I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1009 

To require the President develop a national strategy for utilizing microreactors 

to assist with natural disaster response efforts, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2023 

Mr. DONALDS (for himself, Mr. FLEISCHMANN, Mr. FEENSTRA, Mr. 

OBERNOLTE, and Ms. MACE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Armed Services, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To require the President develop a national strategy for 

utilizing microreactors to assist with natural disaster response efforts, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Strategy to 

5 Utilize Microreactors for Natural Disaster Response Ef6 forts Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) natural disasters often cause loss of life, 

4 human suffering, loss of income, and property loss 

5 and damage; 

6 (2) natural disasters often disrupt the normal 

7 functioning of governments and communities and 

8 adversely affect individuals and families with great 

9 severity; and 

10 (3) special measures, designed to assist with 

11 and supplement natural disaster response efforts, 

12 such as replacing the wide utilization of diesel gen13 erators with microreactors when responding to the 

14 impacts of a natural disaster, are necessary and 

15 worthwhile for the wellbeing of the United States. 

16 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that Congress should support the utilization of nu18 clear energy, with a priority for nuclear energy generated 

19 by microreactors, during natural disaster response efforts 

20 because of the following considerations: 

21 (1) Nuclear energy generated by a microreactor 

22 provides a safe form of consistent and reliable elec23 tricity that is generally sought when responding to 

24 the impacts of natural disasters. 

25 (2) Nuclear energy that is generated by micro26 reactors— 


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1 (A) is the most rapidly deployable source 

2 of energy available that can provide uninter3 rupted power to assist with natural disaster re4 sponse efforts; and 

5 (B) can be used to augment diesel-gen6 erated power during national disaster response 

7 efforts. 

8 (3) The generation of electricity from micro9 reactors emits fewer greenhouse gas emissions than 

10 the generation of electricity from other sources of 

11 electricity. 

12 (4) Microreactors can be easily transported and 

13 carried by aircraft, semi-trucks, or shipping vessels 

14 to timely provide electricity upon demand to an area 

15 that is impacted by a natural disaster. 

16 (5) Microreactors can be operated autono17 mously, which avoids the need for on-site operators 

18 in an area that is impacted by a natural disaster. 

19 (6) Microreactors can be operated for several 

20 years without being refueled, which avoids logistical 

21 challenges associated with refueling other power 

22 sources, including diesel generators, in an area that 

23 is impacted by a natural disaster. 

24 (7) With approval by the Nuclear Regulatory 

25 Commission, microreactors can be— 


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1 (A) mass produced in factories around the 

2 United States; and 

3 (B) mass deployed to assist with natural 

4 disaster response efforts. 

5 (8) Nuclear energy generated by a microreactor 

6 can be used to help restore electrical grids by pro7 viding temporary power and spot generation for crit8 ical electricity generating facilities while grid repairs 

9 take place. 

10 (9) Microreactors can— 

11 (A) power lifesaving and life-sustaining fa12 cilities, such as hospitals; 

13 (B) power mass transit systems and water 

14 quality treatment plants; 

15 (C) power large pumps that are often used 

16 to remove water from an impacted area; 

17 (D) power airport facilities and air traffic 

18 control towers; 

19 (E) power communications centers that are 

20 vital to dispatching important announcements 

21 and correspondence during natural disaster re22 sponse efforts; and 

23 (F) support the operation of local, State, 

24 and Federal facilities in the event that a nat25 ural disaster severely impacts such facilities and 


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1 results in the loss of electricity for such facili2 ties. 

3 (10) After providing electricity to an area that 

4 is impacted by a natural disaster, microreactors can 

5 be easily transported out of the area to other loca6 tions where they are needed or to standby storage 

7 locations until deployment to assist with future nat8 ural disaster response efforts. 

9 SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL STRATEGY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall, in consulta11 tion with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

12 Management Agency, the Secretary of Energy, the Chief 

13 of the National Guard Bureau, the Chief of Engineers of 

14 the Army Corps of Engineers, the Assistant Secretary of 

15 the Office of Nuclear Energy of the Department of En16 ergy, the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and 

17 Engineering, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory 

18 Commission, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the 

19 Office of Reactor Fleet and Advanced Reactor Deployment 

20 of the Department of Energy, develop a national strategy 

21 to utilize microreactors to assist with natural disaster re22 sponse efforts. 

23 (b) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 

24 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 

25 2 years thereafter, the President shall submit to the apVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1009.IH H1009

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1 propriate congressional committees a comprehensive na2 tional strategy developed under subsection (a). 

3 (c) CONTENTS OF NATIONAL STRATEGY.—A national 

4 strategy developed under subsection (a) shall include the 

5 following: 

6 (1) EVALUATION OF EXISTING DIESEL DEPLOY7 MENT EFFORTS.—An assessment of the effectiveness 

8 of utilizing diesel generators to assist with natural 

9 disaster response efforts, which such assessment 

10 shall include— 

11 (A) information on the current use of die12 sel generators to assist with natural disaster re13 sponse efforts, including— 

14 (i) the prevalence of deploying diesel 

15 generators around the United States as the 

16 sole power source to assist with natural 

17 disaster response efforts; 

18 (ii) the average number of diesel gen19 erators deployed in natural disaster re20 sponse efforts based on the type of natural 

21 disaster, the severity of the natural dis22 aster, and the location of the natural dis23 aster; 

24 (iii) where Federal, State, and local 

25 governments store diesel generators; 


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1 (iv) how diesel generators are trans2 ported to areas affected by a natural dis3 aster; 

4 (v) any logistical concerns with refuel5 ing diesel generators over an extended pe6 riod of time; 

7 (vi) the potential to utilize accessory 

8 equipment that is traditionally connected 

9 to diesel generators to help provide elec10 tricity to the area in need; and 

11 (vii) any other information that is 

12 necessary to understand the role of diesel 

13 generators used to assist with natural dis14 aster response efforts; 

15 (B) how the effect on the environment of 

16 utilizing diesel generators to assist with natural 

17 disaster response efforts compares to the esti18 mated effect on the environment of utilizing 

19 microreactors to assist with the same natural 

20 disaster response efforts; and 

21 (C) the concerns to public safety when de22 ploying diesel generators in natural disaster re23 sponse efforts. 

24 (2) GOALS, OBJECTIVES, AND PRIORITIES.—A 

25 comprehensive, research-based, and long-term disVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1009.IH H1009

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1 cussion of goals, objectives, and priorities for uti2 lizing microreactors instead of diesel generators to 

3 assist with natural disaster response efforts. 

4 (3) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ANALYSIS.—An 

5 analysis of— 

6 (A) how the efforts of the Department of 

7 Defense to develop microreactor technology for 

8 operational uses could be used to inform the de9 velopment of microreactors to assist with nat10 ural disaster response efforts, including any 

11 recommendations and additional direction that 

12 may be necessary for such expedited deploy13 ment; 

14 (B) how the Department of Defense can 

15 most effectively translate and implement the 

16 lessons learned from its operations in the field 

17 to assist with natural disaster response efforts, 

18 including how operations in the field related to 

19 microreactors can be used to answer broad 

20 questions for the nuclear industry and for fu21 ture issues relating to fuel reliability, energy 

22 supply chain issues, reducing diesel convoy cau23 salities, and supporting other global humani24 tarian needs; and 


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1 (C) whether a demonstration program for 

2 microreactors is needed prior to deploying 

3 microreactors for natural disaster response ef4 forts, based on the analysis provided by sub5 paragraphs (A) and (B). 

6 (4) RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NUCLEAR

7 REGULATORY COMMISSION.—Recommendations on 

8 how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission can work 

9 with other Federal agencies to expedite— 

10 (A) the approval of designs for microreac11 tors; and 

12 (B) issuing licenses for the utilization, 

13 transportation, and operation of microreactors 

14 in rapid deployment scenarios, such as natural 

15 disaster response efforts. 

