
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC5906]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
         CHAPTER 74--NONNUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
 
Sec. 5906. Federal assistance and participation in programs


(a) Forms of activities authorized

    In carrying out the objectives of this chapter, the Secretary may 
utilize various forms of Federal assistance and participation which may 
include but are not limited to--
        (1) joint Federal-industry experimental, demonstration, or 
    commercial corporations consistent with the provisions of subsection 
    (b) of this section;
        (2) contractual arrangements with non-Federal participants 
    including corporations, consortia, universities, governmental 
    entities and nonprofit institutions;
        (3) contracts for the construction and operation of federally 
    owned facilities;
        (4) Federal purchases or guaranteed price of the products of 
    demonstration plants or activities consistent with the provisions of 
    subsection (c) of the section;
        (5) Federal loans to non-Federal entities conducting 
    demonstrations of new technologies;
        (6) incentives, including financial awards, to individual 
    inventors, such incentives to be designed to encourage the 
    participation of a large number of such inventors; and
        (7) Federal loan guarantees and commitments thereof as provided 
    in section 5919 \1\ of this title.
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    \1\ See Codification note below.
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(b) Proposed joint Federal-industry corporations; operational 
        guidelines; powers, duties, and functions; composition; scope of 
        Federal assistance and participation; specific authorization

    Joint Federal-industry corporations proposed for congressional 
authorization pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to the 
provisions of section 5908 of this title and shall conform to the 
following guidelines except as otherwise authorized by Congress:
        (1) Each such corporation may design, construct, operate, and 
    maintain one or more experimental, demonstration, or commercial-size 
    facilities, or other operations which will ascertain the technical, 
    environmental, and economic feasibility of a particular energy 
    technology. In carrying out this function, the corporation shall be 
    empowered, either directly or by contract, to utilize commercially 
    available technologies, perform tests, or design, construct, and 
    operate pilot plants, as may be necessary for the design of the 
    full-scale facility.
        (2) Each corporation shall have--
            (A) a Board of nine directors consisting of individuals who 
        are citizens of the United States, of whom one shall be elected 
        annually by the Board to serve as Chairman. The Board shall be 
        empowered to adopt and amend bylaws. Five members of the Board 
        shall be appointed by the President of the United States, by and 
        with the advice and consent of the Senate, and four members of 
        the Board shall be appointed by the President on the basis of 
        recommendations received by him from any non-Federal entity or 
        entities entering into contractual arrangements to participate 
        in the corporation;
            (B) a President and such other officers and employees as may 
        be named and appointed by the Board (with the rates of 
        compensation of all officers and employees being fixed by the 
        Board); and
            (C) the usual powers conferred upon corporations by the laws 
        of the District of Columbia.

        (3) An appropriate time interval, not to exceed 12 years, shall 
    be established for the term of Federal participation in the 
    corporation, at the expiration of which the Board of Directors shall 
    take such action as may be necessary to dissolve the corporation or 
    otherwise terminate Federal participation and financial interests. 
    In carrying out such dissolution, the Board of Directors shall 
    dispose of all physical facilities of the corporation in such manner 
    and subject to such terms and conditions as the Board determines are 
    in the public interest and consistent with existing law; and a share 
    of the appraised value of the corporate assets proportional to the 
    Federal participation in the corporation, including the proceeds 
    from the disposition of such facilities, on the date of its 
    dissolution, after satisfaction of all its legal obligations, shall 
    be made available to the United States and deposited in the Treasury 
    of the United States as miscellaneous receipts. All patent rights of 
    the corporation shall, on such date of dissolution, be vested in the 
    Secretary: Provided, That Federal participation may be terminated 
    prior to the time established in the authorizing Act upon 
    recommendation of the Board of Directors.
        (4) Any commercially valuable product produced by demonstration 
    facilities shall be disposed of in such manner and under such terms 
    and conditions as the corporation shall prescribe. All revenues 
    received by the corporation from the sale of such products shall be 
    available to the corporation for use by it in defraying expenses 
    incurred in connection with carrying out its functions to which this 
    chapter applies.
        (5) The estimated Federal share of the construction, operation, 
    and maintenance cost over the life of each corporation shall be 
    determined in order to facilitate a single congressional 
    authorization of the full amount at the time of establishment of the 
    corporation.
        (6) The Federal share of the cost of each such corporation shall 
    reflect (A) the technical and economic risk of the venture, (B) the 
    probability of any financial return to the non-Federal participants 
    arising from the venture, (C) the financial capability of the 
    potential non-Federal participants, and (D) such other factors as 
    the Secretary may set forth in proposing the corporation: Provided, 
    That in no instance shall the Federal share exceed 90 per centum of 
    the cost.
        (7) No such corporation shall be established unless previously 
    authorized by specific legislation enacted by the Congress.

