dry storage demonstration, 
        submit and provide site-specific documentation for a 
        license application to the Commission, obtain a license 
        relating to the facility involved, construct such 
        facility, operate such facility after licensing, pay 
        the costs required to construct such facility, and pay 
        all costs associated with the operation and maintenance 
        of such facility;
          [(2) the Secretary shall provide, on a cost-sharing 
        basis, consultative and technical assistance, including 
        design support and generic licensing documentation, to 
        assist such utility in obtaining the construction 
        authorization and appropriate license from the 
        Commission; and
          [(3) the Secretary shall provide generic research and 
        development of alternative spent nuclear fuel storage 
        techniques to enhance utility-provided, at-reactor 
        storage capabilities, if authorized in any other 
        provision of this Act or in any other provision of law.
  [(c) Dry Storage Research and Development.--(1) The 
consultative and technical assistance referred to in subsection 
(b)(2) may include, but shall not be limited to, the 
establishment of a research and development program for the dry 
storage of not more than 300 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel 
at facilities owned by the Federal Government on the date of 
the enactment of this Act. The purpose of such program shall be 
to collect necessary data to assist the utilities involved in 
the licensing process.
  [(2) To the extent available, and consistent with the 
provisions of section 135, the Secretary shall provide spent 
nuclear fuel for the research and development program 
authorized in this subsection from spent nuclear fuel received 
by the Secretary for storage under section 135. Such spent 
nuclear fuel shall not be subject to the provisions of section 
135(e).
  [(d) Funding.--The total contribution from the Secretary from 
Federal funds and the use of Federal facilities or services 
shall not exceed 25 percent of the total costs of the 
demonstration program authorized in subsection (a), as 
estimated by the Secretary. All remaining costs of such program 
shall be paid by the utilities involved or shall be provided by 
the Secretary from the Interim Storage Fund established in 
section 136.
  [(e) Relation to Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Program.--The 
spent nuclear fuel storage program authorized in section 135 
shall not be construed to authorize the use of research 
development or demonstration facilities owned by the Department 
unless--
          [(1) a period of 30 calendar days (not including any 
        day in which either House of Congress is not in session 
        because of adjournment of more than 3 calendar days to 
        a day certain) has passed after the Secretary has 
        transmitted to the Committee on Science, Space, and 
        Technology of the House of Representatives and the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 
        a written report containing a full and complete 
        statement concerning (A) the facility involved; (B) any 
        necessary modifications; (C) the cost thereof; and (D) 
        the impact on the authorized research and development 
        program; or
          [(2) each such committee, before the expiration of 
        such period, has transmitted to the Secretary a written 
        notice to the effect that such committee has no 
        objection to the proposed use of such facility.

                 [payments to states and indian tribes

  [Sec. 219. (a) Payments.--Subject to subsection (b), the 
Secretary shall make payments to each State or affected Indian 
tribe that has entered into an agreement pursuant to section 
215. The Secretary shall pay an amount equal to 100 percent of 
the expenses incurred by such State or Indian tribe in engaging 
in any monitoring, testing, evaluation, or other consultation 
and cooperation activity under section 215 with respect to any 
site. The amount paid by the Secretary under this paragraph 
shall not exceed $3,000,000 per year from the date on which the 
site involved was identified to the date on which the 
decontamination and decommission of the facility is complete 
pursuant to section 217(h). Any such payment may only be made 
to a State in which a potential site for a test and evaluation 
facility has been identified under section 213, or to an 
affected Indian tribe where the potential site has been 
identified under such section.
  [(b) Limitation.--The Secretary shall make any payment to a 
State under subsection (a) only if such State agrees to 
provide, to each unit of general local government within the 
jurisdictional boundaries of which the potential site or 
effectively selected site involved is located, at least one-
tenth of the payments made by the Secretary to such State under 
such subsection. A State or affected Indian tribe receiving any 
payment under subsection (a) shall otherwise have discretion to 
use such payment for whatever purpose it deems necessary, 
including the State or tribal activities pursuant to agreements 
entered into in accordance with section 215. Annual payments 
shall be prorated on a 365-day basis to the specified dates.

  [study of research and development needs for monitored retrievable 
                            storage proposal

  [Sec. 220. Not later than 6 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the 
Congress a report describing the research and development 
activities the Secretary considers necessary to develop the 
proposal required in section 141(b) with respect to a monitored 
retrievable storage facility.

                            [judicial review

  [Sec. 221. Judicial review of research and development 
activities under this title shall be in accordance with the 
provisions of section 119.
  [Sec. 222. Research on Alternatives for the Permanent 
Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste.--The Secretary shall 
continue and accelerate a program of research, development, and 
investigation of alternative means and technologies for the 
permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste from 
civilian nuclear activities and Federal research and 
development activities except that funding shall be made from 
amounts appropriated to the Secretary for purposes of carrying 
out this section. Such program shall include examination of 
various waste disposal options.

  [technical assistance to non-nuclear weapon states in the field of 
                    spent fuel storage and disposal

  [Sec. 223. (a) It shall be the policy of the United States to 
cooperate with and provide technical assistance to non-nuclear 
weapon states in the field of spent fuel storage and disposal.
  [(b)(1) Within 90 days of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary and the Commission shall publish a joint notice in 
the Federal Register stating that the United States is prepared 
to cooperate with and provide technical assistance to non-
nuclear weapon states in the fields of at-reactor spent fuel 
storage; away-from-reactor spent fuel storage; monitored, 
retrievable spent fuel storage; geologic disposal of spent 
fuel; and the health, safety, and environmental regulation of 
such activities. The notice shall summarize the resources that 
can be made available for international cooperation and 
assistance in these fields through existing programs of the 
Department and the Commission, including the availability of: 
(i) data from past or ongoing research and development 
projects; (ii) consultations with expert Department or 
Commission personnel or contractors; and (iii) liaison with 
private business entities and organizations working in these 
fields.
  [(2) The joint notice described in the preceding subparagraph 
shall be updated and reissued annually for 5 succeeding years.
  [(c) Following publication of the annual joint notice 
referred to in paragraph (2), the Secretary of State shall 
inform the governments of non-nuclear weapon states and, as 
feasible, the organizations operating nuclear powerplants in 
such states, that the United States is prepared to cooperate 
with and provide technical assistance to non-nuclear weapon 
states in the fields of spent fuel storage and disposal, as set 
forth in the joint notice. The Secretary of State shall also 
solicit expressions of interest from non-nuclear weapon state 
governments and non-nuclear weapon state nuclear power reactor 
operators concerning their participation in expanded United 
States cooperation and technical assistance programs in these 
fields. The Secretary of State shall transmit any such 
expressions of interest to the Department and the Commission.
  [(d) With his budget presentation materials for the 
Department and the Commission for fiscal years 1984 through 
1989, the President shall include funding requests for an 
expanded program of cooperation and technical assistance with 
non-nuclear weapon states in the fields of spent fuel storage 
and disposal as appropriate in light of expressions of interest 
in such cooperation and assistance on the part of non-nuclear 
weapon state governments and non-nuclear weapon state nuclear 
power reactor operators.
  [(e) For the purposes of this subsection, the term ``non-
nuclear weapon state'' shall have the same meaning as that set 
forth in article IX of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of 
Nuclear Weapons (21 U.S.C. 438).
  [(f) Nothing in this subsection shall authorize the 
Department or the Commission to take any action not authorized 
under existing law.

                          [subseabed disposal

    [Sec. 224. (a) Study.--Within 270 days after the date of 
the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 
1987, the Secretary shall report to Congress on subseabed 
disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste. The report under this subsection shall include--
          [(1) an assessment of the current state of knowledge 
        of subseabed disposal as an alternative technology for 
        disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste;
          [(2) an estimate of the costs of subseabed disposal;
          [(3) an analysis of institutional factors associated 
        with subseabed disposal, including international 
        aspects of a decision of the United States to proceed 
        with subseabed disposal as an option for nuclear waste 
        management;
          [(4) a full discussion of the environmental and 
        public health and safety aspects of subseabed disposal;
          [(5) recommendations on alternative ways to structure 
        an effort in research, development, and demonstration 
        with respect to subseabed disposal; and
          [(6) the recommendations of the Secretary with 
        respect to research, development and demonstration in 
        subseabed disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste.
    [(b) Office of Subseabed Disposal Research.--(1) There is 
hereby established an Office of Subseabed Disposal Research 
within the Office of Energy Research of the Department of 
Energy. The Office shall be headed by the Director, who shall 
be a member of the Senior Executive Service appointed by the 
Director of the Office of Energy Research, and compensated at a 
rate determined by applicable law.
    [(2) The Director of the Office of Subseabed Disposal 
Research shall be responsible for carrying out research, 
development, and demonstration activities on all aspects of 
subseabed disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent 
nuclear fuel, subject to the general supervision of the 
Secretary. The Director of the Office shall be directly 
responsible to the Director of the Office of Energy Research, 
and the first such Director shall be appointed within 30 days 
of the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments 
Act of 1987.
    [(3) In carrying out his responsibilities under this Act, 
the Secretary may make grants to, or enter into contracts with, 
the Subseabed Consortium described in subsection (d) of this 
section, and other persons.
    [(4)(A) Within 60 days of the date of enactment of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, the Secretary 
shall establish a university-based Subseabed Consortium 
involving leading oceanographic universities and institutions, 
national laboratories, and other organizations to investigate 
the technical and institutional feasibility of subseabed 
disposal.
    [(B) The Subseabed Consortium shall develop a research plan 
and budget to achieve the following objectives by 1995:
          [(i) demonstrate the capacity to identify and 
        characterize potential subseabed disposal sites;
          [(ii) develop conceptual designs for a subseabed 
        disposal system, including estimated costs and 
        institutional requirements; and
          [(iii) identify and assess the potential impacts of 
        subseabed disposal on the human and marine environment.
    [(C) In 1990, and again in 1995, the Subseabed Consortium 
shall report to Congress on the progress being made in 
achieving the objectives of paragraph (2).
    [(5) The Director of the Office of Subseabed Disposal 
Research shall annually prepare and submit a report to the 
Congress on the activities and expenditures of the Office.

       [TITLE III--OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE

                             [mission plan

  [Sec. 301. (a) Contents of Mission Plan.--The Secretary shall 
prepare a comprehensive report, to be known as the mission 
plan, which shall provide an informational basis sufficient to 
permit informed decisions to be made in carrying out the 
repository program and the research, development, and 
demonstration programs required under this Act. The mission 
plan shall include--
          [(1) an identification of the primary scientific, 
        engineering, and technical information, including any 
        necessary demonstration of engineering or systems 
        integration, with respect to the siting and 
        construction of a test and evaluation facility and 
        repositories;
          [(2) an identification of any information described 
        in paragraph (1) that is not available because of any 
        unresolved scientific, engineering, or technical 
        questions, or undemonstrated engineering or systems 
        integration, a schedule including specific major 
        milestones for the research, development, and 
        technology demonstration program required under this 
        Act and any additional activities to be undertaken to 
        provide such information, a schedule for the activities 
        necessary to achieve important programmatic milestones, 
        and an estimate of the costs required to carry out such 
        research, development, and demonstration programs;
          [(3) an evaluation of financial, political, legal, or 
        institutional problems that may impede the 
        implementation of this Act, the plans of the Secretary 
        to resolve such problems, and recommendations for any 
        necessary legislation to resolve such problems;
          [(4) any comments of the Secretary with respect to 
        the purpose and program of the test and evaluation 
        facility;
          [(5) a discussion of the significant results of 
        research and development programs conducted and the 
        implications for each of the different geologic media 
        under consideration for the siting of repositories, 
        and, on the basis of such information, a comparison of 
        the advantages and disadvantages associated with the 
        use of such media for repository sites;
          [(6) the guidelines issued under section 112(a);
          [(7) a description of known sites at which site 
        characterization activities should be undertaken, a 
        description of such siting characterization activities, 
        including the extent of planned excavations, plans for 
        onsite testing with radioactive or nonradioactive 
        material, plans for any investigations activities which 
        may affect the capability of any such site to isolate 
        high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel, 
        plans to control any adverse, safety-related impacts 
        from such site characterization activities, and plans 
        for the decontamination and decommissioning of such 
        site if it is determined unsuitable for licensing as a 
        repository;
          [(8) an identification of the process for solidifying 
        high-level radioactive waste or packaging spent nuclear 
        fuel, including a summary and analysis of the data to 
        support the selection of the solidification process and 
        packaging techniques, an analysis of the requirements 
        for the number of solidification packaging facilities 
        needed, a description of the state of the art for the 
        materials proposed to be used in packaging such waste 
        or spent fuel and the availability of such materials 
        including impacts on strategic supplies and any 
        requirements for new or reactivated facilities to 
        produce any such materials needed, and a description of 
        a plan, and the schedule for implementing such plan, 
        for an aggressive research and development program to 
        provide when needed a high-integrity disposal package 
        at a reasonable price;
          [(9) an estimate of (A) the total repository capacity 
        required to safely accommodate the disposal of all 
        high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel 
        expected to be generated through December 31, 2020, in 
        the event that no commercial reprocessing of spent 
        nuclear fuel occurs, as well as the repository capacity 
        that will be required if such reprocessing does occur; 
        (B) the number and type of repositories required to be 
        constructed to provide such disposal capacity; (C) a 
        schedule for the construction of such repositories; and 
        (D) an estimate of the period during which each 
        repository listed in such schedule will be accepting 
        high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel for 
        disposal;
          [(10) an estimate, on an annual basis, of the costs 
        required (A) to construct and operate the repositories 
        anticipated to be needed under paragraph (9) based on 
        each of the assumptions referred to in such paragraph; 
        (B) to construct and operate a test and evaluation 
        facility, or any other facilities, other than 
        repositories described in subparagraph (A), determined 
        to be necessary; and (C) to carry out any other 
        activities under this Act; and
          [(11) an identification of the possible adverse 
        economic and other impacts to the State or Indian tribe 
        involved that may arise from the development of a test 
        and evaluation facility or repository at a site.
  [(b) Submission of Mission Plan.--(1) Not later than 15 
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit a draft mission plan to the States, the 
affected Indian tribes, the Commission, and other Government 
agencies as the Secretary deems appropriate for their comments.
  [(2) In preparing any comments on the mission plan, such 
agencies shall specify with precision any objections that they 
may have. Upon submission of the mission plan to such agencies, 
the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register of 
the submission of the mission plan and of its availability for 
public inspection, and, upon receipt of any comments of such 
agencies respecting the mission plan, the Secretary shall 
publish a notice in the Federal Register of the receipt of 
comments and of the availability of the comments for public 
inspection. If the Secretary does not revise the mission plan 
to meet objections specified in such comments, the Secretary 
shall publish in the Federal Register a detailed statement for 
not so revising the mission plan.
  [(3) The Secretary, after reviewing any other comments made 
by such agencies and revising the mission plan to the extent 
that the Secretary may consider to be appropriate, shall submit 
the mission plan to the appropriate committees of the Congress 
not later than 17 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act. The mission plan shall be used by the Secretary at 
the end of the first period of 30 calendar days (not including 
any day on which either House of Congress is not in session 
because of adjournment of more than 3 calendar days to a day 
certain) following receipt of the mission plan by the Congress.

