42 U.S.C. § 10161

Current through P.L. 118-106 (published on www.congress.gov on 10/04/2024)
Section 10161 - Monitored retrievable storage
(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 chapter 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 chapter.
(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 (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 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.], 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 5842(3) of this title. 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 10222(c) of this title 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 10132 of this title. 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 10135, 10136(a), 10136(b), 10136(d), 10137, and 10138 of this title. For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this subsection, any reference in sections 10135 through 10138 of this title to a repository shall be considered to refer to a monitored retrievable storage facility.

42 U.S.C. § 10161

Pub. L. 97-425, title I, §141, Jan. 7, 1983, 96 Stat. 2241.

EDITORIAL NOTES

REFERENCES IN TEXTThe National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, referred to in subsec. (c), is Pub. L. 91-190, Jan. 1, 1970, 83 Stat. 852, which is classified generally to chapter 55 (§4321 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 4321 of this title and Tables.

Administrator
The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Commission
The term "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Secretary
The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Energy.
State
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.
Waste Fund
The term "Waste Fund" means the Nuclear Waste Fund established in section 10222(c) of this title.
candidate site
The term "candidate site" means an area, within a geologic and hydrologic system, that is recommended by the Secretary under section 10132 of this title for site characterization, approved by the President under section 10132 of this title for site characterization, or undergoing site characterization under section 10133 of this title.
disposal
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.
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.
monitored retrievable storage facility
The term "monitored retrievable storage facility" means the storage facility described in section 10161(b)(1) of this title.1So in original. The semicolon probably should be a period.2See References in Text note below.
repository
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.
site characterization
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.
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.
storage
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.