STRANDED Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3731 To assist communities affected by stranded nuclear waste, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 4, 2021 Mr. SCHNEIDER (for himself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. KIM of New Jersey, Mr. KIND, Ms. PINGREE, and Mr. WELCH) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi- sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To assist communities affected by stranded nuclear waste, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sensible, Timely Relief 4 for America’s Nuclear Districts’ Economic Development 5 Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘STRANDED Act of 2021’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds that— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3731 IH (1) communities throughout the United States, 1 including communities in the States of California, 2 Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Mary- 3 land, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Or- 4 egon, Vermont, and Wisconsin, are tasked with deal- 5 ing with stranded nuclear waste; 6 (2) communities affected by stranded nuclear 7 waste are de facto interim nuclear waste storage 8 sites; 9 (3) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 10 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.)— 11 (A) directed the Secretary of Energy to 12 make annual impact assistance payments to 13 States or appropriate units of local government 14 to mitigate the social and economic impacts of 15 the establishment and operation of interim nu- 16 clear waste storage capacity within the jurisdic- 17 tional boundaries of an affected community; 18 and 19 (B) established the rate for impact assist- 20 ance payments at $15 per kilogram of spent 21 nuclear fuel; 22 (4) decommissioning a commercial nuclear 23 power plant is often catastrophic for the host com- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3731 IH munity because nuclear power plants are major em- 1 ployers and the primary source of local tax revenue; 2 (5) stranded nuclear waste is a profound obsta- 3 cle to future economic growth, deterring potential 4 employers and residents from considering the host 5 community; 6 (6) stranded nuclear waste prevents economic 7 development in communities in which the stranded 8 nuclear waste is located; 9 (7) stranded nuclear waste prevents commu- 10 nities from redeveloping sites where nuclear power 11 plants previously operated which further inhibits tax 12 revenues; and 13 (8) it is critical to provide resources to commu- 14 nities that— 15 (A) are challenged by stranded nuclear 16 waste; or 17 (B) will be challenged by stranded nuclear 18 waste during the 10-year period beginning on 19 the date of enactment of this Act. 20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 21 In this Act: 22 (1) ACADEMY.—The term ‘‘Academy’’ means 23 the National Academy of Sciences. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3731 IH (2) NUCLEAR-AFFECTED COMMUNITY.—The 1 term ‘‘nuclear-affected community’’ means a unit of 2 local government, including a county, city, town, vil- 3 lage, school district, or special district, that the Ad- 4 ministrator determines to contain stranded nuclear 5 waste within the jurisdictional boundary or contain 6 an eligible civilian nuclear power plant within the ju- 7 risdictional boundary of such locality. 8 (3) ELIGIBLE CIVILIAN NUCLEAR POWER 9 PLANT.—The term ‘‘eligible civilian nuclear power 10 plant’’ means a civilian nuclear power plant (as de- 11 fined in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 12 of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)) that— 13 (A) has been decommissioned; or 14 (B) is in the process of being decommis- 15 sioned. 16 (4) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 17 trator’’ means the Administrator of the U.S. Eco- 18 nomic Development Administration. 19 (5) STRANDED NUCLEAR WASTE.—The term 20 ‘‘stranded nuclear waste’’ means nuclear waste or 21 spent nuclear fuel stored in dry casks or spent fuel 22 pools (as defined in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste 23 Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101)) at the site 24 of an eligible civilian nuclear power plant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3731 IH SEC. 4. TAX INCENTIVES FOR AFFECTED COMMUNITIES. 1 (a) FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER CREDIT.— 2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 36 of the Internal 3 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended— 4 (A) by inserting ‘‘for nuclear affected 5 communities’’ after ‘‘credit’’ in the head- 6 ing; 7 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in the 8 United States’’ and inserting ‘‘in a nuclear af- 9 fected community (as such term is defined in 10 section 3 of the STRANDED Act of 2021)’’; 11 (C) in subsection (b), by striking para- 12 graphs (2) and (3) and redesignating paragraph 13 (4) as paragraph (2); and 14 (D) by striking subsections (f), (g), and 15 (h). 16 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec- 17 tions for subpart C of part IV of subchapter A of 18 chapter 1 of such Code is amended by striking the 19 item relating to section 36 and inserting the fol- 20 lowing new item: 21 ‘‘Sec. 36. First-time homebuyer credit for nuclear affected communities.’’. (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by 22 subsection (a) shall apply to the purchase of a principal 23 residence after the date of the enactment of this Act. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3731 IH SEC. 5. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS PRIZE COMPETITION. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 3 establish a competitive prize competition (referred to in 4 this section as the ‘‘prize competition’’) to award prizes 5 to proposals for affected communities to carry out alter- 6 natives to nuclear facilities, generating sites, and waste 7 sites. 8 (b) PRIZE BOARD.— 9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established an 10 advisory board (referred to in this section as the 11 ‘‘Board’’) to advise the Administrator on— 12 (A) the design and implementation of the 13 prize competition; and 14 (B) the development of the pilot project 15 under subsection (d). 