42 U.S.C. § 10204 — Subseabed disposal

Page 8016 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 10202 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘paragraph (2) of sub- section (b),’’. 2 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘section’’. 3 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘UST’’. § 10202. Research on alternatives for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste The Secretary shall continue and accelerate a program of research, development, and inves- tigation of alternative means and technologies for the permanent disposal of high-level radio- active waste from civilian nuclear activities and Federal research and development activities ex- cept 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. (Pub. L. 97–425, title II, § 222, Jan. 7, 1983, 96 Stat. 2254.) § 10203. Technical assistance to non-nuclear weapon states in field of spent fuel storage and disposal (a) Statement of policy 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) Publication of joint notice; update (1) Within 90 days of January 7, 1983, the Sec- retary 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 stor- age; monitored, retrievable spent fuel storage; geologic disposal of spent fuel; and the health, safety, and environmental regulation of such ac- tivities. The notice shall summarize the re- sources that can be made available for inter- national cooperation and assistance in these fields through existing programs of the Depart- ment and the Commission, including the avail- ability of: (i) data from past or ongoing research and development projects; (ii) consultations with expert Department or Commission per- sonnel or contractors; and (iii) liaison with pri- vate business entities and organizations work- ing in these fields. (2) The joint notice described in the preceding subparagraph shall be updated and reissued an- nually for 5 succeeding years. (c) Notification to non-nuclear weapon states; ex- pressions of interest Following publication of the annual joint no- tice referred to in paragraph (2),1 the Secretary of State shall inform the governments of non- nuclear weapon states and, as feasible, the orga- nizations operating nuclear powerplants in such states, that the United States is prepared to co- operate 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 assist- ance programs in these fields. The Secretary of State shall transmit any such expressions of in- terest to the Department and the Commission. (d) Funding requests 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 co- operation and technical assistance with non-nu- clear 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) ‘‘Non-nuclear weapon state’’ defined For the purposes of this subsection,2 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.3 438). (f) Unauthorized actions Nothing in this subsection 2 shall authorize the Department or the Commission to take any ac- tion not authorized under existing law. (Pub. L. 97–425, title II, § 223, Jan. 7, 1983, 96 Stat. 2254.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, referred to in subsec. (e), is set out in 21 UST 483; TIAS 6839. § 10204. Subseabed disposal (a) Repealed. Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1051(d), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 716 (b) Office of Subseabed Disposal Research (1) There is hereby established an Office of Subseabed Disposal Research within the Office of Science of the Department of Energy. The Of- fice shall be headed by the Director, who shall be a member of the Senior Executive Service ap- pointed by the Director of the Office of Science, and compensated at a rate determined by appli- cable law. (2) The Director of the Office of Subseabed Dis- posal 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 di- rectly responsible to the Director of the Office of Science, and the first such Director shall be appointed within 30 days of December 22, 1987. (3) In carrying out his responsibilities under this chapter, the Secretary may make grants to, or enter into contracts with, the Subseabed Con- sortium described in subsection (d) of this sec- tion, and other persons. (4)(A) Within 60 days of December 22, 1987, the Secretary shall establish a university-based Page 8017 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 10221 Subseabed Consortium involving leading oceano- graphic universities and institutions, national laboratories, and other organizations to inves- tigate the technical and institutional feasibility of subseabed disposal. (B) The Subseabed Consortium shall develop a research plan and budget to achieve the fol- lowing objectives by 1995: (i) demonstrate the capacity to identify and characterize potential subseabed disposal sites; (ii) develop conceptual designs for a sub- seabed disposal system, including estimated costs and institutional requirements; and (iii) identify and assess the potential im- pacts 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). (Pub. L. 97–425, title II, § 224, as added Pub. L. 100–202, § 101(d) [title III], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–104, 1329–121; Pub. L. 100–203, title V, § 5063, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–253; amended Pub. L. 104–66, title I, § 1051(d), Dec. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 716; Pub. L. 105–245, title III, § 309(b)(2)(E), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1853.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub. L. 100–202 and Pub. L. 100–203 added identical sections. AMENDMENTS 1998—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105–245 which directed the substitution of ‘‘Science’’ for ‘‘Energy Research’’, was executed by making the substitution in two places to reflect the probable intent of Congress. Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 105–245 substituted ‘‘Office of Science’’ for ‘‘Office of Energy Research’’. 1995—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–66 struck out subsec. (a) which required Secretary of Energy to report to Con- gress on subseabed disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 104–66 struck out par. (5) which read as follows: ‘‘The Director of the Office of Sub- seabed Disposal Research shall annually prepare and submit a report to the Congress on the activities and expenditures of the Office.’’ SUBCHAPTER III—OTHER PROVISIONS RELATING TO RADIOACTIVE WASTE § 10221. Mission plan (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 car- rying out the repository program and the re- search, development, and demonstration pro- grams required under this chapter. The mission plan shall include— (1) an identification of the primary sci- entific, engineering, and technical informa- tion, including any necessary demonstration of engineering or systems integration, with re- spect to the siting and construction of a test and evaluation facility and repositories; (2) an identification of any information de- scribed in paragraph (1) that is not available because of any unresolved scientific, engineer- ing, or technical questions, or undemonstrated engineering or systems integration, a schedule including specific major milestones for the re- search, development, and technology dem- onstration program required under this chap- ter and any additional activities to be under- taken to provide such information, a schedule for the activities necessary to achieve impor- tant programmatic milestones, and an esti- mate 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 im- pede the implementation of this chapter, the plans of the Secretary to resolve such prob- lems, and recommendations for any necessary legislation to resolve such problems; (4) any comments of the Secretary with re- spect 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 10132(a) of this title; (7) a description of known sites at which site characterization activities should be under- taken, a description of such siting character- ization 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 charac- terization activities, and plans for the decon- tamination and decommissioning of such site if it is determined unsuitable for licensing as a repository; (8) an identification of the process for solidi- fying high-level radioactive waste or pack- aging spent nuclear fuel, including a summary and analysis of the data to support the selec- tion of the solidification process and pack- aging techniques, an analysis of the require- ments for the number of solidification pack- aging 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 includ- ing impacts on strategic supplies and any re- quirements for new or reactivated facilities to produce any such materials needed, and a de- scription of a plan, and the schedule for imple- menting 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