§7922. Termination of authority of Secretary

(a) Exceptions; "byproduct material" defined

(1) The authority of the Secretary to perform remedial action under this subchapter shall terminate on September 30, 1998, except that-

(A) the authority of the Secretary to perform groundwater restoration activities under this subchapter is without limitation, and

(B) the Secretary may continue operation of the disposal site in Mesa County, Colorado (known as the Cheney disposal cell) for receiving and disposing of residual radioactive material from processing sites and of byproduct material from property in the vicinity of the uranium milling site located in Monticello, Utah, until the Cheney disposal cell has been filled to the capacity for which it was designed, or September 30, 2031, whichever comes first.

(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term "byproduct material" has the meaning given that term in section 2014(e)(2) of this title.

(b) Authorization of appropriations

The amounts authorized to be appropriated to carry out the purposes of this subchapter by the Secretary, the Administrator, the Commission, and the Secretary of the Interior shall not exceed such amounts as are established in annual authorization Acts for fiscal year 1979 and each fiscal year thereafter applicable to the Department of Energy. Any sums appropriated for the purposes of this subchapter shall be available until expended.

( Pub. L. 95–604, title I, §112, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3031 ; Pub. L. 100–616, §3, Nov. 5, 1988, 102 Stat. 3193 ; Pub. L. 102–486, title X, §1031, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 2951 ; Pub. L. 104–259, §2, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3173 ; Pub. L. 116–260, div. Z, title XI, §11002, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2612 .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020-Subsec. (a)(1)(B). Pub. L. 116–260 substituted "September 30, 2031" for "September 30, 2023".

1996-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 104–259 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: "The authority of the Secretary to perform remedial action under this subchapter shall terminate on September 30, 1996, except that the authority of the Secretary to perform groundwater restoration activities under this subchapter is without limitation."

1992-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–486 substituted "1996" for "1994".

1988-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–616 amended subsec. (a) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows: "The authority of the Secretary to perform remedial action under this subchapter shall terminate on the date seven years after the date of promulgation by the Administrator of general standards applicable to such remedial action unless such termination date is specifically extended by an Act of Congress enacted after November 8, 1978."