§7915 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

After notifying the tribe under section 7912 and working with the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary may make a cooperative agreement with a tribe to clean up a designated processing site on tribal land. The Secretary must try to follow the cleanup priorities in section 7912 and should use qualified tribal members who live nearby. Each agreement must include a waiver from the tribe and any landowners releasing the United States from liability and agreeing the United States won’t be responsible for claims from the cleanup. The cleanup plan must be chosen and carried out under section 7918 by the Secretary or a person the Secretary names. The Secretary, the Commission, the Administrator, and their reps have a permanent right to enter the site at any time to inspect, carry out the agreement, and enforce rules. If the Secretary and the Commission agree the materials should be removed, the Secretary will provide one or more permanent sites for safe disposal and stabilization. The materials will be transferred to the Secretary at no cost and kept and maintained by the Secretary under a Commission license, subject to sections 7914(f)(2) and (h).

Title 42, §7915

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

(a)After notifying the Indian tribe of the designation pursuant to section 7912 of this title, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, is authorized to enter into a cooperative agreement, subject to section 7923 of this title, with any Indian tribe to perform remedial action at a designated processing site located on land of such Indian tribe. The Secretary shall, to the greatest extent practicable, enter into such agreements and carry out such remedial actions in accordance with the priorities established by him under section 7912 of this title. In performing any remedial action under this section and in carrying out any continued monitoring or maintenance respecting residual radioactive materials associated with any site subject to a cooperative agreement under this section, the Secretary shall make full use of any qualified members of Indian tribes resident in the vicinity of any such site. Each such agreement shall contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems appropriate and consistent with the purposes of this chapter. Such terms and conditions shall require the following:

(1)The Indian tribe and any person holding any interest in such land shall execute a waiver (A) releasing the United States of any liability or claim thereof by such tribe or person concerning such remedial action and (B) holding the United States harmless against any claim arising out of the performance of any such remedial action.

(2)The remedial action shall be selected and performed in accordance with section 7918 of this title by the Secretary or such person as he may designate.

(3)The Secretary, the Commission, and the Administrator and their authorized representatives shall have a permanent right of entry at any time to inspect such processing site in furtherance of the provisions of this subchapter, to carry out such agreement, and to enforce any rules prescribed under this chapter.

(b)When the Secretary with the concurrence of the Commission determines removal of residual radioactive materials from a processing site on lands described in subsection (a) to be appropriate, he shall provide, consistent with other applicable provisions of law, a site or sites for the permanent disposition and stabilization in a safe and environmentally sound manner of such residual radioactive materials. Such materials shall be transferred to the Secretary (without payment therefor by the Secretary) and permanently retained and maintained by the Secretary under the conditions established in a license issued by the Commission, subject to section 7914(f)(2) and (h) of this title.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 95–604, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3021, known as the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note under section 7901 of this title and Tables.

§7915 Indian tribe cooperative agreements