                          [nuclear waste fund

  [Sec. 302. (a) Contracts.--(1) In the performance of his 
functions under this Act, the Secretary is authorized to enter 
into contracts with any person who generates or holds title to 
high-level radioactive waste, or spent nuclear fuel, of 
domestic origin for the acceptance of title, subsequent 
transportation, and disposal of such waste or spent fuel. Such 
contracts shall provide for payment to the Secretary of fees 
pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) sufficient to offset 
expenditures described in subsection (d).
  [(2) For electricity generated by a civilian nuclear power 
reactor and sold on or after the date 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the fee under paragraph (1) shall be 
equal to 1.0 mil per kilowatt-hour.
  [(3) For spent nuclear fuel, or solidified high-level 
radioactive waste derived from spent nuclear fuel, which fuel 
was used to generate electricity in a civilian nuclear power 
reactor prior to the application of the fee under paragraph (2) 
to such reactor, the Secretary shall, not later than 90 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, establish a 1 time fee 
per kilogram of heavy metal in spent nuclear fuel, or in 
solidified high-level radioactive waste. Such fee shall be in 
an amount equivalent to an average charge of 1.0 mil per 
kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by such spent nuclear 
fuel, or such solidified high-level waste derived therefrom, to 
be collected from any person delivering such spent nuclear fuel 
or high-level waste, pursuant to section 123, to the Federal 
Government. Such fee shall be paid to the Treasury of the 
United States and shall be deposited in the separate fund 
established by subsection (c) 126(b). In paying such a fee, the 
person delivering spent fuel, or solidified high-level 
radioactive wastes derived therefrom, to the Federal Government 
shall have no further financial obligation to the Federal 
Government for the long-term storage and permanent disposal of 
such spent fuel, or the solidified high-level radioactive waste 
derived therefrom.
  [(4) Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall establish procedures for the 
collection and payment of the fees established by paragraph (2) 
and paragraph (3). The Secretary shall annually review the 
amount of the fees established by paragraphs (2) and (3) above 
to evaluate whether collection of the fee will provide 
sufficient revenues to offset the costs as defined in 
subsection (d) herein. In the event the Secretary determines 
that either insufficient or excess revenues are being 
collected, in order to recover the costs incurred by the 
Federal Government that are specified in subsection (d), the 
Secretary shall propose an adjustment to the fee to insure full 
cost recovery. The Secretary shall immediately transmit this 
proposal for such an adjustment to Congress. The adjusted fee 
proposed by the Secretary shall be effective after a period of 
90 days of continuous session have elapsed following the 
receipt of such transmittal unless during such 90-day period 
either House of Congress adopts a resolution disapproving the 
Secretary's proposed adjustment in accordance with the 
procedures set forth for congressional review of an energy 
action under section 551 of the Energy Policy and Conservation 
Act.
  [(5) Contracts entered into under this section shall provide 
that--
          [(A) following commencement of operation of a 
        repository, the Secretary shall take title to the high-
        level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel involved 
        as expeditiously as practicable upon the request of the 
        generator or owner of such waste or spent fuel; and
          [(B) in return for the payment of fees established by 
        this section, the Secretary, beginning not later than 
        January 31, 1998, will dispose of the high-level 
        radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel involved as 
        provided in this subtitle.
  [(6) The Secretary shall establish in writing criteria 
setting forth the terms and conditions under which such 
disposal services shall be made available.
  [(b) Advance Contracting Requirement.--(1)(A) The Commission 
shall not issue or renew a license to any person to use a 
utilization or production facility under the authority of 
section 103 or 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 
2133, 2134) unless--
          [(i) such person has entered into a contract with the 
        Secretary under this section; or
          [(ii) the Secretary affirms in writing that such 
        person is actively and in good faith negotiating with 
        the Secretary for a contract under this section.
  [(B) The Commission, as it deems necessary or appropriate, 
may require as a precondition to the issuance or renewal of a 
license under section 103 or 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134) that the applicant for such license 
shall have entered into an agreement with the Secretary for the 
disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel 
that may result from the use of such license.
  [(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), no spent nuclear 
fuel or high-level radioactive waste generated or owned by any 
person (other than a department of the United States referred 
to in section 101 or 102 of title 5, United States Code) may be 
disposed of by the Secretary in any repository constructed 
under this Act unless the generator or owner of such spent fuel 
or waste has entered into a contract with the Secretary under 
this section by not later than--
          [(A) June 30, 1983; or
          [(B) the date on which such generator or owner 
        commences generation of, or takes title to, such spent 
        fuel or waste;
whichever occurs later.
  [(3) The rights and duties of a party to a contract entered 
into under this section may be assignable with transfer of 
title to the spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste 
involved.
  [(4) No high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel 
generated or owned by any department of the United States 
referred to in section 101 or 102 of title 5, United States 
Code, may be disposed of by the Secretary in any repository 
constructed under this Act unless such department transfers to 
the Secretary, for deposit in the Nuclear Waste Fund, amounts 
equivalent to the fees that would be paid to the Secretary 
under the contracts referred to in this section if such waste 
or spent fuel were generated by any other person.
  [(c) Establishment of Nuclear Waste Fund.--There hereby is 
established in the Treasury of the United States a separate 
fund, to be known as the Nuclear Waste Fund. The Waste Fund 
shall consist of--
          [(1) all receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized 
        by the Secretary under subsections (a), (b), and (e), 
        which shall be deposited in the Waste Fund immediately 
        upon their realization;
          [(2) any appropriations made by the Congress to the 
        Waste Fund; and
          [(3) any unexpended balances available on the date of 
        the enactment of this Act for functions or activities 
        necessary or incident to the disposal of civilian high-
        level radioactive waste or civilian spent nuclear fuel, 
        which shall automatically be transferred to the Waste 
        Fund on such date.
  [(d) Use of Waste Fund.--The Secretary may make expenditures 
from the Waste Fund, subject to subsection (e), only for 
purposes of radioactive waste disposal activities under titles 
I and II, including--
          [(1) the identification, development, licensing, 
        construction, operation, decommissioning, and post-
        decommissioning maintenance and monitoring of any 
        repository, monitored, retrievable storage facility or 
        test and evaluation facility constructed under this 
        Act;
          [(2) the conducting of nongeneric research, 
        development, and demonstration activities under this 
        Act;
          [(3) the administrative cost of the radioactive waste 
        disposal program;
          [(4) any costs that may be incurred by the Secretary 
        in connection with the transportation, treating, or 
        packaging of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste to be disposed of in a repository, to 
        be stored in a monitored, retrievable storage site or 
        to be used in a test and evaluation facility;
          [(5) the costs associated with acquisition, design, 
        modification, replacement, operation, and construction 
        of facilities at a repository site, a monitored, 
        retrievable storage site or a test and evaluation 
        facility site and necessary or incident to such 
        repository, monitored, retrievable storage facility or 
        test and evaluation facility; and
          [(6) the provision of assistance to States, units of 
        general local government, and Indian tribes under 
        sections 116, 118, and 219.
No amount may be expended by the Secretary under this subtitle 
for the construction or expansion of any facility unless such 
construction or expansion is expressly authorized by this or 
subsequent legislation. The Secretary hereby is authorized to 
construct one repository and one test and evaluation facility.
  [(e) Administration of Waste Fund.--(1) The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall hold the Waste Fund and, after consultation with 
the Secretary, annually report to the Congress on the financial 
condition and operations of the Waste Fund during the preceding 
fiscal year.
  [(2) The Secretary shall submit the budget of the Waste Fund 
to the Office of Management and Budget triennially along with 
the budget of the Department of Energy submitted at such time 
in accordance with chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code. 
The budget of the Waste Fund shall consist of the estimates 
made by the Secretary of expenditures from the Waste Fund and 
other relevant financial matters for the succeeding 3 fiscal 
years, and shall be included in the Budget of the United States 
Government. The Secretary may make expenditures from the Waste 
Fund, subject to appropriations which shall remain available 
until expended. Appropriations shall be subject to triennial 
authorization.
  [(3) If the Secretary determines that the Waste Fund contains 
at any time amounts in excess of current needs, the Secretary 
may request the Secretary of the Treasury to invest such 
amounts, or any portion of such amounts as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate, in obligations of the United 
States--
          [(A) having maturities determined by the Secretary of 
        the Treasury to be appropriate to the needs of the 
        Waste Fund; and
          [(B) bearing interest at rates determined to be 
        appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking 
        into consideration the current average market yield on 
        outstanding marketable obligations of the United States 
        with remaining periods to maturity comparable to the 
        maturities of such investments, except that the 
        interest rate on such investments shall not exceed the 
        average interest rate applicable to existing 
        borrowings.
  [(4) Receipts, proceeds, and recoveries realized by the 
Secretary under this section, and expenditures of amounts from 
the Waste Fund, shall be exempt from annual apportionment under 
the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, 
United States Code.
  [(5) If at any time the moneys available in the Waste Fund 
are insufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge his 
responsibilities under this subtitle, the Secretary shall issue 
to the Secretary of the Treasury obligations in such forms and 
denominations, bearing such maturities, and subject to such 
terms and conditions as may be agreed to by the Secretary and 
the Secretary of the Treasury. The total of such obligations 
shall not exceed amounts provided in appropriation Acts. 
Redemption of such obligations shall be made by the Secretary 
from moneys available in the Waste Fund. Such obligations shall 
bear interest at a rate determined by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, which shall be not less than a rate determined by 
taking into consideration the average market yield on 
outstanding marketable obligations of the United States of 
comparable maturities during the month preceding the issuance 
of the obligations under this paragraph. The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall purchase any issued obligations, and for such 
purpose the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to use as a 
public debt transaction the proceeds from the sale of any 
securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States 
Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under 
such Act are extended to include any purchase of such 
obligations. The Secretary of the Treasury may at any time sell 
any of the obligations acquired by him under this paragraph. 
All redemptions, purchases, and sales by the Secretary of the 
Treasury of obligations under this paragraph shall be treated 
as public debt transactions of the United States.
  [(6) Any appropriations made available to the Waste Fund for 
any purpose described in subsection (d) shall be repaid into 
the general fund of the Treasury, together with interest from 
the date of availability of the appropriations until the date 
of repayment. Such interest shall be paid on the cumulative 
amount of appropriations available to the Waste Fund, less the 
average undisbursed cash balance in the Waste Fund account 
during the fiscal year involved. The rate of such interest 
shall be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury taking 
into consideration the average market yield during the month 
preceding each fiscal year on outstanding marketable 
obligations of the United States of comparable maturity. 
Interest payments may be deferred with the approval of the 
Secretary of the Treasury, but any interest payments so 
deferred shall themselves bear interest.

                    [alternative means of financing

  [Sec. 303. The Secretary shall undertake a study with respect 
to alternative approaches to managing the construction and 
operation of all civilian radioactive waste management 
facilities, including the feasibility of establishing a private 
corporation for such purposes. In conducting such study, the 
Secretary shall consult with the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget, the Chairman of the Commission, and such 
other Federal agency representatives as may be appropriate. 
Such study shall be completed, and a report containing the 
results of such study shall be submitted to the Congress, 
within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

            [office of civilian radioactive waste management

  [Sec. 304. (a) Establishment.--There hereby is established 
within the Department of Energy an Office of Civilian 
Radioactive Waste Management. The Office shall be headed by a 
Director, who shall be appointed by the President, by and with 
the advice and consent of the Senate, and who shall be 
compensated at the rate payable for level IV of the Executive 
Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.
  [(b) Functions of Director.--The Director of the Office shall 
be responsible for carrying out the functions of the Secretary 
under this Act, subject to the general supervision of the 
Secretary. The Director of the Office shall be directly 
responsible to the Secretary.
  [(c) Annual Report to Congress.--The Director of the Office 
shall annually prepare and submit to the Congress a 
comprehensive report on the activities and expenditures of the 
Office.
  [(d) Annual Audit by Comptroller General.--The Comptroller 
General of the United States shall annually make an audit of 
the Office, in accordance with such regulations as the 
Comptroller General may prescribe. The Comptroller General 
shall have access to such books, records, accounts, and other 
materials of the Office as the Comptroller General determines 
to be necessary for the preparation of such audit. The 
Comptroller General shall submit to the Congress a report on 
the results of each audit conducted under this section.

               [location of test and evaluation facility

  [Sec. 305. (a) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall transmit to the Congress a report setting forth whether 
the Secretary plans to locate the test and evaluation facility 
at the site of a repository.
  [(b) Procedures.--(1) If the test and evaluation facility is 
to be located at any candidate site or repository site (A) site 
selection and development of such facility shall be conducted 
in accordance with the procedures and requirements established 
in title I with respect to the site selection and development 
of repositories; and (B) the Secretary may not commence 
construction of any surface facility for such test and 
evaluation facility prior to issuance by the Commission of a 
construction authorization for a repository at the site 
involved.
  [(2) No test and evaluation facility may be converted into a 
repository unless site selection and development of such 
facility was conducted in accordance with the procedures and 
requirements established in title I with respect to the site 
selection and development of repositories.
  [(3) The Secretary may not commence construction of a test 
and evaluation facility at a candidate site or site recommended 
as the location for a repository prior to the date on which the 
designation of such site is effective under section 115.

         [nuclear regulatory commission training authorization

  [Sec. 306. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Training 
Authorization.--The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is authorized 
and directed to promulgate regulations, or other appropriate 
Commission regulatory guidance, for the training and 
qualifications of civilian nuclear powerplant operators, 
supervisors, technicians and other appropriate operating 
personnel. Such regulations or guidance shall establish 
simulator training requirements for applicants for civilian 
nuclear powerplant operator licenses and for operator 
requalification programs; requirements governing NRC 
administration of requalification examinations; requirements 
for operating tests at civilian nuclear powerplant simulators, 
and instructional requirements for civilian nuclear powerplant 
licensee personnel training programs. Such regulations or other 
regulatory guidance shall be promulgated by the Commission 
within the 12-month period following enactment of this Act, and 
the Commission within the 12-month period following enactment 
of this Act shall submit a report to Congress setting forth the 
actions the Commission has taken with respect to fulfilling its 
obligations under this section.

                  [TITLE IV--NUCLEAR WASTE NEGOTIATOR

                              [definition

  [Sec. 401. For purposes of this title, the term ``State'' 
means each of the several States and the District of Columbia.

              [the office of the nuclear waste negotiator

  [Sec. 402. (a) Establishment.--There is established the 
Office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator that shall be an 
independent establishment in the executive branch.
  [(b) The Nuclear Waste Negotiator.--(1) The Office shall be 
headed by a Nuclear Waste Negotiator who shall be appointed by 
the President, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate. The Negotiator shall hold office at the pleasure of the 
President, and shall be compensated at the rate provided for 
level III of the Executive Schedule in section 5314 of title 5, 
United States Code.
  [(2) The Negotiator shall attempt to find a State or Indian 
tribe willing to host a repository or monitored retrievable 
storage facility at a technically qualified site on reasonable 
terms and shall negotiate with any State or Indian tribe which 
expresses an interest in hosting a repository or monitored 
retrievable storage facility.

