PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The State must buy a processing site when the Secretary and the Commission agree it is needed. The decision to make the State buy a site must consider stopping anyone from getting a windfall profit. If leftover radioactive material must be removed, the State must also get land for permanent disposal and safety work unless the Secretary or the Secretary of the Interior gives a federal site for that purpose. The State does not have to buy property outside the part of the site the law calls the processing site or outside the disposal site. Sites on Indian land are treated differently. The State must tell any buyer, before sale, about radioactive materials that were at the site, when they were removed, and the site's condition after cleanup. The Secretary will make rules so this information is also put in local land records, unless a State has an approved program that covers this. With the Secretary and Commission’s OK, the State can sell land, keep it for public use, give it to a local government, or transfer it to the United States. Before selling, the State must first offer the land back to the person it bought it from at fair market value. When cleanup is finished, the State must transfer title of the cleaned-up materials and any land bought for disposal to the Secretary. The transfer pays only for administrative and legal costs. The federal government will then keep and license the land to protect health and the environment, and may do monitoring and emergency work but may not do other actions unless Congress approves after November 8, 1978. If the State sells land, the sale must repay the Secretary from the proceeds. That repayment is the lesser of: the fair market value times the federal cost share ratio, or the total amount the Secretary paid. Money repaid goes to the U.S. Treasury. The Secretary of the Interior may sell or lease underground mineral rights on transferred land, but only if steps are taken to keep tailings safe and to make the buyer pay to restore any damage.

Title 42, §7914

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

(a)State acquisition; windfall profits prevention

Each cooperative agreement under section 7913 of this title shall require the State, where determined appropriate by the Secretary with the concurrence of the Commission, to acquire any designated processing site, including where appropriate any interest therein. In determining whether to require the State to acquire a designated processing site or interest therein, consideration shall be given to the prevention of windfall profits.

(b)Disposition and stabilization site for residual radioactive materials; Federal site available

(1)If the Secretary with the concurrence of the Commission determines that removal of residual radioactive material from a processing site is appropriate, the cooperative agreement shall provide that the State shall acquire land (including, where appropriate, any interest therein) to be used as a site for the permanent disposition and stabilization of such residual radioactive materials in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

(2)Acquisition by the State shall not be required under this subsection if a site located on land controlled by the Secretary or made available by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to section 7916(2) of this title is designated by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Commission, for such disposition and stabilization.

(c)Boundary limitations

No State shall be required under subsection (a) or (b) to acquire any real property or improvement outside the boundaries of— (1)

(2)the site used for disposition of the residual radioactive materials.

(d)Purchasers of sites; notification; rules and regulations

In the case of each processing site designated under this subchapter other than a site designated on Indian land, the State shall take such action as may be necessary, and pursuant to regulations of the Secretary under this subsection, to assure that any person who purchases such a processing site after the removal of radioactive materials from such site shall be notified in an appropriate manner prior to such purchase, of the nature and extent of residual radioactive materials removed from the site, including notice of the date when such action took place, and the condition of such site after such action. If the State is the owner of such site, the State shall so notify any prospective purchaser before entering into a contract, option, or other arrangement to sell or otherwise dispose of such site. The Secretary shall issue appropriate rules and regulations to require notice in the local land records of the residual radioactive materials which were located at any processing site and notice of the nature and extent of residual radioactive materials removed from the site, including notice of the date when such action took place. For purposes of this subsection, the term “site” does not include any property described in section 7911(6)(B) of this title which is in a State which the Secretary has certified has a program which would achieve the purposes of this subsection.

(e)State disposition; terms and conditions; fair market value; offer of sale to prior owner

(1)The terms and conditions of any cooperative agreement with a State under section 7913 of this title shall provide that in the case of any lands or interests therein acquired by the State pursuant to subsection (a), the State, with the concurrence of the Secretary and the Commission, may—

(A)sell such lands and interests,

(B)permanently retain such land and interests in lands (or donate such lands and interests therein to another governmental entity within such State) for permanent use by such State or entity solely for park, recreational, or other public purposes, or

(C)transfer such lands and interests to the United States as provided in subsection (f).

