Radioactive Roulette: Should the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Be Regulating the United States Army Corps of Engineers' FUSRAP Activities?

Abstract

The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program was created in 1974 to clean up radioactive waste at sites used in the nation’s early atomic energy and atomic weapons programs. For over two decades, this program was administered by the Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies. In 1997, responsibility for FUSRAP was shifted to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The transfer did not occur without controversy. Congress transferred the program with little legislative direction. Almost immediately, questions arose about the Corps’ authority to administer to program without appropriate permits from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Since 1997, the NRC has repeatedly asserted that it does not have the authority to govern the remediation activities of another agency in the federal government. This Note explores the reasons why NRC regulation of the Corps’ FUSRAP activities is not only proper, but should be undertaken in the interests of public health and safety.