American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020

II Calendar No. 598 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4897 To reestablish United States global leadership in nuclear energy, revitalize domestic nuclear energy supply chain infrastructure, support the licensing of advanced nuclear technologies, and improve the regulation of nuclear energy, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 16, 2020 Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. BOOKER, and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works DECEMBER 2, 2020 Reported by Mr. BARRASSO, with an amendment [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] A BILL To reestablish United States global leadership in nuclear energy, revitalize domestic nuclear energy supply chain infrastructure, support the licensing of advanced nuclear technologies, and improve the regulation of nuclear en- ergy, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4897 RS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020’’. 3 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 4 this Act is as follows: 5 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—REESTABLISHING AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS AND GLOBAL LEADERSHIP Sec. 101. International nuclear reactor export and innovation activities. Sec. 102. Denial of certain domestic licenses for national security purposes. TITLE II—EXPANDING NUCLEAR ENERGY THROUGH ADVANCED NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGIES Sec. 201. Advanced nuclear reactor project environmental reviews. Sec. 202. Advanced nuclear reactor prizes. Sec. 203. New nuclear energy project application reviews. Sec. 204. Report on unique licensing considerations relating to the use of nu- clear energy for nonelectric applications. Sec. 205. Enabling preparations for the demonstration of advanced nuclear re- actors on Department sites. Sec. 206. Regulatory requirements for micro-reactors. TITLE III—PRESERVING EXISTING NUCLEAR ENERGY GENERATION Sec. 301. Nuclear reactor incentives. Sec. 302. Report on lessons learned during the COVID–19 public health emer- gency. Sec. 303. Investment by allies. TITLE IV—REVITALIZING AMERICA’S NUCLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE Sec. 401. Advanced nuclear fuel approval. Sec. 402. National strategic uranium reserve. Sec. 403. Report on advanced methods of manufacturing and construction for nuclear energy applications. TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS Sec. 501. Nuclear energy workforce development. Sec. 502. Annual report on the spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste inventory in the United States. Sec. 503. Authorization of appropriations for superfund actions at abandoned mining sites on Tribal land. Sec. 504. Technical correction. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6411 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4897 RS SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) ACCIDENT TOLERANT FUEL.—The term 3 ‘‘accident tolerant fuel’’ has the meaning given the 4 term in section 107(a) of the Nuclear Energy Inno- 5 vation and Modernization Act (Public Law 115–439; 6 132 Stat. 5577). 7 (2) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 8 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 9 mental Protection Agency. 10 (3) ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL.—The term 11 ‘‘advanced nuclear fuel’’ means— 12 (A) advanced nuclear reactor fuel (as de- 13 fined in section 3 of the Nuclear Energy Inno- 14 vation and Modernization Act (42 U.S.C. 2215 15 note; Public Law 115–439)); and 16 (B) accident tolerant fuel. 17 (4) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 18 ‘‘advanced nuclear reactor’’ has the meaning given 19 the term in section 3 of the Nuclear Energy Innova- 20 tion and Modernization Act (42 U.S.C. 2215 note; 21 Public Law 115–439). 22 (5) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON- 23 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con- 24 gress’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4897 RS (A) the Committee on Environment and 1 Public Works of the Senate; and 2 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com- 3 merce of the House of Representatives. 4 (6) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means 5 the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commis- 6 sion. 7 (7) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 8 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 9 (8) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 10 means the Department of Energy. 11 (9) EARLY SITE PERMIT.—The term ‘‘early site 12 permit’’ has the meaning given the term in section 13 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or a 14 successor regulation). 15 (10) HIGH-ASSAY, LOW-ENRICHED URANIUM.— 16 The term ‘‘high-assay, low-enriched uranium’’ means 17 uranium with an assay greater than 5 weight per- 18 cent, but less than 20 weight percent, of the ura- 19 nium-235 isotope. 20 (11) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 21 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 22 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 23 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4897 RS (12) MICRO-REACTOR.—The term ‘‘micro-reac- 1 tor’’ means an advanced nuclear reactor that has a 2 power production capacity that is not greater than 3 20 megawatts. 4 (13) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na- 5 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given the term 6 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 7 U.S.C. 15801). 8 (14) REMOVAL; REMEDIAL ACTION.—The terms 9 ‘‘removal’’ and ‘‘remedial action’’ have the meanings 10 given those terms in section 101 of the Comprehen- 11 sive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 12 Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601). 13 (15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 14 means the Secretary of Energy. 15 (16) TRIBAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Tribal land’’ 16 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian country’’ in 17 section 1151 of title 18, United States Code. 18 TITLE I—REESTABLISHING 19 AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL 20 COMPETITIVENESS AND 21 GLOBAL LEADERSHIP 22 SEC. 101. INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR REACTOR EXPORT 23 AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES. 24 (a) COORDINATION.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4897 RS (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 1 (A) coordinate all work of the Commission 2 relating to— 3 (i) nuclear reactor import and export 4 licensing; and 5 (ii) international regulatory coopera- 6 tion and assistance relating to nuclear re- 7 actors, including with countries that are 8 members of the Organisation for Economic 9 Co-operation and Development; and 10 (B) support interagency and international 11 coordination with respect to— 12 (i) the consideration of international 13 technical standards to establish the licens- 14 ing and regulatory basis to assist the de- 15 sign, construction, and operation of nu- 16 clear systems; 17 (ii) efforts to help build competent nu- 18 clear regulatory organizations and legal 19 frameworks in countries seeking to develop 20 nuclear power; and 21 (iii) exchange programs and training 22 provided to other countries relating to nu- 23 clear regulation and oversight to improve 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4897 RS nuclear technology licensing, in accordance 1 with paragraph (2). 