42 U.S.C. § 10245

Current through P.L. 118-64 (published on www.congress.gov on 05/24/2024), except for [P. L. 118-63]
Section 10245 - Site characterization; licensing
(a) Site characterization

Upon enactment of legislation to implement an agreement to site a repository negotiated under section 10243(a) of this title, the Secretary shall conduct appropriate site characterization activities for the site that is the subject of such agreement subject to the conditions and terms of such agreement. Any such site characterization activities shall be conducted in accordance with section 10133 of this title, except that references in such section to the Yucca Mountain site and the State of Nevada shall be deemed to refer to the site that is the subject of the agreement and the State or Indian tribe entering into the agreement.

(b) Licensing
(1) Upon the completion of site characterization activities carried out under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission an application for construction authorization for a repository at such site.
(2) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall consider an application for a construction authorization for a repository or monitored retrievable storage facility in accordance with the laws applicable to such applications, except that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall issue a final decision approving or disapproving the issuance of a construction authorization not later than 3 years after the date of the submission of such application.

42 U.S.C. § 10245

Pub. L. 97-425, title IV, §405, 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, §5041, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330-246.

EDITORIAL NOTES

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

Commission
The term "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Indian tribe
The term "Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians recognized as eligible for the services provided to Indians by the Secretary of the Interior because of their status as Indians, including any Alaska Native village, as defined in section 3(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(c)).
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.
Yucca Mountain site
The term "Yucca Mountain site" means the candidate site in the State of Nevada recommended by the Secretary to the President under section 10132(b)(1)(B) of this title on May 27, 1986.
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.
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.
Secretary
the term "Secretary" means- (A) the Secretary of Education for purposes of subtitle A (other than section 3201),(B) the Secretary of Agriculture for purposes of the amendments made by section 3201, and(C) the Secretary of Health and Human Services for purposes of subtitle B,