                       [duties of the negotiator

  [Sec. 403. (a) Negotiations With Potential Hosts.--(1) The 
Negotiator shall--
          [(A) seek to enter into negotiations on behalf of the 
        United States with--
                  [(i) the Governor of any State in which a 
                potential site is located; and
                  [(ii) the governing body of any Indian tribe 
                on whose reservation a potential site is 
                located; and
          [(B) attempt to reach a proposed agreement between 
        the United States and any such State or Indian tribe 
        specifying the terms and conditions under which such 
        State or tribe would agree to host a repository or 
        monitored retrievable storage facility within such 
        State or reservation.
  [(2) In any case in which State law authorizes any person or 
entity other than the Governor to negotiate a proposed 
agreement under this section on behalf of the State, any 
reference in this title to the Governor shall be considered to 
refer instead to such other person or entity.
  [(b) Consultation With Affected States, Subdivisions of 
States, and Tribes.--In addition to entering into negotiations 
under subsection (a), the Negotiator shall consult with any 
State, affected unit of local government, or any Indian tribe 
that the Negotiator determines may be affected by the siting of 
a repository or monitored retrievable storage facility and may 
include in any proposed agreement such terms and conditions 
relating to the interest of such States, affected units of 
local government, or Indian tribes as the Negotiator determines 
to be reasonable and appropriate.
  [(c) Consultation With Other Federal Agencies.--The 
Negotiator may solicit and consider the comments of the 
Secretary, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or any other 
Federal agency on the suitability of any potential site for 
site characterization. Nothing in this subsection shall be 
construed to require the Secretary, the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, or any other Federal agency to make a finding that 
any such site is suitable for site characterization.
  [(d) Proposed Agreement.--(1) The Negotiator shall submit to 
the Congress any proposed agreement between the United States 
and a State or Indian tribe negotiated under subsection (a) and 
an environmental assessment prepared under section 404(a) for 
the site concerned.
  [(2) Any such proposed agreement shall contain such terms and 
conditions (including such financial and institutional 
arrangements) as the Negotiator and the host State or Indian 
tribe determine to be reasonable and appropriate and shall 
contain such provisions as are necessary to preserve any right 
to participation or compensation of such State, affected unit 
of local government, or Indian tribe under sections 116(c), 
117, and 118(b).
  [(3)(A) No proposed agreement entered into under this section 
shall have legal effect unless enacted into Federal Law.
  [(B) A State or Indian tribe shall enter into an agreement 
under this section in accordance with the laws of such State or 
tribe. Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit the 
disapproval of a proposed agreement between a State and the 
United States under this section by a referendum or an act of 
the legislature of such State.
  [(4) Notwithstanding any proposed agreement under this 
section, the Secretary may construct a repository or monitored 
retrievable storage facility at a site agreed to under this 
title only if authorized by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 
2012 et seq.), title II of the Energy Reorganization Act of 
1982 (42 U.S.C. 5841 et seq.) and any other law applicable to 
authorization of such construction.

                   [environmental assessment of sites

  [Sec. 404. (a) In General.--Upon the request of the 
Negotiator, the Secretary shall prepare an environmental 
assessment of any site that is the subject of negotiations 
under section 403(a).
  [(b) Contents.--(1) Each environmental assessment prepared 
for a repository site shall include a detailed statement of the 
probable impacts of characterizing such site and the 
construction and operation of a repository at such site.
  [(2) Each environmental assessment prepared for a monitored 
retrievable storage facility site shall include a detailed 
statement of the probable impacts of construction and operation 
of such a facility at such site.
  [(c) Judicial Review.--The issuance of an environmental 
assessment under subsection (a) shall be considered to be a 
final agency action subject to judicial review in accordance 
with the provisions of chapter 7 of title 5, United States 
Code, and section 119.
  [(d) Public Hearings.--(1) In preparing an environmental 
assessment for any repository or monitored retrievable storage 
facility site, the Secretary shall hold public hearings in the 
vicinity of such site to inform the residents of the area in 
which such site is located that such site is being considered 
and to receive their comments.
  [(2) At such hearings, the Secretary shall solicit and 
receive any recommendations of such residents with respect to 
issues that should be addressed in the environmental assessment 
required under subsection (a) and the site characterization 
plan described in section 113(b)(1).
    [(e) Public Availability.--Each environmental assessment 
prepared under subsection (a) shall be made available to the 
public.
  [(f) Evaluation of Sites.--(1) In preparing an environmental 
assessment under subsection (a), the Secretary shall use 
available geophysical, geologic, geochemical and hydrologic, 
and other information and shall not conduct any preliminary 
borings or excavations at any site that is the subject of such 
assessment unless--
  [(A) such preliminary boring or excavation activities were in 
progress on or before the date of the enactment of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987;
  [(B) the Secretary certifies that, in the absence of 
preliminary borings or excavations, adequate information will 
not be available to satisfy the requirements of this Act or any 
other law.
  [(2) No preliminary boring or excavation conducted under this 
section shall exceed a diameter of 40 inches.

                   [site characterization; licensing

  [Sec. 405. (a) Site Characterization.--Upon enactment of 
legislation to implement an agreement to site a repository 
negotiated under section 403(a), the Secretary shall conduct 
appropriate site characterization activities for the site that 
is the subject of such agreement subject to the conditions and 
terms of such agreement. Any such site characterization 
activities shall be conducted in accordance with section 113, 
except that references in such section to the Yucca Mountain 
site and the State of Nevada shall be deemed to refer to the 
site that is the subject of the agreement and the State or 
Indian tribe entering into the agreement.
  [(b) Licensing.--(1) Upon the completion of site 
characterization activities carried out under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall submit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
an application for construction authorization for a repository 
at such site.
  [(2) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall consider an 
application for a construction authorization for a repository 
or monitored retrievable storage facility in accordance with 
the laws applicable to such applications, except that the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall issue a final decision 
approving or disapproving the issuance of a construction 
authorization not later than 3 years after the date of the 
submission of such application.

                     [monitored retrievable storage

  [Sec. 406. (a) Construction and Operation.--Upon enactment of 
legislation to implement an agreement negotiated under section 
403(a) to site a monitored retrievable storage facility, the 
Secretary shall construct and operate such facility as part of 
an integrated nuclear waste management system in accordance 
with the terms and conditions of such agreement.
  [(b) Financial Assistance.--The Secretary may make grants to 
any State, Indian tribe, or affected unit of local government 
to assess the feasibility of siting a monitored retrievable 
storage facility under this section at a site under the 
jurisdiction of such State, tribe, or affected unit of local 
government.

                    [environmental impact statement

    [Sec. 407. (a) In General.--Issuance of a construction 
authorization for a repository or monitored retrievable storage 
facility under section 405(b) shall be considered a major 
Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment for purposes of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
    [(b) Preparation.--A final environmental impact statement 
shall be prepared by the Secretary under such Act and shall 
accompany any application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
for a construction authorization.
    [(c) Adoption.--(1) Any such environmental impact statement 
shall, to the extent practicable, be adopted by the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, in accordance with section 1506.3 of 
title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, in connection with the 
issuance by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of a construction 
authorization and license for such repository or monitored 
retrievable storage facility.
    [(2)(A) In any such statement prepared with respect to a 
repository to be constructed under this title at the Yucca 
Mountain site, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission need not 
consider the need for a repository, the time of initial 
availability of a repository, alternate sites to the Yucca 
Mountain site, or nongeologic alternatives to such site.
    [(B) In any such statement prepared with respect to a 
repository to be constructed under this title at a site other 
than the Yucca Mountain site, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
need not consider the need for a repository, the time of 
initial availability of a repository, or nongeologic 
alternatives to such site but shall consider the Yucca Mountain 
site as an alternate to such site in the preparation of such 
statement.

                [administrative powers of the negotiator

    [Sec. 408. In carrying out his functions under this title, 
the Negotiator may--
          [(1) appoint such officers and employees as he 
        determines to be necessary and prescribe their duties;
          [(2) obtain services as authorized by section 3109 of 
        title 5, United States Code, at rates not to exceed the 
        rate prescribed for grade GS-18 of the General Schedule 
        by section 5332 of title 5, United States Code;
          [(3) promulgate such rules and regulations as may be 
        necessary to carry out such functions;
          [(4) utilize the services, personnel, and facilities 
        of other Federal agencies (subject to the consent of 
        the head of any such agency);
          [(5) for purposes of performing administrative 
        functions under this title, and to the extent funds are 
        appropriated, enter into and perform such contracts, 
        leases, cooperative agreements, or other transactions 
        as may be necessary and on such terms as the Negotiator 
        determines to be appropriate, with any agency or 
        instrumentality of the United States, or with any 
        public or private person or entity;
          [(6) accept voluntary and uncompensated services, 
        notwithstanding the provisions of sections 1342 of 
        title 31, United States Code;
          [(7) adopt an official seal, which shall be 
        judicially noticed;
          [(8) use the United States mails in the same manner 
        and under the same conditions as other departments and 
        agencies of the United States;
          [(9) hold such hearings as are necessary to determine 
        the views of interested parties and the general public; 
        and
          [(10) appoint advisory committees under the Federal 
        Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).

             [cooperation of other departments and agencies

    [Sec. 409. Each department, agency, and instrumentality of 
the United States, including any independent agency, may 
furnish the Negotiator such information as he determines to be 
necessary to carry out his functions under this title.

                       [termination of the office

    [Sec. 410. The Office shall cease to exist not later than 
30 days after the date 7 years after the date of the enactment 
of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987.

                    [authorization of appropriations

    [Sec. 411. Notwithstanding subsection (d) of section 302, 
and subject to subsection (e) of such section, there are 
authorized to be appropriated for expenditures from amounts in 
the Waste Fund established in subsection (c) of such section, 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this title.

             [TITLE V--NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

                              [definitions

    [Sec. 501. As used in this title:
          [(1) The term ``Chairman'' means the Chairman of the 
        Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
          [(2) The term ``Board'' means the Nuclear Waste 
        Technical Review Board established under section 502.

                 [nuclear waste technical review board

    [Sec. 502. (a) Establishment.--There is established a 
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board that shall be an 
independent establishment within the executive branch.
    [(b) Members.--(1) The Board shall consist of 11 members 
who shall be appointed by the President not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy 
Amendments Act of 1987 from among persons nominated by the 
National Academy of Sciences in accordance with paragraph (3).
    [(2) The President shall designate a member of the Board to 
serve as chairman.
    [(3)(A) The National Academy of Sciences shall, not later 
than 90 days after the date of the enactment of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, nominate not less than 22 
persons for appointment to the Board from among persons who 
meet the qualifications described in subparagraph (C).
    [(B) The National Academy of Sciences shall nominate not 
less than 2 persons to fill any vacancy on the Board from among 
persons who meet the qualifications described in subparagraph 
(C).
    [(C)(i) Each person nominated for appointment to the Board 
shall be--
          [(I) eminent in a field of science or engineering, 
        including environmental sciences; and
          [(II) selected solely on the basis of established 
        records of distinguished service.
    [(ii) The membership of the Board shall be representative 
of the broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines 
related to activities under this title.
    [(iii) No person shall be nominated for appointment to the 
Board who is an employee of--
          [(I) the Department of Energy;
          [(II) a national laboratory under contract with the 
        Department of Energy; or
          [(III) an entity performing high-level radioactive 
        waste or spent nuclear fuel activities under contract 
        with the Department of Energy.
    [(4) Any vacancy on the Board shall be filled by the 
nomination and appointment process described in paragraphs (1) 
and (3).
    [(5) Members of the Board shall be appointed for terms of 4 
years, each such term to commence 120 days after the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987, 
except that of the 11 members first appointed to the Board, 5 
shall serve for 2 years and 6 shall serve for 4 years, to be 
designated by the President at the time of appointment.

                               [functions

    [Sec. 503. The Board shall evaluate the technical and 
scientific validity of activities undertaken by the Secretary 
after the date of the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy 
Amendments Act of 1987, including--
          [(1) site characterization activities; and
          [(2) activities relating to the packaging or 
        transportation of high-level radioactive waste or spent 
        nuclear fuel.

                         [investigatory powers

    [Sec. 504. (a) Hearings.--Upon request of the Chairman or a 
majority of the members of the Board, the Board may hold such 
hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take such 
testimony, and receive such evidence, as the Board considers 
appropriate. Any member of the Board may administer oaths or 
affirmations to witnesses appearing before the Board.
    [(b) Production of Documents.--(1) Upon the request of the 
Chairman or a majority of the members of the Board, and subject 
to existing law, the Secretary (or any contractor of the 
Secretary) shall provide the Board with such records, files, 
papers, data, or information as may be necessary to respond to 
any inquiry of the Board under this title.
    [(2) Subject to existing law, information obtainable under 
paragraph (1) shall not be limited to final work products of 
the Secretary, but shall include drafts of such products and 
documentation of work in progress.

                        [compensation of members

    [Sec. 505. (a) In General.--Each member of the Board shall 
be paid at the rate of pay payable for level III of the 
Executive Schedule for each day (including travel time) such 
member is engaged in the work of the Board.
    [(b) Travel Expenses.--Each member of the Board may receive 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in 
the same manner as is permitted under sections 5702 and 5703 of 
title 5, United States Code.

                                 [staff

    [Sec. 506. (a) Clerical Staff.--(1) Subject to paragraph 
(2), the Chairman may appoint and fix the compensation of such 
clerical staff as may be necessary to discharge the 
responsibilities of the Board.
    [(2) Clerical staff shall be appointed subject to the 
provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing 
appointments in the competitive service, and shall be paid in 
accordance with the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 
of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and 
General Schedule pay rates.
    [(b) Professional Staff.--(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and 
(3), the Chairman may appoint and fix the compensation of such 
professional staff as may be necessary to discharge the 
responsibilities of the Board.
    [(2) Not more than 10 professional staff members may be 
appointed under this subsection.
    [(3) Professional staff members may be appointed without 
regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 
governing appointments in the competitive service, and may be 
paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and 
subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to 
classification and General Schedule pay rates, except that no 
individual so appointed may receive pay in excess of the annual 
rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule.

                           [support services

    [Sec. 507. (a) General Services.--To the extent permitted 
by law and requested by the Chairman, the Administrator of 
General Services shall provide the Board with necessary 
administrative services, facilities, and support on a 
reimbursable basis.
    [(b) Accounting, Research, and Technology Assessment 
Services.--The Comptroller General, the Librarian of Congress, 
and the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment shall, 
to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability 
of funds, provide the Board with such facilities, support, 
funds and services, including staff, as may be necessary for 
the effective performance of the functions of the Board.
    [(c) Additional Support.--Upon the request of the Chairman, 
the Board may secure directly from the head of any department 
or agency of the United States information necessary to enable 
it to carry out this title.
    [(d) Mails.--The Board may use the United States mails in 
the same manner and under the same conditions as other 
departments and agencies of the United States.
    [(e) Experts and Consultants.--Subject to such rules as may 
be prescribed by the Board, the Chairman may procure temporary 
and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5 of 
the United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 
exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic 
pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule.

                                [report

    [Sec. 508. The Board shall report not less than 2 times per 
year to Congress and the Secretary its findings, conclusions, 
and recommendations. The first such report shall be submitted 
not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987.

                    [authorization of appropriations

    [Sec. 509. Notwithstanding subsection (d) of section 302, 
and subject to subsection (e) of such section, there are 
authorized to be appropriated for expenditures from amounts in 
the Waste Fund established in subsection (c) of such section 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this title.

                       [termination of the Board

    [Sec. 510. The Board shall cease to exist not later than 1 
year after the date on which the Secretary begins disposal of 
high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel in a 
repository.]

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (A) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1996.''
    (b) Table of Contents.--
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.

                          TITLE I--OBLIGATIONS

Sec. 101. Obligations of the Secretary of Energy.

        TITLE II--INTEGRATED SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Sec. 201. Intermodal Transfer.
Sec. 202. Transportation planning.
Sec. 203. Transportation requirements.
Sec. 204. Interim storage.
Sec. 205. Permanent repository.
Sec. 206. Land withdrawal.
Sec. 207. Permanent Disposal Alternatives.

