Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110
§10135 Review of Repository Site Selection
Title 42 › CHAPTER 108 — NUCLEAR WASTE POLICY › SUBCHAPTER I — DISPOSAL AND STORAGE OF HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE, SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL, AND LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE › Part A — Repositories for Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel › § 10135
Summary
Requires Congress to approve a disputed site for a waste repository by a special joint resolution within set time limits. A "resolution of repository siting approval" is a joint resolution that names the site, names the State Governor and legislature or tribal governing body that filed the objection, and gives the date of that objection. If the President recommends a site, the site becomes designated after 60 days unless the State’s Governor and legislature or the tribal governing body files a notice of disapproval with Congress. If such a notice is filed, the site is not approved unless Congress passes the special resolution approving the site during the first 90 calendar days of continuous session after Congress gets the notice and that resolution becomes law. Congress has special rules to act quickly. In both the Senate and the House the resolution is sent to committee right away. If a committee does not act within 60 calendar days of continuous session after the first resolution about a site is introduced, the committee is treated as finished and the resolution goes to the floor. In the Senate, any member may force consideration and debate is limited to 10 hours, split evenly for and against, with limited motions allowed, and an immediate final vote after debate. In the House, once the resolution has been on the calendar for 5 legislative days, a member may call it up for immediate consideration with 2 hours of debate split evenly and no amendments allowed. If the other chamber sends an identical resolution, it is not sent to committee and may replace the chamber’s version on final passage. Days when either House is out for more than 3 days do not count toward the 60- and 90-day deadlines, and only an adjournment sine die breaks the continuous session. Congress may ask the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for comments, but those comments do not bind the Commission’s later licensing decisions.
Full Legal Text
Title 42, §10135
The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)“Resolution of repository siting approval” defined
For purposes of this section, the term “resolution of repository siting approval” means a joint resolution of the Congress, the matter after the resolving clause of which is as follows: “That there hereby is approved the site at .......... for a repository, with respect to which a notice of disapproval was submitted by .......... on ...........”. The first blank space in such resolution shall be filled with the name of the geographic location of the proposed site of the repository to which such resolution pertains; the second blank space in such resolution shall be filled with the designation of the State Governor and legislature or Indian tribe governing body submitting the notice of disapproval to which such resolution pertains; and the last blank space in such resolution shall be filled with the date of such submission.
(b)State or Indian tribe petitions
The designation of a site as suitable for application for a construction authorization for a repository shall be effective at the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date that the President recommends such site to the Congress under section 10134 of this title, unless the Governor and legislature of the State in which such site is located, or the governing body of an Indian tribe on whose reservation such site is located, as the case may be, has submitted to the Congress a notice of disapproval under section 10136 or 10138 of this title. If any such notice of disapproval has been submitted, the designation of such site shall not be effective except as provided under subsection (c).
(c)Congressional review of petitions
If any notice of disapproval of a repository site designation has been submitted to the Congress under section 10136 or 10138 of this title after a recommendation for approval of such site is made by the President under section 10134 of this title, such site shall be disapproved unless, during the first period of 90 calendar days of continuous session of the Congress after the date of the receipt by the Congress of such notice of disapproval, the Congress passes a resolution of repository siting approval in accordance with this subsection approving such site, and such resolution thereafter becomes law.
(d)Procedures applicable to Senate
(1)The provisions of this subsection are enacted by the Congress—
(A)as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the Senate, and as such they are deemed a part of the rules of the Senate, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in the Senate in the case of resolutions of repository siting approval, and such provisions supersede other rules of the Senate only to the extent that they are inconsistent with such other rules; and
(B)with full recognition of the constitutional right of the Senate to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of the Senate) at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the Senate.
(2)(A)Not later than the first day of session following the day on which any notice of disapproval of a repository site selection is submitted to the Congress under section 10136 or 10138 of this title, a resolution of repository siting approval shall be introduced (by request) in the Senate by the chairman of the committee to which such notice of disapproval is referred, or by a Member or Members of the Senate designated by such chairman.
(B)Upon introduction, a resolution of repository siting approval shall be referred to the appropriate committee or committees of the Senate by the President of the Senate, and all such resolutions with respect to the same repository site shall be referred to the same committee or committees. Upon the expiration of 60 calendar days of continuous session after the introduction of the first resolution of repository siting approval with respect to any site, each committee to which such resolution was referred shall make its recommendations to the Senate.
(3)If any committee to which is referred a resolution of siting approval introduced under paragraph (2)(A), or, in the absence of such a resolution, any other resolution of siting approval introduced with respect to the site involved, has not reported such resolution at the end of 60 days of continuous session of Congress after introduction of such resolution, such committee shall be deemed to be discharged from further consideration of such resolution, and such resolution shall be placed on the appropriate calendar of the Senate.