No lands may be sold under subparagraph (A) without the consent of the Secretary and the Commission. No site may be sold under subparagraph (A) or retained under subparagraph (B) if such site is used for the disposition of residual radioactive materials.

(2)Before offering for sale any lands and interests therein which comprise a processing site, the State shall offer to sell such lands and interests at their fair market value to the person from whom the State acquired them.

(f)Transfer of title to Secretary; payment from funds for administrative and legal costs; custody of property; compliance with health and environmental standards for uranium mill tailings; transfer of title restriction

(1)Each agreement under section 7913 of this title shall provide that title to—

(A)the residual radioactive materials subject to the agreement, and

(B)any lands and interests therein which have been acquired by the State, under subsection (a) or (b), for the disposition of such materials,

shall be transferred by the State to the Secretary when the Secretary (with the concurrence of the Commission) determines that remedial action is completed in accordance with the requirements imposed pursuant to this subchapter. No payment shall be made in connection with the transfer of such property from funds appropriated for purposes of this chapter other than payments for any administrative and legal costs incurred in carrying out such transfer.

(2)Custody of any property transferred to the United States under this subsection shall be assumed by the Secretary or such Federal agency as the President may designate. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon completion of the remedial action program authorized by this subchapter, such property and minerals shall be maintained pursuant to a license issued by the Commission in such manner as will protect the public health, safety, and the environment. The Commission may, pursuant to such license or by rule or order, require the Secretary or other Federal agency having custody of such property and minerals to undertake such monitoring, maintenance, and emergency measures necessary to protect public health and safety and other actions as the Commission deems necessary to comply with the standards of section 2022(a) of this title. The Secretary or such other Federal agency is authorized to carry out maintenance, monitoring and emergency measures under this subsection, but shall take no other action pursuant to such license, rule or order with respect to such property and minerals unless expressly authorized by Congress after November 8, 1978. The United States shall not transfer title to property or interest therein acquired under this subsection to any person or State, except as provided in subsection (h).

(g)Reimbursement; fair market value; deposits in Treasury

Each agreement under section 7913 of this title which permits any sale described in subsection (e)(1)(A) shall provide for the prompt reimbursement to the Secretary from the proceeds of such sale. Such reimbursement shall be in an amount equal to the lesser of— (1)

(2)the total amount paid by the Secretary with respect to such acquisition.

The fair market value of such lands or interest shall be determined by the Secretary as of the date of the sale by the State. Any amounts received by the Secretary under this subchapter shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States as miscellaneous receipts.

(h)Subsurface mineral rights; sale, lease, or other disposition; restoration costs for disturbance of residual radioactive materials

No provision of any agreement under section 7913 of this title shall prohibit the Secretary of the Interior, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Energy and the Commission, from disposing of any subsurface mineral rights by sale or lease (in accordance with laws of the United States applicable to the sale, lease, or other disposal of such rights) which are associated with land on which residual radioactive materials are disposed and which are transferred to the United States as required under this section if the Secretary of the Interior takes such action as the Commission deems necessary pursuant to a license issued by the Commission to assure that the residual radioactive materials will not be disturbed by reason of any activity carried on following such disposition. If any such materials are disturbed by any such activity, the Secretary of the Interior shall insure, prior to the disposition of the minerals, that such materials will be restored to a safe and environmentally sound condition as determined by the Commission, and that the costs of such restoration will be borne by the person acquiring such rights from the Secretary of the Interior or from his successor or assign.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (f)(1), was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 95–604, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3021, known as the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see

Short Title

note under section 7901 of this title and Tables.

Amendments

1996—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 104–259 inserted at end “For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘site’ does not include any property described in section 7911(6)(B) of this title which is in a State which the Secretary has certified has a program which would achieve the purposes of this subsection.”

§7914 Acquisition and Disposition of Lands and Materials