(c) Proposed competitive systems of price supports for demonstration 
        facilities; guidelines

    Competitive systems of price supports proposed for congressional 
authorization pursuant to this chapter shall conform to the following 
guidelines:
        (1) The Secretary shall determine the types and capacities of 
    the desired full-scale, commercial-size facility or other operation 
    which would demonstrate the technical, environmental, and economic 
    feasibility of a particular nonnuclear energy technology.
        (2) The Secretary may award planning grants for the purpose of 
    financing a study of the full cycle economic and environmental costs 
    associated with the demonstration facility selected pursuant to 
    paragraph (1) of this subsection. Such planning grants may be 
    awarded to Federal and non-Federal entities including, but not 
    limited to, industrial entities, universities, and nonprofit 
    organizations. Such planning grants may also be used by the grantee 
    to prepare a detailed and comprehensive bid to construct the 
    demonstration facility.
        (3) Following the completion of the studies pursuant to the 
    planning grants awarded under paragraph (2) of this subsection 
    regarding each such potential price supported demonstration facility 
    for which the Secretary intends to request congressional 
    authorization, he shall invite bids from all interested parties to 
    determine the minimum amount of Federal price support needed to 
    construct the demonstration facility. The Secretary may designate 
    one or more competing entities, each to construct one commercial 
    demonstration facility. Such designation shall be made on the basis 
    of those entities, (A) commitment to construct the demonstration 
    facility at the minimum level of Federal price supports, (B) 
    detailed plan of environmental protection, and (C) proposed design 
    and operation of the demonstration facility.
        (4) The construction plans and actual construction of the 
    demonstration facility, together with all related facilities, shall 
    be monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency. If additional 
    environmental requirements are imposed by the Secretary after the 
    designation of the successful bidders and if such additional 
    environmental requirements result in additional costs, the Secretary 
    is authorized to renegotiate the support price to cover such 
    additional costs.
        (5) The estimated amount of the Federal price support for a 
    demonstration facility's product over the life of such facility 
    shall be determined by the Secretary to facilitate a single 
    congressional authorization of the full amount of such support at 
    the time of the designation of the successful bidders.
        (6) No price support program shall be implemented unless 
    previously authorized by specific legislation enacted by the 
    Congress.

(d) Support for joint university-industry research efforts

    Nothing in this section shall preclude Federal participation in, and 
support for, joint university-industry nonnuclear energy research 
efforts.

(Pub. L. 93-577, Sec. 7, Dec. 31, 1974, 88 Stat. 1883; Pub. L. 95-91, 
title III, Sec. 301(a), title VII, Secs. 703, 707, Aug. 4, 1977, 91 
Stat. 577, 606, 607; Pub. L. 95-238, title II, Sec. 207(a), Feb. 25, 
1978, 92 Stat. 61; Pub. L. 99-386, title I, Sec. 104(a), Aug. 22, 1986, 
100 Stat. 821.)

                          Codification

    Section 5919 of this title, referred to in subsec. (a)(7), was in 
the original ``section 19'' and has been editorially translated as 
section 5919 of this title which relates to loan guarantees as the 
probable intent of Congress, notwithstanding enactment of another 
section 19 which is classified to section 5918 of this title and which 
relates to organizational conflicts.


                               Amendments

    1986--Subsec. (b)(7). Pub. L. 99-386 struck out subpar. (A) which 
related to submission of a report by Secretary to House and Senate, 
prior to establishment of any joint Federal-industry corporation 
pursuant to this chapter, setting forth in detail consistency of 
establishment of corporation with this section and section 5904 of this 
title, and proposed purpose and activities of corporation, and struck 
out subpar. (B) designation.
    1978--Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 95-238 added par. (7).

                          Transfer of Functions

    ``Secretary'', meaning Secretary of Energy, substituted for 
``Administrator'', meaning Administrator of Energy Research and 
Development Administration, in subsecs. (a), (b)(3), (6), (7)(A), and 
(c)(1) to (5) pursuant to sections 301(a), 703, and 707 of Pub. L. 95-
91, which are classified to sections 7151(a), 7293, and 7297 of this 
title and which terminated Energy Research and Development 
Administration and transferred its functions and functions of 
Administrator thereof (with certain exceptions) to Secretary of Energy.


 Nonapplicability of Title II of Pub. L. 95-238 to Any Authorization or 
    Appropriation for Military Application of Nuclear Energy, Etc.; 
                               Definitions

    Nonapplicability of provisions of title II of Pub. L. 95-238 with 
respect to any authorization or appropriation for any military 
application of nuclear energy, etc., see section 209 of Pub. L. 95-238, 
set out as a note under section 5821 of this title.


Price-Support Program To Demonstrate Municipal Solid Waste Reprocessing 
          for Production of Fuels and Energy Intensive Products

    Pub. L. 95-39, title I, Sec. 107, June 3, 1977, 91 Stat. 185, 
authorized Administrator, subject to the appropriation of funds pursuant 
to section 101(7)(I) of Pub. L. 95-39, to establish and implement, under 
subsection (a)(4) of this section and in accordance with subsection (c) 
of this section, a price-support program to demonstrate municipal solid 
waste reprocessing for production of fuels and energy intensive 
products, with Administrator, prior to entering into any contract for 
such demonstration, to submit to Congress a full and complete report on 
the proposed commercial demonstration facility and the necessary project 
demonstration guarantees, and provided that such contract could not be 
finalized prior to the expiration of ninety calendar days (not including 
any day on which either House of Congress was not in session because of 
an adjournment of more than three calendar days to a day certain) from 
the date on which such report was received.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 5585, 5907, 5919, 5920 of 
this title.
