42 U.S.C. § 10168

Current through P.L. 118-47 (published on www.congress.gov on 03/23/2024)

Section 10168 - Construction authorization

(a) Environmental impact statement

(1) Once the selection of a site is effective under section 10166 of this title, the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall apply with respect to construction of a monitored retrievable storage 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 section 10161(b)(1) of this title.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the consideration of alternative facility designs consistent with the criteria described in section 10161(b)(1) of this title in any environmental impact statement, or in any licensing procedure of the Commission, with respect to any monitored retrievable storage facility authorized under section 10162(b) of this title.

(b) Application for construction license

Once the selection of a site for a monitored retrievable storage facility is effective under section 10166 of this title, the Secretary may submit an application to the Commission for a license to construct such a facility as part of an integrated nuclear waste management system and in accordance with the provisions of this section and applicable agreements under this chapter affecting such facility.

(c) Licensing

Any monitored retrievable storage facility authorized pursuant to section 10162(b) of this title shall be subject to licensing under section 5842(3) of this title. In reviewing the application filed by the Secretary for licensing of 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 section 10161(b)(1) of this title.

(d) Licensing conditions

Any license issued by the Commission for a monitored retrievable storage facility under this section shall provide that-

(1) construction of such facility may not begin until the Commission has issued a license for the construction of a repository under section 10135(d) ¹ of this title;

(2) construction of such facility or acceptance of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste shall be prohibited during such time as the repository license is revoked by the Commission or construction of the repository ceases;

(3) the quantity of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste at the site of such facility at any one time may not exceed 10,000 metric tons of heavy metal until a repository under this chapter first accepts spent nuclear fuel or solidified high-level radioactive waste; and

(4) the quantity of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste at the site of such facility at any one time may not exceed 15,000 metric tons of heavy metal.

¹ So in original. Section 10135(d) of this title does not relate to Commission issuance of license.

42 U.S.C. § 10168

Pub. L. 97-425, title I, §148, as added Pub. L. 100-202, §101(d) [title III, §300], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329-104, 1329-121; Pub. L. 100-203, title V, §5021, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330-235.

EDITORIAL NOTES

REFERENCES IN TEXTThe National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, referred to in subsec. (a)(1), 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.

CODIFICATION Pub. L. 100-202 and Pub. L. 100-203 added identical sections.

Commission: The term "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Secretary: The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Energy.
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.1 So in original. The semicolon probably should be a period.2 See 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.
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.