A final decision has not yet been made on whether high-level radioactive wastes resulting from DOE reprocessing of spent fuel from defense reactors will be disposed of in a geologic repository developed under NWPA. NWPA requires the President to evaluate this issue by January 1985. Unless the President finds that a defense-only repository is required, NWPA requires DOE to proceed promptly with arrangements to dispose of both commercial and defense materials in the same repository.

Two special trust funds are established by the act: (1) an Interim Storage Fund to be financed by utilities which have been certified by NRC as requiring federal storage assistance prior to the availability of a repository and (2) a Nuclear Waste Fund to be financed by the owners and generators of spent fuel and highlevel wastes for the permanent federal disposal of these materials. During 1983, the Interim Storage Fund was inoperative since no utilities have requested federal interim storage assistance. The Nuclear Waste Fund received $73.6 million in fees from utilities during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1983.

NWPA authorized DOE to enter into contracts with utilities to provide for federal disposal services. The act required utilities to enter into such a contract with DOE by (1) June 30, 1983, or (2) the date the utility begins generation of such spent fuel, whichever occurs later. In return for payment of fees into the Nuclear Waste Fund, the act requires the contracts to provide for DOE disposal of utility spent fuel beginning not later than January 31, 1998.

DOE believes the act's general contracting authorization gives it the necessary authority to accept spent fuel beginning January 31, 1998, even in the event a repository is not fully operational by that date. In September 1984, the Secretary of Energy noted that DOE plans to incorporate provisions into the contracts which specify the minimum amount of spent fuel DOE will be obligated to accept by January 31, 1998. According to the Secretary of Energy, this should enable utilities to plan for their projected disposal needs with confidence and certainty.

While the development of geologic repositories is the primary focus of NWPA, the act provides, as shown in the table on the next page, for the development of five separate facilities. In July 1984, DOE estimated that it could cost up to $23.3 billion (in 1983 dollars) to provide the repository facilities and related services. NWPA requires that expenditures for these activities be subject to annual congressional appropriations and triennial authorizations. DOE has decided to prepare and submit to the Congress a triennial budget each year to satisfy both authorization and appropriations requirements.

aConstruction authorization is subject to approval by NRC of a DOE license application.

bNWPA authorizes, but does not require, DOE to develop a test and evaluation facility to carry out research and provide an integrated demonstration of the deep geologic disposal of highly radioactive material.

CThe federal government is limited to providing only 1,900 metric tons of interim storage capacity. Such capacity can be provided only if NRC finds that adequate storage capacity cannot reasonably be provided by a utility applying for federal assistance and that the utility is diligently pursuing licensed alternatives to the use of federal storage capacity.

dThe Secretary must recommend whether or not such a facility will be needed by June 1, 1985. Actual construction and operation of such a facility must be authorized by the Congress after its review of the Secretary's proposal.

Responsibilities of federal

agencies under NWPA

DOE has overall responsibility for implementing NWPA through its Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) which was established by the act. OCRWM is specifically responsible for providing the federal facilities and related services, such as transportation, called for by the act. In addition, OCRWM is responsible for administering the two special trust funds.

Appendix I presents a summary of DOE's first triennial budget for OCRWM activities under NWPA.8 For fiscal years 1985 to 1987, DOE has requested about $1.4 billion in appropriations, of which the Congress appropriated $355.3 million for OCRWM activities in fiscal year 1985. Fees paid into the Nuclear Waste Fund by utilities are expected to account for about 92 percent of OCRWM-budgeted program expenditures in fiscal year 1985.

Although DOE has the lead responsibility for NWPA, several other federal agencies--especially the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NRC--have crucial supporting roles. EPA is responsible for setting standards for protection of the general environment from release of radioactive material beyond the boundaries of a repository site (sec. 121(a)). NRC is responsible for authorizing repository construction (sec. 114(b)) and for setting specific technical requirements and criteria, consistent with the EPA standards, that DOE must meet before NRC authorizes construction (sec. 121(b)).

NRC has many additional responsibilities under NWPA, some of which are noted below. The act requires NRC to approve or disapprove construction of a repository within 3 years of a DOE license application. (NRC may extend the deadline by another year if it reports to DOE and the Congress its reasons for doing so.) NRC is required to concur with certain DOE implementing actions and to review others: namely, the issuance of general guidelines for the siting of repositories (sec. 112(a)) and planning, construction, and operation of a test and evaluation facility (sec. 217 (f)).

In addition, NWPA requires NRC and DOE to share responsibilities for some activities. Both DOE and NRC are required to (1) encourage and expedite the effective use of spent fuel storage space at the site of each civilian nuclear power reactor (sec. 132) and (2) cooperate and provide technical assistance on spent fuel storage and disposal to certain foreign governments (sec. 223(b)(1)).

In commenting on a draft of this report, NRC stated that it has other responsibilities mandated by NWPA. NRC suggested we note that after construction authorization NRC has a continuing responsibility to see that, among other things, the repository is constructed according to the approved design, a license to emplace

80CRWM activities are divided into two budget categories: the Nuclear Waste Fund and Civilian Radioactive Waste Research and Development. The latter budget category includes activities, such as research on spent fuel storage technologies, which are financed directly by the government through appropriations. While the Nuclear Waste Fund is financed by utilities, DOE cannot expend the funds until it receives specific congressional approval through the appropriations process.

wastes can be issued without unreasonable risk to public health and safety, the facility can be operated in a manner that protects workers, and the facility can be adequately decommissioned and closed. In addition, NRC noted it is also responsible for licensing and regulating a separate repository for defense high-level wastes in the event the administration determines a separate defense waste repository is required, and it is authorized by the Congress.

Other agencies have important but specifically limited supporting responsibilities. For example:

--DOE is required to consult with the Council on Environmental Quality and Director of the Geological Survey on the issuance of general guidelines for repository siting (sec. 112).

--The Department of the Interior is responsible for determin-
ing whether an Indian tribe's possessory or usage rights to
lands outside its reservation's boundaries are "affected"
by NWPA activities (sec. 2(2)(B)).

--The Department of the Treasury is responsible for annually reporting to the Congress on the financial condition and operations of the Nuclear Waste Fund and Interim Storage Fund (sec. 302 and sec. 136).

Federal/state/Indian

relations under NWPA

The Congress stated in NWPA that " State and public participation in the planning and development of repositories is essential in order to promote public confidence in the safety of disposal of such waste and spent fuel Interwoven throughout NWPA are provisions for states, local government, and Indian tribes, along with the general public, to participate in major DOE decisions. For example, DOE is required to "consult and cooperate with affected states and Indian tribes in making repository siting decisions, including entering into binding written agreements which establish procedures for resolving their concerns (sec. 117) and providing certain financial and technical assistance (sec. 116 and sec. 118). Perhaps most importantly, a state or Indian tribe may submit to the Congress a notice of disapproval of the selection of a repository site within its boundaries (sec. 116 and sec. 118). The site will be considered disapproved unless the Congress, within 90 days of receipt of the notice of disapproval, passes a joint resolution approving the site.

OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY

Section 304 (d) of NWPA requires the Comptroller General to report to the Congress the results of an annual audit of DOE's

Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management.

DOE did not formally establish this office until October 1983. In January 1983, however, DOE established an interim project office to carry out DOE's near-term requirements under the act. Thus, our first audit covered the activities of both the interim project office and OCRWM.

Our review focused on DOE's progress in laying the groundwork for successful implementation of the act in the three key areas of

--repository siting (see ch. 2),

--program financing (see ch. 3), and

--program organization and staffing (see ch. 4).

In each of these areas, our objective was to determine the status of DOE's progress in implementing major actions required by NWPA during calendar year 1983. Descriptions of the status of most DOE implementing actions were updated to reflect DOE's schedules as of early September 1984 and, in some instances where noted, as of early December 1984. We reviewed DOE and contractor documents, public comments, and testimony from interested parties and interviewed representatives of federal, state, and other organizations. (See app. II.)

In the repository siting area, we focused on two initial DOE implementing actions--identification of states with one or more potentially acceptable repository sites and the issuance of general repository siting guidelines. We reviewed how DOE selected nine potentially acceptable sites in six states to begin the NWPA siting process for the first geologic repository and monitored DOE's efforts to prepare and issue final siting guidelines. DOE issued the siting guidelines in final form in December 1984 after receiving NRC's concurrence in July 1984. While we monitored DOE's progress in preparing the guidelines, we did not evaluate the adequacy of DOE and NRC efforts to resolve concerns about the siting guidelines raised by states, Indian tribes, and members of the public. In addition, we identified DOE plans to meet future statutory siting deadlines for the first repository and identified certain matters which might affect timely completion of DOE's repository siting activities. We did not attempt to evaluate how DOE should address these matters but wanted to alert the Congress of those potential repository siting problem areas.

In the program financing area, we focused on initial DOE implementing actions to establish arrangements for the payment of fees into the Nuclear Waste Fund. To determine how the Fund was set up, we reviewed the procedures DOE used to transfer fiscal year 1983 appropriations into the Fund and how DOE plans to account for receipts and expenditures for authorized activities. (See app. IV.) We did not conduct a financial audit of the Fund. DOE was in the process of obtaining a public accounting firm audit during our review. To determine how DOE complied with the act's provisions requiring generators or owners of highly radioactive