Summary

Prohibits the Secretary from spending money from the Nuclear Waste Fund on repository-related activities unless the Secretary has entered into a written, binding, and mutually amendable repository agreement with the state governor, each affected unit of local government, each contiguous local government along transport routes, and each affected Indian tribe. The bill adopts existing statutory definitions from the Nuclear Waste Policy Act for key terms like "affected Indian tribe," "affected unit of local government," "high-level radioactive waste," "repository," "Secretary," and "spent nuclear fuel."

Key Points

• Spending from the Nuclear Waste Fund for repository activities is prohibited unless specified written agreements are in place.
• Agreements must be signed by the state governor, affected local governments, contiguous local governments on transport routes, and affected Indian tribes.
• Repository agreements must be binding and may only be changed or revoked by mutual consent of all signatories.
• The bill adopts definitions from the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to identify affected parties and covered materials.
• The provision focuses on conditioning federal spending, not on creating new funding or changing tax policy.
• Requiring contiguous local government consent explicitly brings transportation routes into the negotiation and consent process.
• The measure increases negotiating leverage for states, tribes, and local governments over repository siting and operations.
• No new appropriations or emergency spending are created by this bill.

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