42 U.S.C. § 7912 — Processing site designations

Page 7494 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 7911 Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries SHORT TITLE OF 1988 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 100–616, § 1, Nov. 5, 1988, 102 Stat. 3192, pro- vided: ‘‘That this Act [amending sections 7916 and 7922 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Amendments Act of 1988’.’’ SHORT TITLE Pub. L. 95–604, § 1, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3021, provided that: ‘‘This Act [enacting this chapter and sections 2022, 2113, and 2114 of this title, amending sections 2014, 2021, 2111, and 2201 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 2014, 2021, and 2113 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978’.’’ SUBCHAPTER I—REMEDIAL ACTION PROGRAM § 7911. Definitions For purposes of this subchapter— (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- retary of Energy. (2) The term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Nu- clear Regulatory Commission. (3) The term ‘‘Administrator’’ means the Ad- ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (4) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ means any tribe, band, clan, group, pueblo, or community of In- dians recognized as eligible for services pro- vided by the Secretary of the Interior to Indi- ans. (5) The term ‘‘person’’ means any individual, association, partnership, corporation, firm, joint venture, trust, government entity, and any other entity, except that such term does not include any Indian or Indian tribe. (6) The term ‘‘processing site’’ means— (A) any site, including the mill, containing residual radioactive materials at which all or substantially all of the uranium was pro- duced for sale to any Federal agency prior to January 1, 1971 under a contract with any Federal agency, except in the case of a site at or near Slick Rock, Colorado, unless— (i) such site was owned or controlled as of January 1, 1978, or is thereafter owned or controlled, by any Federal agency, or (ii) a license (issued by the Commission or its predecessor agency under the Atom- ic Energy Act of 1954 [42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.] or by a State as permitted under section 274 of such Act [42 U.S.C. 2021]) for the pro- duction at such site of any uranium or thorium product derived from ores is in ef- fect on January 1, 1978, or is issued or re- newed after such date; and (B) any other real property or improve- ment thereon which— (i) is in the vicinity of such site, and (ii) is determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, to be contaminated with residual radioactive materials derived from such site. Any ownership or control of an area by a Fed- eral agency which is acquired pursuant to a cooperative agreement under this subchapter shall not be treated as ownership or control by such agency for purposes of subparagraph (A)(i). A license for the production of any ura- nium product from residual radioactive mate- rials shall not be treated as a license for pro- duction from ores within the meaning of sub- paragraph (A)(ii) if such production is in ac- cordance with section 7918(b) of this title. (7) The term ‘‘residual radioactive material’’ means— (A) waste (which the Secretary determines to be radioactive) in the form of tailings re- sulting from the processing of ores for the extraction of uranium and other valuable constituents of the ores; and (B) other waste (which the Secretary de- termines to be radioactive) at a processing site which relate to such processing, includ- ing any residual stock of unprocessed ores or low-grade materials. (8) The term ‘‘tailings’’ means the remaining portion of a metal-bearing ore after some or all of such metal, such as uranium, has been extracted. (9) The term ‘‘Federal agency’’ includes any executive agency as defined in section 105 of title 5. (10) The term ‘‘United States’’ means the 48 contiguous States and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the terri- tories and possessions of the United States. (Pub. L. 95–604, title I, § 101, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3022.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, referred to in par. (6)(A)(ii), is act Aug. 1, 1946, ch. 724, as added by act Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1073, § 1, 68 Stat. 919, which is classified principally to chapter 23 (§ 2011 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 2011 of this title and Tables. § 7912. Processing site designations (a) Specific and other site locations; remedial ac- tion; consultations; boundaries; Grand Junc- tion, Colorado, site restriction (1) As soon as practicable, but no later than one year after November 8, 1978, the Secretary shall designate processing sites at or near the following locations: Salt Lake City, Utah Green River, Utah Mexican Hat, Utah Durango, Colorado Grand Junction, Colorado Rifle, Colorado (two sites) Gunnison, Colorado Naturita, Colorado Maybell, Colorado Slick Rock, Colorado (two sites) Shiprock, New Mexico Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico Riverton, Wyoming Converse County, Wyoming Lakeview, Oregon Falls City, Texas Tuba City, Arizona Monument Valley, Arizona Lowman, Idaho Page 7495 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 7912 Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania Subject to the provisions of this subchapter, the Secretary shall complete remedial action at the above listed sites before his authority termi- nates under this subchapter. The Secretary shall within one year of November 8, 1978, also des- ignate all other processing sites within the United States which he determines requires re- medial action to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. In making such designation, the Secretary shall consult with the Administrator, the Commission, and the affected States, and in the case of Indian lands, the appropriate Indian tribe and the Secretary of the Interior. (2) As part of his designation under this sub- section, the Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, shall determine the boundaries of each such site. (3) No site or structure with respect to which remedial action is authorized under Public Law 92–314 in Grand Junction, Colorado, may be des- ignated by the Secretary as a processing site under this section. (b) Health hazard assessment; priorities for re- medial action Within one year from November 8, 1978, the Secretary shall assess the potential health haz- ard to the public from the residual radioactive materials at designated processing sites. Based upon such assessment, the Secretary shall, with- in such one year period, establish priorities for carrying out remedial action at each such site. In establishing such priorities, the Secretary shall rely primarily on the advice of the Admin- istrator. (c) Notification Within thirty days after making designations of processing sites and establishing the prior- ities for such sites under this section, the Sec- retary shall notify the Governor of each affected State, and, where appropriate, the Indian tribes and the Secretary of the Interior. (d) Finality of determinations The designations made, and priorities estab- lished, by the Secretary under this section shall be final and not be subject to judicial review. (e) Certain real property or improved areas (1) The designation of processing sites within one year after November 8, 1978, under this sec- tion shall include, to the maximum extent prac- ticable, the areas referred to in section 7911(6)(B) of this title. (2) Notwithstanding the one year limitation contained in this section, the Secretary may, after such one year period, include any area de- scribed in section 7911(6)(B) of this title as part of a processing site designated under this sec- tion if he determines such inclusion to be appro- priate to carry out the purposes of this sub- chapter. (3) The Secretary shall designate as a proc- essing site within the meaning of section 7911(6) of this title any real property, or improvements thereon, in Edgemont, South Dakota, that— (A) is in the vicinity of the Tennessee Valley Authority uranium mill site at Edgemont (but not including such site), and (B) is determined by the Secretary to be con- taminated with residual radioactive materials. In making the designation under this paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with the Adminis- trator, the Commission and the State of South Dakota. The provisions of this subchapter shall apply to the site so designated in the same man- ner and to the same extent as to the sites des- ignated under subsection (a) except that, in ap- plying such provisions to such site, any ref- erence in this subchapter to November 8, 1978, shall be treated as a reference to January 4, 1983, and in determining the State share under sec- tion 7917 of this title of the costs of remedial ac- tion, there shall be credited to the State, ex- penditures made by the State prior to January 4, 1983, which the Secretary determines would have been made by the State or the United States in carrying out the requirements of this subchapter. (f) Designation of Moab Site as processing site (1) Designation Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Moab uranium milling site (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Moab site’’) located ap- proximately three miles northwest of Moab, Utah, and identified in the Final Environ- mental Impact Statement issued by the Nu- clear Regulatory Commission in March 1996 in conjunction with Source Materials License No. SUA–917, is designated as a processing site. (2) Applicability This subchapter applies to the Moab site in the same manner and to the same extent as to other processing sites designated under sub- section (a), except that— (A) sections 7913, 7914(b), 7917(a), 7922(a), and 7925(a) of this title shall not apply; and (B) a reference in this subchapter to No- vember 8, 1978, shall be treated as a ref- erence to October 30, 2000. (3) Remediation Subject to the availability of appropriations for this purpose, the Secretary shall conduct remediation at the Moab site in a safe and en- vironmentally sound manner that takes into consideration the remedial action plan pre- pared pursuant to section 3405(i) of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (10 U.S.C. 8720 note; Public Law 105–261), including— (A) ground water restoration; and (B) the removal, to a site in the State of Utah, for permanent disposition and any necessary stabilization, of residual radio- active material and other contaminated ma- terial from the Moab site and the floodplain of the Colorado River. (Pub. L. 95–604, title I, § 102, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3023; Pub. L. 97–415, § 21, Jan. 4, 1983, 96 Stat. 2079; Pub. L. 106–398, § 1 [div. C, title XXXIV, § 3403(b)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–489; Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 809(n)(4), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1844.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Remedial action authorized under Public Law 92–314, referred to in subsec. (a)(3), means the remedial action Page 7496 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 7913 authorized by title II of Pub. L. 92–314, June 16, 1972, 86 Stat. 222, which is not classified to the Code. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 115–232 substituted ‘‘(10 U.S.C. 8720 note; Public Law 105–261)’’ for ‘‘(10 U.S.C. 7420 note; Public Law 105–261)’’ in introductory provi- sions. 2000—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 106–398 added subsec. (f). 1983—Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 97–415 added par. (3). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 115–232 effective Feb. 1, 2019, with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see section 800 of Pub. L. 115–232, set out as a note preceding section 3001 of Title 10, Armed Forces. § 7913. State cooperative agreements (a) Authority of Secretary; prompt commence- ment of preparations After notifying a State of the designation re- ferred to in section 7912 of this title, the Sec- retary subject to section 7923 of this title, is au- thorized to enter into cooperative agreements with such State to perform remedial actions at each designated processing site in such State (other than a site located on Indian lands re- ferred to in section 7915 of this title). The Sec- retary shall, to the greatest extent practicable, enter into such agreements and carry out such remedial actions in accordance with the prior- ities established by him under section 7912 of this title. The Secretary shall commence prep- arations for cooperative agreements with re- spect to each designated processing site as promptly as practicable following the designa- tion of each site. (b) Terms and conditions; limitation of Federal assistance Each cooperative agreement under this sec- tion shall contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate and consistent with the purposes of this chapter, including, but not limited to, a limitation on the use of Fed- eral assistance to those costs which are directly required to complete the remedial action se- lected pursuant to section 7918 of this title. (c) Written consent of record interest holder; waiver (1) Except where the State is required to ac- quire the processing site as provided in sub- section (a) of section 7914 of this title, each co- operative agreement with a State under this section shall provide that the State shall obtain, in a form prescribed by the Secretary, written consent from any person holding any record in- terest in the designated processing site for the Secretary or any person designated by him to perform remedial action at such site. (2) Such written consent shall include a waiver by each such person on behalf of himself, his heirs, successors, and assigns— (A) releasing the United States of any liabil- ity or claim thereof by such person, his heirs, successors, and assigns concerning such reme- dial action, and (B) holding the United States harmless against any claim by such person on behalf of himself, his heirs, successors, or assigns aris- ing out of the performance of any such reme- dial action. (d) Inspection entries; termination of right of entry Each cooperative agreement under this sec- tion shall require the State to assure that the Secretary, the Commission, and the Adminis- trator and their authorized representatives have a permanent right of entry at any time to in- spect the processing site and the site provided pursuant to section 7914(b)(1) of this title in fur- therance of the provisions of this subchapter and to carry out such agreement and enforce this chapter and any rules prescribed under this chapter. Such right of entry under this section or section 7916 of this title into an area de- scribed in section 7911(6)(B) of this title shall terminate on completion of the remedial action, as determined by the Secretary. (e) Effective date Each agreement under this section shall take effect only upon the concurrence of the Commis- sion with the terms and conditions thereof. (f) Reimbursement The Secretary may, in any cooperative agree- ment entered into under this section or section 7915 of this title, provide for reimbursement of the actual costs, as determined by the Sec- retary, of any remedial action performed with respect to so much of a designated processing site as is described in section 7911(6)(B) of this title. Such reimbursement shall be made only to a property owner of record at the time such re- medial action was undertaken and only with re- spect to costs incurred by such property owner. No such reimbursement may be made unless— (1) such remedial action was completed prior to November 8, 1978, and unless the application for such reimbursement was filed by such owner within one year after an agreement under this section or section 7915 of this title is approved by the Secretary and the Commis- sion, and (2) the Secretary is satisfied that such ac- tion adequately achieves the purposes of this chapter with respect to the site concerned and is consistent with the standards established by the Administrator pursuant to section 2022(a) of this title. (Pub. L. 95–604, title I, § 103, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3024.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b), (d), and (f)(2), was in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 95–604, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3021, known as the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note under section 7901 of this title and Tables. § 7914. Acquisition and disposition of lands and materials (a) State acquisition; windfall profits prevention Each cooperative agreement under section 7913 of this title shall require the State, where deter- mined appropriate by the Secretary with the