S. 3828 — CLEAN SMART Act of 2026

This section defines 13 terms used in the Act, including "appropriate congressional committees" (six specified Senate and House committees), "Assistant Secretary" (of Energy for Environmental Management), "Core National Laboratories" (Idaho National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and Corporate Lab, defined as Savannah River National Laboratory), "Network" (Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship established under section 3), and "site" (defense- and non-defense-related nuclear waste sites undergoing remediation, decommissioning, long-term maintenance, or surveillance by the Office of Environmental Management or Office of Legacy Management).

This section establishes the Network of National Laboratories for Environmental Management and Stewardship as a steering committee to advance National Laboratory expertise supporting the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) cleanup mission—i.e., addressing radioactive and hazardous waste from defense nuclear activities—and Office of Legacy Management (LM) long-term surveillance mission. The Network, comprising representatives from Core National Laboratories and others (e.g., Argonne National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), must perform duties including (1) developing and testing alternative treatment technologies and disposal methods to lower cleanup costs, accelerate schedules, and improve safety; (2) conducting independent technical reviews and strategic analyses; (3) facilitating collaborations and technology transfer with contractors, agencies, academia, and industry; and (4) providing expertise on contracts, training, and policy. Network leadership includes liaisons from EM and LM, an Executive Director affiliated with DOE's Corporate Lab, and representatives from Core National Laboratories.

This section requires the Secretary of Energy, in cooperation with the Network, to improve coordination across the Department of Energy (DOE) and federal agencies on science and technology efforts applicable to the Office of Environmental Management's (EM) environmental cleanup mission (i.e., remediation of legacy nuclear waste sites and facilities). It establishes the Interagency Advisory Group on Technology Excellence in Environmental Cleanup—chaired by EM's Assistant Secretary, meeting at least every 180 days, and exempt from the Federal Advisory Committee Act—to (1) coordinate technology transfer among national laboratories and other entities; (2) facilitate exchange of mission-relevant information and best practices; (3) identify and recommend applicable technologies; (4) recommend Network opportunities for non-EM cleanup sites; and (5) disseminate public information on technology transfer; with members from specified DOE offices and laboratories, other federal agencies (e.g., EPA, NRC), state and Tribal governments, academia, and the private sector. It further directs EM and DOE's Office of Science to enter a memorandum of understanding within one year of enactment to coordinate on applicable basic research; hold workshops within 180 days of the memorandum (and periodically thereafter) to identify EM's basic research needs and develop strategic plans; and submit reports to congressional committees, including an initial workshop summary within 180 days of that workshop and a memorandum implementation summary within one year of the memorandum.

This section directs the Network, at the request and direction of the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management, to provide an integrated science and technology perspective to enhance the office's technology-focused strategic plans, roadmaps, and program management protocols. It further requires the Secretary to direct the Network, in coordination with the Assistant Secretary, to develop and biennially update a Technology Development and Deployment Framework outlining the office's key science and technology objectives and strategies for technology selection and innovation (including applied research under the Incremental Technology Development Program (50 U.S.C. 2586a(a)-(b)), basic research, leveraging external expertise, and workforce development). It also amends Section 4713 of the Atomic Energy Defense Act (50 U.S.C. 2753) by adding subsection (e) to require, for defense environmental cleanup projects needing root cause analyses, (1) development of corrective action plans by site contracting entities and (2) independent reviews, reports to congressional committees, and certifications by the Secretary.