                   TITLE III--FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

Sec. 301. Program Funding.
Sec. 302. Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.
Sec. 303. Federal contribution.
Sec. 304. Budget Priorities.

             TITLE IV--GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Compliance with other laws.
Sec. 402. Judicial review of agency actions.
Sec. 403. Licensing of facility expansions and transshipments.
Sec. 404. Siting a second repository.
Sec. 405. Financial arrangements for low-level radioactive waste site 
          closure.
Sec. 406. Nuclear Regulatory Commission training authority.
Sec. 407. Emplacement schedule.
Sec. 408. Emergency relief.
Sec. 409. Transfer of Title.
Sec. 410. Environmental Requirements.

              TITLE V--NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

Sec. 501. Definitions.
Sec. 502. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
Sec. 503. Functions.
Sec. 504. Investigatory powers.
Sec. 505. Compensation of members.
Sec. 506. Staff.
Sec. 507. Support services.
Sec. 508. Report.
Sec. 509. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 510. Termination of the board.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
          (1) Accept, acceptance.--The terms ``accept'' and 
        ``acceptance'' mean the Secretary's act of taking 
        possession of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste.
          (2) Atomic energy defense activity.--The term 
        ``atomic energy defense activity'' means any activity 
        of the Secretary performed in whole or in part in 
        carrying out any of the following functions:
                  (A) Naval reactors development.
                  (B) Weapons activities including defense 
                inertial confinement fusion.
                  (C) Verification and control technology.
                  (D) Defense nuclear materials production.
                  (E) Defense nuclear waste and materials 
                byproducts management.
                  (F) Defense nuclear materials security and 
                safeguards and security investigations.
                  (G) Defense research and development.
          (3) Civilian nuclear power reactor.--The term 
        ``civilian nuclear power reactor'' means a civilian 
        nuclear power plant required to be licensed under 
        section 103 or 104 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 
        (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134(b)).
          (4) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the 
        Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
          (5) Contracts.--The term ``contracts'' means the 
        contracts, executed prior to the date of enactment of 
        the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, under section 
        302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, by the 
        Secretary and any person who generates or holds title 
        to spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste 
        of domestic origin for acceptance of such waste or fuel 
        by the Secretary and the payment of fees to offset the 
        Secretary's expenditures, and any subsequent contracts 
        executed by the Secretary pursuant to section 301(a) of 
        this Act.
          (6) Contract holders.--The term ``contract holders'' 
        means parties (other than the Secretary) to contracts.
          (7) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Energy.
          (8) Disposal.--The term ``disposal'' means the 
        emplacement in a repository of spent nuclear fuel, 
        high-level radioactive waste, or other highly 
        radioactive material with no foreseeable intent of 
        recovery, whether or not such emplacement permits 
        recovery of such material for any future purpose.
          (9) Disposal system.--The term ``disposal system'' 
        means all natural barriers and engineered barriers, and 
        engineered systems and components, that prevent the 
        release of radionuclides from the repository.
          (10) Emplacement schedule.--The term ``emplacement 
        schedule'' means the schedule established by the 
        Secretary in accordance with section 407(a) for 
        emplacement of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste at the interim storage facility.
          (11) Engineered barriers and engineered systems and 
        components.--The terms ``engineered barriers'' and 
        ``engineered systems and components,'' mean man made 
        components of a disposal system. These terms include 
        the spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste 
        form, spent nuclear fuel package or high-level 
        radioactive waste package, and other materials placed 
        over and around such packages.
          (12) High-level radioactive waste.--The term ``high-
        level radioactive waste'' means--
                  (A) the highly radioactive material resulting 
                from the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, 
                including liquid waste produced directly in 
                reprocessing and any solid material derived 
                from such liquid waste that contains fission 
                products in sufficient concentrations; and
                  (B) other highly radioactive material that 
                the Commission, consistent with existing law, 
                determines by rule requires permanent 
                isolation, which includes any lowlevel 
                radioactive waste with concentrations of 
                radionuclides that exceed the limits 
                established by the Commission for class C 
                radioactive waste, as defined by section 61.55 
                of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, as in 
                effect on January 26, 1983.
          (13) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' 
        means any Executive agency, as defined in section 105 
        of title 5, United States Code.
          (14) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' means 
        any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized 
        group or community of Indians recognized as eligible 
        for the services provided to Indians by the Secretary 
        of the Interior because of their status as Indians 
        including any Alaska Native village, as defined in 
        section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
        (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)).
          (15) Integrated management system.--The term 
        ``integrated management system'' means the system 
        developed by the Secretary for the acceptance, 
        transportation, storage, and disposal of spent nuclear 
        fuel and high-level radioactive waste under title II of 
        this Act.
          (16) Interim storage facility.--The term ``interim 
        storage facility'' means a facility designed and 
        constructed for the receipt, handling, possession, 
        safeguarding, and storage of spent nuclear fuel and 
        high-level radioactive waste in accordance with title 
        II of this Act.
          (17) Interim storage facility site.--The term 
        ``interim storage facility site'' means the specific 
        site within Area 25 of the Nevada Test Site that is 
        designated by the Secretary and withdrawn and reserved 
        in accordance with this Act for the location of the 
        interim storage facility.
          (18) Low-level radioactive waste.--The term ``low-
        level radioactive waste'' means radioactive material 
        that--
                  (A) is not spent nuclear fuel, high-level 
                radioactive waste, transuranic waste, or 
                byproduct material as defined in section 
                11e.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
                U.S.C. 2014(e)(2)); and
                  (B) the Commission, consistent with existing 
                law, classifies as low-level radioactive waste.
          (19) Metric tons uranium.--The terms ``metric tons 
        uranium'' and ``MTU'' means the amount of uranium in 
        the original unirradiated fuel element whether or not 
        the spent nuclear fuel has been reprocessed.
          (20) Nuclear waste fund.--The terms ``Nuclear Waste 
        Fund'' and ``waste fund'' mean the nuclear waste fund 
        established in the United States Treasury prior to the 
        date of enactment of this Act under section 302(c) of 
        the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.
          (21) Office.--The term ``Office'' means the Office of 
        Civilian Radioactive Waste Management established 
        within the Department prior to the date of enactment of 
        this Act under the provisions of the Nuclear Waste 
        Policy Act of 1982.
          (22) Program approach.--The term ``program approach'' 
        means the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program 
        Plan, dated December 19, 1994, as modified by this Act, 
        and as amended form time to time by the Secretary in 
        accordance with this Act.
          (23) Repository.--The term ``repository'' means a 
        system designed and constructed under title II of this 
        Act for the geologic disposal of spent nuclear fuel and 
        high-level radioactive waste receipt, handling, 
        possession, safeguarding, and storage are conducted.
          (24) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of Energy.
          (25) Site characterization.--The term ``site 
        characterization'' means activities, whether in a 
        laboratory or in the field, undertaken to establish the 
        geologic condition and the ranges of the parameters of 
        a candidate site relevant to the location of a 
        repository, including borings, surface excavations, 
        excavations of exploratory facilities, limited 
        subsurface lateral excavations and borings, and in situ 
        testing needed to evaluate the licensability of a 
        candidate site for the location of a repository, but 
        not including preliminary borings and geophysical 
        testing needed to assess whether site characterization 
        should be undertaken.
          (26) Spent nuclear fuel.--The term ``spent nuclear 
        fuel'' means fuel that has been withdrawn from a 
        nuclear reactor following irradiation, the constituent 
        elements of which have not been separated by 
        reprocessing.
          (27) Storage.--The term ``storage'' means retention 
        of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste 
        with the intent to recover such waste or fuel for 
        subsequent use, processing, or disposal.
          (28) Withdrawal.--The term ``withdrawal'' has the 
        same definition as that set forth in section 103(j) of 
        the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
        U.S.C. 1702(j)).
          (29) Yucca mountain site.--The term ``Yucca Mountain 
        site'' means the area in the State of Nevada that is 
        withdrawn and reserved in accordance with this Act for 
        the location of a repository.

                          TITLE I--OBLIGATIONS

SEC. 101. OBLIGATIONS OF THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY.

    (a) Disposal.--The Secretary shall develop and operate an 
integrated management system for the storage and permanent 
disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste.
    (b) Interim Storage.--The Secretary shall shall store spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from facilities 
designated by contract holders for storage at an interim 
storage facility pursuant to section 204 in accordance with the 
emplacement schedule, beginning not later than November 30, 
1999.
    (c) Transportation.--The Secretary shall provide for the 
transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste accepted by the Secretary. The Secretary shall procure 
all systems and components necessary to transport spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste from facilities 
designated by contract holders to and among facilities 
comprising the Integrated Management System.
    (d) Integrated Management System.--The Secretary shall 
expeditiously pursue the development of each component of the 
integrated management system, and in so doing shall seek to 
utilize effective private sector management and contracting 
practices
    (e) Private Sector Participation.--In administering the 
Integrated spent Nuclear Fuel Management System, the Secretary 
shall, to the maximum extent possible, utilize, employ, procure 
and contract with, the private sector to fulfill the 
Secretary's obligations and requirements under this Act.
    (f) Pre-Existing Rights.--Nothing in this Act is intended 
to or shall be construed to modify--
          (1) any right of a contract holder under section 
        302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, or 
        under a contract executed prior to the date of 
        enactment of this Act under that section; or
          (2) obligations imposed upon the federal government 
        by the U.S. District Court of Idaho in an order entered 
        on October 17, 1995 in United States v. Batt (No. 91-
        0054-S-EJL).
    (g) Liability.--Subject to any valid existing right under 
subsection (f), nothing in this Act shall be construed to 
subject the United States to financial liability for the 
Secretary's failure to meet any deadline for the acceptance or 
emplacement of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive 
waste for storage or disposal under this Act.

                 TITLE II--INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

SEC. 201. INTERMODAL TRANSFER.

    (a) Access.--The Secretary shall utilize heavy-haul truck 
transport to move spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
waste from the mainline rail line at Caliente, Nevada, to the 
interim storage facility site.
    (b) Capability Date.--The Secretary shall develop the 
capability to commence rail to truck intermodal transfer at 
Caliente, Nevada, no later than November 30, 1999. Intermodal 
transfer and related activities are incidental to the 
interstate transportation of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste.
    (c) Acquisitions.--The Secretary shall acquire lands and 
rights-of-way along the ``Chalk Mountain Heavy Haul Route'' 
depicted on the map dated March 13, 1996, and on file with the 
Secretary, necessary to commence intermodal transfer at 
Caliente, Nevada.
    (d) Replacements.--The Secretary shall acquire and develop 
on behalf of, and dedicate to, the City of Caliente, Nevada, 
parcels of land and right-of-way within Lincoln County, Nevada, 
as required to facilitate replacement of land and city 
wastewater disposal facilities necessary to commence intermodal 
transfer pursuant to this Act. Replacement of land and city 
wastewater disposal activities shall occur no later than 
November 30, 1999.
    (e) Notice and Map.--Within 6 months of the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the 
Secretary shall--
          (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice 
        containing a legal description of the sites and rights-
        of-way to be acquired under this subsection; and
          (2) file copies of a map of such sites and rights-of-
        way with the Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, 
        the State of Nevada, the Archivist of the United 
        States, the Board of Lincoln County Commissioners, the 
        Board of Nye County Commissioners, and the Caliente 
        City Council.
Such map and legal description shall have the same force and 
effect as if they were included in this Act. The Secretary may 
correct clerical and typographical errors and legal 
descriptions and make minor adjustments in the boundaries.
    (f) Improvements.--The Secretary shall make improvements to 
existing roadways selected for heavy-haul truck transport 
between Caliente, Nevada, and the interim storage facility site 
as necessary to facilitate year-round safe transport of spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
    (g) National Environmental Policy Act.--The Secretary's 
activities in connection with the development of intermodal 
transfer capability and improvements to existing roadways 
pursuant to this section shall be considered preliminary 
decisionmaking activities for purposes of judicial review. 
Notwithstanding any other law, such activities shall not 
require the preparation of an environmental impact statement 
under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), or any environmental review 
under subparagraph (E) or (F) of section 102(2) of such Act.
    (h) Local Government Involvement.--The Commission shall 
enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of 
Caliente and Lincoln County, Nevada, to provide advice to the 
Commission regarding intermodal transfer and to facilitate on-
site representation. Reasonable expenses of such representation 
shall be paid by the Secretary.
    (i) Benefits Agreement.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary shall offer to enter 
        into an agreement with Lincoln County, Nevada 
        concerning the integrated management system.
          (2) Agreement content.--Any agreement shall contain 
        such terms and conditions, including such financial and 
        institutional arrangements, as the Secretary and 
        agreement entity determine to be reasonable and 
        appropriate and shall contain such provisions as are 
        necessary to preserve any right to participation or 
        compensation of Lincoln County, Nevada.
          (3) Amendment.--An agreement entered into under this 
        subsection may be amended only with the mutual consent 
        of the parties to the amendment and terminated only in 
        accordance with paragraph (4).
          (4) Termination.--The Secretary shall terminate the 
        agreement under this subsection if any major element of 
        the integrated management system may not be completed.
          (5) Limitation.--Only 1 agreement may be in effect at 
        any one time.
          (6) Judicial review.--Decisions of the Secretary 
        under this section are not subject to judicial review.
    (j) Content of Agreement.--
          (1) Schedule.--In addition to the benefits to which 
        Lincoln County is entitled to under this title, the 
        Secretary shall make payments under the benefits 
        agreement in accordance with the following schedule:

                            Benefits Schedule

                          [Amounts in millions]

        Event:                                                   Payment
          (A) Annual payments prior to first receipt of spent fuel  $2.5
          (B) Annual payments beginning upon first spent fuel 
           receipt................................................    $5
          (C) Payment upon closure of the intermodal transfer 
           facility...............................................    $5

