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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§10172a Siting a Second Repository

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 E — Redirection of Nuclear Waste Program › § 10172a

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary cannot do site-specific work on a second repository unless Congress has approved it and given money for it. The Secretary must report to the President and to Congress on the need for a second repository on or after January 1, 2007, but no later than January 1, 2010. Within 6 months after December 22, 1987, the Secretary must stop funding, in an orderly way, all research that existed on that date to test crystalline rock as a possible host. If the Secretary ever looks at crystalline rock sites after December 22, 1987, for study or selection, the Secretary must also consider extra disqualifying factors along with the usual siting rules: seasonal population increases, closeness to public drinking water supplies (including metropolitan areas), and effects on lands owned or held in trust by the United States for Indian tribes.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §10172a

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

(a)Congressional action required
The Secretary may not conduct site-specific activities with respect to a second repository unless Congress has specifically authorized and appropriated funds for such activities.
(b)Report
The Secretary shall report to the President and to Congress on or after January 1, 2007, but not later than January 1, 2010, on the need for a second repository.
(c)Termination of granite research
Not later than 6 months after December 22, 1987, the Secretary shall phase out in an orderly manner funding for all research programs in existence on December 22, 1987, designed to evaluate the suitability of crystalline rock as a potential repository host medium.
(d)Additional siting criteria
In the event that the Secretary at any time after December 22, 1987, considers any sites in crystalline rock for characterization or selection as a repository, the Secretary shall consider (as a supplement to the siting guidelines under section 10132 of this title) such potentially disqualifying factors as—
(1)seasonal increases in population;
(2)proximity to public drinking water supplies, including those of metropolitan areas; and
(3)the impact that characterization or siting decisions would have on lands owned or placed in trust by the United States for Indian tribes.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Pub. L. 100–202 and Pub. L. 100–203 added identical sections.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 10172a

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110