2 (2) EXCHANGE PROGRAMS AND TRAINING.— 3 With respect to the exchange programs and training 4 described in paragraph (1)(B)(iii), the Commission 5 shall coordinate, as applicable, with— 6 (A) the Secretary; 7 (B) National Laboratories; 8 (C) the private sector; and 9 (D) institutions of higher education. 10 (b) AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH BRANCH.—The Com- 11 mission may establish within the Office of International 12 Programs a branch, to be known as the ‘‘International 13 Nuclear Reactor Export and Innovation Branch’’, to carry 14 out such international nuclear reactor export and innova- 15 tion activities as the Commission determines to be appro- 16 priate and within the mission of the Commission. 17 (c) EXCLUSION OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES 18 FROM THE FEE BASE.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Nuclear 20 Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (42 21 U.S.C. 2215) is amended— 22 (A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end 23 the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4897 RS ‘‘(4) INTERNATIONAL NUCLEAR REACTOR EX- 1 PORT AND INNOVATION ACTIVITIES.—The Commis- 2 sion shall identify in the annual budget justification 3 international nuclear reactor export and innovation 4 activities described in section 101(a) of the Amer- 5 ican Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020.’’; and 6 (B) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by adding at 7 the end the following: 8 ‘‘(iv) Costs for international nuclear 9 reactor export and innovation activities de- 10 scribed in section 101(a) of the American 11 Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020.’’. 12 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 13 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on October 1, 14 2021. 15 (d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section alters 16 the authority of the Commission to license and regulate 17 the civilian use of radioactive materials. 18 SEC. 102. DENIAL OF CERTAIN DOMESTIC LICENSES FOR 19 NATIONAL SECURITY PURPOSES. 20 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED FUEL.—In this sec- 21 tion, the term ‘‘covered fuel’’ means enriched uranium 22 that is fabricated into fuel assemblies for nuclear reactors 23 by an entity that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4897 RS (1) is owned or controlled by the Government of 1 the Russian Federation or the Government of the 2 People’s Republic of China; or 3 (2) is organized under the laws of, or otherwise 4 subject to the jurisdiction of, the Russian Federation 5 or the People’s Republic of China. 6 (b) PROHIBITION ON UNLICENSED POSSESSION OR 7 OWNERSHIP OF COVERED FUEL.—Unless specifically au- 8 thorized by the Commission in a license issued under sec- 9 tion 53 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 10 2073) and part 70 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 11 (or successor regulations), no person subject to the juris- 12 diction of the Commission may possess or own covered 13 fuel. 14 (c) LICENSE TO POSSESS OR OWN COVERED 15 FUEL.— 16 (1) CONSULTATION REQUIRED PRIOR TO 17 ISSUANCE.—The Commission shall not issue a li- 18 cense to possess or own covered fuel under section 19 53 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 20 2073) and part 70 of title 10, Code of Federal Reg- 21 ulations (or successor regulations), unless the Com- 22 mission has first consulted with the Secretary and 23 the Secretary of State before issuing the license. 24 (2) PROHIBITION ON ISSUANCE OF LICENSE.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4897 RS (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 1 graph (C), a license to possess or own covered 2 fuel shall not be issued if the Secretary and the 3 Secretary of State make the determination de- 4 scribed in subparagraph (B). 5 (B) DETERMINATION.— 6 (i) IN GENERAL.—The determination 7 referred to in subparagraph (A) is a deter- 8 mination that possession or ownership, as 9 applicable, of covered fuel poses a threat to 10 the national security of the United States 11 that adversely impacts the physical and 12 economic security of the United States. 13 (ii) JOINT DETERMINATION.—A deter- 14 mination described in clause (i) shall be 15 jointly made by the Secretary and the Sec- 16 retary of State. 17 (iii) TIMELINE.— 18 (I) NOTICE OF APPLICATION.— 19 Not later than 30 days after the date 20 on which the Commission receives an 21 application for a license to possess or 22 own covered fuel, the Commission 23 shall notify the Secretary and the Sec- 24 retary of State of the application. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4897 RS (II) DETERMINATION.—The Sec- 1 retary and the Secretary of State shall 2 have a period of 120 days, beginning 3 on the date on which the Commission 4 notifies the Secretary and the Sec- 5 retary of State under subclause (I) of 6 an application for a license to possess 7 or own covered fuel, in which to make 8 the determination described in clause 9 (i). 10 (III) COMMISSION NOTIFICA- 11 TION.—On making the determination 12 described in clause (i), the Secretary 13 and the Secretary of State shall im- 14 mediately notify the Commission. 15 (IV) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICA- 16 TION.—Not later than 30 days after 17 the date on which the Secretary and 18 the Secretary of State notify the Com- 19 mission under subclause (III), the 20 Commission shall notify the appro- 21 priate committees of Congress of the 22 determination. 23 (V) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Not later 24 than 15 days after the date on which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:42 Dec 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S4897.RS S4897 rfrederick on DSKBCBPHB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4897 RS the Commission notifies Congress 1 under subclause (IV) of a determina- 2 tion made under clause (i), the Com- 3 mission shall make that determination 4 publicly available. 5 (C) EFFECT OF NO DETERMINATION.— 6 The prohibition described in subparagraph (A) 7 shall not apply if the Secretary and the Sec- 8 retary of State do not make the determination 9 described in subparagraph (B) by the date de- 10 scribed in clause (iii)(II) of that subparagraph. 11 (d) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section alters 12 any treaty or international agreement in effect on the date 13 of enactment of this Act. 14 TITLE II—EXPANDING NUCLEAR 15 ENERGY THROUGH AD- 16 VANCED NUCLEAR TECH- 17 NOLOGIES 18 SEC. 201. ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR PROJECT ENVI- 19 RONMENTAL REVIEWS. 20 (a) DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW PROC- 21 ESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘envi [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]