Electric Consumers and Environmental Protection Act of 1995 - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide 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 on the commencement of operation of a repository or a monitored retrievable storage facility.
Repeals certain site selection limitations and licensing conditions.
[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[H.R. 1032 Introduced in House (IH)]
104th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1032
To reaffirm the Federal Government's commitment to electric consumers
and environmental protection by reaffirming the requirement of the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 that the Secretary of Energy 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
February 23, 1995
Mr. Gutknecht (for himself, Mr. Ramstad, and Mr. Sensenbrenner)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reaffirm the Federal Government's commitment to electric consumers
and environmental protection by reaffirming the requirement of the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 that the Secretary of Energy 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 ``Electric Consumers and Environmental
Protection Act of 1995''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the generation of electricity by nuclear 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) the 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) Congress enacted the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982
(42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) 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
$10,000,000,000 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 13 years that have passed since the
enactment of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the
expenditure of over $3,800,000,000, the Department of Energy
has fallen behind schedule, and the projected date for
commencement of operation 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 Nuclear Waste
Policy Act of 1982, has an absolute obligation to accept spent
nuclear fuel beginning not later than January 31, 1998.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(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 operation of a repository or a monitored retrievable
storage facility. That 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).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Power.
Subcommittee Hearings Held.
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