For purposes of this subchapter—

(1) The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Energy.

(2) The term “Commission” means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

(3) The term “Administrator” means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

(4) The term “Indian tribe” means any tribe, band, clan, group, pueblo, or community of Indians recognized as eligible for services provided by the Secretary of the Interior to Indians.

(5) The term “person” means any individual, association, partnership, corporation, firm, joint venture, trust, government entity, and any other entity, except that such term does not include any Indian or Indian tribe.

(6) The term “processing site” means—

(A) any site, including the mill, containing residual radioactive materials at which all or substantially all of the uranium was produced for sale to any Federal agency prior to January 1, 1971 under a contract with any Federal agency, except in the case of a site at or near Slick Rock, Colorado, unless—

(i) such site was owned or controlled as of January 1, 1978, or is thereafter owned or controlled, by any Federal agency, or

(ii) a license (issued by the Commission or its predecessor agency under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 [42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.] or by a State as permitted under section 274 of such Act [42 U.S.C. 2021]) for the production at such site of any uranium or thorium product derived from ores is in effect on January 1, 1978, or is issued or renewed after such date; and


(B) any other real property or improvement thereon which—

(i) is in the vicinity of such site, and

(ii) is determined by the Secretary, in consultation with the Commission, to be contaminated with residual radioactive materials derived from such site.


Any ownership or control of an area by a Federal agency which is acquired pursuant to a cooperative agreement under this subchapter shall not be treated as ownership or control by such agency for purposes of subparagraph (A)(i). A license for the production of any uranium product from residual radioactive materials shall not be treated as a license for production from ores within the meaning of subparagraph (A)(ii) if such production is in accordance with section 7918(b) of this title.

(7) The term “residual radioactive material” means—

(A) waste (which the Secretary determines to be radioactive) in the form of tailings resulting from the processing of ores for the extraction of uranium and other valuable constituents of the ores; and

(B) other waste (which the Secretary determines to be radioactive) at a processing site which relate to such processing, including any residual stock of unprocessed ores or low-grade materials.


(8) The term “tailings” means the remaining portion of a metal-bearing ore after some or all of such metal, such as uranium, has been extracted.

(9) The term “Federal agency” includes any executive agency as defined in section 105 of title 5.

(10) The term “United States” means the 48 contiguous States and Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the territories and possessions of the United States.

Terms Used In 42 USC 7911

  • association: when used in reference to a corporation, shall be deemed to embrace the words "successors and assigns of such company or association" in like manner as if these last-named words, or words of similar import, were expressed. See 1 USC 5
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
  • Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • 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
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