Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4890 To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for consultation with State, Tribal, and local governments, the consideration of State, Tribal, and local concerns, and the approval of post-shutdown decommissioning activities reports by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 10, 2020 Mr. SANDERS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works A BILL To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for consultation with State, Tribal, and local governments, the consideration of State, Tribal, and local concerns, and the approval of post-shutdown decommissioning ac- tivities reports by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 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 ‘‘Nuclear Plant Decom- 4 missioning Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4890 IS SEC. 2. POST-SHUTDOWN DECOMMISSIONING ACTIVITIES 1 REPORTS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 10 of title I of the Atomic 3 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended 4 by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘SEC. 113. POST-SHUTDOWN DECOMMISSIONING ACTIVI- 6 TIES REPORTS. 7 ‘‘a. DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 ‘‘(1) AFFECTED STATE.—The term ‘affected 9 State’ means— 10 ‘‘(A) the host State of a covered facility; 11 and 12 ‘‘(B) each State located within 50 miles of 13 a covered facility. 14 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 15 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 16 ‘‘(3) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘covered 17 facility’ means a facility of a licensee for which a 18 PSDAR is required. 19 ‘‘(4) COVERED MATERIAL.—The term ‘covered 20 material’ means— 21 ‘‘(A) high-level radioactive waste; 22 ‘‘(B) spent nuclear fuel; 23 ‘‘(C) transuranic waste; 24 ‘‘(D) byproduct material that meets the re- 25 quirements of section 11 e. (2); and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(E) any other nuclear or radioactive 1 waste or material for which the Commission de- 2 termines that a material change by the licensee 3 in the manner of handling, storing, or disposing 4 of that waste or material should be preceded by 5 consultation under subsection b. 6 ‘‘(5) COVERED PSDAR.—The term ‘covered 7 PSDAR’ means— 8 ‘‘(A) the initial PSDAR for a covered facil- 9 ity; and 10 ‘‘(B) any subsequent PSDAR for a covered 11 facility in which the licensee proposes, as deter- 12 mined by the Commission— 13 ‘‘(i) a significant update to the decom- 14 missioning strategy; or 15 ‘‘(ii) a material change in the manner 16 in which covered material is handled, 17 stored, or disposed of. 18 ‘‘(6) HOST STATE.—The term ‘host State’ 19 means the State in which a covered facility is lo- 20 cated. 21 ‘‘(7) LICENSE; LICENSEE.—The terms ‘license’ 22 and ‘licensee’ have the meanings given the terms in 23 section 50.2 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 24 (or successor regulations). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:04 Nov 25, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(8) PSDAR.—The term ‘PSDAR’ means a 1 post-shutdown decommissioning activities report 2 submitted to the Commission and affected States 3 under section 50.82(a)(4)(i) of title 10, Code of Fed- 4 eral Regulations (or successor regulations). 5 ‘‘(9) TRANSFEREE.—The term ‘transferee’ 6 means an entity to which a licensee proposes to 7 transfer a license for a covered facility. 8 ‘‘(10) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘Tribal 9 government’ means the governing body of an Indian 10 tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-De- 11 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 12 U.S.C. 5304)). 13 ‘‘b. CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding 14 any other provision of law (including regulations), a li- 15 censee may not submit to the Commission a proposed cov- 16 ered PSDAR, or transfer to another entity the license, for 17 a covered facility until the licensee and the transferee, if 18 applicable, conduct consultation regarding the develop- 19 ment of the proposed covered PSDAR or the proposed li- 20 cense transfer, as applicable, with— 21 ‘‘(1) each affected State; and 22 ‘‘(2) each unit of State government or Tribal 23 government that— 24 ‘‘(A) is located in an affected State; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(B) has jurisdiction over land located 1 within 50 miles of the covered facility. 2 ‘‘c. SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION; PUBLIC AVAIL- 3 ABILITY.