§10173 Benefits agreements

Summary

The Secretary can make a benefits agreement to accept high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel. The Secretary may do this with the State of Nevada for a repository, or with a State or an Indian tribe for a monitored retrievable storage site where the waste or fuel will be placed. A State or tribe may enter an agreement only if the State Attorney General or the tribe’s governing authority, or the Secretary of the Interior if the tribe has no governing authority, certifies to the Secretary that their laws allow them to make the agreement. State agreements must be negotiated with affected local governments. Benefits and payments can be given only under a benefits agreement. A benefits agreement can be changed only if both parties agree and can be ended only under section 10173c. The Secretary must offer an agreement to the Governor of Nevada. For a tribe’s storage site, the Secretary must offer the agreement to the tribe’s governing body if the site is on the reservation, or to the State Governor if it is not, and must consult affected local governments. Only one agreement for a repository and only one for a monitored retrievable storage facility may be in effect at any one time. The Secretary’s decisions under this section cannot be reviewed by a court.