March 5, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 39 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages H2330-H2332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            REAUTHORIZING WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1138) to reauthorize the West Valley demonstration project, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1138

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. WEST VALLEY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

       (a) Reauthorization.--Section 3(a) of the West Valley 
     Demonstration Project Act (Public Law 96-368; 42 U.S.C. 2021a 
     note) is amended by striking ``$5,000,000 for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 1981'' and inserting ``$75,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2020 through 2026''.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
     to Congress a report that describes--
       (1) the volumes, origins, and types of radioactive waste at 
     the Western New York Service Center in West Valley, New York;
       (2) what options have been identified for disposal of each 
     such type of radioactive waste;
       (3) what is known about the costs of, and timeframes for, 
     each such option;

[[Page H2331]]

       (4) the benefits and challenges of each such option, 
     according to the State of New York and the Department of 
     Energy; and
       (5) as of the date of enactment of this Act--
       (A) how much has been spent on the disposal of radioactive 
     waste associated with the demonstration project prescribed by 
     section 2(a) of the West Valley Demonstration Project Act; 
     and
       (B) what volumes and types of radioactive waste have been 
     disposed of from the Western New York Service Center.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Tonko) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Shimkus) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 1138.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, last September, the House approved an identical bill, 
H.R. 2389, in the 115th Congress, by a voice vote.
  Unfortunately, that bill did not move in the Senate. Today, we will 
reconsider H.R. 1138, which has been reintroduced by my New York 
colleague and friend, Mr. Reed.
  The Western New York Nuclear Service Center in West Valley, New York, 
has been the center of disputes and legislative actions since the 
1980s. This site is a difficult reminder that we are still dealing with 
the consequences of our Nation's entry into the atomic age.
  While the site is owned by New York State, between 1966 and 1972 it 
was operated by a private business to reprocess spent nuclear fuel 
primarily provided by the Federal Government. Those reprocessing 
activities ended decades ago, but high-level waste and transuranic 
waste continue to be stored at the site.
  A cost-sharing agreement for the site's remediation has been 
resolved, but disposal of the waste remains a point of contention.
  Since 1986, DOE has classified the waste as commercial rather than 
waste deriving from atomic energy defense activities.
  Under this classification, DOE believes that the cost for disposal of 
the wastes should be borne by the State of New York. New York State 
believes that since 60 percent of the material sent to West Valley was 
from facilities that conducted defense activities, and 80 percent of 
the reprocessed plutonium shipped out of West Valley was sent to 
defense facilities, it should be categorized as defense-related waste.
  This classification disagreement has major consequences for how the 
waste can be disposed of and who will be responsible for covering the 
costs. While I would prefer more certainty in clarifying the wastes' 
classification, this legislation puts us on a path towards solving this 
issue by requiring a GAO report on the origins of and disposal 
pathways, including cost estimates.
  In addition, the bill reauthorizes the West Valley Demonstration 
Project at $75 million annually for 7 years. This funding level is in 
line with historic appropriations levels and will ensure the cleanup 
will continue on schedule.
  This bill may not resolve the decades-old dispute between New York 
and the Department of Energy. It does address funding for the 
remediation of the site and attempts to move the ball forward to ensure 
that wastes are disposed of properly and, most importantly, fairly.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1138, a bill to reauthorize the West Valley 
Demonstration Project, was introduced recently by our New York 
colleague,   Tom Reed. I also see my good friend, Brian Higgins on the 
floor, and I know the chairman has been personally involved with this 
for many, many, many years.
  The House passed an essentially identical version of this bill this 
past September on suspension. Prior to that vote, the bipartisan 
legislation had moved through the Energy and Commerce Committee by 
regular order, including a legislative hearing and markups as part of 
our broader nuclear waste management agenda. It was reported by the 
full committee with a bipartisan amendment by a voice vote.
  H.R. 1138 authorizes appropriations to support the Department of 
Energy's environmental remediation at its West Valley cleanup site in 
New York through 2026. It also directs a study to help Congress 
determine the final disposition of radioactive waste that DOE is 
cleaning up at the site.
  H.R. 1138 continues the work of Congress to address the Federal 
Government's obligations for treatment and disposal of the legacy waste 
produced during the Cold War, and through the Federal Government's 
early efforts to develop a civilian nuclear energy industry.
  The Department of Energy has successfully remediated 92 sites of this 
waste, but the most technologically challenging projects remain in 
process at 17 locations, one of which is the West Valley site.
  In 1980, Congress passed the West Valley Demonstration Project Act to 
direct DOE to address legacy environmental issues and authorized 
appropriations only through fiscal year 1981. The project has not been 
reauthorized since that time, despite Congress funding DOE's work at 
the site for the past 37 years.
  H.R. 1138 corrects this situation, provides a path to answering 
important questions concerning the waste disposition, and ensures 
spending at the site is subject to an active authorization.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1138, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1630