— 4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After carrying out the con- 5 sultation required under subsection b. with respect 6 to a proposed covered PSDAR or transfer of a li- 7 cense for a covered facility, the licensee shall— 8 ‘‘(A) submit to the Commission, as appli- 9 cable— 10 ‘‘(i) the proposed covered PSDAR; or 11 ‘‘(ii) an application for transfer of a 12 license; and 13 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (3), make the 14 proposed covered PSDAR or application for 15 transfer of a license, as applicable, available to 16 the public. 17 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—On receipt of a 18 proposed covered PSDAR or application for transfer 19 of a license under paragraph (1)(A), the Commission 20 shall, subject to paragraph (3), make the proposed 21 covered PSDAR or application for transfer of a li- 22 cense, as applicable, available to the public. 23 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 24 In making a proposed covered PSDAR or applica- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4890 IS tion for transfer of a license, as applicable, available 1 to the public under paragraph (1)(B) or (2), the 2 Commission or the licensee, as applicable, may re- 3 dact such information as the Commission or the li- 4 censee, as applicable, determines to be necessary to 5 protect— 6 ‘‘(A) trade secrets and commercial or fi- 7 nancial information under section 552(b)(4) of 8 title 5, United States Code; or 9 ‘‘(B) national security. 10 ‘‘d. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—For a period of not 11 less than 90 days beginning on the date on which a li- 12 censee submits a proposed covered PSDAR to the Com- 13 mission under subsection c. (1)(A) or the date on which 14 the Commission dockets an application for transfer of a 15 license under section 2.101 of title 10, Code of Federal 16 Regulations (or successor regulations), as applicable, the 17 Commission shall solicit in the host State public comments 18 regarding the proposed covered PSDAR or notice of pro- 19 posed license transfer, including through— 20 ‘‘(1) the solicitation of written comments; and 21 ‘‘(2) the conduct of not fewer than 2 public 22 meetings. 23 ‘‘e. SUPPORT, CONDITIONAL SUPPORT, OR NON- 24 SUPPORT BY HOST STATE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 1 after the date of receipt of a proposed covered 2 PSDAR or the date on which the Commission dock- 3 ets an application for transfer of a license under sec- 4 tion 2.101 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 5 (or successor regulations), as applicable, for a cov- 6 ered facility, the Commission shall notify the host 7 State of the opportunity to file with the Commission, 8 by the date that is 60 days after the date on which 9 the host State receives the notification— 10 ‘‘(A) a statement of support for the pro- 11 posed covered PSDAR or license transfer; 12 ‘‘(B) a statement of conditional support 13 for the proposed covered PSDAR or license 14 transfer, together with specific recommenda- 15 tions for changes that could lead the host State 16 to support the proposed covered PSDAR or li- 17 cense transfer; or 18 ‘‘(C) a statement of nonsupport for the 19 proposed covered PSDAR or license transfer. 20 ‘‘(2) STATEMENT OF SUPPORT OR NON- 21 SUPPORT; FAILURE TO SUBMIT.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the host State files 23 with the Commission a statement of support 24 under paragraph (1)(A) or a statement of non- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4890 IS support under paragraph (1)(C), or fails to file 1 a statement with the Commission by the dead- 2 line specified in paragraph (1), the Commission 3 shall issue a determination regarding whether 4 the proposed covered PSDAR is adequate or in- 5 adequate or a determination regarding whether 6 to provide consent for the proposed license 7 transfer, as applicable— 8 ‘‘(i) based on the considerations de- 9 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 10 ‘‘(ii) after taking into consideration— 11 ‘‘(I) any written comments sub- 12 mitted by the host State, other af- 13 fected States, and local communities 14 with respect to the proposed covered 15 PSDAR or license transfer; and 16 ‘‘(II) any input from the public 17 under subsection d. 18 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Commission 19 shall consider a proposed covered PSDAR or li- 20 cense transfer to be adequate under subpara- 21 graph (A) if the Commission determines that— 22 ‘‘(i) the proposed covered PSDAR or 23 license transfer provides for— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(I) the overall protection of 1 human health and the environment; 2 and 3 ‘‘(II) adequate protection to the 4 health and safety of the public and 5 the common defense and security; 6 ‘‘(ii) the licensee (and, if applicable, 7 the transferee) has a substantial likelihood 8 of implementing the proposed covered 9 PSDAR or license transfer within the 10 timeframe described in the proposed cov- 11 ered PSDAR or license transfer applica- 12 tion; 13 ‘‘(iii) the proposed covered PSDAR or 14 license transfer is in accordance with appli- 15 cable law (including regulations); and 16 ‘‘(iv) the licensee (and, if applicable, 17 the transferee) has demonstrated that the 18 licensee has, or will have, the funds re- 19 quired to fully implement the proposed cov- 20 ered PSDAR or license transfer within the 21 timeframe described in the proposed cov- 22 ered PSDAR or license transfer applica- 23 tion, based on— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(I) a comprehensive radiological 1 site assessment and characterization; 2 and 3 ‘‘(II) a nonradiological site as- 4 sessment and characterization con- 5 ducted by the host State. 6 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF ADEQUACY.— 7 Subject to paragraph (4), if the Commission de- 8 termines that a proposed covered PSDAR or li- 9 cense transfer is adequate under subparagraphs 10 (A) and (B), the Commission shall issue a deci- 11 sion document approving the covered PSDAR 12 or license transfer. 13 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION OF INADEQUACY.— 14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Commission 15 determines that a proposed covered 16 PSDAR or license transfer is inadequate 17 under subparagraphs (A) and (B)— 18 ‘‘(I) the Commission shall issue a 19 decision document rejecting the pro- 20 posed covered PSDAR or license 21 transfer, including a description of the 22 reasons for the decision, by the appli- 23 cable deadline under paragraph (4); 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(II) the licensee may develop 1 and submit to the Commission a new 2 proposed covered PSDAR or license 3 transfer application in accordance 4 with this section. 5 ‘‘(ii) CERTAIN COVERED PSDARS.—If 6 the Commission rejects a proposed covered 7 PSDAR that is the initial PSDAR for a 8 covered facility, the licensee shall develop 9 and submit to the Commission a new pro- 10 posed covered PSDAR in accordance with 11 this section not later than 2 years after the 12 date of cessation of operations at the cov- 13 ered facility. 14 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONAL SUPPORT BY HOST 15 STATE.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 17 the host State files with the Commission a 18 statement of conditional support of a proposed 19 covered PSDAR or license transfer under para- 20 graph (1)(B), the Commission shall determine 21 whether the proposed covered PSDAR or li- 22 cense transfer is permissible under applicable 23 law (including regulations). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:04 Nov 25, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4890 IS ‘‘(B) CHANGES.—Notwithstanding the 1 adequate protection of public health and safety 2 or the common defense and security, for each 3 change recommended by the host State under 4 paragraph (1)(B), the Commission shall— 5 ‘‘(i) provide for the inclusion of the 6 change into the final covered PSDAR or li- 7 cense transfer, unless the Commission de- 8 termines the change to be inappropriate 9 for inclusion, based on clear and con- 10 vincing evidence that— 11 ‘‘(I) the change violates applica- 12 ble law; or 13 ‘‘(II) the total costs of the 14 change substantially outweigh the 15 safety, economic, or environmental 16 benefits of the change to the host 17 State; and 18 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, provide the ration- 19 ale for each determination of inappropri- 20 ateness under clause (i). 21 ‘‘(C) DECISION DOCUMENT.— 22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to para- 23 graph (4), based on the determinations 24 made under subparagraphs (A) and (B), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Nov 24, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4890.IS S4890 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4890 IS the Commission shall issue a decision doc- 1 ument relating to a proposed covered 2 PSDAR or license transfer that, as appli- 3 cable— 4 ‘‘(I) approves the proposed cov- 5 ered PSDAR or license transfer with 6 any changes recommended by the host 7 State that are not determined to be 8 inappropriate under subparagraph 9 (B); or 10 ‘‘(II) rejects the proposed covered 11 PSDAR or license transfer. 12 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE LAW.—A decision 13 document issued under clause (i) or sub- 14 paragraph (C) [Text truncated for display. 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