§10168 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

§10168 Construction authorization

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 C— - Monitored Retrievable Storage › § 10168

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

After a site is officially chosen, federal environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) must be done for building a monitored retrievable storage facility. The environmental report does not have to study whether the facility is needed or consider alternatives to the law’s required design rules. Still, NEPA reports and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensing can look at different ways to design the facility as long as those designs meet the required criteria. Once the site selection is effective, the Secretary may ask the NRC for a construction license as part of the waste system. When NRC reviews that application, it may not consider whether the facility is needed or alternatives to the required design rules. Any license must say construction cannot start until the NRC issues a construction license for the permanent repository; construction or accepting waste is not allowed while the repository’s license is revoked or repository construction stops; the site may hold no more than 10,000 metric tons of heavy metal until a repository first accepts waste; and the site may never hold more than 15,000 metric tons of heavy metal at one time.

Title 42, §10168

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

(a)(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)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)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)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) 11 So in original. section 10135(d) of this title does not relate to Commission issuance of license. 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.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The 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.