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The President will continue to press for authority to construct 

 one or more away-f rom-reactor interim storage facilities for 

 commercial spent fuel. This bill is already under consideration 

 by the Congress. This legislation, or additional legislation, 

 will implement the principle that costs of nuclear wastes dis- 

 posal will be paid by the generator and borne by the beneficiary 

 of the activity generating the waste. 



11. Implementation and Management Structure. 



Many Federal departments and agencies are necessarily involved in 

 one or more aspects of nuclear waste management. In addition, 

 the President's policy calls for full involvement of State, 

 regional and local governments and organizations in program plan- 

 ning and execution. The President has designated the Secretary 

 of Energy to be responsible for overall program integration and 

 to establish necessary coordination mechanisms. The Secretary of 

 Energy will assume the lead role for: (1) coordinating all 

 Federal nonregulatory aspects of radioactive waste management; 

 (2) working out effective relationships with regulatory bodies 

 such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Nuclear 

 Regulatory Commission; and (3) developing strong and effective 

 ties between the Federal Government and the States on all aspects 

 of radioactive waste storage and disposal. 



Within the Department of Energy, day-to-day activities are under 

 the direction of an Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy (ASNE) 

 who reports to the Under Secretary and the Secretary. Under the 

 ASNE the Office of Nuclear Waste Management (ONWM) is responsible 

 for executing policy and managing all aspects of the nuclear 

 waste management program. 



Regulatory responsibilities are by law assigned to the Environ- 

 mental Protection Agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and 

 the Department of Transportation. The Department of Interior has 

 authority over Federal lands that might be used for waste storage 

 or disposal and has extensive geoscience expertise in the U.S. 

 Geological Survey. An Interagency Working Committee has been 

 established by the Department of Energy to coordinate and inte- 

 grate associated activities of DOE, DOI, EPA, NRC, DOT, and 

 State. The President has also instructed DOE and DOI to prepare 

 a Memorandum of Understanding between them delineating areas of 

 cooperation and mutual responsibility and creating procedures to 

 ensure they work jointly and reinforce each other's activities. 



The primary planning mechanism will be a comprehensive National 

 Plan for Nuclear Waste Management. The President has directed 

 that this be produced by 1981 and be updated biennially there- 

 after. It is to be submitted for public review in draft and in 

 revised form to the public and the Congress. The plan will 

 include : 



