A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to offer to enter into temporary used fuel storage facility agreements.

Summary: Nuclear Fuel Storage Improvement Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to offer to enter into temporary used fuel storage facility agreements in accordance with this Act.

Sets a deadline by which a local governmental unit may, with the approval of the state governor, notify the Secretary that it is willing to have a privately owned and operated temporary used fuel storage facility located within its jurisdiction.

Requires the Secretary to pay $1 million per year to up to three such governmental units.

Makes funding available from the Nuclear Waste Fund for compensation and payments.

Directs the Secretary to offer to enter into a long-term contract for the storage of used fuel from civilian nuclear power plants with a private owner or operator of an independent used fuel storage facility licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

Authorizes the Secretary, upon request of a contract signatory, to enter into an agreement for a settlement of all claims against the Secretary for failure to dispose of high-level radioactive waste or used nuclear fuel by January 31, 1998.

Directs the Secretary to grant priority for the acceptance of fuel produced by a facility that has produced used nuclear fuel, been decommissioned, and shut down permanently.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide for the transportation of accepted used fuel, and (2) use NRC-approved transportation and storage casks.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Fuel Storage Improvement Act 
of 2011''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Nuclear 
        Regulatory Commission.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.

SEC. 3. INCENTIVES FOR SITING OF TEMPORARY USED FUEL STORAGE 
              FACILITIES.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agreement.--The term ``agreement'' means a temporary 
        used fuel storage facility agreement entered into under 
        subsection (e).
            (2) 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.
            (3) 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).
            (4) 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.
            (5) 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.
    (b) Authorization.--The Secretary shall offer to enter into 
temporary used fuel storage facility agreements in accordance with this 
section.
    (c) 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.
    (d) Preliminary Compensation.--
            (1) 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).
            (2) 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.
            (3) 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).
    (e) Agreement.--
            (1) 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.
            (2) 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.
            (3) Amendment.--An agreement may be--
                    (A) amended only with the mutual consent of the 
                parties to the agreement; and
                    (B) terminated only in accordance with paragraph 
                (4).
            (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.
            (5) Number of agreements.--Not more than 2 agreements may 
        be in effect at any time.
            (6) Payment schedule.--
                    (A) 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--
                            (i) payments of--
                                    (I) on the date of entering into 
                                the agreement under this subsection, 
                                $6,000,000;
                                    (II) 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
                                    (III) 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--
                                            (aa) $15,000,000 for each 
                                        year; or
                                            (bb) $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
                            (ii) a payment of $20,000,000 on closure of 
                        the facility.
                    (B) Timing of annual payments.--The Secretary shall 
                make annual payments under subparagraph (A)(i)--
                            (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
                            (ii) 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).
                    (C) 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.
    (f) 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.

SEC. 4. ACCEPTANCE, STORAGE, AND SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS.

    (a) 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).
    (b) Settlement and Acceptance of Used Fuel.--
            (1) 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.
            (2) Terms and conditions.--A settlement agreement described 
        in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) 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
                    (B) 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).
    (c) Priority for Acceptance for Closed Facilities.--
            (1) 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.
            (2) 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.
    (d) Transportation of Used Fuel.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall provide for the 
        transportation of used fuel accepted by the Secretary under 
        this section.
            (2) Systems and components.--
                    (A) 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.
                    (B) Casks.--The Secretary shall--
                            (i) use transportation and storage casks 
                        that are approved by the Commission in use at 
                        facilities designated by contract holders; and
                            (ii) compensate the owner and operator of 
                        each facility for the use of the casks.