(4)(A)When each committee to which a resolution of siting approval has been referred has reported, or has been deemed to be discharged from further consideration of, a resolution described in paragraph (3), it shall at any time thereafter be in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) for any Member of the Senate to move to proceed to the consideration of such resolution. Such motion shall be highly privileged and shall not be debatable. Such motion shall not be subject to amendment, to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of other business. A motion to reconsider the vote by which such motion is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order. If a motion to proceed to the consideration of such resolution is agreed to, such resolution shall remain the unfinished business of the Senate until disposed of.
(B)Debate on a resolution of siting approval, and on all debatable motions and appeals in connection with such resolution, shall be limited to not more than 10 hours, which shall be divided equally between Members favoring and Members opposing such resolution. A motion further to limit debate shall be in order and shall not be debatable. Such motion shall not be subject to amendment, to a motion to postpone, or to a motion to proceed to the consideration of other business, and a motion to recommit such resolution shall not be in order. A motion to reconsider the vote by which such resolution is agreed to or disagreed to shall not be in order.
(C)Immediately following the conclusion of the debate on a resolution of siting approval, and a single quorum call at the conclusion of such debate if requested in accordance with the rules of the Senate, the vote on final approval of such resolution shall occur.
(D)Appeals from the decisions of the Chair relating to the application of the rules of the Senate to the procedure relating to a resolution of siting approval shall be decided without debate.
(5)If the Senate receives from the House a resolution of repository siting approval with respect to any site, then the following procedure shall apply:
(A)The resolution of the House with respect to such site shall not be referred to a committee.
(B)With respect to the resolution of the Senate with respect to such site—
(i)the procedure with respect to that or other resolutions of the Senate with respect to such site shall be the same as if no resolution from the House with respect to such site had been received; but
(ii)on any vote on final passage of a resolution of the Senate with respect to such site, a resolution from the House with respect to such site where the text is identical shall be automatically substituted for the resolution of the Senate.
(e)Procedures applicable to House of Representatives
(1)The provisions of this section are enacted by the Congress—
(A)as an exercise of the rulemaking power of the House of Representatives, and as such they are deemed a part of the rules of the House, but applicable only with respect to the procedure to be followed in the House in the case of resolutions of repository siting approval, and such provisions supersede other rules of the House only to the extent that they are inconsistent with such other rules; and
(B)with full recognition of the constitutional right of the House to change the rules (so far as relating to the procedure of the House) at any time, in the same manner and to the same extent as in the case of any other rule of the House.
(2)Resolutions of repository siting approval shall upon introduction, be immediately referred by the Speaker of the House to the appropriate committee or committees of the House. Any such resolution received from the Senate shall be held at the Speaker’s table.
(3)Upon the expiration of 60 days of continuous session after the introduction of the first resolution of repository siting approval with respect to any site, each committee to which such resolution was referred shall be discharged from further consideration of such resolution, and such resolution shall be referred to the appropriate calendar, unless such resolution or an identical resolution was previously reported by each committee to which it was referred.
(4)It shall be in order for the Speaker to recognize a Member favoring a resolution to call up a resolution of repository siting approval after it has been on the appropriate calendar for 5 legislative days. When any such resolution is called up, the House shall proceed to its immediate consideration and the Speaker shall recognize the Member calling up such resolution and a Member opposed to such resolution for 2 hours of debate in the House, to be equally divided and controlled by such Members. When such time has expired, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the resolution to adoption without intervening motion. No amendment to any such resolution shall be in order, nor shall it be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which such resolution is agreed to or disagreed to.
(5)If the House receives from the Senate a resolution of repository siting approval with respect to any site, then the following procedure shall apply:
(A)The resolution of the Senate with respect to such site shall not be referred to a committee.
(B)With respect to the resolution of the House with respect to such site—
(i)the procedure with respect to that or other resolutions of the House with respect to such site shall be the same as if no resolution from the Senate with respect to such site had been received; but
(ii)on any vote on final passage of a resolution of the House with respect to such site, a resolution from the Senate with respect to such site where the text is identical shall be automatically substituted for the resolution of the House.
(f)Computation of days
For purposes of this section
(1)
(2)the days on which either House is not in session because of an adjournment of more than 3 days to a day certain are excluded in the computation of the 90-day period referred to in subsection (c) and the 60-day period referred to in subsections (d) and (e).
(g)Information provided to Congress
In considering any notice of disapproval submitted to the Congress under section 10136 or 10138 of this title, the Congress may obtain any comments of the Commission with respect to such notice of disapproval. The provision of such comments by the Commission shall not be construed as binding the Commission with respect to any licensing or authorization action concerning the repository involved.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Yucca Mountain, Nevada Repository Site Pub. L. 107–200,
July 23, 2002, 116 Stat. 735, provided: “That there hereby is approved the site at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, for a repository, with respect to which a notice of disapproval was submitted by the Governor of the State of Nevada on
April 8, 2002.”
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 10135
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110