          (2) Definitions.--For purposes of this section, the 
        term--
                  (A) ``spent fuel'' means high-level 
                radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel; and
                  (B) ``first spent fuel receipt'' does not 
                include receipt of spent fuel or high-level 
                radioactive waste for purposes of testing or 
                operational demonstration.
          (3) Annual payments.--Annual payments prior to first 
        spent fuel receipt under paragraph (1)(A) shall be made 
        on the date of execution of the benefits agreement and 
        thereafter on the anniversary date of such execution. 
        Annual payments after the first spent fuel receipt 
        until closure of the facility under paragraph (1)(C) 
        shall be made on the anniversary date of such first 
        spent fuel receipt.
          (4) Reduction.--If the first spent fuel payment under 
        paragraph (1)(B) is made within 6 months after the last 
        annual payment prior to the receipt of spent fuel under 
        paragraph (1)(A), such first spent fuel payment under 
        paragraph (1)(B) shall be reduced by an amount equal to 
        1/12 of such annual payment under paragraph (1)(A) for 
        each full month less than 6 that has not elapsed since 
        the last annual payment under paragraph (1)(A).
          (5) Restrictions.--The Secretary may not restrict the 
        purposes for which the payments under this section may 
        be used.
          (6) Dispute.--In the event of a dispute concerning 
        such plan, the Secretary shall resolve such dispute, 
        consistent with this Act and applicable State law.
          (7) Construction.--The signature of the Secretary on 
        a valid benefits agreement under this section shall 
        constitute a commitment by the United States to make 
        payments in accordance with such agreement under 
        section 301(c)(2).
    (k) Initial Land Conveyances.--
          (1) Conveyances of public lands.--One hundred and 
        twenty days after enactment of this Act, all right, 
        title and interest of the United States in the property 
        described in paragraph (2), and improvements thereon, 
        together with all necessary easements for utilities and 
        ingress and egress to such property, including, but not 
        limited to, the right to improve those easements, are 
        conveyed by operation of law to the County of Lincoln, 
        Nevada, except that any lands conveyed to the County of 
        Lincoln under this subsection that are subject to a 
        Federal grazing permit or lease or a similar federally 
        granted permit or lease shall be conveyed between 60 
        and 120 days of the earliest time the Federal agency 
        administering or granting the permit or lease would be 
        able to legally terminate such right under the statutes 
        and regulations existing at the date of enactment of 
        this Act, unless Lincoln County and the affected holder 
        of the permit or lease negotiate an agreement that 
        allows for an earlier conveyance.
          (2) Special conveyances.--Notwithstanding any other 
        law, the following public lands shall be conveyed under 
        paragraph (1) to the County of Lincoln, Nevada:
                  (A) Lincoln County, Parcel B, Community 
                Expansion Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4S.................  67 E............  MDM.............  5...............  E\1/2\NE\1/4\,         320  
                                                                            W\1/2\NW\1/4\,             
                                                                            NW\1/4\SW\1/4\,            
                                                                            E\1/2\SE\1/4\,             
                                                                            SW\1/4\SE\1/4\.            
                                                         6...............  NE\1/4\...................      160  
                                                         7...............  N\1/2\NW\1/4\.         200  
                                                                            SW\1/4\NW\1/4\,            
                                                                            S\1/2\SW\1/4\.             
                                                         8...............  S\1/2\SE\1/4\....       80  
                                                         9...............  SW\1/4\, W\1/2\SE\1/4\, SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, W\1/2\NE\1/4\SE\1/             
                                                                            4\. E\1/2\SW\1/            
                                                                            4\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\.                          
                                                         9...............  N\1/2\N\1/2\..............      160  
                                                         17..............  NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\.                          
                                                         18..............  SE\1/4\NE\1/4\...       40  
4SA................  66E.............  MDM.............  12..............  S\1/2\NE\1/4\,         240  
                                                                            SE\1/4\.                            
                                                         13..............  NE\1/4\, NW\1/4\SE\1/4\.                          
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                               Total                     1,942.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  (B) Lincoln County, Parcel E, Pioche 
                Community Expansion Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IN.................  67 E............  MDM.............  9...............  N\1/2\, N\1/2\S\1/     480  
                                                                            2\.                                 
                                                         11..............  SW\1/4\...................      160  
                                                         12..............  W\1/2\SW\1/4\,         120  
                                                                            N\1/2\NE\1/                
                                                                            4\SW\1/4\, N\1/            
                                                                            2\NE\1/4\SE\1/4\.                          
                                                         13..............  NW\1/4\NW\1/            15  
                                                                            4\NW\1/4\, N\1/            
                                                                            2\SW\1/4\NW\1/4\NW\1/4\.          
                                                         15..............  N\1/2\NE\1/4\....       80  
                                                         16..............  N\1/2\NE\1/4\,     \1\ 110  
                                                                            SE\1/4\NE\1/4\,            
                                                                            SE\1/4\ (excluding                  
                                                                            mineral patents).                   
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                               Total                       985  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Approximately.                                                                                              

                  (C) Lincoln County, Parcel F, Panaca 
                Community Expansion Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2S.................  68 E............  MDM.............  2...............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         3...............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         3...............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         4...............  N\1/2\SE\1/4\,         140  
                                                                            N\1/2\SW\1/                
                                                                            4\SE\1/4\, SE\1/           
                                                                            4\SE\1/4\.                 
                                                         9...............  E\1/2\NE\1/4\,         340  
                                                                            E\1/2\W\1/                 
                                                                            2\NE\1/4\, SE\1/           
                                                                            4\NE\1/4\, E\1/            
                                                                            2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\SW\1/4\, SW\1/4\SE\1/4\, E\1/2\SE\1/4\.                          
                                                         10..............  All.......................      640  
                                                         11..............  N\1/2\....................      320  
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                               Total                     2,080  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  (D) Lincoln County, Parcel J. Alamo Community 
                and Airport Expansion Area:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7S.................  60 E............  MDM.............  1...............  E\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         12..............  NE\1/4\...................      160  
7S.................  61 E............  MDM.............  4...............  W\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         5...............  All.......................      640  
                                                         6...............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         7...............  N\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         8...............  All.......................      640  
                                                         9...............  W\1/2\....................      320  
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                               Total                     1,920  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  (E) Lincoln County, Parcel M, Crestline 
                Industrial Site:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Township             Range             Mer.              Sec.                Subdivision           Acres  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3S.................  70 E............  MDM.............  14..............  S\1/2\....................      320  
                                                         23..............  All.......................      640  
                                                                                                      ----------
                                                                               Total                       960  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

          (3) Evidence of title transfer.--Upon the request of 
        the County of Lincoln, Nevada, the Secretary of the 
        Interior shall provide evidence of title transfer.

SEC. 202. TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.

    (a) Transportation Readiness.--The Secretary shall take 
those actions that are necessary and appropriate to ensure that 
the Secretary is able to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste from sites designated by the contract 
holders to mainline transportation facilities beginning not 
later than November 30, 1999. As soon as is practicable 
following enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall analyze 
each specific reactor facility designated by contract holders 
in the order of priority established in the emplacement 
schedule, and develop a logistical plan to assure the 
Secretary's ability to transport spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste.
    (b) Transportation Planning.--In conjunction with the 
development of the logistical plan in accordance with 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall update and modify, as 
necessary, the Secretary's transportation institutional plans 
to ensure that institutional issues are addressed and resolved 
on a schedule to support the commencement of transportation of 
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste to the 
interim storage facility no later than November 30, 1999. Among 
other things, such planning shall provide a schedule and 
process for addressing and implementing, as necessary, 
transportation routing plans, transportation contracting plans, 
transportation training in accordance with Section 203, and 
public education regarding transportation of spent nuclear fuel 
and nuclear waste; and transportation tracking programs.

SEC. 203. TRANSPORTATION REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Package Certification.--No spent nuclear fuel or high-
level radioactive waste may be transported by or for the 
Secretary under this Act except in packages that have been 
certified for such purposes by the Commission.
    (b) State Notification.--The Secretary shall abide by 
regulations of the Commission regarding advance notification of 
State and local governments prior to transportation of spent 
nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste under this Act.
    (c) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide 
technical assistance and funds to States, units of local 
government, and Indian tribes through whose jurisdiction the 
Secretary plans to transport substantial amounts of spent 
nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste for public safety 
officials of appropriate units of local government. Training 
shall cover procedures required for safe routine transportation 
of these materials, as well as procedures for dealing with 
emergency response situations. The Secretary's duty to provide 
technical and financial assistance under this subsection shall 
be limited to amounts specified in annual appropriations.
    (d) Public Education.--The Secretary shall conduct a 
program to educate the public regarding the transportation of 
spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, with an 
emphasis upon those States, units of local government, and 
Indian tribes through whose jurisdiction the Secretary plans to 
transport substantial amounts of spent nuclear fuel or high-
level radioactive waste.
    (e) Use of Private carriers.--The Secretary, in providing 
for the transportation of spent nuclear fuel under this Act, 
shall utilize by contract private industry to the fullest 
extent possible in each aspect of such transportation. The 
Secretary shall use direct Federal services for such 
transportation only upon a determination by the Secretary of 
Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary, the private 
industry is unable or unwilling to provide such transportation 
services at a reasonable cost.

SEC. 204. INTERIM STORAGE.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary shall design, construct, 
and operate a facility for the interim storage of spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste at the interim storage 
facility site. The interim storage facility shall be subject to 
licensing pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 in 
accordance with the Commission's regulations governing the 
licensing of independent spent fuel storage installations, 
which regulations shall be amended by the Commission as 
necessary to implement the provisions of this Act. The interim 
storage facility shall commence operation in phases by November 
30, 1999.
    (b) Schedule.--The Secretary shall proceed forthwith and 
without further delay with all activities necessary to begin 
accepting spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste 
at the interim storage facility at the Yucca Mountain site by 
November 30, 1999, except that:
          (1) The Secretary shall not begin any construction 
        activities at the Yucca Mountain site before October 1, 
        1998.
          (2) The Secretary shall cease all activities (except 
        necessary termination activities) at the Yucca Mountain 
        site and undertake activities to establish an interim 
        storage facility and a repository at an alternative 
        site if--
                  (A) the President designates an alternative 
                site and the alternative site is approved by 
                law, or
                  (B) the Secretary determines, in his 
                discretion, on or before October 1, 1998, based 
                on a preponderance of the information available 
                at such time, that the Yucca Mountain site is 
                unsuitable for development as a repository 
                because of a substantial likelihood that a 
                repository of useful size cannot be designed, 
                licensed, and constructed at the Yucca Mountain 
                site.
          (3) In the event the Secretary makes the 
        determination under paragraph (2)(B) that the Yucca 
        Mountain site is unsuitable for development as a 
        repository and the Secretary has not constructed an 
        alternative interim storage facility site that accepts 
        spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste by November 
        30, 1999, the Secretary shall begin construction 
        activities for an interim storage facility at the 
        interim storage facility site. The interim storage 
        facility constructed under this paragraph shall begin 
        acceptance of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste within one year after construction 
        begins under this paragraph.
    (c) Design.--
          (1) The interim storage facility shall be designed in 
        two phases in order to commence operations no later 
        than November 30, 1999. The design of the interim 
        storage facility shall provide for the use of storage 
        technologies, licensed, approved, or certified by the 
        Commission for use at the interim storage facility as 
        necessary to ensure compatibility between the interim 
        storage facility and contract holders' spent nuclear 
        fuel and facilities, and to facilitate the Secretary's 
        ability to meet the Secretary's obligations under this 
        Act.
          (2) The Secretary shall consent to an amendment to 
        the contracts to provide for reimbursement to contract 
        holders for transportable storage systems purchased by 
        contract holders if the Secretary determines that it is 
        cost effective to use such transportable storage 
        systems as part of the integrated management system, 
        provided that the Secretary shall not be required to 
        expend any funds to modify contract holders' storage or 
        transport systems or to seek additional regulatory 
        approvals in order to use such systems.
    (d) Licensing.--
          (1) Phases.--The interim storage facility shall be 
        licensed by the Commission in two phases in order to 
        commence operations no later than November 30, 1999.
          (2) First phase.--No later than 12 months after the 
        date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
        1996, the Secretary shall submit to the Commission an 
        application for a license for the first phase of the 
        interim storage facility. The Environmental Report and 
        Safety Analysis Report submitted in support of such 
        license application shall be consistent with the scope 
        of authority requested in the license application. The 
        license issued for the first phase of the interim 
        storage facility shall have a term of 20 years and 
        shall be renewable for additional terms upon 
        application of the Secretary. The interim storage 
        facility licensed in the first phase shall have a 
        capacity of not more than 20,000 MTU. The Commission 
        shall issue a final decision granting or denying the 
        application for the first phase license no later than 
        16 months from the date of the submittal of the 
        application for such license.
          (3) Second phase.--No later than 30 months after the 
        date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
        1996, the Secretary shall submit to the Commission an 
        application for a license for the second phase interim 
        storage facility. The license for the second phase 
        facility shall authorize a storage capacity of 100,000 
        MTU. The license for the second phase shall have an 
        initial term of up to 100 years, and shall be renewable 
        for additional terms upon application of the Secretary. 
        The second phase of the interim storage facility shall 
        commence operations no later than December 31, 2002.
    (e) Additional Authority.--
          (1) Construction.--For purposes of complying with 
        subsection (a), the Secretary may commence site 
        preparation for the interim storage facility as soon as 
        practicable after the date of enactment of the Nuclear 
        Waste Policy Act of 1996 and shall commence 
        construction of each phase of the interim storage 
        facility subsequent to submittal of the license 
        application for such phase except that the Commission 
        shall issue an order suspending such construction at 
        any time if the Commission determines that such 
        construction poses an unreasonable risk to public 
        health and safety or the environment. The Commission 
        shall terminate all or part of such order upon a 
        determination that the Secretary has taken appropriate 
        action to eliminate such risk.
          (2) Facility use.--Notwithstanding any otherwise 
        applicable licensing requirement, the Secretary may 
        utilize any facility owned by the Federal Government on 
        the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 
        of 1996 within the boundaries of the interim storage 
        facility site.
          (3) Emplacement of fuel and waste.--Subject to 
        paragraph (h), once the Secretary has achieved the 
        annual acceptance rate for spent nuclear fuel from 
        civilian nuclear power reactors established pursuant to 
        the contracts executed prior to the date of enactment 
        of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary 
        shall accept, in an amount not less than 25% of the 
        difference between the contractual acceptance rate and 
        the annual emplacement rate for spent nuclear fuel from 
        civilian nuclear power reactors established under 
        section 407(a), the following radioactive materials:
                  (A) spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
                radioactive waste of domestic origin from 
                civilian nuclear power reactors that have 
                permanently ceased operation on or before the 
                date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy 
                Act of 1996;
                  (B) spent nuclear fuel from foreign research 
                reactors, as necessary to promote non-
                proliferation objectives; and
                  (C) spent nuclear fuel, including spent 
                nuclear fuel from naval reactors, and high-
                level radioactive waste from atomic energy 
                defense activities.
    (f) National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.--
          (1) Preliminary decisionmaking activities.--The 
        Secretary's activities under this section, including 
        the selection of a site for the interim storage 
        facility, the preparation and submittal of a license 
        application and supporting documentation, the 
        construction and operation of any facility, and 
        facility use pursuant to paragraph (d)(2) of this 
        section shall be considered preliminary decisionmaking 
        activities for purposes of judicial review. The 
        Secretary shall not prepare an environmental impact 
        statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) 
        or any environmental review under subparagraph (E) or 
        (F) of such Act before conducting these activities.
          (2) Environmental impact statement.--
                  (A) Final decision.--A final decision by the 
                Commission to grant or deny a license 
                application for the first or second phase of 
                the interim storage facility shall be 
                accompanied by an Environmental Impact 
                Statement prepared under section 102(2)(C) of 
                the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
                (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). In preparing such 
                Environmental Impact Statement, the 
                Commission--
                          (i) shall ensure that the scope of 
                        the Environmental Impact Statement is 
                        consistent with the scope of the 
                        licensing action, and
                          (ii) shall analyze the impacts of the 
                        transportation of spent nuclear fuel 
                        and high-level radioactive waste to the 
                        interim storage facility in a generic 
                        manner.
                  (B) Considerations.--Such Environmental 
                Impact Statement shall not consider--
                          (i) the need for the interim storage 
                        facility, including any individual 
                        component thereof;
                          (ii) the time of the initial 
                        availability of the interim storage 
                        facility;
                          (iii) any alternatives to the storage 
                        of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
                        radioactive waste at the interim 
                        storage facility;
                          (iv) any alternatives to the site of 
                        the facility as designated by the 
                        Secretary in accordance with subsection 
                        (a);
                          (v) any alternatives to the design 
                        criteria for such facility or any 
                        individual component thereof, as 
                        specified by the Secretary in the 
                        license application; or
                          (vi) the environmental impacts of the 
                        storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-
                        level radioactive waste at the interim 
                        storage facility beyond the initial 
                        term of the license or the term of the 
                        renewal period for which a license 
                        renewal application is made.
    (g) Judicial Review.--Judicial review of the Commission's 
environmental impact statement under the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be 
consolidated with judicial review of the Commission's licensing 
decision. No court shall have jurisdiction to enjoin the 
construction or operation of the interim storage facility prior 
to its final decision on review of the Commission's licensing 
action.
    (h) Waste Confidence.--The Secretary's obligation to 
construct and operate the interim storage facility in 
accordance with this section and the Secretary's obligation to 
develop an integrated management system in accordance with the 
provisions of this Act, shall provide sufficient and 
independent grounds for any further findings by the Commission 
of reasonable assurance that spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste will be disposed of safely and on a timely 
basis for purposes of the Commission's decision to grant or 
amend any license to operate any civilian nuclear power reactor 
under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011, et seq.).
    (i) Storage of Other Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level 
Radioactive Waste.--No later than 18 months following the date 
of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the 
Commission shall, by rule, establish criteria for the storage 
in the interim storage facility of fuel and waste listed in 
paragraph (d)(3) (A) through (C), to the extent such criteria 
are not included in regulations issued by the Commission and 
existing on the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy 
Act of 1996. Following establishment of such criteria, the 
Secretary shall seek authority, as necessary, to store fuel and 
waste listed in paragraph (d)(3) (A) through (C) at the interim 
storage facility. None of the activities carried out pursuant 
to this paragraph shall delay, or otherwise affect, the 
development, construction, licensing, or operation of the 
interim storage facility.
    (j) Savings Clause.--The Commission shall, by rule, 
establish procedures for the licensing of any technology for 
the dry storage of spent nuclear fuel by rule and without, to 
the maximum extend possible, the need for site-specific 
approvals by the Commission. Nothing in this Act shall affect 
any such procedures, or any licenses or approvals issued 
pursuant to such procedures in effect on the date of enactment.

