II
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1320
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 30, 2011
Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Ms. Landrieu) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Energy to offer to enter into temporary used fuel storage facility agreements.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Nuclear Fuel Storage Improvement Act
of 2011
.
Definitions
In this Act:
Commission
The term Commission means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Secretary
The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
Incentives for siting of temporary used fuel storage facilities
Definitions
In this section:
Agreement
The term agreement means a temporary used fuel storage facility agreement entered into under subsection (e).
First used fuel receipt
The term first used fuel receipt means the receipt of used fuel by a temporary used fuel storage facility at a site within the jurisdiction of a unit of local government that is a party to an agreement.
Nuclear Waste Fund
The term Nuclear Waste Fund means the Nuclear Waste Fund established under section 302 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222).
Unit of local government
The term unit of local government means any borough, city, county, parish, town, township, village, or other general purpose political subdivision of a State, or association of 2 or more political subdivisions of a State.
Used fuel
The term used fuel means nuclear fuel that has been withdrawn from a nuclear reactor following irradiation, the constituent elements of which have not been separated by reprocessing.
Authorization
The Secretary shall offer to enter into temporary used fuel storage facility agreements in accordance with this section.
Notice from units of local government to Secretary
Not later than January 1, 2013, representatives of a unit of local government, with the written approval of the Governor of the State in which the jurisdiction of the local government is located, may submit to the Secretary written notice that the unit of local government is willing to have a privately owned and operated temporary used fuel storage facility located at an identified site within the jurisdiction of the unit of local government.
Preliminary compensation
In general
The Secretary shall make payments of $1,000,000 each year to not more than 3 units of local government that have submitted notices under subsection (c).
Multiple notices
If more than 3 notices are received under subsection (c), the Secretary shall make payments to the first 3 units of local government, based on the order in which the notices are received.
Timing
The payments shall be made annually for a 3-year period, on the anniversary date of the filing of the notice under subsection (c).
Agreement
In general
On the docketing of an application for a license for a temporary used fuel storage facility, in accordance with part 72 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, at a site within the jurisdiction of a unit of local government by the Commission, the Secretary shall offer to enter into a temporary used fuel storage facility economic impact agreement with the unit of local government.
Terms and conditions
An agreement between the Secretary and a unit of local government under this subsection shall contain such terms and conditions (including such financial and institutional arrangements) as the Secretary and the unit of local government determine to be reasonable and appropriate.
Amendment
An agreement may be—
amended only with the mutual consent of the parties to the agreement; and
terminated only in accordance with paragraph (4).
Termination
The Secretary shall terminate an agreement if the Secretary determines that any major element of the temporary used fuel storage facility required under the agreement will not be completed.
Number of agreements
Not more than 2 agreements may be in effect at any time.
Payment schedule
In general
If the Secretary enters into an agreement under this subsection, the Secretary shall make to the unit of local government and the State in which the unit of local government is located—
payments of—
on the date of entering into the agreement under this subsection, $6,000,000;
during the period beginning on the date of entering into an agreement and ending on the date of first used fuel receipt or denial of the license application for a temporary used fuel storage facility by the Commission, whichever is later, $10,000,000 for each year; and
during the period beginning on the date of first used fuel receipt and ending on the date of closure of the facility, a total of the higher of—
$15,000,000 for each year; or
$15,000 per metric ton of used fuel received at the facility for each year, up to a maximum of $25,000,000 for each year; and
a payment of $20,000,000 on closure of the facility.
Timing of annual payments
The Secretary shall make annual payments under subparagraph (A)(i)—
in the case of annual payments described in subparagraph (A)(i)(II), on the anniversary of the date of the docketing of the license application by the Commission; and
in the case of annual payments described in subparagraph (A)(i)(III), on the date of the first used fuel receipt and thereafter on the anniversary date of the first used fuel receipt, in lieu of annual payments described in subparagraph (A)(i)(II).
Termination of authority
Subject to subparagraph (A)(ii), the authority to make payments under this paragraph terminates on the date of closure of the facility.
Funding
Funding for compensation and payments provided for, and made under, this section shall be made available from amounts available in the Nuclear Waste Fund.
Acceptance, storage, and settlement of claims
In general
The Secretary shall offer to enter into a long-term contract for the storage of used fuel from civilian nuclear power plants with a private entity that owns or operates an independent used fuel storage facility licensed by the Commission that is located within the jurisdiction of a unit of local government to which payments are made pursuant to section 3(e).
Settlement and acceptance of used fuel
In general
At the request of a party to a contract under section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)), the Secretary may enter into an agreement for the settlement of all claims against the Secretary under a contract for failure to dispose of high-level radioactive waste or used nuclear fuel not later than January 31, 1998.
Terms and conditions
A settlement agreement described in paragraph (1)—
shall contain such terms and conditions (including such financial and institutional arrangements) as the Secretary and the party to the contract determine to be reasonable and appropriate; and
may include the acceptance of used fuel from the party to the contract for storage at a facility with respect to which the Secretary has a long-term contract under subsection (a).
Priority for acceptance for closed facilities
In general
If a request for fuel acceptance is made under this section by a facility that has produced used nuclear fuel and that is shut down permanently and the facility has been decommissioned, the Secretary shall provide priority for the acceptance of the fuel produced by the facility.
Schedule
Spent
nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste generated by a facility in
existence as of the date of enactment of this Act shall be offered a schedule
in accordance with the priority established pursuant to Article IV.b.5 of the
contract entitled Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or
High-Level Radioactive Waste
, as specified in section 961.11 of title
10, Code of Federal Regulations.
Transportation of used fuel
In general
The Secretary shall provide for the transportation of used fuel accepted by the Secretary under this section.
Systems and components
In general
The Secretary shall procure all systems and components necessary to transport used fuel from facilities designated by contract holders to 1 or more storage facilities under this section.
Casks
The Secretary shall—
use transportation and storage casks that are approved by the Commission in use at facilities designated by contract holders; and
compensate the owner and operator of each facility for the use of the casks.