S. 1936 Vote On Wednesday

[Michael Grynberg <grynberg@Citizen.ORG>]

  Nuclear Waste Bill to Receive Final Vote on Wednesday
  
  Prior to a planned cloture vote on Thursday, the Senate reached a
  unanimous consent agreement to vote on final passage of S. 1936,
  the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1996, on Wednesday, July 31.  In
  return for ending their filibuster of the bill, Senators Bryan
  and Reid (both D-NV) managed to delay the vote on final passage
  by several days.
  
  While the bill is expected to pass, the nuclear industry is not
  expected to have the votes necessary to override a promised veto
  from President Clinton.  We need to make sure this remains the
  case.  As repetitive as this must seem, the importance of calls
  to Congress only increases.  Please call your Senators and ask
  them to oppose S. 1936.  Then call your Representative and ask
  him or her to oppose H.R. 1020, the House counterpart to S. 1936. 
  The nuclear lobbyists are pressuring the House to consider that
  bill next week.
  
  The Capitol Switchboard number is (202)224-3121.  Direct
  line and fax numbers as well as email addresses for Senators can
  be found on Critical Mass' voting index
  (http://www.essential.org/CMEP).
  
  Court Decision Obscures Waste Debate
  
  One argument you may hear in calling congressional offices is
  that the courts have just ruled that the Department of Energy
  must take utility waste in 1998.  On Tuesday the D.C. Circuit
  Court of Appeals ruled that the DOE does have a contract with
  utilities to start "disposing" of utility fuel in 1998.  While
  the ruling contains many errors, and may indeed be appealed, it
  is important to note what the ruling does not say.  Nothing in
  the ruling directs the government to slash environmental
  standards or force a dump on Nevada.  Indeed, building interim
  storage in Nevada or, in the case of every other state, before a
  license is issued for a permanent facility would violate existing
  law.  
  
  The ruling leaves open the question of what remedies would be
  necessary if the government breaches its contract, but one should
  remember that regardless of whether S. 1936 passes or not, the
  government will not be able to begin accepting fuel in 1998. 
  Most importantly, the ruling acknowledges the fact that the
  government is not required to take title to irradiated fuel until
  a disposal capacity for the materials exists.  "Disposal," as
  defined by current law and cited by the judges, is "emplacement
  in a repository of ... spent nuclear fuel ... with no foreseeable
  intent of recovery." The panel wrote, "it is not unusual,
  particularly in the nuclear area, to recognize a division between
  ownership of materials and other obligations relating to such
  materials."  In other words, taxpayers need not shoulder the
  liability for these materials until a long-term plan is in place. 
  S. 1936, however, transfers title and liability to the taxpayer
  beginning in 1999.
  
  For more information, contact Michael Grynberg
  (grynberg@citizen.org).
  
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  Michael Grynberg 
  Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project
  215 Pennsylvania Ave., SE
  Washington, D.C. 20003
  Internet: grynberg@citizen.org