SEC. 205. PERMANENT REPOSITORY.

    (a) Repository Characterization.--
          (1) Guidelines.--The guidelines promulgated by the 
        Secretary and published at 10 CFR part 960 are annulled 
        and revoked and the Secretary shall make no assumptions 
        or conclusions about the licensability of the Yucca 
        Mountain site as a repository by reference to such 
        guidelines.
          (2) Site characterization activities.--The Secretary 
        shall carry out appropriate site characterization 
        activities at the Yucca Mountain site in accordance 
        with the Secretary's program approach to site 
        characterization. The Secretary shall modify or 
        eliminate those site characterization activities 
        designed only to demonstrate the suitability of the 
        site under the guidelines referenced in paragraph (1).
          (3) Schedule date.--Consistent with the schedule set 
        forth in the program approach, as modified to be 
        consistent with the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996. 
        No later than December 31, 2001, the Secretary shall 
        apply to the Commission for authorization to construct 
        a repository. If, at any time prior to the filing of 
        such application, the Secretary determines that the 
        Yucca Mountain site cannot satisfy the Commission's 
        regulations applicable to the licensing of a geologic 
        repository, the Secretary shall terminate site 
        characterization activities at the site, notify 
        Congress and the State of Nevada of the Secretary's 
        determination and the reasons therefor, and recommend 
        to Congress not later than 6 months after such 
        determination further actions, including the enactment 
        of legislation, that may be needed to manage the 
        Nation's spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
        waste.
          (4) Maximizing capacity.--In developing an 
        application for authorization to construct the 
        repository, the Secretary shall seek to maximize the 
        capacity of the repository, in the most cost-effective 
        manner, consistent with the need for disposal capacity.
    (b) Repository Licensing.--Upon the completion of any 
licensing proceeding for the first phrase of the interim 
storage facility, the Commission shall amend its regulations 
governing the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste in geologic repositories to the extent 
necessary to comply with this Act. Subject to subsections (c), 
such regulations shall provide for the licensing of the 
repository according to the following procedures.
          (1) Construction authorization.--The Commission shall 
        grant the Secretary a construction authorization for 
        the repository upon determining that there is 
        reasonable assurance that spent nuclear fuel and high-
        level radioactive waste can be disposed of in the 
        repository--
                  (A) in conformity with the Secretary's 
                application, the provisions of this Act, and 
                the regulations of the Commission;
                  (B) without reasonable risk to the health and 
                safety of the public;
                  (C) consistent with the common defense and 
                security; and
                  (D) consistent with the most economic use of 
                the Nation's resources.
          (2) License.--Following substantial completion of 
        construction and the filing of any additional 
        information needed to complete the license application, 
        the Commission shall issue a license to dispose of 
        spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in 
        the repository if the Commission determines that the 
        repository has been constructed and will operate--
                  (A) in conformity with the Secretary's 
                application, the provisions of this Act, and 
                the regulations of the Commission;
                  (B) without unreasonable risk to the health 
                and safety of the public;
                  (C) consistent with the common defense and 
                security; and
                  (D) consistent with the most economic use of 
                the Nation's resources.
          (3) Closure.--After emplacing spending nuclear fuel 
        and high-level radioactive waste in the repository and 
        collecting sufficient confirmatory data on repository 
        performance to reasonably confirm the basis for 
        repository closure consistent with the Commission's 
        regulations applicable to the licensing of a 
        repository, as modified in accordance with this Act, 
        the Secretary shall apply to the Commission to amend 
        the license to permit permanent closure of the 
        repository. The Commission shall grant such license 
        amendment upon finding that there is reasonable 
        assurance that the repository can be permanently 
        closed--
                  (A) in conformity with the Secretary's 
                application to amend the license, the 
                provisions of this Act, and the regulations of 
                the Commission;
                  (B) without unreasonable risk to the health 
                and safety; and
                  (C) consistent with the common defense and 
                security; and
                  (D) consistent with the most economic use of 
                the Nation's resources.
          (4) Post-closure--The Secretary shall take those 
        actions necessary and appropriate at the Yucca Mountain 
        site to prevent any activity at the site subsequent to 
        repository closure that poses an unreasonable risk of--
                  (A) breaching the repository's engineered or 
                geologic barriers; or
                  (B) increasing the exposure of individual 
                members of the public to radiation beyond the 
                release standard established in subsection 
                (d)(1).
    (c) Modification of Repository Licensing Procedure.--The 
Commission's regulations shall provide for the modification of 
the repository licensing procedure, as appropriate, in the 
event that the Secretary seeks a license to permit the 
emplacement in the repository, on a retrievable basis, of spent 
nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste as is necessary to 
provide the Secretary with sufficient confirmatory data on 
repository performance to reasonably confirm the basis for 
repository closure consistent with applicable regulations.
    (d) Repository Licensing Standards.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, the Administrator of the Environmental 
Protection Agency shall not promulgate, by rule or otherwise, 
standards for protection of the public from releases of 
radioactive materials or radioactivity from the repository and 
any such standards existing on the date of enactment of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 shall not be incorporated in 
the Commission's licensing regulations. The Commission's 
repository licensing determinations for the protection of the 
public shall be based solely on a finding whether the 
repository can be operated in conformance with the overall 
system performance standard established in paragraph (1), 
applied in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (2). The 
Commission shall amend its regulations in accordance with 
subsection (b) to incorporate each of the following licensing 
standards:
          (1) Establishment of overall system performance 
        standard.--The standard for protection of the public 
        from release of radioactive material or radioactivity 
        from the repository shall prohibit releases that would 
        expose an average member of the general population in 
        the vicinity of the Yucca Mountain site to an annual 
        dose in excess of 100 millirems. Such standard shall 
        constitute an overall system performance standard.
           (2) Application of overall system performance 
        standard.--The Commission shall issue the license if it 
        finds reasonable assurance that for the first 1,000 
        years following the commencement of repository 
        operations, the overall system performance standard 
        will be met based on a probabilistic evaluation, as 
        appropriate, of compliance with the overall system 
        performance standard in paragraph (1)
           (3) Factors.--For purposes of making the finding in 
        paragraph (2)--
                   (A) the Commission shall not consider 
                catastrophic events where the health 
                consequences of individual events themselves 
                can be reasonably assumed to exceed the health 
                consequences due to the impact of the events on 
                repository performance;
                   (B) for the purpose of this section, an 
                average member of the general population in the 
                vicinity of the Yucca Mountain site means a 
                person whose physiology, age, general health, 
                agricultural practices, eating habits, and 
                social behavior represent the average for 
                persons living in the vicinity of the site. 
                Extremes in social behavior, eating habits, or 
                other relevant practices or characteristics 
                shall not be considered, and
                   (C) the Commission shall assume that, 
                following repository closure, the inclusion of 
                engineered barriers and the Secretary's post-
                closure actions at the Yucca Mountain site, in 
                accordance with subsection (b)(4), shall be 
                sufficient to--
                           (i) prevent any human activity at 
                        the site that poses an unreasonable 
                        risk of breaching the repository's 
                        engineered or geologic barriers; and
                           (ii) prevent any increase in the 
                        exposure of individual members of the 
                        public to radiation beyond the 
                        allowable limits specified in paragraph 
                        (1).
           (4) Additional analysis.--The Commission shall 
        analyze the overall system performance through the use 
        of probabilistic evaluation that used best estimate 
        assumptions, data, and methods for the period 
        commencing after the first 1,000 years of operation of 
        the repository and terminating at 10,000 years after 
        the commencement of operation of the repository.
    (e) National Environmental Policy Act.--
           (1) Submission of statement.--Construction and 
        operation of the repository shall be considered a major 
        Federal action significantly affecting the quality of 
        the human environment for purposes of the National 
        Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
        seq.). The Secretary shall submit an environmental 
        impact statement on the construction and operation of 
        the repository to the Commission with the license 
        application and shall supplement such environmental 
        impact statement as appropriate.
           (2) Considerations.--For purposes of complying with 
        the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
        Act of 1969 and this section, the Secretary shall not 
        consider in the environmental impact statement the need 
        for the repository, or alternative sites or designs for 
        the repository.
           (3) Adoption by Commission.--The Secretary's 
        environmental impact statement and any supplements 
        thereto shall, to the extent practicable, be adopted by 
        the Commission in connection with the issuance by the 
        Commission of a construction authorization under 
        subsection (b)(1), a license under subsection (b)(2), 
        or a license amendment under subsection (b)(3). To the 
        extent such statement or supplement is adopted by the 
        Commission, such adoption shall be deemed to also 
        satisfy the responsibilities of the Commission under 
        the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and no 
        further consideration shall be required, except that 
        nothing in this subsection shall affect any independent 
        responsibilities of the Commission to protect the 
        public health and safety under the Atomic Energy Act of 
        1954. In any such statement or supplement prepared with 
        respect to the repository, the Commission shall not 
        consider the need for a repository, or alternate sites 
        or designs for the repository.
    (f) Judicial Review.--No court shall have jurisdiction to 
enjoin issuance of the Commission repository licensing 
regulations prior to its final decision on review of such 
regulations.

SEC. 206. LAND WITHDRAWAL.

    (a) Withdrawal and Reservation.--
          (1) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, 
        the interim storage facility site and the Yucca 
        Mountain site, as described in subsection (b), are 
        withdrawn from all forms of entry, appropriation, and 
        disposal under the public land laws, including the 
        mineral leasing laws, the geothermal leasing laws, the 
        material sale laws, and the mining laws.
          (2) Jurisdiction.--Jurisdiction of any land within 
        the interim storage facility site and the Yucca 
        Mountain site managed by the Secretary of the Interior 
        or any other Federal officer is transferred to the 
        Secretary.
          (3) Reservation.--The interim storage facility site 
        and the Yucca Mountain site are reserved for the use of 
        the Secretary for the construction and operation, 
        respectively, of the interim storage facility and the 
        repository and activities associated with the purposes 
        of this title.
    (b) Land Description.--
          (1) Boundaries.--The boundaries depicted on the map 
        entitled ``Interim Storage Facility Site Withdrawal 
        Map,'' dated March 13, 1995, and on file with the 
        Secretary, are established as the boundaries of the 
        Interim Storage Facility site.
          (2) Boundaries.--The boundaries depicted on the map 
        entitled ``Yucca Mountain Site Withdrawal Map,'' dated 
        March 13, 1995, and on file with the Secretary, are 
        established as the boundaries of the Yucca Mountain 
        site.
          (3) Notice and maps.--Within 6 months of the date of 
        the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, 
        the Secretary shall--
                  (A) publish in the Federal Register a notice 
                containing a legal description of the interim 
                storage facility site; and
                  (B) file copies of the maps described in 
                paragraph (1), and the legal description of the 
                interim storage facility site with the 
                Congress, the Secretary of the Interior, the 
                Governor of Nevada, and the Archivist of the 
                United States.
          (4) Notice and maps.--Concurrent with the Secretary's 
        application to the Commission for authority to 
        construct the repository, the Secretary shall--
                  (A) publish in the Federal Register a notice 
                containing a legal description of the Yucca 
                Mountain site; and
                  (B) file copies of the maps described in 
                paragraph (2), and the legal description of the 
                Yucca Mountain site with the Congress, the 
                Secretary of the Interior, the Governor of 
                Nevada, and the Archivist of the United States.
          (5) Construction.--The maps and legal descriptions of 
        the interim storage facility site and the Yucca 
        Mountain site referred to in this subsection shall have 
        the same force and effect as if they were included in 
        this Act. The Secretary may correct clerical and 
        typographical errors in the maps and legal descriptions 
        and make minor adjustments in the boundaries of the 
        sites.

SEC. 207. PERMANENT DISPOSAL ALTERNATIVES.

    (a) Study.--Within 270 days after the date of the enactment 
of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall 
report to Congress on alternatives for the permanent disposal 
of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The 
report under this section shall include--
          (1) an assessment of the current state of knowledge 
        of alternative technologies for the treatment and 
        disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste,
          (2) an estimate of the costs of research and 
        development of alternative technologies;
          (3) an analysis of institutional factors associated 
        with alternative technologies, including international 
        aspects of a decision of the United States to proceed 
        with the development of alternative technologies 
        (including nuclear proliferation concerns) as an option 
        for nuclear waste management and disposal;
          (4) a full discussion of environmental and public 
        health and safety aspects of alternative technologies;
          (5) recommendations on alternative ways to structure 
        an effort in research, development, and demonstration 
        with respect to alternative technologies; and
          (6) the recommendations of the Secretary with respect 
        to research, development, and demonstration of the most 
        promising alternative technologies for the treatment 
        and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
        radioactive waste.
    (b) Office of Nuclear Waste Disposal Research.--(1) There 
is hereby established an Office of Nuclear Waste Disposal 
Research within the Office of Energy Research of the Department 
of Energy. The Office shall be headed by the Director, who 
shall be a member of the Senior Executive Service appointed by 
the Director of the Office of Energy Research, and compensated 
at a rate determined by applicable law.
          (2) The Director of the Office of Nuclear Waste 
        Research shall be responsible for carrying out 
        research, development, and demonstration activities on 
        alternative technologies for the treatment and disposal 
        of high-level nuclear radioactive waste and spent 
        nuclear fuel, subject to the general supervision of the 
        Secretary. The Director of the Office shall be directly 
        responsible to the Director of the Office of Energy 
        Research, and the first such Director shall be 
        appointed within 30 days of the date of enactment of 
        the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996.
          (3) In carrying out his responsibilities under this 
        Section, the Secretary may make grants to, or enter 
        into contracts with, the Nuclear Waste Research 
        Consortium described in paragraph (4) of this section 
        and other persons.
          (4)(A) Within 60 days of the date of enactment of the 
        Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, the Secretary shall 
        establish a university-based Nuclear Waste Disposal 
        Consortium involving leading universities and 
        institutions, national laboratories, the commercial 
        nuclear industry, and other organizations to 
        investigate technical and institutional feasibility of 
        alternative technologies for the treatment and disposal 
        of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
          (B) The Nuclear Waste Disposal Consortium shall 
        develop a research plan and budget to achieve the 
        following objectives by 2005:
                  (i) identify promising alternative 
                technologies for the treatment and disposal of 
                spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 
                waste.
                  (ii) conduct research and develop conceptual 
                designs for promising alternative technologies, 
                including estimated costs and institutional 
                requirements for continued research and 
                development; and
                  (iii) identify and assess potential impacts 
                of promising alternative technologies on the 
                environment.
          (C) In 2000, and again in 2005, the Nuclear Waste 
        Disposal Consortium shall report to Congress on the 
        progress being made in achieving the objectives of 
        paragraph (2).
          (5) The Director of the Office of Nuclear Waste 
        Disposal Research shall annually prepare and submit a 
        report to the Congress on the activities and 
        expenditures of the Office.

