§10109 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary of Energy must send Congress a report by January 1, 2026, and every two years after that. High-level radioactive waste — the type named in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982. Spent nuclear fuel — used reactor fuel, as defined in that same Act. Standard contract — the contract meaning in 10 C.F.R. §961.3 (or any later rule). The report must cover eight topics: money the United States has paid to holders of a standard contract for partial breaches and how much the Department of Energy has spent since fiscal year 2008 to reduce future payments; total DOE spending so far to store, manage, and dispose of this waste; projected lifecycle costs to handle current and expected spent fuel through 2050; better ways to track liabilities and recommendations to improve DOE accounting; actions in the prior fiscal year on interim storage; and work in the prior fiscal year on technologies and fuels to make transport and storage safer, including protections against earthquakes, flooding, and other extreme weather.

Title 42, §10109

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

(a)In this section:

(1)The term “high-level radioactive waste” has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).

(2)The term “spent nuclear fuel” has the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).

(3)The term “standard contract” has the meaning given the term “contract” in section 961.3 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).

(b)Not later than January 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall submit to Congress a report that describes—

(1)the annual and cumulative amount of payments made by the United States to the holder of a standard contract due to a partial breach of contract under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) resulting in financial damages to the holder;

(2)the cumulative amount spent by the Department of Energy since fiscal year 2008 to reduce future payments projected to be made by the United States to any holder of a standard contract due to a partial breach of contract under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.);

(3)the cumulative amount spent by the Department of Energy to store, manage, and dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States as of the date of the report;

(4)the projected lifecycle costs to store, manage, transport, and dispose of the projected inventory of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste in the United States, including spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste expected to be generated from existing reactors through 2050;

(5)any mechanisms for better accounting of liabilities for the lifecycle costs of the spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste inventory in the United States;

(6)any recommendations for improving the methods used by the Department of Energy for the accounting of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste costs and liabilities;

(7)any actions taken in the previous fiscal year by the Department of Energy with respect to interim storage; and

(8)any activities taken in the previous fiscal year by the Department of Energy to develop and deploy nuclear technologies and fuels that enhance the safe transportation or storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste, including technologies to protect against seismic, flooding, and other extreme weather events.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, referred to in subsec. (b)(1), (2), is Pub. L. 97–425, Jan. 7, 1983, 96 Stat. 2201, which is classified generally to chapter 108 (§ 10101 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 10101 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was enacted as part of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2024, also known as the ADVANCE Act of 2024, and not as part of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 which comprises this chapter.

§10109 Biennial Report on the Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-level Radioactive Waste Inventory in the United States