§2296a Remedial Action Program

Summary

License holders must pay for cleanup, decommissioning, and other remedial work at active uranium or thorium processing sites when their licensed activities produced the waste. The Secretary of Energy must reimburse those licensees at least once a year for the part of those cleanup costs that came from byproduct material created because of sales to the United States. Reimbursement covers costs paid on or before December 31, 2007, or costs paid after that date if they follow a cleanup plan the Secretary approves. Reimbursements follow money limits. For uranium mill tailings, a licensee’s refund cannot exceed $6.25 multiplied by the dry short tons of eligible byproduct that were at the site on October 24, 1992 and were created by sales to the United States. All uranium site payments together cannot exceed $350,000,000. The active thorium site may receive up to $365,000,000 only for off‑site disposal, with yearly limits of $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2002, $55,000,000 for 2003, and $20,000,000 for each fiscal year 2004 through 2007 (unused yearly amounts may be used later). These dollar limits are increased each year for inflation using an index the Secretary chooses. The Secretary must check by December 31, 2008 whether extra funding is available; if so, they may distribute amounts above $6.25 per dry short ton on a prorated basis. Byproduct moved from the Edgemont Mill to a disposal site during cleanup can be reimbursed if it otherwise qualifies.