ABSTRACT
In considering the site selection process for high level radioactive waste (HLW) repositories, various legal constraints must be taken into account. These constraints may delay the use of a potential site or result in its rejection. This chapter provides an overview opinion of major potential legal constraints which may be encountered in the siting process. Users of the various legal constraints upon repository siting will have diverse goals, changing the location of a repository for personal or scientific reasons; securing a degree of leverage over the design of, or benefits from, the repository; or gaining a right to be heard. The basic legal framework for HLW repository siting is provided by the US A number of Federal and state statutes and executive orders preclude or eliminate certain areas from consideration as repository sites. Principal among these are the Endangered Species Act, Executive Order 11990 for Protection of Wetlands, the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Wilderness Act.
