*194 OPINION OF THE COURT
This is the second time this dispute has come before this panel. The first time, then-Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary appealed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Appalachian States Low-Level Radioactive Waste Commission
2
(“the Commission”) in the mandamus action the Commission had filed in an attempt to compel the Secretary to release all funds that had been escrowed pursuant to the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985,
3
42 U.S.C. § 2021b
et seq.
At issue was whether the Commission had provided for the disposal of “all” its low-level radioactive waste by January 1, 1993, one of the milestone dates established under that statute. We concluded that the term “all” in the statute was ambiguous and that the Secretary’s interpretation of that term was reasonable
4
and thus entitled to deference. Accordingly, we reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Commission and remanded the ease with instructions to enter judgment for the Secretary.
See Appalachian States Low-Level Radioactive Waste Comm’n v. O’Leary,
The parties come before us now on the Commission’s petition for rehearing of our earlier decision. Specifically, the Commission asks us to consider a fact that arose after the district court’s decision, namely, South Carolina’s withdrawal from the Southeast Compact and the subsequent reopening of the Barnwell waste-disposal facility in July 1995. Because of South Carolina’s withdrawal from the Southeast Compact, the Dormant Commerce Clause operated to prohibit that state from discriminating against waste generated outside its borders. Consequently, the Commission amended its policy to authorize and encourage its generators within the Appalachian region to export their low-level waste to facilities like Barnwell. The Commission claims that, in this way, it “provided for” the disposal of all low-level radioactive waste generated by the Appalachian states between July 1995 and January 1996. Accordingly, the Commission now seeks a proportional rebate for this period. The Secretary, however, contends that “provide for” does not mean “permit,” and, because the Commission merely “permitted] its generators to export their waste to South Carolina” for the last six months of 1995, it is not entitled to that rebate. Answer To Pet. at 3.
For the reasons explained below, we will enter judgment for the Secretary.
I.
The circumstances that gave rise to the instant dispute are set forth in our earlier decision in this ease,
see Appalachian Comm’n,
In 1985, Congress passed the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2021b
et seq.
(the “Act”), which created various incentives to encourage states without low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities to establish means to dispose of their low-level radioactive waste by 1992.
5
*195
“The incentives included an escalating scale of surcharges, which states with sites could charge for [low-level radioactive] waste disposal and a rebate system to return a portion of those surcharges to states that met the relevant milestones.”
Appalachian Comm’n,
twenty-five per centum of any amount collected by a State under paragraph (l)[as surcharges] for low-level radioactive waste disposed of under this section during the period beginning January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1992, and transferred to the Secretary under subparagraph (A)[into an escrow account held in trust by the Secretary], shall be paid [to a state] ... if, by January 1, 1993, the State in which such waste originated (or its compact region, where applicable) is able to provide for the disposal of all low-level radioactive waste generated within such State or compact region.
42 U.S.C. § 2021e(d)(2)(B)(iv). To comply with this milestone, a state or compact “could provide for disposal by either operating a disposal facility or pointing to a valid contract with another state or compact for disposal of the region’s waste.”
Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Comm’n v. Pena,
Six months prior to the end of the three-year period, South Carolina withdrew from the Southeast Compact. As a result, the Dormant Commerce Clause operated to prohibit that state from discriminating against waste from outside its region. “The dormant aspect of the Commerce Clause ‘prohibits economic protectionism — that is, regulatory measures designed to benefit in-state economic interests by burdening out-of-state competitors.’ ”
Tolchin v. Supreme Court of New Jersey,
On July 27, 1995, the Commission amended its export policy to authorize and encourage the disposal of waste from the Appalachian region at any licensed facility, including Barnwell. Generators in the Appalachian re *196 gion, therefore, could contract for disposal of their waste at Barnwell for the last six months of 1995. The Commission itself did not negotiate or enter a new contract with South Carolina covering this period. Nevertheless, the Commission contends that it “provided for” the disposal of the low-level radioactive waste generated in its region for the last six months of 1995 and thus is entitled to a proportional rebate of the escrowed funds. The Commission now asks us to remand this case to the district court so that it can consider its claim in the context of the reopening of the Barnwell facility to generators outside of South Carolina. However, since the facts are not in dispute, we will decide the Commission’s legal entitlement to the remaining funds without remand to the district court.
II.
“As a general rule, we do not consider on appeal issues that were not raised before the district court.”
Tabron v. Grace,
III.
