transuranium contaminated wastes, or irradiated nuclear reactor fuel, shall notify the Commission as early as possible after the commencement of planning for a particular proposed facility. The Commission shall in turn notify the Governor and the State legislature of the State of proposed situs whenever the Commission has knowledge of such proposal. participation, (b) The Commission is authorized and directed to State prepare a report on means for improving the opportu- report. nities for State participation in the process for siting, licensing, and developing nuclear waste storage or disposal facilities. Such report shall include detailed consideration of a program to provide grants through the Commission to any State, and the advisability of such a program, for the purpose of conducting an independent State review of any proposal to develop a nuclear waste storage or disposal facility identified in subsection (a) within such State. On or before March 1, 1979, the Commission shall submit the report to the Congress in- Submittal with cluding recommendations for improving the opportuni- legislative ties for State participation together with any necessary tions to legislative proposals. Approved November 6, 1978. recommenda Congress. INDEX TO LEGISLATIVE HISTORY OF PUBLIC LAW 95-601 (S. 2584) Feb. 6, 1978-Introduced. Feb. 6, 1978-Subcommittee hearing. Feb. 9, 1978-Subcommittee hearing. Feb. 15, 1978-Subcommittee hearing. Mar. 20, 1978-Reported to Full Committee, amended. Apr. 19, 1978-Full Committee ordered reported, amended. Apr. 26, 1978-Full Committee action of Apr. 19, 1978, vacated and H.R. 12355 order reported in lieu. (See H.R. 12355.) (Tabled.) Apr. 25, 1978-Introduced. (See H.R. 10785 for earlier action). Apr. 26, 1978-Full Committee ordered reported. Apr. 26, 1978-Reported to House. H.Rept. 95-1089 (Part I) Apr. 27, 1978-Sequentially referred to House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. May 15, 1978-Reported from Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. H.Rept. 95-1089 (Part II). May 22, 1978-Rule requested. Sept. 14, 1978-Rule granted. (H.Res. 1373, H.Rept. 95-1610). Oct. 4, 1978-S. 2584, amended, passed House in lieu of HR. 12355. (Suspension). Oct. 5, 1978-Rule (H.Res. 1373) laid on the table. (See S. 2584). May 15, 1978-Reported in Senate. S.Rept. 95-848. (See H.R. 12355 for additional action). Oct. 4, 1978-Passed House, amended, in lieu of H.R. 12355. (Suspension). Oct. 10, 1978-Senate asked for Conference. (Conferees: Mr. Hart, Mr. Randolph, and Mr. Domenici). Oct. 13, 1978-House agreed to Conference. (Conferees: Mr. Udall, Mr. Bingham, Mr. Sharp, Mr. Staggers, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Bauman, and Mr. Brown of Ohio). Oct. 14, 1978-Conference report filed. H.Rept. 95–1796 Oct. 14, 1978-Passed House. Oct. 14, 1978-Passed Senate. Nov. 6, 1978-Approved. P.L. 95–601 PART IV. URANIUM MILL TAILINGS PUBLIC LAW 95-604 [H.R. 13650] [92 STAT. 3021] AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of Energy to enter into cooperative agreements with certain States respecting residual radioactive material at existing sites, to provide for the regulation of uranium mill tailings under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978". TABLE OF CONTENTS Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. TITLE I-REMEDIAL ACTION PROGRAM Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Designation of processing sites. Sec. 103. State cooperative agreements. Sec. 104. Acquisition and disposition of land and materials. Sec. 105. Indian tribe cooperative agreements. Sec. 106. Acquisition of lands by Secretary. Sec. 107. Financial assistance. Sec. 108. Remedial action. Sec. 109. Rules. Sec. 110. Enforcement. Sec. 111. Public participation. Sec. 112. Termination; authorization. Sec. 113. Limitation. Sec. 114. Reports to Congress. Sec. 115. Active operations; liability for remedial action. TITLE II-URANIUM MILL TAILINGS LICENSING AND Sec. 201. Definition. Sec. 202. Custody of disposal site. Sec. 203. Authority to establish certain requirements. Sec. 204. Cooperation with States. Tailings Uranium Mill Control 42 U.S.C. 7901. Sec. 205. Authorities of Commission respecting certain by product material. Sec. 206. Authority of Environmental Protection Agency respecting certain byproduct material. Sec. 207. Authorization of appropriations for grants. Sec. 208. Effective date. Sec. 209. Consolidation of licenses and procedures. TITLE III-STUDY AND DESIGNATION OF TWO MILL Sec. 301. Study. Sec. 302. Designation by Secretary. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES SEC. 2. (a) The Congress finds that uranium mill tailings located at active and inactive mill operations may pose a potential and significant radiation health hazard to the public, and that the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare and the regulation of interstate commerce require that every reasonable effort be made to provide for the stabilization, disposal, and control in a safe and environmentally sound manner of such tailings in order to prevent or minimize radon diffusion into the environment and to prevent or minimize other environmental hazards from such tailings. (b) The purposes of this Act are to provide (1) in cooperation with the interested States, Indian tribes, and the persons who own or control inactive mill tailings sites, a program of assessment and remedial action at such sites, including, where appropriate, the reprocessing of tailings to extract residual uranium and other mineral values where practicable, in order to stabilize and control such tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner and to minimize or eliminate radiation health hazards to the public, and (2) a program to regulate mill tailings during uranium or thorium ore processing at active mill operations and after termination of such operations in order to stabilize and control such tailings in a safe and environmentally sound manner and to minimize or eliminate radiation health hazards to the public. TITLE I-REMEDIAL ACTION PROGRAM DEFINITIONS 42 U.S.C. 7911. SEC. 101. For purposes of this title (1) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Energy. (2) The term "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (3) The term "Administrator" means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. (4) The term "Indian tribe" means any tribe, band, clan, group, pueblo, or community of Indians recognized as eligible for services provided by the Secretary of the Interior to Indians. (5) The term "person" means any individual, association, partnership, corporation, firm, joint venture, trust, government entity, and any other entity, except that such term does not include any Indian or Indian tribe. (6) The term "processing site" means— (A) any site, including the mill, containing residual radioactive materials at which all or substantially all of the uranium was produced for sale to any Federal agency prior to January 1, 1971 under a contract with any Federal agency, except in the case of a site at or near Slick Rock, Colorado, unless (i) such site was owned or controlled as of January 1, 1978, or is thereafter owned or controlled, by any Federal agency, or (ii) a license (issued by the Commission or its predecessor agency under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 or by a State as permitted under section 274 of such Act) for the production at such site of any uranium or thorium product derived from ores is in effect on January 1, 1978, or is issued or renewed after such date; and (B) any other real property or improvement thereon which— (i) is in the vicinity of such site, and (ii) is determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, to be contaminated with residual radioactive materials derived from such site. Any ownership or control of an area by a Federal agency which is acquired pursuant to a cooperative agreement under this title shall not be treated as ownership or control by such agency for purposes of subparagraph (A) (i). A license for the production of any uranium product from residual radioactive materials shall not be treated as a license for production from ores within the meaning of subparagraph (A) (ii) if such production is in accordance with section 108(b). (7) The term "residual radioactive material" means (A) waste (which the Secretary determines to be radioactive) in the form of tailings resulting from the processing of ores for the extrac |