S. 101 — Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act

This section adopts definitions for the terms "affected Indian tribe," "affected unit of local government," "high-level radioactive waste," "repository," "Secretary," "spent nuclear fuel," and "unit of general local government" from section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101).

This section prohibits the Secretary of Energy from expending Nuclear Waste Fund monies on repository site characterization and development activities unless consent-based agreements are executed with (1) the governor of the proposed host state, (2) each affected unit of local government, (3) any contiguous unit of general local government through which spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste will be transported to the repository, and (4) each affected Indian tribe. (As background, the Nuclear Waste Fund—established under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982—is financed by a 1.0 mil per kilowatt-hour fee on electricity generated by civilian nuclear power reactors to cover the federal costs of accepting title to, transporting, and disposing of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.) Such agreements must be in writing, signed by all parties, binding, and modifiable or revocable only by mutual consent.