Bill · H.R. 466· House(119-HR-466)
Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act
- Introduced
- 1/15/2025
- Last activity
- 1/15/2025 — Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- Sponsored by
- Dina Titus
- Cosponsors
- - 2 - 0
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act requires the Secretary of Energy to follow specific steps before spending money from the Nuclear Waste Fund. This bill mandates that the Secretary must enter into formal agreements for a nuclear waste repository. These agreements must be made with the State Governor, local governments, and affected Indian tribes. The law ensures that any agreement is written, signed, and binding. This structure prevents the expenditure of funds without explicit consent from those impacted by a repository or the transport of waste.
Yes· 3 of 4
Would Native Americans be better off under this?+5
The bill mandates that the Secretary obtain binding agreements from affected Indian tribes regarding nuclear waste repositories.
Does this leave more decisions to the states?+5
The bill empowers state governors and local governments by requiring their consent for federal expenditure on nuclear waste.
Does this better protect air, water and wildlife?+3
The bill ensures local and tribal consent for the management and transport of high-level radioactive waste.
The opposite
Does this reduce what the federal government spends?-1
The bill restricts the expenditure of Nuclear Waste Fund money until specific consent agreements are reached.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Local Control and Consent: The Secretary cannot spend money for repository activities without an agreement from the State Governor, affected local governments, and affected Indian tribes (Section 3(a)). This gives local communities a direct say in whether a repository is located in their area.
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Protection for Transporting Areas: Local governments that are contiguous to the repository site must also agree if radioactive waste is being transported through their area (Section 3(a)(3)). This ensures that communities along transport routes have a voice in the process.
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Legal Security for Agreements: Any agreement made must be in writing, signed by all parties, and binding (Section 3(b)). Furthermore, these agreements cannot be changed or taken away unless all parties agree to the change (Section 3(b)(2) and (3)). This protects the interests of the local governments and tribes from sudden policy shifts.
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- No specific negative impacts are detailed in the text provided.
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Native Americans+5
- Governance And Ideology
- Increase States Rights+5
- Environment Energy And Infrastructure
- Improves Environmental Protections+3
- Social Issues And Justice
- Improves Racial Equity+3
- Economy And Finance
- Reduces Government Spending-1
- 1/15/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
- 2 Cosponsors added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Steven HorsfordDemocrat · Nevada
Susie LeeDemocrat · Nevada