(a) Five-year plan

(1) Not later than September 1 of each year, the Secretary of Energy shall issue a plan for environmental restoration and waste management activities to be conducted, during the five-year period beginning on October 1 of the next calendar year, at all facilities owned or operated by the Department of Energy except defense nuclear facilities. The plan also shall contain a description of environmental restoration and waste management activities conducted during the fiscal year in which the plan is submitted and of such activities to be conducted during the fiscal year beginning on October 1 of the same calendar year. Such five-year plan shall be designed to complete environmental restoration at all such Department of Energy facilities not later than the year 2019.

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Terms Used In 42 USC 7274g

  • Department: means the Department of Energy or any component thereof, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. See 42 USC 7101
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7

(2) The Secretary shall prepare each annual five-year plan in a preliminary form at least four months before the date on which that plan is required to be issued under paragraph (1). The preliminary plan shall contain the matters referred to in paragraph (4) (other than the matters referred to in subparagraph (J) of that paragraph). The Secretary shall provide the preliminary plan to the Governors and Attorneys General of affected States, appropriate representatives of affected Indian tribes, and the public for coordination, review, and comment.

(3) At the same time the Secretary issues an annual five-year plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit the plan to the President and Congress, publish a notice of the issuance of the plan in the Federal Register, and make the plan available to the Governors and Attorneys General of affected States, appropriate representatives of affected Indian tribes, and the public.

(4) The annual five-year plan, and the actions and other matters contained in the plan, shall be in accordance with all laws, regulations, permits, orders, and agreements. The plan shall include, with respect to the Department of Energy facilities required by paragraph (1) to be covered by the plan, the following matters:

(A) A description of the actions, including identification of specific projects, necessary to maintain or achieve compliance with Federal, State, or local environmental laws, regulations, permits, orders, and agreements.

(B) A description of the actions, including identification of specific projects, to be taken at each Department of Energy facility in order to implement environmental restoration activities planned for each such facility.

(C) A description of research and development activities for the expeditious and efficient environmental restoration of such facilities.

(D) A description of the technologies and facilities necessary to carry out the environmental restoration activities.

(E) A description of the waste management activities, including identification of specific projects, necessary to continue to operate the Department of Energy facilities or to decontaminate and decommission the facilities, as the case may be.

(F) A description of research and development activities for waste management.

(G) A description of the technologies and facilities necessary to carry out the waste management activities.

(H) A description of activities and practices that the Secretary is undertaking or plans to undertake to minimize the generation of waste.

(I) The estimated costs of, and personnel required for, each project, action, or activity contained in the plan.

(J) A description of the respects in which the plan differs from the preliminary form of that plan issued pursuant to paragraph (2), together with the reasons for any differences.

(K) A discussion of the implementation of the preceding annual five-year plan.

(L) Such other matters as the Secretary finds appropriate and in the public interest.


(5) The Secretary shall consult with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Governors and Attorneys General of affected States, and appropriate representatives of affected Indian tribes in the preparation of the plan and the preliminary form of the plan pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2). The Secretary shall include as an appendix to the plan (A) all comments submitted on the preliminary form of the plan by the Administrator, Governors and Attorneys General of affected States, and affected Indian tribes, and (B) a summary of comments submitted by the public.

(6) The first annual five-year plan issued pursuant to this section shall be issued in 1992.

(b) Treatment of plans under section 4332

The development and adoption of any part of any plan (including any preliminary form of any such plan) under subsection (a) shall not be considered a major Federal action for the purposes of subparagraph (C), (E), or (F) of section 4332(2) of this title. Nothing in this subsection shall affect the Department of Energy’s ongoing preparation of a programmatic environmental impact statement on environmental restoration and waste management.

(c) Grants

The Secretary of Energy is authorized to award grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, affected States and affected Indian tribes to assist such States and tribes in participating in the development of the annual five-year plan (including the preliminary form of such plan).

(d) Funding

Of the funds authorized to be appropriated pursuant to section 3103, $20,000,000 may be used for the purpose of carrying out subsection (c).

(e) Budget reports

Each year, at the same time the President submits to Congress the budget for a fiscal year (pursuant to section 1105 of title 31), the President shall submit to Congress a description of proposed activities and funding levels contained in the annual five-year plan (issued, pursuant to subsection (a)(1), in the year preceding the year in which the budget is submitted to Congress) that are not included in the budget or are included in the budget in a different form or at a different funding level, together with the reasons for such differences.