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Legislative Mandate
 OCRWM Annual Report to Congress, FY 1996

The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 ( Public Law 97-425) established the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) within the U.S. Department of Energy to develop and manage a Federal system for disposing of the spent nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear reactors. The spent fuel is to be permanently emplaced in a deep geologic repository.

The Act also provided the President with the option of disposing of defense high-level radioactive wastes in a civilian repository, and in 1985 the President so chose.

The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1987 (Title V, Public Law 100-203) directed the Secretary of Energy to characterize only the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada to determine if it is suitable for a repository.

Section 304(c) of the Act requires OCRWM's Director to submit to Congress each year a comprehensive report on the activities and expenditures of the Office. This Annual Report, the 13th submitted, covers the period October 1, 1995, through September 30, 1996.

Current, comprehensive information about OCRWM's program and activities can be found on the OCRWM Home Page: http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov.

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