16 (5) UTILIZING FEASIBILITY STUDIES.—An 

17 analysis of available academic literature and studies, 

18 including site feasibility studies, to identify high risk 

19 areas that are prone to natural disasters that should 

20 be prioritized during emergency planning. 

21 (6) STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS WHEN DE22 PLOYING MICROREACTORS.—An assessment of var23 ious strategic considerations to improve the effi24 ciency, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness of deploying 


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1 microreactors to assist with natural disaster re2 sponse efforts, including— 

3 (A) whether the Department of Defense, 

4 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 

5 or any other government entity should build, 

6 own, or operate microreactors that are used to 

7 assist with natural disaster response efforts, in8 cluding whether it would be viable to lease 

9 microreactors from private industry and wheth10 er it would be viable to facilitate public-private 

11 partnerships to find cost effective options to 

12 utilize microreactors for natural disaster re13 sponse efforts; 

14 (B) the recommended number of individ15 uals charged with the usage, maintenance, and 

16 upkeep of the microreactors, including the rec17 ommended qualifications, training requirements, 

18 availability requirements, and oversight respon19 sibility of such individuals; 

20 (C) the number of microreactors needed, 

21 initially and in the long-term, to effectively re22 spond to a natural disaster based on past nat23 ural disaster trends and the specific geographic 

24 location of the area; 


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1 (D) where microreactors used to assist 

2 with natural disaster response efforts would be 

3 stored, including information on— 

4 (i) how different microreactor storage 

5 locations may affect swift and economically 

6 feasible natural disaster response efforts; 

7 (ii) the feasibility of utilizing already8 built facilities instead of constructing new 

9 microreactor storage facilities; 

10 (iii) the cost of constructing new 

11 microreactor storage facilities; 

12 (iv) how to properly store the micro13 reactor when not being utilized for natural 

14 disaster response efforts; and 

15 (v) potential storage locations, such 

16 as— 

17 (I) the Strategic Alliance for 

18 FLEX Emergency Response locations 

19 in Memphis, Tennessee and Phoenix, 

20 Arizona; and 

21 (II) Department of Defense 

22 bases; 

23 (E) how to maintain a microreactor and 

24 replace, store, and dispose of fuel used by a 

25 microreactor, including whether public-private 


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1 partnerships may be used to assist with such 

2 maintenance, replacement, storage, and dis3 posal; 

4 (F) when a diesel generator will suffice in 

5 the event of a natural disaster of limited pro6 portions, in comparison to utilizing microreac7 tors to assist with natural disaster response ef8 forts; 

9 (G) which States and territories and pos10 sessions of the United States that are prone to 

11 natural disasters, such as hurricanes, should be 

12 prioritized when initially selecting locations to 

13 deploy microreactors to assist with natural dis14 aster response efforts; 

15 (H) the methods, capabilities, and costs as16 sociated with transporting microreactors that 

17 were or may be impacted by natural disasters, 

18 including considerations about transporting new 

19 microreactors, in addition to microreactors that 

20 have been put to use, and any regulatory or 

21 legal issues that may arise during the transpor22 tation; 

23 (I) any other strategic considerations that 

24 should be taken into account before deploying 


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1 microreactors to assist with natural disaster re2 sponse efforts; 

3 (J) how to integrate microreactors into ex4 isting electrical grids in emergency situations, 

5 including how grid connection points, microgrid 

6 limits, site load limits, existing infrastructure, 

7 and the standard process for grid interconnec8 tions may impact the integration of microreac9 tors into existing electrical grid; 

10 (K) whether microreactors will be suscep11 tible to cyberattacks, including whether autono12 mous control will impact the microreactor’s 

13 cyberattack susceptibility and what systems or 

14 microreactor designs would be ideal for com15 bating such cyberattacks during a natural dis16 aster response effort; and 

17 (L) how the weight of a microreactor, com18 pared to the weight of a diesel generator, af19 fects deploying microreactors and diesel genera20 tors to assist with natural disaster response ef21 forts. 