Once again, we are asked to evaluate the Secretary of Energy’s interpretation of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act under the standard set forth in
Chevron, U.S.A. v. Natural Resources Defense Council,
The Commission claims it is entitled to a proportional rebate pursuant to these provisions for the last six months of 1995 when the Barnwell facility became accessible to its generators through the Dormant Commerce Clause.
Following Barnwell’s reopening, the Commission amended its export policy to authorize and encourage its generators to dispose of their waste at that facility. However, as noted above, the Commission did not itself negotiate or enter a contract with Barnwell for this six-month period. Instead, the generators were left to do so on their own. The Secretary of Energy contends that this arrangement did not satisfy the Act’s requirement that a state “provide for the disposal of all low-level radioactive waste generated within such State or compact region.” 42 U.S.C. § 2021e(d)(2)(B)(iv). According to the Secretary, “provide for” does not mean “permit.” Instead, that phrase implies “some meaningful affirmative action ... to facilitate the disposal of [the] region’s [low-level radioactive waste].” Resp. To Rely at 2-3. That interpretation is at issue here.
The one court of appeals that has decided this issue upheld the Secretary’s interpreta
*197
tion of “provide for” as reasonable.
See Central Midwest Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Comm’n v. Pena,
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the Secretary’s position and found that the commission had done nothing to “supply, afford, contribute, make, procure, or furnish for future use” means to dispose of low-level radioactive waste. Id. at 1474. The commission asserted, however, that the decision to lift its compact’s export ban together with the Barnwell facility’s reopening “provided for” the disposal of the Central Midwest region’s low-level radioactive waste. The court, however, considered this reasoning flawed because “South Carolina — not the Commission — made th[e] call [to reopen Barnwell], and the fourth milestone clearly states that a compact is entitled to incentives only when the compact provides for disposal.” Id. Accordingly, that court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the Secretary. We reach a similar result here based upon the plain language of the statute.
IV.
“When a court reviews an agency’s construction of the statute which it administers, it is confronted with two questions. First, always, is the question whether Congress has directly spoken to the precise question at issue.... If, however, the court determines Congress has not directly addressed the precise question at issue, ... the question for the court is whether the agency’s answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute.”
Chevron,
Because the Act does not define the phrase “provide for,”
see
42 U.S.C. § 2021b (“Definitions”), we begin by considering the statute’s plain meaning.
See Smith v. Fidelity Consumer Discount Co.,
*198
The disputed language in the Act is not ambiguous. Thus, our statutory interpretation is at an end, and we must give that language effect.
See Chevron,
Accordingly, the Commission, is not entitled to a proportional rebate for the last six months of 1995.
See Central Midwest Comm’n,
V.
Even if “provide for” were ambiguous, we would reach the same result because we believe the Secretary’s interpretation of that phrase is consistent with the policy statements issued by the Department of Energy. We have previously held that we owe substantial deference to an agency’s policy position.
See Elizabeth Blackwell Health Ctr. for Women v. Knoll,
one demonstration of the ability to provide for the disposal of all LLRW generated within a State or compact region would be the existence of an enforceable contract for disposal with a sited State or region. A second demonstration would be that generators are in fact provided with the ability to dispose of their waste under a contractual arrangement between their State or compact region and a sited State or region, even if that contract were not by its terms enforceable.
Surcharge Rebates: Notice of Response to Comments on Draft Policies and Procedures, and Final Policies and Procedures, 59 Fed. Reg. 15188, 15189 (1994). Alternatively, a state provides for the disposal of such waste if it “takes title, possession, and liability for the waste [it generates].” 59 Fed.Reg. at 15194.
The Secretary is asserting this same “policy” as its position in the instant litigation. No deference is due an agency’s litigation position.
See United States v. Trident Seafoods Corp.,
Accordingly, we would uphold the Secretary’s construction if it “ ‘[were] based on a permissible construction of the statute.’ ”
Smith,
As stated earlier, the Act was enacted to address the “crisis” that followed the passage of the original Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980. Although the 1980 Act declared that states should assume responsibility for the disposal of their low-level radioactive waste, in the five years after the Act’s passage, no new disposal facilities had been constructed or were projected to be completed before the 1990s. Yet, under the Act, the three facilities then in existence could begin excluding waste generated outside their region beginning in 1986. All three states had expressed an unwillingness to shoulder the entire nation’s low-level radioactive waste disposal beyond that time. This situation “trigger[ed] a national emergency with grave implications for the public’s health and safety.” H. Rep. No. 314(11), 99th Cong., 1st Sess. (1985), reprinted in 1985 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3002, 3007. Faced with the prospect that a majority of states would be without access to a waste disposal facility, Congress enacted the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985.
