The Nuclear Waste Policy Act

Agency (EPA), which was established in 1970, the same year the first Clean Air Act was passed into law. In 1972 the Clean Water Act became law, and in 1973 the Endangered Species Act became law. Other important federal environmental legislation includes the Resource Consei vation and Recoveiy Act, passed in 1976 the Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 the Nuclear Waste Policy Acts of 1982 and 1987 and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Acts of 1980 and 1985. From 1980 to 2000 these environmental regulations, and the enforcement efforts of the EPA, have had a much greater impact on decisions made in the energy industiy than all the policy initiatives implemented by the DOE. 

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 [NWPA (1982)] as amended in 1987, contains the current statutory definitions of spent nuclear... 

Spent nuclear fuel is a form of high-level waste in some definitions [e.g., NRC s 10 CFR Part 60 (NRC, 1983)] but not in others [e.g., the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA, 1982)]. This inconsistency is not important, because spent fuel and the primary waste from fuel reprocessing have similar radiological properties and require similar precautions for safe handling, storage, and disposal. Spent fuel is not a waste until it is so declared. 

Statutory and Regulatory Definitions. Current statutory definitions of low-level waste are contained in NWPA (1982) and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act (LLRWPAA, 1986). In the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, low-level waste is defined as radioactive waste that ... 

Finally, Mike McCormack, former Washington state Congressman, discusses the Federal legislation affecting nuclear waste disposal in the United States and the impact of several new laws passed by the Congress— the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980. 

On January 7, 1983, President Reagan signed into law The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 for the management and storage of high-level, commercial nuclear waste and spent fuel. As a result, the Department of Energy has established a Nuclear Waste Policy Act Project Office. Its new director, Robert L. Morgan, has initiated a coordinated effort to meet the elaborate set of near-term actions that are required by this complex law. 

Because of its controversial nature, no nuclear waste generated over the past 50 years has been permanently disposed of. However, in 1982 the U.S. Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which established a timetable for choosing and preparing sites for deep underground disposal of radioactive materials. The program is funded by a tax of 0.1% per kilowatt hour on electricity generated by nuclear power. 

Choosing the waste repository sites is an especially sensitive issue. Many states have resisted the plan, but Congress has the power to override a state s disapproval. In fact, Congress amended the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1987 to make Yucca Mountain in Nevada the primary potential site. Studies are now being carried out to evaluate the feasibility of this site as a safety repository for nuclear waste. 

In 1982, lawmakers passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which established a program to build this countiy s first underground nuclear waste repositoiy, a permanent disposal site for nuclear waste. In 1987, Yucca Mountain, Nevada, was chosen for study as a potential site. The stable rock formations deep underground combined with sparse population and little rainfall make it an ideal location for the site. Nuclear waste will be encased in several layers of containment material and placed in tunnels drilled out of the rock formations 1000 ft beneath the ground. The storage facility should keep these materials isolated from us and from the environment for the foreseeable future. However, as might be expected, the construction of the facility is controversial, with many opposing even the idea. The facility had been scheduled to be operational in 2010, but delays have pushed back that date to 2017 at the earliest. 

Finally, more than 1 5 years after the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, it looks like some waste will soon be stored. In 1998 the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) In New Mexico was issued a license by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to begin receiving nuclear waste. This facility employs tun-... 

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