22 (7) DEPLOYMENT CHALLENGES AND BAR23 RIERS.—An assessment of— 


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1 (A) the challenges and barriers to deploy2 ing microreactors to assist with natural disaster 

3 response efforts; and 

4 (B) solutions to address each such chal5 lenge and barrier. 

6 (8) REVIEW OF AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR

7 LEGISLATION.— 

8 (A) REVIEW.—A review of existing law 

9 that can be used to ease the burden of utilizing 

10 microreactors to assist with natural disaster re11 sponse efforts, including the Robert T. Stafford 

12 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), the Energy Policy Act 

14 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801 et seq.), the Atomic 

15 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), 

16 the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Moderniza17 tion Act (42 U.S.C. 2215 note), and any other 

18 relevant law. 

19 (B) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Recommenda20 tions for legislation to— 

21 (i) assist with— 

22 (I) deploying microreactors to as23 sist with natural disaster response ef24 forts; 


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1 (II) the maintenance and upkeep 

2 of such microreactors; and 

3 (III) the initial and long-term 

4 storage of such microreactors; and 

5 (ii) pay for the activities described in 

6 subclauses (I) through (III) of clause (i). 

7 (9) PARTNERSHIPS TO ENHANCE NATURAL DIS8 ASTER RESPONSE EFFORTS.—An assessment 

9 about— 

10 (A) the current status of any collaboration 

11 between the National Guard, Federal Emer12 gency Management Agency, and the Army 

13 Corps of Engineers during natural disaster re14 sponse efforts; 

15 (B) the specific roles of each entity speci16 fied in subparagraph (A) (disaggregated, in the 

17 case of the National Guard, by State and by 

18 military department) during a natural disaster 

19 response effort, and their respective roles when 

20 participating in natural disaster response ef21 forts; 

22 (C) the current emergency responsibilities 

23 of the Department of Energy and the Nuclear 

24 Regulatory Commission that relate to deploying 


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1 microreactors during natural disaster response 

2 efforts; 

3 (D) the potential opportunity to set up an 

4 annual listening group session or consortium to 

5 provide all the necessary information needed to 

6 deploy microreactors to assist with natural dis7 aster response efforts and to ensure a smooth 

8 transition from the use of diesel generators to 

9 the use of microreactors to assist with natural 

10 disaster response efforts; 

11 (E) how the Emergency Management As12 sistance Compact, consented to by Congress in 

13 the joint resolution entitled ‘‘Joint resolution 

14 granting the consent of Congress to the Emer15 gency Management Assistance Compact’’ (Pub16 lic Law 104–321), can be utilized to allow 

17 States to allocate their unused microreactors to 

18 other States that are in need of microreactors 

19 to assist with natural disaster response efforts; 

20 and 

21 (F) how to improve the collaboration be22 tween Federal, State, and local government en23 tities and private entities when deploying micro24 reactors to assist with natural disaster response 

25 efforts. 


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1 (10) UTILIZING MICROREACTORS TO CHARGE

2 ELECTRIC VEHICLES.—Recommendations on how to 

3 utilize microreactors as charging stations for electric 

4 vehicles in the event of a mass evacuation resulting 

5 from a natural disaster, including recommendations 

6 on— 

7 (A) how to deploy microreactors to charge 

8 electric vehicles before an evacuation; 

9 (B) the primary transportation corridors 

10 that would be used for such a mass evacuation; 

11 (C) how many microreactors would be 

12 needed to charge electric vehicles during such a 

13 mass evacuation, based on the size and popu14 lation of the State in which the mass evacuation 

15 occurs; 