That Act extended states’ access to the existing facilities until 1992 10 and included several milestones and monetary incentives to encourage the construction of new facilities. These features were designed “to assure that a crisis similar to the one [previously] facing Congress and the states would not recur at the end of the 1986-1992 period of access to the currently operating sites.” H.R.Rep. No. 314(1), 99th Cong., 1st Sess. (1985), reprinted in 1985 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2974, 2978. The rebates were specifically intended to “provide an additional incentive for states and compact regions to meet the milestones on time.” H. Rep. No. 314(11), 1985 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 3012 (emphasis added). Indeed, we have previously stated:
[T]he incremental structure of the provisions shows a clear intent to promote the construction of new facilities .... [and] it is impossible to conclude otherwise, knowing that the original 1980 Act was passed due to the inadequacy of existing storage facilities and that the revised 1985 Act was passed to spur construction through a program of incentives. It is ludicrous to think that Congress envisioned short-term contracts with the already existing Barnwell facility as the preferred solution to the national[low-level radioactive waste] problem.
... The entire structure of the incentive program was aimed at encouraging the construction of new, long-term facilities.
Appalachian Comm’n,
Against this background, we cannot conclude that Congress intended to reward generators that are in the same position that they were in prior to the passage of the 1985 Act — when generators had access to the existing disposal facilities through operation of the Dormant Commerce Clause. That Clause merely prohibited the states with disposal facilities from discriminating against out-of-state waste. However, nothing prevented those states from imposing across-the-board limitations on the quantity of waste accepted or closing their facilities altogether.
See Midwest Comm’n,
We agree with the Secretary’s position that to reward the Commission “for simply returning to th[is] prior regime ... would be contrary to the purpose of the statute.” Resp. To Reply at 5-6 (internal quotations omitted);
see also Central Midwest Comm’n,
VI.
For the foregoing reasons the petition for panel rehearing is denied. The prior opinion and judgment of this Court remain in effect.
Notes
. Pursuant to the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Amendments Act of 1985, the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia formed a compact to collectively dispose of the low-level radioactive waste generated in their region.
. Under that Act, a state or compact that met certain milestone dates would receive incentive payments from an escrow account funded by surcharges imposed on waste generators and held in trust by the Secretary of Energy.
. Then-Secretary O’Leary "explained that a full 1993 rebate would be given only to those states that had provided for disposal of all their waste for the entire three-year period from January 1, 1993, until January 1, 1996.”
Appalachian States Low-Level Radioactive Waste Comm'n v. O’Leary,
.The Act was designed to address the crisis that developed following the enactment of its predecessor act, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980. In the 1980 Act, “Congress
*195
declared a federal policy of holding each State 'responsible for providing for the availability of capacity either within or outside the State for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste generated within its borders,’ and found that such waste could be disposed of ‘most safely and efficiently ... on a regional basis.’ ”
New York v. United States,
. "States that failed to meet the milestones would forfeit these rebates, would face higher surcharge rales, and could be barred from disposing of their waste at a given facility.”
Appalachian Comm’n,
. We previously held that the Appalachian Commission was not entitled to a full rebate because it had only "entered an eighteen-month conditional contract with the Southeast Compact to obtain access to the disposal facility in Barnwell, South Carolina” and thus could not provide for the disposal of all of its waste for the entire period between January 1, 1993 and January 1, 1996.
Appalachian Comm’n,
. This commission is comprised of Illinois and Kentucky.
. Like the Appalachian Commission, the Central Midwest Commission had entered into an 18-month contract with the Southeast Compact that guaranteed access to the Barnwell disposal facility in South Carolina. That contract lapsed on June 30, 1994. During the period between that lapse and the reopening of the Barnwell facility, the generators stored their waste. After Barn-well reopened, they claimed they could send this stored waste to the reopened facility and therefore sought a refund for the entire period July 1, 1994 through June 30, 1995 as well.
. In exchange, the facilities were permitted to assess graduated surcharges on outside waste.
. "[We] need not conclude that [this] construction [is] the only one [the Secretary] permissibly could have adopted to uphold the construction, or even the reading [this Court] would have reached if the question initially had arisen in a judicial proceeding.” Chevron,
