Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that would revise the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982.

Highlights:

• Establishes the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management within the Department of Energy.

• Requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to set safety guidelines for handling of wastes.

• Authorizes the Department of Energy to build a temporary storage facility for the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.

• Designates Yucca Mountain a permanent radioactive waste dump.

Calls for the President : 

• To designate a site for an interim storage facility if the current Yucca Mountain site is deemed unsustainable.

• To exempt the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, Savannah River, and the Oak Ridge sites from consideration as interm storage facilities.

Calls for the Secretary of Energy: 

• To develop and operate a management system for the storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.

• To store sent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste in an interim storage facility no later than 18 months after an interim disposal site has been designated.

• To use components and manufactured in the U.S. to transport nuclear wastes and incorporate private sector participation in implementing the Act.

• To mandate public education and training for jurisdictions where waste materials will be transported.

• To make grants to affected Indian tribes or local governments to monitor and review the impact of the Yucca Mountain site.

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text