16 (D) the best placement of microreactors 

17 throughout the primary transportation corridors 

18 to ensure a smooth electric vehicle charging 

19 process and subsequent evacuation; 

20 (E) any potential public-private partner21 ships that would be useful in utilizing micro22 reactors to charge electric vehicles during a 

23 mass evacuation, including an estimate of the 

24 costs that would be associated with establishing 

25 these partnerships; 


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1 (F) how to— 

2 (i) transport microreactors to mass 

3 evacuation locations along primary trans4 portation corridors for purposes of charg5 ing electric vehicles; and 

6 (ii) pay for such transportation; and 

7 (G) any other topic related to subpara8 graphs (A) through (F). 

9 (11) DEPLOYING MICROREACTORS TO UNITED

10 STATES TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS.—Rec11 ommendations on deploying microreactors to terri12 tories and possessions of the United States to assist 

13 with natural disaster response efforts. 

14 (12) USING MILITARY EQUIPMENT WITH NU15 CLEAR CAPABILITIES.—Recommendations on how to, 

16 in the event of a natural disaster and when the de17 ployment of a microreactor is not timely or ideal for 

18 the circumstance, deploy military equipment of the 

19 United States with nuclear capabilities, such as nu20 clear aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines, to 

21 provide temporary electricity to an area severely im22 pacted by a natural disaster. 

23 (13) BUDGET PRIORITIES.—A multiyear budget 

24 plan that identifies the necessary resources to suc25 cessfully carry out the recommendations and impleVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:00 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1009.IH H1009

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1 ment any lessons learned from the assessments and 

2 other analysis under this subsection. 

3 (14) TECHNOLOGY ENHANCEMENTS.—An anal4 ysis of current and developing ways to leverage exist5 ing and innovative technology to improve the effec6 tiveness of efforts to deploy microreactors to assist 

7 with natural disaster response efforts. 

8 (15) USING INNOVATIVE TOOLS TO PREDICT

9 NATURAL DISASTERS.—A description of how to uti10 lize innovative technology, such as artificial intel11 ligence and predictive meteorological tools, to pre12 pare for the utilization of microreactors before a 

13 natural disaster. 

14 (16) FLOATING NUCLEAR BARGES.—An assess15 ment of how floating nuclear barges compare to 

16 using portable microreactors, including— 

17 (A) the advantages and disadvantages of 

18 using a portable microreactor compared to a 

19 floating nuclear barge; and 

20 (B) an identification of scenarios during 

21 which a floating nuclear barge would be pre22 ferred over a portable microreactor. 

23 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

24 In this Act— 


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1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Energy and Com5 merce, the Committee on Armed Services, the 

6 Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 

7 and the Committee on Science, Space, and 

8 Technology of the House of Representatives; 

9 and 

10 (B) the Committee on Energy and Natural 

11 Resources, the Committee on Armed Services, 

12 the Committee on Environment and Public 

13 Works, and the Committee on Commerce, 

14 Science, and Transportation of the Senate. 

15 (2) LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘local 

16 government’’ has the meaning given such term in 

17 section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

18 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122). 

19 (3) MICROREACTOR.—The term ‘‘microreactor’’ 

20 means a nuclear reactor, including a portable nu21 clear reactor, that has an electricity generating ca22 pacity of not more than 20 megawatts of thermal 

23 energy. 

24 (4) NATURAL DISASTER.—The term ‘‘natural 

25 disaster’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Major 


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1 disaster’’ in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford 

2 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

3 U.S.C. 5122), except that the term ‘‘natural dis4 aster’’ does not include a wildfire. 

5 (5) NATURAL DISASTER RESPONSE EFFORT.— 

6 The term ‘‘natural disaster response effort’’ means 

7 a circumstance in which a State or local government 

8 requests assistance under the Robert T. Stafford 

9 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), including assistance to address 

11 the loss of primary electrical capacity as a result of 

12 a natural disaster. 

13 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State 

14 of the United States and the District of Columbia. 

Æ 


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