                  TITLE III--FUNDING AND ORGANIZATION

SEC. 301. PROGRAM FUNDING.

    (a) Contracts.--
          (1) Authority of secretary.--In the performance of 
        the Secretary's functions under this Act, the Secretary 
        is authorized to enter into contracts with any person 
        who generates or holds title to spent nuclear fuel or 
        high level radioactive waste of domestic origin for the 
        acceptance of title and possession, transportation, 
        interim storage, and disposal of such waste or spent 
        fuel. Such contracts shall provide for payment of 
        annual fees to the Secretary in the amounts set by the 
        Secretary pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3). 
        Subsequent to the date of enactment of the Nuclear 
        Waste Policy Act of 1996, the contracts executed under 
        section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 
        shall continue in effect under this Act, provided that 
        the Secretary shall consent to an amendment to such 
        contracts as necessary to implement the provisions of 
        this Act.
          (2) Annual fees.--For electricity generated by 
        civilian nuclear power reactors and sold on or after 
        January 7, 1983, the fee under paragraph (1) shall be 
        equal to 1.0 mill per kilowatt hour generated and sold.
          (3) One-time fee.--For spent nuclear fuel or 
        solidified high-level radioactive waste derived from 
        spent nuclear fuel, which fuel was used to generate 
        electricity in a civilian nuclear power reactor prior 
        to January 7, 1983, the fee shall be in an amount 
        equivalent to an average charge of 1.0 mill per 
        kilowatt-hour for electricity generated by such spent 
        nuclear fuel, or such solidified high-level waste 
        derived therefrom, and incorporated in the contracts. 
        Payment of such one-time fee prior to the date of 
        enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996 
        pursuant to the contracts, including any interest due 
        pursuant to such contracts, shall be paid to the 
        Nuclear Waste Fund. In paying such a fee, the person 
        delivering spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive 
        wastes derived therefrom, to the Secretary shall have 
        no further financial obligation to the Federal 
        Government for the long-term storage and permanent 
        disposal of such fuel or high-level radioactive waste.
          (4) Adjustments to fee.--The Secretary shall annually 
        review the amount of the fees established by paragraphs 
        (2) and (3), together with the existing balance of the 
        Nuclear Waste Fund on the date of enactment of the 
        Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, to evaluate whether 
        collection of the fee will provide sufficient revenues 
        to offset the costs as defined in subsection (c)(2). In 
        the event the Secretary determines that the revenues 
        being collected are either insufficient or excessive to 
        recover the costs incurred by the Federal Government 
        that are specified in subsection (c)(2), the Secretary 
        shall propose an adjustment to the fee to ensure full 
        cost recovery. The Secretary shall immediately transmit 
        the proposal for such an adjustment to both houses of 
        Congress.
    (b) Advance Contracting Requirement.--
          (1) In general.--
                  (A) License issuance and renewal.--The 
                Commission shall not issue or renew a license 
                to any person to use a utilization or 
                production facility under the authority or 
                section 103 or 104 of the Atomic Energy Act of 
                1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134) unless--
                          (i) such person has entered into a 
                        contract under subsection (a) with the 
                        Secretary; or
                          (ii) the Secretary affirms in writing 
                        that such person is actively and in 
                        good faith negotiating with the 
                        Secretary for a contract under this 
                        section.
                  (B) Precondition.--The Commission, as it 
                deems necessary or appropriate, may require as 
                a precondition to the issuance or renewal of a 
                license under section 103 or 104 of the Atomic 
                Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133, 2134) that 
                the applicant for such license shall have 
                entered into an agreement with the Secretary 
                for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and 
                high-level radioactive waste that may result 
                from the use of such license.
          (2) Disposal in repository.--Except as provided in 
        paragraph (1), no spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste generated or owned by any person 
        (other than a department of the United States referred 
        to in section 101 or 102 of title 5, United States 
        Code) may be disposed of by the Secretary in the 
        repository unless the generator or owner of such spent 
        fuel or waste has entered into a contract under 
        subsection (a) with the Secretary by not later than the 
        date on which such generator or owner commences 
        generation of, or takes title to, such spent fuel or 
        waste.
          (3) Assignment.--The rights and duties of contract 
        holders are assignable.
    (c) Nuclear Waste Fund.--
          (1) In general.--The Nuclear Waste Fund established 
        in the Treasury of the United States under section 
        302(c) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 shall 
        continue in effect under this Act and shall consist 
        of--
                  (A) the existing balance in the Nuclear Waste 
                Fund on the date of enactment of the Nuclear 
                Waste Policy Act of 1996; and
                  (B) all receipts, proceeds, and recoveries 
                realized under subsections (a), and (c)(3) 
                subsequent to the date of enactment of the 
                Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, which shall 
                be deposited in the Nuclear Waste Fund 
                immediately upon their realization.
          (2) Use.--The Secretary may make expenditures from 
        the Nuclear Waste Fund, subject to subsections (d), 
        only for purposes of the integrated management system.
          (3) Administration of nuclear waste fund.--
                  (A) In general.--The Secretary of the 
                Treasury shall hold the Nuclear Waste Fund and, 
                after consultation with the Secretary, annually 
                report to the Congress on the financial 
                condition and operations of the Nuclear Waste 
                Fund during the preceding fiscal year.
                  (B) Amounts in excess of current needs.--If 
                the Secretary determines that the Nuclear Waste 
                Fund contains at any time amounts in excess of 
                current needs, the Secretary may request the 
                Secretary of the Treasury to invest such 
                amounts, or any portion of such amounts as the 
                Secretary determines to be appropriate, in 
                obligations of the United States--
                          (i) having maturities determined by 
                        the Secretary of the Treasury to be 
                        appropriate to the needs of the Nuclear 
                        Waste Fund; and
                          (ii) bearing interest at rates 
                        determined to be appropriate by the 
                        Secretary of the Treasury, taking into 
                        consideration the current average 
                        market yield on outstanding marketable 
                        obligations of the United States with 
                        remaining periods to maturity 
                        comparable to the maturities of such 
                        investments, except that the interest 
                        rate on such investments shall not 
                        exceed the average interest rate 
                        applicable to existing borrowings.
                  (C) Exemption.--Receipts, proceeds, and 
                recoveries realized by the Secretary under this 
                section, and expenditures of amounts from the 
                Nuclear Waste Fund, shall be exempt from annual 
                apportionment under the provisions of 
                subchapter II of chapter 15 of title 31, United 
                States Code.
    (d) Budget.--The Secretary shall submit the budget for 
implementation of the Secretary's responsibilities under this 
Act to the Office of Management and Budget annually along with 
the budget of the Department of Energy submitted at such time 
in accordance with chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code. 
The budget shall consist of the estimates made by the Secretary 
of expenditures under this Act and other relevant financial 
matters for the succeeding 3 fiscal years, and shall be 
included in the budget of the United States Government. The 
Secretary may make expenditures from the Waste Fund, subject to 
appropriations, which shall remain available until expended.

SEC. 302. OFFICE OF CIVILIAN RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Continuation of the Office of Civilian Radioactive 
Waste Management.--The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste 
Management established under section 304(a) of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1982 as constituted prior to the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, shall 
continue in effect subsequent to the date of enactment of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996.
    (b) Director.--The Office shall be headed by the Director, 
who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice 
and consent of the Senate, and who shall be compensated at the 
rate payable for level IV of the Executive Schedule under 
section 5315 of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 303. FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION.

    (a) Allocation.--No later than one year from the date of 
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, acting 
pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, the 
Secretary shall issue a final rule establishing the appropriate 
portion of the costs of managing spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste under this Act allocable to the interim 
storage or permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-
level radioactive waste from atomic energy defense activities 
and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research reactors. The 
share of costs allocable to the management of spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy 
defense activities and spent nuclear fuel from foreign research 
reactors shall include,
          (1) an appropriate portion of the costs associated 
        with research and development activities with respect 
        to development of an interim storage facility and 
        repository; and
          (2) as appropriate, interest on the principal amounts 
        due calculated by reference to the appropriate Treasury 
        bill rate as if the payments were made at a point in 
        time consistent with the payment dates for spent 
        nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste under the 
        contracts.
    (b) Appropriation Request.--In addition to any request for 
an appropriation from the Nuclear Waste Fund, the Secretary 
shall request annual appropriations from general revenues in 
amounts sufficient to pay the costs of the management of spent 
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic 
energy defense activities as established under subsection (a).
    (c) Report.--In conjunction with the annual report 
submitted to Congress under Section 702, the Secretary shall 
advise the Congress annually of the amount of spent nuclear 
fuel and high-level radioactive waste from atomic energy 
defense activities requiring management in the integrated 
management system.
    (d) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
to the Secretary, from general revenues, for carrying out the 
purposes of this Act, such sums as may be necessary to pay the 
costs of the management of spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste from Atomic energy defense activities as 
established under subsection (a).

SEC. 304. BUDGET PRIORITIES.

    (a) The Secretary.--For purposes of preparing annual 
requests for appropriation for the integrated management system 
and allocating funds among competing requirements, the 
Secretary shall give funding for the licensing, construction, 
and operation of the interim storage facility under section 204 
and development of the transportation capability under sections 
201, 202 and 203 the highest priority.
    (b) The Commission.--For purposes of preparing annual 
requests for appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund and 
allocating annual appropriations from the Nuclear Waste Fund 
among competing requirements, the Commission shall allocate 
funds in accordance with the following prioritization:
          (1) the issuance of regulations for and the licensing 
        of an interim storage facility under section 205 and 
        any associated storage and/or transport systems to be 
        used in the integrated management system shall be 
        accorded the highest priority; and
          (2) the licensing of the repository under section 206 
        shall be accorded the next highest priority.

             TITLE IV--GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 401. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS.

    The actions authorized by the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1996 shall be governed soley in accordance with the provisions 
of the Atomic Energy Act, the Energy Reorganization Act of 
1974, the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act, the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1996, and the regulations issued 
thereunder. Such activities shall not be subject to any other 
federal, state, or local atomic energy, environmental or land 
use laws, regulations or orders including, but no limited to, 
those requiring permits, license, rights-of-way, certifications 
of authoriztions, that would otherwise apply to such 
activities.

SEC. 402. JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AGENCY ACTIONS.

    (a) Jurisdiction of the United States Courts of Appeals.--
          (1) Original and Exclusive Jurisdiction.--Except for 
        review in the Supreme Court of the United States, and 
        except as otherwise provided in this Act, the United 
        States courts of appeals shall have original and 
        exclusive jurisdiction over any civil action--
                  (A) for review of any final decision or 
                action of the Secretary, the President, or the 
                Commission under this Act;
                  (B) alleging the failure of the Secretary, 
                the President, or the Commission to make any 
                decision, or take any action, required under 
                this Act;
                  (C) challenging the constitutionality of any 
                decision made, or action taken, under any 
                provision of this Act; or
                  (D) for review of any environmental impact 
                statement prepared or environmental assessment 
                pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
                Act 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) with respect 
                to any action under this Act or alleging a 
                failure to prepare such statement with respect 
                to such action.
          (2) Venue.--The venue of any proceeding under this 
        section shall be in the judicial circuit in which the 
        petitioner involved resides or has its principal 
        office, or in the United States Court of Appeals for 
        the District of Columbia Circuit.
    (b) Deadline for Commencing Action.--A civil action for 
judicial review described under subsection (a)(1) may be 
brought no later than 180 days after the date of the decision 
or action or failure to act involved, as the case may be, 
except that if a party shows that he did not know of the 
decision or action complained of (or of the failure to act), 
and that a reasonable person acting under the circumstances 
would have known, such party may bring a civil action no later 
than 180 days after the date such party acquired actual or 
constructive knowledge of such decision, action, or failure to 
act.
    (c) Application of Other Law.--The provisions of this 
section relating to any matter shall apply in lieu of the 
provisions of any Act relating to the same matter.

SEC. 403. LICENSING OF FACILITY EXPANSIONS AND TRANSSHIPMENTS.

    (a) Oral Argument.--In any Commission hearing under section 
189 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2239) on an 
application for a license, or for an amendment to an existing 
license, filed after January 7, 1983, to expand the spent 
nuclear fuel storage capacity at the site of a civilian nuclear 
power reactor, through the use of high-density fuel storage 
racks, fuel rod compaction, the transshipment of spent nuclear 
fuel to another civilian nuclear power reactor within the same 
utility system, the construction of additional spent nuclear 
fuel pool capacity or dry storage capacity, or by other means, 
the Commission shall, at the request of any party, provide an 
opportunity for oral argument with respect to any matter which 
the Commission determines to be in controversy among the 
parties. The oral argument shall be preceded by such discovery 
procedures as the rules of the Commission shall provide. The 
Commission shall require each party, including the Commission 
staff, to submit in written form, at the time of the oral 
argument, a summary of the facts, data, and arguments upon 
which such party proposes to rely that are known at such time 
to such party. Only facts and data in the form of sworn 
testimony or written submission may be relied upon by the 
parties during oral argument. Of the materials that may be 
submitted by the parties during oral argument, the Commission 
shall only consider those facts and data that are submitted in 
the form of sworn testimony or written submission.
    (b) Adjudicatory Hearing--
          (1) Designation--At the conclusion of any oral 
        argument under subsection (a) the Commission shall 
        designate any disputed question of fact, together with 
        any remaining questions of law, for resolution in an 
        adjudicatory hearing only if it determines that--
                  (A) there is a genuine and substantial 
                dispute of fact which can only be resolved with 
                sufficient accuracy by the introduction of 
                evidence in an adjudicatory hearing; and
                  (B) the decision of the Commission is likely 
                to depend in whole or in part on the resolution 
                of such dispute
          (2) Determination.--In making a determination under 
        this subsection, the Commission--
                  (A) shall designate in writing the specific 
                facts that are in genuine and substantial 
                dispute, the reason why the decision of the 
                agency is likely to depend on the resolution of 
                such facts, and the reason why an adjudicatory 
                hearing is likely to resolve the dispute; and
                  (B) shall not consider--
                          (i) any issue relating to the design, 
                        construction, or operation of any 
                        civilian nuclear power reactor already 
                        licensed to operate at such site, or 
                        any civilian nuclear power reactor to 
                        which a construction permit has been 
                        granted at such site, unless the 
                        Commission determines that any such 
                        issue substantially affects the design, 
                        construction, or operation of the 
                        facility or activity for which such 
                        license application, authorization, or 
                        amendment is being considered; or
                          (ii) any siting or design issue fully 
                        considered and decided by the 
                        Commission in connection with the 
                        issuance of a construction permit or 
                        operating license for a civilian 
                        nuclear power reactor at such site, 
                        unless
                                  (I) such issue results from 
                                any revision of siting or 
                                design criteria by the 
                                Commission following such 
                                decision; and
                                  (II) the Commission 
                                determines that such issue 
                                substantially affects the 
                                design, construction, or 
                                operation of the facility or 
                                activity for which such license 
                                application, authorization, or 
                                amendment is being considered.
          (3) Application.--The provisions of paragraph (2)(B) 
        shall apply only with respect to licenses, 
        authorizations, or amendments to licenses or 
        authorizations, applied for under the Atomic Energy Act 
        of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2000 et seq.) before December 31, 
        2005.
          (4) Construction.--The provisions of this section 
        shall not apply to the first application for a license 
        or license amendment received by the Commission to 
        expand onsite spent fuel storage capacity by the use of 
        new technology not previously approved for use at any 
        nuclear power plant by the Commission.
    (c) Judicial Review.--No court shall hold unlawful or set 
aside a decision of the Commission in any proceeding described 
in subsection (a) because of a failure by the Commission to use 
a particular procedure pursuant to this section unless--
          (1) an objection to the procedure used was presented 
        to the Commission in a timely fashion or there are 
        extraordinary circumstances that excuse the failure to 
        present a timely objection; and
          (2) the court finds that such failure has precluded a 
        fair consideration and informed resolution of a 
        significant issue of the proceeding taken as a whole.