16 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Board shall be com- 17 posed of not fewer than 9 members appointed by the 18 Administrator— 19 (A) who shall provide expertise in— 20 (i) nuclear waste; 21 (ii) workforce issues; 22 (iii) technology development; and 23 (iv) economic development; and 24 (B) who may include representatives 25 from— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3731 IH (i) The National Laboratories; 1 (ii) nonprofit organizations; and 2 (iii) institutions of higher education. 3 (c) AWARD AMOUNT.—An award under the prize 4 competition shall be in the amount of $500,000. 5 (d) PILOT PROGRAM.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator, in con- 7 sultation with the Board, shall develop a pilot 8 project based on the proposal of the winner of the 9 prize competition. 10 (2) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available 11 under section 7, the Administrator may use 12 $500,000 to carry out the pilot project under para- 13 graph (1). 14 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 15 on which a prize is awarded under the prize competition, 16 the Administrator shall submit to the relevant committees 17 of Congress a report that describes the winning proposal 18 of the prize competition. 19 SEC. 6. ECONOMIC IMPACT GRANTS FOR AFFECTED COM- 20 MUNITIES. 21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 120 days after 22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall 23 establish and carry out a noncompetitive grant program 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3731 IH to provide grants under either section 6(b) or section 6(c) 1 to nuclear-affected communities for the purpose of— 2 (1) offsetting the economic and social impacts 3 of stranded nuclear waste on affected communities; 4 and 5 (2) supporting such communities that are in the 6 process of decommissioning an eligible civilian nu- 7 clear power plant and that are facing decreased tax 8 revenues or assessed valuation as a result of such 9 decommissioning. 10 (b) AWARDS BASED ON STRANDED NUCLEAR 11 WASTE.— 12 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—A nuclear affected commu- 13 nity shall be eligible to receive a grant under this 14 section for a fiscal year. 15 (2) AWARDS.— 16 (A) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 17 awarded under subsection (a) shall be equal to 18 $15 for each kilogram of spent nuclear fuel 19 stored at the eligible civilian nuclear power 20 plant in the nuclear affected community, con- 21 sistent with the price paid per kilogram for im- 22 pact assistance outlined in the Nuclear Waste 23 Policy Act of 1982. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3731 IH (B) NUMBER AND FREQUENCY.—With re- 1 spect to each eligible civilian nuclear power 2 plant, the Administrator shall request submis- 3 sions from affected nuclear communities and 4 may only award 1 grant under subsection (a) to 5 each eligible unit of local government for each 6 fiscal year. 7 (c) AWARDS BASED ON LOST TAX REVENUE.— 8 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive fi- 9 nancial assistance under this section, the affected 10 community shall submit to the Administrator an ap- 11 plication that includes documentation that the nu- 12 clear affected community has experienced, or is pre- 13 dicted to experience, during a calendar year begin- 14 ning after December 31, 2014, and ending before 15 January 1, 2026— 16 (A) a reduction of not less than 20 percent 17 in overall tax revenue received by such affected 18 community for such year compared with the av- 19 erage of such tax revenue for the previous 5 20 years; and 21 (B) a reduction in tax revenue attributable 22 to a nuclear power plant received by such af- 23 fected community for such year, compared with 24 the average of such tax revenue for the previous 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3731 IH 5 years, that is not less than 20 percent of the 1 average for such previous 5 years of the overall 2 tax revenue received by such unit. 3 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘‘tax rev- 4 enue’’ includes any payment in lieu of taxes received 5 by an affected community. 6 (2) ASSISTANCE.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to amounts 8 made available in advance in appropriations 9 Acts, financial assistance provided under this 10 section to a nuclear affected community shall be 11 made with respect to each year of the 8-year 12 period beginning on the first day of the cal- 13 endar year described in paragraph (1). 14 (B) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—Subject to 15 amounts made available in advance in appro- 16 priations Acts, financial assistance provided 17 under this section to a nuclear affected commu- 18 nity for a year of an 8-year period shall be 19 equal to the lesser of $10,000,000 and— 20 (i) in the case of the first year of the 21 8-year period, 80 percent of the loss de- 22 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) with respect to 23 such unit; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3731 IH (ii) in the case of the second year of 1 the 8-year period, 70 percent of such loss; 2 (iii) in the case of the third year of 3 the 8-year period, 60 percent of such loss; 4 (iv) in the case of the fourth year of 5 the 8-year period, 50 percent of such loss; 6 (v) in the case of the fifth year of the 7 8-year period, 40 percent of such loss; 8 (vi) in the case of the sixth year of 9 the 8-year period, 30 percent of such loss; 10 (vii) in the case of the seventh year of 11 the 8-year period, 20 percent of such loss; 12 and 13 (viii) in the case of the eighth year of 14 the 8-year period, 10 percent of such loss. 15 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 16 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro- 17 priated to carry out this Act $110,000,000 for each of 18 fiscal years 2021 through 2026 and $120,000,000 for 19 each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031. 20 (b) NO OFFSET.—None of the funds made available 21 under this section may be used to offset the funding for 22 any other Federal program. 23 (c) LIMITATION.—No nuclear affected community 24 may receive more than one grant per calendar year, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3731 IH cannot receive grants under both sections 6(b) and (c) in 1 the same calendar year. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:08 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3731.IH H3731 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS