Sam Gibbons: “I did want to respond, of course, to some of the assertions made by my colleague from Minnesota that the Federal court…”

“I did want to respond, of course, to some of the assertions made by my colleague from Minnesota that the Federal court has obligated us to accept the nuclear energy industry's waste. That is just not so. H.R. 1270 will state that the Federal court is legally bound to begin accepting waste by January 31, 1998. That is not what the court said. The court ruled, in Indiana Michigan Power versus DOE, that the Department of Energy needs to determine whether or not the delay in beginning the disposal of spent fuel is unavoidable within the meaning of Article IX of their contract. Article IX provides, in brief, that 'neither the Government nor the contractor or contract holder shall be liable for damages caused by failure to perform its obligations if such failure arises out of causes beyond and without the fault or negligence of the party failing to perform. In the event of an unavoidable delay, the parties are to readjust schedules as appropriate to accommodate the delay.'”