SEC. 404. SITING A SECOND REPOSITORY.

    (a) Congressional Action Required.--The Secretary may not 
conduct site-specific activities with respect to a second 
repository unless Congress has specifically authorized and 
appropriated funds for such activities.
    (b) Report.--The Secretary shall report to the President 
and to Congress on or after January 1, 2007, but not later than 
January 1, 2010, on the need for a second repository.

SEC. 405. FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE SITE 
                    CLOSURE.

    (a) Financial Arrangements.--
          (1) Standards and instructions.--The Commission shall 
        establish by rule, regulation, or order, after public 
        notice, and in accordance with section 181 of the 
        Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2231), such 
        standards and instructions as the Commission may deem 
        necessary or desirable to ensure in the case of each 
        license for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste 
        that an adequate bond, surety, or other financial 
        arrangement (as determined by the Commission) will be 
        provided by a licensee to permit completion of all 
        requirements established by the Commission for the 
        decontamination, decommissioning, site closure, and 
        reclamation of sites, structures, and equipment used in 
        conjunction with such low-level radioactive waste. Such 
        financial arrangements shall be provided and approved 
        by the Commission, or, in the case of sites within the 
        boundaries of any agreement State under section 274 of 
        the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2021), by the 
        appropriate State or State entity, prior to issuance of 
        licenses for low-level radioactive waste disposal or, 
        in the case of licenses in effect on January 7, 1983, 
        prior to termination of such licenses.
          (2) Bonding, surety, or other financial 
        arrangements.--If the Commission determines that any 
        long-term maintenance or monitoring, or both, will be 
        necessary at a site described in paragraph (1), the 
        Commission shall ensure before termination of the 
        license involved that the licensee has made available 
        such bonding, surety, or other financial arrangements 
        as may be necessary to ensure that any necessary long-
        term maintenance or monitoring needed for such site 
        will be carried out by the person having title and 
        custody for such site following license termination.
    (b) Title and Custody.--
          (1) Authority of secretary.--The Secretary shall have 
        authority to assume title and custody of low-level 
        radioactive waste and the land on which such waste is 
        disposed of, upon request of the owner of such waste 
        and land and following termination of the license 
        issued by the Commission for such disposal, if the 
        Commission determines that--
                  (A) the requirements of the Commission for 
                site closure, decommissioning, and 
                decontamination have been met by the licensee 
                involved and that such licensee is in 
                compliance with the provisions of subsection 
                (a);
                  (B) such title and custody will be 
                transferred to the Secretary without cost to 
                the Federal Government; and
                  (C) Federal ownership and management of such 
                site is necessary or desirable in order to 
                protect the public health and safety, and the 
                environment.
          (2) Protection.--If the Secretary assumes title and 
        custody of any such waste and land under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall maintain such waste and 
        land in a manner that will protect the public health 
        and safety, and the environment.
    (c) Special Sites.--If the low-level radioactive waste 
involved is the result of a licensed activity to recover 
zirconium, hafnium, and rare earths from source material, the 
Secretary, upon request of the owner of the site involved, 
shall assume title and custody of such waste and the land on 
which it is disposed when such site has been decontaminated and 
stabilized in accordance with the requirements established by 
the Commission and when such owner has made adequate financial 
arrangements approved by the Commission for the long-term 
maintenance and monitoring of such site.

SEC. 406. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION TRAINING AUTHORIZATION.

    The Commission is authorized and directed to promulgate 
regulations, or other appropriate regulatory guidance, for the 
training and qualifications of civilian nuclear power plant 
operators, supervisors, technicians, and other appropriate 
operating personnel. Such regulations or guidance shall 
establish simulator training requirements for applicants for 
civilian nuclear power plant operator licenses and for operator 
requalification programs, requirements governing Commission 
administration of requalification examinations; requirements 
for operating tests at civilian nuclear power plant simulators, 
and instructional requirements for civilian nuclear power plan 
licensee personnel training programs.

SEC. 407. EMPLACEMENT SCHEDULE.

    (a) The emplacement schedule shall be implemented in 
accordance with the following:
          (1) Emplacement priority ranking shall be determined 
        by the Department's annual ``Acceptance Priority 
        Ranking'' report.
          (2) The Secretary's spent fuel emplacement rate shall 
        be no less than the following: 1,200 MTU in 1999 and 
        1,200 MTU in 2000; 2,000 MTU in 2001 and 2000 MTU in 
        2002; 2,700 MTU in 2003; and 3,000 MTU annually 
        thereafter.
    (b) If the Secretary is unable to begin emplacement by 
January 31, 1999 at the rates specified in paragraph (a), or if 
the cumulative amount emplaced in any year thereafter is less 
than that which would have been accepted under the emplacement 
rate specified in paragraph (a), the Secretary shall, as a 
mitigation measure, adjust the emplacement schedule upward such 
that within 5 years of the start of emplacement by the 
Secretary,
          (1) the total quantity accepted by the Secretary is 
        consistent with the total quantity that the Secretary 
        would have accepted if the Secretary had began 
        emplacement in 1999, and
          (2) thereafter the emplacement rate is equivalent to 
        the rate that would be in place pursuant to paragraph 
        (a) above if the Secretary had commenced emplacement in 
        1999.

SEC. 408. EMERGENCY RELIEF.

    (a) If the Secretary determines that a contract holder 
qualifies for emergency relief under this paragraph, the 
contract holder may execute an emergency relief contract with 
entities, qualified to provide interim storage and 
conditioning. Under the emergency relief contract, the 
qualified entities would package, ship, and receive a contract 
holder's spent nuclear fuel for interim storage and 
conditioning, with any spent nuclear fuel and the equivalent 
radioactive residues resulting from any conditioning services 
returned to the Secretary no later than December 31, 2045.
    (b) A contract holder qualifies for emergency relief under 
this section if the contract holder--
          (1) has exhausted its existing on-site storage 
        capacity;
          (2) is unable to complete scheduled decommissioning 
        because spent nuclear fuel cannot be removed from the 
        site;
          (3) the spent fuel is of a nonstandard form which 
        cannot be accepted at the central storage facility; or
          (4) the Secretary determines there is a situation 
        that requires emergency relief under this paragraph.
    (c) Title to all spent nuclear fuel and high-level 
radioactive waste resulting from the treatment of that fuel 
subject to an emergency relief contract under this paragraph 
shall transfer to the Secretary upon packaging of the fuel by 
the qualified entity.

SEC. 409. TRANSFER OF TITLE.

    Acceptance by the Secretary of any spent nuclear fuel or 
high-level radioactive waste shall constitute a transfer of 
title to the Secretary.

SEC. 410. ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS.

    Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, the 
obligations of the Secretary and the Commission pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.) in connection with the siting, design, licensing, 
construction or operation of any component of the integrated 
management system are as set forth in this Act and no further 
actions other than those specified are required to meet the 
Secretary's or the Commission's obligations under such Act.

SEC. 411. DECOMMISSIONING PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary is authorized to 
establish a Decommissioning Pilot Program to decommission and 
decontaminate the sodium-cooled fast breeder experimental test-
site reactor located in northwest Arkansas.
    (b) Funding.--No funds from the Nuclear Waste Fund may be 
used for the Decommissioning Pilot Program.

             TITLE V--NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD

SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this title--
          (1) Chairman.--The term ``Chairman'' means the 
        Chairman of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board.
          (2) Board.--The term ``Board'' means the Nuclear 
        Waste Technical Review Board continued under section 
        602.

SEC. 502. NUCLEAR WASTE TECHNICAL REVIEW BOARD.

    (a) Continuation of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review 
Board.--The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, established 
under section 502(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 as 
constituted prior to the date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste 
Policy Act of 1996, shall continue in effect subsequent to the 
date of enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996.
    (b) Members.--
          (1) Number.--The Board shall consist of 11 members 
        who shall be appointed by the President not later than 
        90 days after December 22, 1987, from among persons 
        nominated by the National Academy of Sciences in 
        accordance with paragraph (3).
          (2) Chair.--The President shall designate a member of 
        the Board to serve as Chairman.
          (3) National academy of sciences.--
                  (A) Nominations.--The National Academy of 
                Sciences shall, not later than 90 day after 
                December 22, 1987, nominate not less than 22 
                persons for appointment to the Board from among 
                persons who meet the qualifications described 
                in subparagraph (C).
                  (B) Vacancies.--The National Academy of 
                Sciences shall nominate not less than 2 persons 
                to fill any vacancy on the Board from among 
                persons who meet the qualifications described 
                in subparagraph (C).
                  (C) Nominees.--
                          (i) Each person nominated for 
                        appointment to the Board shall be--
                                  (I) eminent in a field of 
                                science or engineering, 
                                including environmental 
                                sciences; and
                                  (II) selected solely on the 
                                basis of established records of 
                                distinguished service.
                          (ii) The membership of the Board 
                        shall be representatives of the broad 
                        range of scientific and engineering 
                        disciplines related to activities under 
                        this title.
                          (iii) No person shall be nominated 
                        for appointment to the Board who is an 
                        employee of--
                                  (I) the Department of Energy;
                                  (II) a national laboratory 
                                under contract with the 
                                Department of Energy; or
                                  (III) an entity performing 
                                spent nuclear fuel or high-
                                level radioactive waste 
                                activities under contract with 
                                the Department of Energy.
          (4) Vacancies.--Any vacancy on the Board shall be 
        filled by the nomination and appointment process 
        described in paragraphs (1) and (3).
          (5) Terms.--Members of the Board shall be appointed 
        for terms of 4 years, each such term to commence 120 
        days after December 22, 1987, except that of the 11 
        members first appointed to the Board, 5 shall serve for 
        2 years and 6 shall serve for 4 years, to be designated 
        by the President at the time of appointment.

SEC. 503. FUNCTIONS.

    The Board shall evaluate the technical and scientific 
validity of activities undertaken by the Secretary after 
December 22, 1987, including--
          (1) site characterization activities; and
          (2) activities relating to the packaging or 
        transportation of spent nuclear fuel or high-level 
        radioactive waste.

SEC. 504. INVESTIGATORY POWERS.

    (a) Hearings.--Upon request of the Chairman or a majority 
of the members of the Board, the Board may hold such hearings, 
sit and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and 
receive such evidence, as the Board considers appropriate. Any 
member of the Board may administer oaths or affirmations to 
witnesses appearing before the Board.
    (b) Production of Documents.--
          (1) Response to inquiries.--Upon the request of the 
        Chairman or a majority of the members of the Board, and 
        subject to existing law, the Secretary (or any 
        contractor of the Secretary) shall provide the Board 
        with such records, files, papers, data, or information 
        as may be necessary to respond to any inquiry of the 
        Board under this title.
          (2) Extent.--Subject to existing law, information 
        obtainable under paragraph (1) shall not be limited to 
        final work products of the Secretary, but shall include 
        drafts of such products and documentation of work in 
        progress.

SEC. 505. COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.

    (a) In General.--Each member of the Board shall be paid at 
the rate of pay payable for level III of the Executive Schedule 
for each day (including travel time) such member is engaged in 
the work of the Board.
    (b) Travel Expenses.--Each member of the Board may receive 
travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsidence, in 
the same manner as is permitted under sections 5702 and 5703 of 
title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 506. STAFF.

    (a) Clerical Staff.--
          (1) Authority of chairman.--Subject to paragraph (2), 
        the Chairman may appoint and fix the compensation of 
        such clerical staff as may be necessary to discharge 
        the responsibilities of the Board.
          (2) Provisions of title 5.--Clerical staff shall be 
        appointed subject to the provisions of title 5, United 
        States Code, governing appointments in the competitive 
        service, and shall be paid in accordance with the 
        provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 
        3 of such title relating to classification and General 
        Schedule pay rates.
    (b) Professional Staff.--
          (1) Authority of chairman.--Subject to paragraphs (2) 
        and (3), the Chairman may appoint and fix the 
        compensation of such professional staff as may be 
        necessary to discharge the responsibilities of the 
        Board.
          (2) Number.--Not more than 10 professional staff 
        members may be appointed under this subsection.
          (3) Title 5.--Professional staff members may be 
        appointed without regard to the provisions of title 5, 
        United States Code, governing appointments in the 
        competitive service, and may be paid without regard to 
        the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of 
        chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and 
        General Schedule pay rates, except that no individual 
        so appointed may receive pay in excess of the annual 
        rate of basic pay payable for GS-18 of the General 
        Schedule.

SEC. 507. SUPPORT SERVICES.

    (a) General Services.--To the extent permitted by law and 
requested by the Chairman, the Administrator of General 
Services shall provide the Board with necessary administrative 
services, facilities, and support on a reimbursable basis.
    (b) Accounting, Research, and Technology Assessment 
Services.--The Comptroller General, the Librarian of Congress, 
and the Director of the Office of Technology Assessment shall, 
to the extent permitted by law and subject to the availability 
of funds, provide the Board with such facilities, support, 
funds and services, including staff, as may be necessary for 
the effective performance of the functions of the Board.
    (c) Additional Support.--Upon the request of the Chairman, 
the Board may secure directly from the head of any department 
or agency of the United States information necessary to enable 
it to carry out this title.
    (d) Mails.--The Board may use the United States mails in 
the same manner and under the same conditions as other 
departments and agencies of the United States.
    (e) Experts and Consultants.--Subject to such rules as may 
be prescribed by the Board, the Chairman may procure temporary 
and intermittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5 of 
the United States Code, but at rates for individuals not to 
exceed the daily equivalent of the maximum annual rate of basic 
pay payable for GS-18 of the General Schedule.

SEC. 508. REPORT.

    The Board shall report not less than 2 times per year to 
Congress and the Secretary its findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations.

SEC. 509. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

    There are authorized to be appropriated for expenditures 
such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this title.

SEC. 510. TERMINATION OF THE BOARD.

    The Board shall cease to exist not later than one year 
after the date on which the Secretary begins disposal of spent 
nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste in the repository.

                                

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