I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1746 

To facilitate the efficient licensing and deployment of advanced civilian nuclear 

technologies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2021 

Mr. HUDSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

Science, Space, and Technology, 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 facilitate the efficient licensing and deployment of 

advanced civilian nuclear technologies. 

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 ‘‘Advanced Nuclear De5 ployment Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ENABLING PREPARATIONS FOR ADVANCED NU2 CLEAR REACTOR DEMONSTRATIONS ON FED3 ERAL SITES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102(b)(1)(B) of the Nu5 clear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 2215(b)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘(v) Costs for— 

9 ‘‘(I) activities to review and ap10 prove or disapprove an application for 

11 an early site permit (as defined in sec12 tion 52.1 of title 10, Code of Federal 

13 Regulations (or any successor regula14 tion)) to demonstrate an advanced nu15 clear reactor on a Department of En16 ergy or Department of Defense site; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(II) pre-application activities re19 lating to an early site permit (as so 

20 defined) to demonstrate an advanced 

21 nuclear reactor on a Department of 

22 Energy or Department of Defense 

23 site.’’. 

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

25 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2021. 


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1 SEC. 3. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR MICRO-REAC2 TORS. 

3 (a) MICRO-REACTOR LICENSING.—Not later than 3 

4 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Nuclear 

5 Regulatory Commission (in this section referred to as the 

6 ‘‘Commission’’) shall— 

7 (1) not later than 18 months after the date of 

8 enactment of this Act, develop risk-informed and 

9 performance-based strategies and guidance to license 

10 and regulate micro-reactors pursuant to section 103 

11 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 

12 2133), including strategies and guidance for— 

13 (A) staffing and operations; 

14 (B) oversight and inspections; 

15 (C) safeguards and security; 

16 (D) emergency preparedness; and 

17 (E) risk analysis methods, including alter18 natives to probabilistic risk assessments; 

19 (F) quality assurance, including the use of 

20 commercial nuclear quality standards in lieu of 

21 the requirements of Appendix B of part 50 of 

22 title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

23 successor regulation); 

24 (G) decommissioning funding assurance 

25 methods that permit the use of design- and site26 specific cost estimates; 


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1 (H) the transportation of fueled micro-re2 actors; 

3 (I) an annual fee structure that accounts 

4 for the design and operational characteristics of 

5 micro-reactors; and 

6 (J) siting, including in relation to— 

7 (i) the per capita siting limit de8 scribed in the policy issue paper on popu9 lation-related siting considerations for ad10 vanced reactors dated May 8, 2020, and 

11 numbered SECY–20–0045; 

12 (ii) licensing mobile deployment; and 

13 (iii) environmental reviews; and 

14 (2) implement, as appropriate, the strategies 

15 and guidance developed under paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) within the existing regulatory frame17 work; 

18 (B) through the technology-inclusive, regu19 latory framework to be established under sec20 tion 103(a)(4) of the Nuclear Energy Innova21 tion and Modernization Act (42 U.S.C. 2133 

22 note; Public Law 115–439); or 

23 (C) through a pending or new rulemaking. 

24 (b) REVIEW SCHEDULES.—The Commission shall es25 tablish and implement, by regulation, schedules that proVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:35 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1746.IH H1746

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1 vide target time periods for the completion of review activi2 ties applicable to the licensing of micro-reactors to ensure 

3 the completion of all such licensing actions by not later 

4 than the date that is 2 years after the date on which an 

5 application for such a license is accepted for docketing. 

6 (c) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing and imple7 menting strategies and guidance under subsection (a), the 

8 Commission shall consider— 

9 (1) the unique characteristics of micro-reactors, 

10 such as characteristics relating to— 

11 (A) physical size; 

12 (B) design simplicity; and 

13 (C) source term; 

14 (2) opportunities to address redundancies and 

15 inefficiencies; 

16 (3) opportunities to consolidate review phases 

17 and reduce transitions between review teams; 

18 (4) opportunities to establish integrated review 

19 teams to ensure continuity throughout the review 

20 process; and 

21 (5) other relevant considerations discussed in 

22 the policy issue paper on policy and licensing consid23 erations related to micro-reactors dated October 6, 

24 2020, and numbered SECY–20–0093. 


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1 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

2 the Commission shall consult with— 

3 (1) the Secretary of Energy; 

4 (2) the heads of other Federal agencies, as ap5 propriate; 

6 (3) micro-reactor technology developers; and 

7 (4) other stakeholders. 

