Repositories for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel

Congress finds that while the federal government has the responsibility to provide for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel 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 the waste and spent fuel.

Congress finds that the generators and owners of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel have the primary responsibility to provide and pay for the interim storage of waste and spent fuel until accepted for disposal by the Secretary of Energy.

The statute establishes procedures for the recommendation, by the Secretary to the President, of potential sites for permanent high-level nuclear waste repositories. The statute also establishes procedures for the evaluation of the candidate sites (“site characterization”), consultation with states and affected Indian tribes, site approval by Congress in the case of formal disapproval of the site by a state or Indian tribe, and construction authorization by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments of 1987 (NWPA of 1987) designated Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as the only candidate site to undergo continued site characterization and consideration.

The NWPA of 1987 provided that if the Secretary determines that the Yucca Mountain site is unsuitable for development as a repository, he shall terminate site characterization, notify Congress and the state of Nevada, remove radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel from the site, and report to Congress recommendations for further action to assure the safe, permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel (including new legislative authority).

The Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shall promulgate generally applicable standards for protection of the environment from off-site releases from radioactive materials in repositories.

The Commission shall promulgate technical requirements and criteria that it will apply, under the Atomic Energy Act and the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, in approving and disapproving applications for the construction of repositories, for licenses to process high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel in such repositories, and for authorization of closure and decommissioning of such repositories.

Repositories shall be constructed to permit the retrieval of any spent nuclear fuel for reasons associated with the public health, the environment, or the recovery of the economically valuable contents of the spent fuel.

Interim storage

The statute establishes the procedures by which the Commission shall issue licenses for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel (until the Secretary has accepted the spent fuel).

In order to prevent disruptions in the orderly operations of civilian nuclear power reactors that cannot reasonably store spent nuclear fuel on site, the Secretary shall provide up to 1,900 metric tons of storage capacity.

The statute establishes the methods by which such storage capacity may be provided, and the procedures that the Secretary must follow. Where a storage unit of 300 or more metric tons is formally disapproved by an affected state or Indian tribe, Congress must approve the storage facility by resolution.

Users of the storage capacity provided by the Secretary shall be required to pay fees, which shall be used in part to make annual payments to state or local governments to mitigate the social or economic impacts of the location of interim storage facilities within their jurisdiction.

Monitored retrievable storage

Congress finds that the long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel in monitored retrievable storage (MRS) facilities is an option for providing safe and reliable management of such materials.

The NWPA of 1987 revoked the Secretary’s proposal to locate an MRS facility at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The NWPA of 1987 authorized the Secretary to designate, construct, and operate one MRS facility, and establish required procedures for the process, including the creation of the Monitored Retrievable Storage Commission to recommend to Congress whether such a facility should be included in the national nuclear waste management system. Where a proposed MRS facility is formally disapproved by an affected state or Indian tribe, Congress must approve the storage facility by resolution.

The costs of the MRS program shall be borne by the generators and owners of the high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel to be stored in the MRS facility.

Siting a second repository

The NWPA of 1987 provided that the Secretary shall not conduct site-specific activities with respect to a second repository unless Congress has specifically appropriated funds for such activities.

Benefits

The NWPA of 1987 authorized the payment of monies, pursuant to agreements with the Secretary, to Nevada and to the state or Indian tribe and local governments affected by an MRS facility.

Nuclear Waste Negotiator

The NWPA of 1987 established the office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator, to be appointed by the President, to attempt to reach proposed agreements between the United States and a state or Indian tribe specifying the terms and conditions under which the state or tribe would agree to host a repository or MRS facility. No proposed agreement entered into by the Nuclear Waste Negotiator shall have legal effect unless enacted into federal law.

Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board

The NWPA of 1987 established the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board, an independent agency within the executive branch, to evaluate the technical and scientific validity of activities of the Secretary such as site characterization.