  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins), my colleague and friend from the 
26th Congressional District.
  Mr. HIGGINS of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
Congressman   Tom Reed's bill, H.R. 1138, which authorizes funding for 
the cleanup of the West Valley demonstration project, the nuclear waste 
remediation site in western New York.
  Mr. Speaker, advocates are in Washington this week to remind Congress 
of the importance of the Great Lakes as a source of clean water for 
millions of Americans. The long-term cleanup at West Valley, which sits 
30 miles from Lake Erie and at the foot of a tributary stream, will 
prevent harmful contamination to the region.
  The Department of Energy has an obligation to ensure that 600,000 
gallons of high-level radioactive waste are solidified and disposed of 
safely and expeditiously. The funding in this bill will allow us to do 
just that.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed), the author of the legislation.
  Mr. REED. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Shimkus) for yielding me the time and his leadership on this issue, as 
well as my good friends Paul Tonko and Brian Higgins for joining me in 
the effort today in regards to the West Valley Reauthorization Act 
before us.
  Obviously, Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation. 
This legislation deals with the project located in our district in 
western New York and the great community of West Valley.
  West Valley, New York, is the home of radioactive waste that has been 
distributed there and deposited there over the years way back when. But 
I will tell you, over the last 15 years, this site has led the Nation, 
in my humble opinion, in coming up with techniques and technologies 
that are deployed across other nuclear waste facilities and sites in 
order to handle that high-level radioactive waste from those facilities 
as well as those in West Valley.
  Mr. Speaker, I think it is only right to bring further clarity and 
certainty to our area of the district at West Valley in regards to this 
bill, giving 7 years' worth of reauthorization legislation, to send the 
signal that not only do we stand and support the appropriations that go 
to this facility in order to clean it up in the most efficient and 
effective manner, but, also, we stand as authorizers to say that this 
type of facility and this type of program needs

[[Page H2332]]

to be renewed for at least 7 years because, Mr. Speaker, it is going to 
take many more years to clean this site up.
  Giving this site 7 years of that additional certainty is the only 
right thing to do in order to have these folks who are doing the hard 
work be given the indications from Congress that we stand with them as 
they engage in this effort.
  As I close, Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the entire Energy and 
Commerce Committee and Mr. Shimkus for his tireless work on the issue 
of nuclear waste cleanup and standing with us on this piece of 
legislation.
  In particular, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the local 
officials: the town of Ashford supervisor, Charles Davis; the West 
Valley deputy general manager, Scott Anderson; and the other local 
leaders who have stood in a community effort in order to bring this 
West Valley demonstration site to a complete closure, hopefully, in the 
near future with the legislation that we have before us.
  So I ask my colleagues to join in support of this legislation, and I 
truly appreciate their efforts to join us today.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting H.R. 1138, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, West Valley, as an issue, has been there for 
a long time. It is good to know that we are moving the ball forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this measure, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 1138.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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