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A bill to provide for the disposition of weapons-usable plutonium at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 2, 2002

Directs the Secretary of Energy to submit to Congress a plan for the construction and operation at the Savannah River Site, South Carolina, of a mixed-oxide fuel facility for converting weapons-grade plutonium to a mixed-oxide fuel for use in commercial nuclear power reactors. Provides a construction schedule and production deadline dates, with the goal of achieving facility construction by January 1, 2009, and of processing 34 metric tons of plutonium into mixed-oxide fuel by January 1, 2019. Requires: (1) the Secretary to submit corrective action plans if the schedule and deadlines are not met; (2) the removal or disposal of unprocessed plutonium from the Site if the schedule and deadlines are not met; and (3) payment to South Carolina of economic and impact assistance associated with not meeting the schedule and deadlines. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress: (1) a plan to address the failure to complete the planned removal or disposal; and (2) a report on the removal of the facility upon completion of operations.Requires the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to study and report to Congress and the Secretary on the adequacy of the K-Area Materials Storage Facility and related facilities at the Savannah River Site for the storage of defense plutonium and related materials in connection with the plutonium disposition program.

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Who introduced it

Sen. Thurmond, Strom [R-SC] · R–SC

Committees

  • Energy and Natural Resources Committee
1 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

Actions

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  1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

  2. Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S3880-3881)

  3. Introduced in Senate

Bill text & related measures

Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

Related bills identified by Congress.gov

No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

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