Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Assurance Act

Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Assurance Act - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to declare that the obligation of the Secretary of Energy to accept high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel as of January 31, 1998, is absolute and is not dependent upon either commencement of repository operations or a monitored retrievable storage facility. Prohibits such obligation from being voided or delayed for any reason.

Repeals: (1) the prohibition against selection of a monitored retrievable storage site until the Secretary has submitted recommendations for a spent nuclear fuel repository site; and (2) the licensing conditions for a monitored retrievable storage facility.

[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 4887 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4887

     To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to reaffirm the 
obligation of the Secretary of Energy to provide for the safe disposal 
 of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than January 31, 1998, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 2, 1994

Mr. Grams introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to 
      the Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to reaffirm the 
obligation of the Secretary of Energy to provide for the safe disposal 
 of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than January 31, 1998, and 
                          for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal 
Assurance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Congressional Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the generation of electricity by nuclear powered 
        reactors results in the production of spent nuclear fuel;
            (2) about 24,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel have 
        been produced by the Nation's operating nuclear power plants, 
        and an additional 50,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel is 
        expected to be produced during the terms of their current 
        licenses;
            (3) the vast majority of commercial spent nuclear fuel is 
        currently stored in individual water-filled pools at reactor 
        sites throughout the Nation;
            (4) these storage pools for the temporary storage of spent 
        nuclear fuel are nearing capacity at many of the reactor sites;
            (5) since the beginning of the commercial nuclear power 
        industry in the 1960's, the Federal Government has had the 
        responsibility to provide for the disposal of commercial spent 
        nuclear fuel;
            (6) the Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
        1982 in order to codify the Federal responsibility and policy 
        to provide for the safe and timely disposal of spent nuclear 
        fuel by establishing a schedule for the siting, construction, 
        and operation of deep geologic repositories, assigning the 
        responsibility for implementation of the program to the 
        Department of Energy, and establishing the Nuclear Waste Fund 
        to cover the costs of the Federal disposal program to be paid 
        by utility ratepayers and owners;
            (7) since the enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
        1982, utility ratepayers and owners have paid more than 
        $9,700,000,000 into the Nuclear Waste Fund;
            (8) under the schedule established in the Nuclear Waste 
        Policy Act of 1982, the Department of Energy, in return for the 
        payment of the fees by utility ratepayers and owners, is 
        directed to dispose of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later 
        than January 31, 1998;
            (9) despite the 12 years that have passed since the 
        enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the 
        expenditure of $3,800,000,000 to date, the Department of Energy 
        has fallen behind schedule and the projected date for 
        commencement of operations of a repository, under optimistic 
        assumptions, is 2010;
            (10) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 currently 
        prohibits the selection of a site for a monitored retrievable 
        storage facility until a site for a permanent repository has 
        been selected; and
            (11) the Department of Energy, under the terms of the 
        Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, has an absolute obligation to 
        accept spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than January 31, 
        1998.
    (b) Statement of Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is--
            (1) to ensure that the Department of Energy fulfills its 
        responsibility to site, construct, and operate temporary and 
        permanent nuclear waste disposal facilities in a safe and 
        timely manner; and
            (2) to reaffirm the obligation of the Secretary of Energy 
        under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide for the 
        safe disposal of spent nuclear fuel beginning not later than 
        January 31, 1998.

SEC. 3. REAFFIRMATION OF OBLIGATION OF SECRETARY OF ENERGY.

    Section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 
10222(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(7) The obligation of the Secretary under paragraph (5) to accept 
high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel beginning not later 
than January 31, 1998, is absolute and is not dependent on the 
commencement of operations of a repository or a monitored retrievable 
storage facility. Such obligation shall not be voided or delayed for 
any reason.''.

SEC. 4. SITING OF MONITORED RETRIEVABLE STORAGE FACILITY.

    (a) Repeal of Site Selection Limitation.--Section 145 of the 
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10165) is amended by 
striking subsection (b).
    (b) Repeal of Licensing Conditions.--Section 148 of the Nuclear 
Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10168) is amended by striking 
subsection (d).
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