responsibility

Legal Background and Questions Concerning the Federal Government’s Contractual Obligations Under the “Standard Contracts” with “Utilities”

This Memorandum analyzes issues related to the Standard Contract between the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) and the “utilities.” Beginning with a discussion of specific provisions of the Standard Contract, this Memorandum then analyzes the status of lawsuits involving the Standard Contract, reviews issues related to on-site storage of spent fuel and HLW, and assesses the prospects for modifying the current waste-disposal regime through Federal legislation or amendments to the Standard Contract.

FEDERAL COMMITMENTS REGARDING USED FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL WASTES

At the request of the Blue Ribbon Commission Staff,1 Van Ness Feldman examined the following question: What commitments has the Federal Government made to states, communities, private companies, and others related to the disposal of used fuel and high-level wastes? Spent nuclear fuel (referred to herein as “used fuel”) and high-level radioactive waste (“HLW”) are the by-products of commercial nuclear energy generation, defense production of nuclear weapons materials, and research and medical activities that utilize nuclear reactors or fission product nuclides. This paper describes the Federal