Responsible Containment Reauthorization Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Responsible Containment Reauthorization Act removes the September 30, 2031 cutoff on the Department of Energy's authority to operate the Cheney disposal cell in Mesa County, Colorado. Under the amended rule, the Department could continue receiving authorized material until the cell reaches the capacity for which it was designed.
Current law allows the cell to receive residual radioactive material from covered uranium-processing sites and certain byproduct material from properties near the former uranium milling site in Monticello, Utah, but requires operations to stop at designed capacity or September 30, 2031, whichever occurs first. By deleting the date clause, the bill makes designed capacity the controlling endpoint.
The bill does not expand the cell, increase its permitted capacity, authorize unrelated radioactive waste, revive all expired remedial-action authority, waive environmental or nuclear-safety rules, or guarantee appropriations. It extends a narrow disposal-site operating exception so cleanup material can continue to use remaining capacity after 2031 if the cell has not yet been filled.
Who Benefits and How
Federal and state cleanup programs gain additional time to dispose of eligible residual material at an established cell. Property owners and communities affected by covered uranium contamination may avoid a deadline-driven loss of disposal access. Monticello-area remediation and contractors handling qualified materials gain schedule flexibility, and taxpayers may avoid some costs of finding or constructing replacement capacity prematurely.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Department of Energy must operate, monitor, secure, and eventually close the cell for longer if capacity remains after 2031. Federal appropriations bear those continued costs. Mesa County residents, nearby landowners, workers, and transportation corridors remain exposed to the local burdens and perceived risks of continued waste receipt. Regulators must ensure that only covered material enters and that operations stay within designed capacity.
Key Provisions
- Removes the September 30, 2031 operating cutoff.
- Allows operation until designed capacity is reached.
- Preserves the Cheney disposal cell as the covered site.
- Preserves eligibility for residual uranium-processing material.
- Preserves eligibility for specified Monticello-area byproduct material.
- Limits continued operation to remaining designed capacity.
- Provides no physical expansion of the disposal cell.
- Provides no authority for unrelated radioactive waste.
- Preserves environmental and nuclear-safety requirements.
- Provides no automatic appropriation for extended operations.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Allows the Secretary of Energy to continue operating the Cheney uranium-tailings disposal cell in Mesa County, Colorado, until it reaches its designed capacity by removing the separate September 30, 2031 termination date, while leaving the site's material, capacity, and funding limits unchanged.
Key Policy Areas
Uranium Mill Tailings, Radioactive Waste Disposal, Department of Energy, Colorado Environmental Cleanup, Monticello Remediation
Primary Purpose
Allows the Secretary of Energy to continue operating the Cheney uranium-tailings disposal cell in Mesa County, Colorado, until it reaches its designed capacity by removing the separate September 30, 2031 termination date, while leaving the site's material, capacity, and funding limits unchanged.
Policy Domains
Section 2 removal of the 2031 cutoff for the Cheney disposal cell
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Residents affected by covered uranium contamination
- Monticello-area property remediation programs
- Department of Energy cleanup managers
- State environmental cleanup partners
- Contractors transporting eligible material
- Taxpayers avoiding premature replacement capacity
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Department of Energy disposal-site operators
- Federal accounts funding continued operations
- Mesa County residents near the disposal cell
- Landowners near material transportation routes
- Workers handling residual radioactive material
- Regulators monitoring capacity and waste eligibility
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Jeff Hurd
R-CO | Primary Sponsor
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Mr. Hurd of Colorado (for himself and Ms. DeGette) introduced …
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "operator"
- → Department of Energy official operating the Cheney disposal cell
- "resident"
- → Mesa County resident living near the disposal site
- "generator"
- → Cleanup program possessing eligible residual radioactive material
- "regulator"
- → Nuclear or environmental regulator overseeing disposal operations
- "contractor"
- → Remediation contractor transporting eligible material
Note: {'scope_ids': ['cheney_cell_extension'], 'description': 'The bill removes only the calendar deadline; designed capacity remains an absolute endpoint, eligible material remains limited, other expired remedial authority is not revived, and extended operation still depends on appropriations and regulatory compliance.'}
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Mesa County, Colorado disposal site covered by the narrow statutory operating exception.
Residual material from eligible processing sites and specified byproduct material from properties near the Monticello uranium mill site.
The point at which the cell is filled to its existing designed capacity and continued receipt authority ends.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology