S.Amdt. 3363

SA 3363. Ms. CANTWELL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2400, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2005 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed Services, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

Beginning on page 384, strike line 2 and all that follows through page 385, line 21, and insert the following:

“1 of each year thereafter”. This section shall become effective one day after enactment.

SEC. 3116. NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES STUDY.

(a) Review by National Research Council.--Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall enter into a contract with the National Research Council of the National Academies to conduct a study of the necessary technologies and research gaps in the Department of Energy's program to remove high-level radioactive waste from the storage tanks at the Department's sites in South Carolina, Washington and Idaho.

(b) Matters To Be Addressed in Study.--The study shall address the following:

(1) The quantities and characteristics of waste in each high-level waste storage tank described in paragraph (a), including data uncertainties;

(2) The technologies by which high-level radioactive waste is currently being removed from the tanks for final disposal under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act;

(3) Technologies currently available but not in use in removing high-level radioactive waste from the tanks;

(4) Any technology gaps that exist to effect the removal of high-level radioactive waste from the tanks;

(5) Other matters that in the judgment of the National Research Council directly relate to the focus of this study.

(c) Time Limitation.--The National Research Council shall conduct the review over a one-year period beginning upon execution of the contract described in subsection (a).

(d) Reports.--

(1) The National Research Council shall submit its findings, conclusions and recommendations to the Secretary of Energy and to the relevant Committees of jurisdiction of the United States Senate and House of Representatives.

(2) The final report shall be submitted in unclassified form with classified annexes as necessary.

(e) Provision of Information.--The Secretary of Energy shall make available to the National Research Council all of the information necessary to complete its report in a timely manner.

(f) Expedited Processing of Security Clearances.--For purposes of facilitating the commencement of the study under this section, the Secretary of Energy shall expedite to the fullest degree possible the processing of security clearances that are necessary for the National Research Council to conduct the study.

(g) Fundings.--Of the amount authorized to be appropriated in section 3102(a)(1) for environmental management for defense site acceleration completion, $750,000 shall be available for the study authorized under this section.