§10173 — Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare | U.S. Code

Summary

The Secretary may make a benefits deal with the State of Nevada for a repository, or with a State or an Indian tribe for a monitored retrievable storage (MRS) site, to provide benefits or payments if high‑level radioactive waste or spent fuel is accepted. A State or tribe can only sign such a deal if the State Attorney General, the tribe’s governing authority, or the Secretary of the Interior (when the tribe has no governing body) certifies that local law lets them do it. Any state deal must be worked out with affected local governments, and benefits or payments can be given only under these deals. Changes to a deal need both parties’ agreement, and a deal can be ended only under section 10173c. The Secretary must offer a deal to the Governor of Nevada, and must offer an MRS deal to the tribe whose reservation has the site or, if the site is off a reservation, to the state Governor, with local government consultation. Only one repository deal and one MRS deal can be in effect at a time. The Secretary’s decisions under these rules cannot be reviewed by courts.

Title 42, §10173

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

(a)(1)The Secretary may enter into a benefits agreement with the State of Nevada concerning a repository or with a State or an Indian tribe concerning a monitored retrievable storage facility for the acceptance of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel in that State or on the reservation of that tribe, as appropriate.

(2)The State or Indian tribe may enter into such an agreement only if the State Attorney General or the appropriate governing authority of the Indian tribe or the Secretary of the Interior, in the absence of an appropriate governing authority, as appropriate, certifies to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the laws of the State or Indian tribe provide adequate authority for that entity to enter into the benefits agreement.

(3)Any benefits agreement with a State under this section shall be negotiated in consultation with affected units of local government in such State.

(4)Benefits and payments under this part may be made available only in accordance with a benefits agreement under this section.

(b)A benefits agreement entered into under subsection (a) may be amended only by the mutual consent of the parties to the agreement and terminated only in accordance with section 10173c of this title.

(c)The Secretary shall offer to enter into a benefits agreement with the Governor of Nevada. Any benefits agreement with a State under this subsection shall be negotiated in consultation with any affected units of local government in such State.

(d)The Secretary shall offer to enter into a benefits agreement relating to a monitored retrievable storage facility with the governing body of the Indian tribe on whose reservation the site for such facility is located, or, if the site is not located on a reservation, with the Governor of the State in which the site is located and in consultation with affected units of local government in such State.

(e)Only one benefits agreement for a repository and only one benefits agreement for a monitored retrievable storage facility may be in effect at any one time.

(f)Decisions of the Secretary under this section are not subject to judicial review.

Editorial Notes

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

§10173 Benefits Agreements

Summary

Title 42, §10173

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Citations & Metadata