Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§10136 Participation of States

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 108— - NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - DISPOSAL AND STORAGE OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, AND LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE › Part Part A— - Repositories for Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nu­clear Fuel › § 10136

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must pick which States have one or more potentially acceptable sites for a repository within 90 days after January 7, 1983, and then tell the Governor, the State legislature, and the tribal council of any affected Indian tribe in that State within 90 days after that pick. Potentially acceptable site: a place where the Department does early geologic work, including preliminary drilling and geophysical tests, after mapping but before detailed data gathering. When the President recommends a site to Congress, the Governor or the State legislature (or whoever state law says speaks for them) may send a notice of disapproval to Congress within 60 days and must say why. That disapproval rule does not apply to sites on Indian reservations. The Secretary must give grants and help to the State of Nevada and affected local governments to take part in reviews and site work for the Yucca Mountain site, but not for ordinary salaries or travel costs. The help can pay for reviewing likely economic, social, health, safety, and environmental effects; monitoring and testing; public information; and sending questions or comments to the Secretary. The Secretary must also offer technical and financial help to reduce impacts, starting when site characterization begins, and should make a binding agreement with Nevada on amounts and procedures. Each year the Secretary must give Nevada and affected local governments a grant equal to what they would get if they could tax the site activities; those grants continue until work stops. Grants end one year after the Secretary says site work is stopped, or if Yucca Mountain is disapproved, or if the Commission rejects a construction application. Assistance also ends if work is stopped or permanently blocked by a court. Two years after a repository license becomes effective in a State, most federal funding under these rules stops except for a few listed exceptions. All this money comes from the Waste Fund, and no State other than Nevada may get funding under these rules after December 22, 1987. When the Secretary must notify or consult a tribal governing body about a site on a reservation, the Secretary must also notify or consult the Governor of the State where the reservation is located.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §10136

