Angie Craig: “title XXXI, subtitle F of the 1997 Defense Authorization Act is an amendment I sponsored in the Senate to clear up…”

“title XXXI, subtitle F of the 1997 Defense Authorization Act is an amendment I sponsored in the Senate to clear up several unnecessary and delaying bureaucratic requirements that currently exist in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Land Withdrawal Act--Public Law 102-579-WIPP. This title will allow the WIPP facility to open, meet a major environmental objective, and save the taxpayer money. The purpose of the WIPP is to provide for the safe disposal of transuranic [TRU] radioactive and mixed wastes resulting from defense activities and programs of the United States. These materials are currently stored at temporary facilities, and until WIPP is opened, little can be done to clean up and close these temporary storage sites. Idaho currently stores the largest amount of TRU waste of any State in the union, but Idaho is not alone. Washington, Colorado, South Carolina, and New Mexico also store TRU waste. The agreement recently negotiated between the State of Idaho, the DOE and the U.S. Navy states that the TRU currently located in Idaho will begin to be shipped to WIPP by April 30, 1999. This legislation will assure this commitment is fulfilled by clearly stating that it is the intent of Congress that the Secretary of Energy will complete all actions needed to commence emplacement of TRU waste at WIPP no later than November 30, 1997.”