8 SEC. 4. EXPEDITED SUBSEQUENT COMBINED LICENSES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this section, 

10 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (referred to in this 

11 section as the ‘‘Commission’’) shall establish and carry out 

12 an expedited procedure for issuing a combined license pur13 suant to section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 

14 (42 U.S.C. 2133). 

15 (b) QUALIFICATIONS.—To qualify for the expedited 

16 procedure under subsection (a), an applicant— 

17 (1) shall submit a complete combined license 

18 application for a new nuclear reactor based off a 

19 previously licensed design; 

20 (2) shall construct the new nuclear reactor on 

21 or adjacent to a site on which an operating nuclear 

22 reactor already exists or previously operated; and 

23 (3) may not be subject to an order of the Com24 mission to modify, suspend, or revoke a license 


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1 under section 2.202 of title 10, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations (or any successor regulation). 

3 (c) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—With respect to a 

4 combined license for which the applicant has satisfied the 

5 requirements described in subsection (b), the Commission 

6 shall— 

7 (1) not later than 1 year after the application 

8 is accepted for docketing— 

9 (A) carry out an expedited environmental 

10 review process; and 

11 (B) issue a draft environmental impact 

12 statement; 

13 (2) not later than 18 months after the applica14 tion is accepted for docketing— 

15 (A) complete the technical review process; 

16 and 

17 (B) issue a safety evaluation report and 

18 final environmental impact statement; 

19 (3) not later than 2 years after the application 

20 is accepted for docketing, complete any necessary 

21 public licensing hearings and related processes; and 

22 (4) not later than 25 months after the applica23 tion is accepted for docketing, make a final decision 

24 on whether to issue the combined license. 

25 (d) PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING.— 


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1 (1) GOALS.—Not later than 90 days after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman of the 

3 Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall submit to the 

4 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

5 of Representatives and the Committee on Environ6 ment and Public Works of the Senate recommenda7 tions for procedures that would further facilitate the 

8 expedited licensing of new nuclear reactors. 

9 (2) DELAYS IN ISSUANCE.—Not later than 30 

10 days after the applicable deadline, the Executive Di11 rector for Operations of the Commission shall inform 

12 the Commission of any failure to meet a deadline 

13 under subsection (c). 

14 (3) DELAYS IN ISSUANCE EXCEEDING 90

15 DAYS.—If any deadline under subsection (c) is not 

16 met by the date that is 90 days after the applicable 

17 date required under such subsection, the Commis18 sion shall submit to the Committee on Environment 

19 and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee 

20 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep21 resentatives a timely report describing the delay, in22 cluding a detailed explanation accounting for the 

23 delay and a plan for timely completion of the appli24 cable action. 


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1 SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE 

2 AGREEMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VI of the En4 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 

5 782) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 640. LONG-TERM NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE 

7 AGREEMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2026, the 

9 Secretary shall establish a pilot program under which the 

10 Secretary shall enter into long-term power purchase agree11 ments for power generated by commercial nuclear reac12 tors. 

13 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing the pilot pro14 gram under this section, the Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) consult with the heads of other Federal de16 partments and agencies that may benefit from pur17 chasing nuclear power for a period of longer than 10 

18 years, including the Secretary of Defense; and 

19 ‘‘(2) not later than December 31, 2026, enter 

20 into at least 1 agreement to purchase power from a 

21 commercial nuclear reactor that receives a license 

22 from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after Jan23 uary 1, 2022. 

24 ‘‘(c) PERIOD OF AGREEMENT.—Notwithstanding any 

25 other provision of law, an agreement entered into pursuant 

26 to subsection (b)(2) to purchase power from a commercial 


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1 nuclear reactor shall be made for a period of at least 10 

2 years and not more than 40 years. 

3 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this section, the 

4 Secretary shall prioritize entering into long-term power 

5 purchase agreements for power generated by first-of-a6 kind or early deployment commercial nuclear reactors that 

7 will provide reliable and resilient power— 

8 ‘‘(1) to high-value assets for national security 

9 purposes; or 

10 ‘‘(2) for other purposes that the Secretary de11 termines are in the national interest, including for 

12 remote off-grid scenarios or grid-connected scenarios 

13 that provide capabilities commonly known as 

14 ‘islanding power capabilities’ during an emergency. 

15 ‘‘(e) RATES.—A long-term power purchase agreement 

16 entered into under this section may not be at a rate that 

17 is higher than the average market rate, unless the agree18 ment is for power generated by a commercial nuclear reac19 tor described in subsection (d).’’. 

20 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

21 the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 

22 Stat. 594) is amended by inserting after the item relating 

23 to section 639 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 640. Long-term nuclear power purchase agreement pilot program.’’. 

Æ 


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