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall identify the States with one or more potentially acceptable sites for a repository within 90 days after January 7, 1983. Within 90 days of such identification, the Secretary shall notify the Governor, the State legislature, and the tribal council of any affected Indian tribe in any State of the potentially acceptable sites within such State. For the purposes of this subchapter, the term “potentially acceptable site” means any site at which, after geologic studies and field mapping but before detailed geologic data gathering, the Department undertakes preliminary drilling and geophysical testing for the definition of site location.
(b)(1)Unless otherwise provided by State law, the Governor or legislature of each State shall have authority to submit a notice of disapproval to the Congress under paragraph (2). In any case in which State law provides for submission of any such notice of disapproval by any other person or entity, any reference in this part to the Governor or legislature of such State shall be considered to refer instead to such other person or entity.
(2)Upon the submission by the President to the Congress of a recommendation of a site for a repository, the Governor or legislature of the State in which such site is located may disapprove the site designation and submit to the Congress a notice of disapproval. Such Governor or legislature may submit such a notice of disapproval to the Congress not later than the 60 days after the date that the President recommends such site to the Congress under section 10134 of this title. A notice of disapproval shall be considered to be submitted to the Congress on the date of the transmittal of such notice of disapproval to the Speaker of the House and the President pro tempore of the Senate. Such notice of disapproval shall be accompanied by a statement of reasons explaining why such Governor or legislature disapproved the recommended repository site involved.
(3)The authority of the Governor or legislature of each State under this subsection shall not be applicable with respect to any site located on a reservation.
(c)(1)(A)The Secretary shall make grants to the State of Nevada and any affected unit of local government for the purpose of participating in activities required by this section and section 10137 of this title or authorized by written agreement entered into pursuant to section 10137(c) of this title. Any salary or travel expense that would ordinarily be incurred by such State or affected unit of local government, may not be considered eligible for funding under this paragraph.
(B)The Secretary shall make grants to the State of Nevada and any affected unit of local government for purposes of enabling such State or affected unit of local government—
(i)to review activities taken under this part with respect to the Yucca Mountain site for purposes of determining any potential economic, social, public health and safety, and environmental impacts of a repository on such State, or affected unit of local government and its residents;
(ii)to develop a request for impact assistance under paragraph (2);
(iii)to engage in any monitoring, testing, or evaluation activities with respect to site characterization programs with regard to such site;
(iv)to provide information to Nevada residents regarding any activities of such State, the Secretary, or the Commission with respect to such site; and
(v)to request information from, and make comments and recommendations to, the Secretary regarding any activities taken under this part with respect to such site.
(C)Any salary or travel expense that would ordinarily be incurred by the State of Nevada or any affected unit of local government may not be considered eligible for funding under this paragraph.
(2)(A)(i)The Secretary shall provide financial and technical assistance to the State of Nevada, and any affected unit of local government requesting such assistance.
(ii)Such assistance shall be designed to mitigate the impact on such State or affected unit of local government of the development of such repository and the characterization of such site.
(iii)Such assistance to such State or affected unit of local government of such State shall commence upon the initiation of site characterization activities.
(B)The State of Nevada and any affected unit of local government may request assistance under this subsection by preparing and submitting to the Secretary a report on the economic, social, public health and safety, and environmental impacts that are likely to result from site characterization activities at the Yucca Mountain site. Such report shall be submitted to the Secretary after the Secretary has submitted to the State a general plan for site characterization activities under section 10133(b) of this title.
(C)As soon as practicable after the Secretary has submitted such site characterization plan, the Secretary shall seek to enter into a binding agreement with the State of Nevada setting forth—
(i)the amount of assistance to be provided under this subsection to such State or affected unit of local government; and
(ii)the procedures to be followed in providing such assistance.
(3)(A)In addition to financial assistance provided under paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary shall grant to the State of Nevada and any affected unit of local government an amount each fiscal year equal to the amount such State or affected unit of local government, respectively, would receive if authorized to tax site characterization activities at such site, and the development and operation of such repository, as such State or affected unit of local government taxes the non-Federal real property and industrial activities occurring within such State or affected unit of local government.
(B)Such grants shall continue until such time as all such activities, development, and operation are terminated at such site.
(4)(A)The State of Nevada or any affected unit of local government may not receive any grant under paragraph (1) after the expiration of the 1-year period following—
(i)the date on which the Secretary notifies the Governor and legislature of the State of Nevada of the termination of site characterization activities at the site in such State;
(ii)the date on which the Yucca Mountain site is disapproved under section 10135 of this title; or
(iii)the date on which the Commission disapproves an application for a construction authorization for a repository at such site;
(B)The State of Nevada or any affected unit of local government may not receive any further assistance under paragraph (2) with respect to a site if repository construction activities or site characterization activities at such site are terminated by the Secretary or if such activities are permanently enjoined by any court.
(C)At the end of the 2-year period beginning on the effective date of any license to receive and possess for a repository in a State, no Federal funds, shall be made available to such State or affected unit of local government under paragraph (1) or (2), except for—
(i)such funds as may be necessary to support activities related to any other repository located in, or proposed to be located in, such State, and for which a license to receive and possess has not been in effect for more than 1 year;
(ii)such funds as may be necessary to support State activities pursuant to agreements or contracts for impact assistance entered into, under paragraph (2), by such State with the Secretary during such 2-year period; and
(iii)such funds as may be provided under an agreement entered into under subchapter IV.
(5)Financial assistance authorized in this subsection shall be made out of amounts held in the Waste Fund.
(6)No State, other than the State of Nevada, may receive financial assistance under this subsection after December 22, 1987.
(d)Whenever the Secretary is required under any provision of this chapter to notify or consult with the governing body of an affected Indian tribe where a site is located, the Secretary shall also notify or consult with, as the case may be, the Governor of the State in which such reservation is located.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1987—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–202 and Pub. L. 100–203 generally amended subsec. (c) identically, substituting provisions consisting of pars. (1) to (6) for former provisions consisting of pars. (1) to (5).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 10136

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73