II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2388 

To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for consultation with 

State, tribal, and local governments, the consideration of State, tribal, 

and local concerns, and the approval of post-shutdown decommissioning 

activities reports by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2018 

Mr. SANDERS (for himself, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. MARKEY, and Mrs. GILLIBRAND) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for 

consultation with State, tribal, and local governments, 

the consideration of State, tribal, and local concerns, 

and the approval of post-shutdown decommissioning activities reports by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

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 ‘‘Nuclear Plant Decom5 missioning Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. POST-SHUTDOWN DECOMMISSIONING ACTIVITIES 

2 REPORTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 10 of title I of the Atomic 

4 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 113. POST-SHUTDOWN DECOMMISSIONING ACTIVI7 TIES REPORTS. 

8 ‘‘a. DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) AFFECTED STATE.—The term ‘affected 

10 State’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) the host State of a covered facility; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(B) each State located within 50 miles of 

14 a covered facility. 

15 ‘‘(2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘Commission’ 

16 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

17 ‘‘(3) COVERED FACILITY.—The term ‘covered 

18 facility’ means a facility of a licensee for which a 

19 PSDAR is required. 

20 ‘‘(4) HOST STATE.—The term ‘host State’ 

21 means the State in which a covered facility is lo22 cated. 

23 ‘‘(5) LICENSE; LICENSEE.—The terms ‘license’ 

24 and ‘licensee’ have the meanings given the terms in 

25 section 50.2 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations 

26 (or successor regulations). 


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1 ‘‘(6) PSDAR.—The term ‘PSDAR’ means a 

2 post-shutdown decommissioning activities report 

3 submitted to the Commission and affected States 

4 under section 50.82(a)(4)(i) of title 10, Code of Fed5 eral Regulations (or successor regulations). 

6 ‘‘(7) TRANSFEREE.—The term ‘transferee’ 

7 means an entity to which a licensee proposes to 

8 transfer a license for a covered facility. 

9 ‘‘(8) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘tribal 

10 government’ means the governing body of an Indian 

11 tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-De12 termination and Education Assistance Act (25 

13 U.S.C. 5304)). 

14 ‘‘b. CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of law (including regulations), a li16 censee may not submit to the Commission a proposed 

17 PSDAR, or transfer to another entity the license, for a 

18 covered facility until the licensee and the transferee, if ap19 plicable, conduct consultation regarding the development 

20 of the proposed PSDAR or the proposed license transfer, 

21 as applicable, with— 

22 ‘‘(1) each affected State; and 

23 ‘‘(2) each unit of State government or tribal 

24 government that— 

25 ‘‘(A) is located in an affected State; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) has jurisdiction over land located 

2 within 50 miles of the covered facility. 

3 ‘‘c. SUBMISSION TO COMMISSION; ADDITIONAL CON4 SULTATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After carrying out the con6 sultation required under subsection b. with respect 

7 to a proposed PSDAR or transfer of a license for a 

8 covered facility, the licensee shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) submit to the Commission, as appli10 cable— 

11 ‘‘(i) the proposed PSDAR; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) an application for transfer of a 

13 license; and 

14 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (3), make the 

15 proposed PSDAR or application for transfer of 

16 a license, as applicable, available to the public. 

17 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—On receipt of a 

18 proposed PSDAR or notice of a proposed license 

19 transfer under paragraph (1)(A), the Commission 

20 shall, subject to paragraph (3), make the proposed 

21 PSDAR or application for transfer of a license, as 

22 applicable, available to the public. 

23 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION.— 

24 In making a proposed PSDAR or application for 

25 transfer of a license, as applicable, available to the 


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1 public under paragraph (1)(B) or (2), the Commis2 sion or the licensee, as applicable, may redact such 

3 information as the Commission or the licensee, as 

4 applicable, determines to be necessary to protect— 

5 ‘‘(A) trade secrets and commercial or fi6 nancial information under section 552(b)(4) of 

7 title 5, United States Code; or 

8 ‘‘(B) national security. 

9 ‘‘d. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—For a period of not 

10 less than 90 days beginning on the date on which a li11 censee submits a proposed PSDAR to the Commission 

12 under subsection c. (1)(A) or the date on which the Com13 mission dockets an application for transfer of a license 

14 under section 2.101 of title 10, Code of Federal Regula15 tions (or successor regulations), as applicable, the Com16 mission shall solicit in the host State public comments re17 garding the proposed PSDAR or notice of proposed license 

18 transfer, including through— 

19 ‘‘(1) the solicitation of written comments; and 

20 ‘‘(2) the conduct of not fewer than 2 public 

21 meetings. 

22 ‘‘e. SUPPORT, CONDITIONAL SUPPORT, OR NON23 SUPPORT BY HOST STATE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

25 after the date of receipt of a proposed PSDAR or 


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1 the date on which the Commission dockets an appli2 cation for transfer of a license under section 2.101 

3 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc4 cessor regulations), as applicable, for a covered facil5 ity, the Commission shall notify the host State of 

6 the opportunity to file with the Commission, by the 

7 date that is 60 days after the date on which the host 

8 State receives the notification— 

9 ‘‘(A) a statement of support for the pro10 posed PSDAR or license transfer; 

11 ‘‘(B) a statement of conditional support 

12 for the proposed PSDAR or license transfer, to13 gether with specific recommendations for 

14 changes that could lead the host State to sup15 port the proposed PSDAR or license transfer; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(C) a statement of nonsupport for the 

18 proposed PSDAR or license transfer. 

19 ‘‘(2) STATEMENT OF SUPPORT OR NON20 SUPPORT; FAILURE TO SUBMIT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the host State files 

22 with the Commission a statement of support 

23 under paragraph (1)(A) or a statement of non24 support under paragraph (1)(C), or fails to file 

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1 line specified in paragraph (1), the Commission 

2 shall issue a determination regarding whether 

3 the proposed PSDAR is adequate or inadequate 

4 or a determination regarding whether to provide 

5 consent for the proposed license transfer, as ap6 plicable— 

7 ‘‘(i) based on the considerations de8 scribed in subparagraph (B); and 

9 ‘‘(ii) after taking into consideration— 

10 ‘‘(I) any written comments sub11 mitted by the host State, other af12 fected States, and local communities 

13 with respect to the proposed PSDAR 

14 or license transfer; and 

15 ‘‘(II) any input from the public 

16 under subsection d. 

17 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Commission 

18 shall consider a proposed PSDAR or license 

19 transfer to be adequate under subparagraph 

20 (A) if the Commission determines that— 

21 ‘‘(i) the proposed PSDAR or license 

22 transfer provides for— 

23 ‘‘(I) the overall protection of 

24 human health and the environment; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) adequate protection to the 

2 health and safety of the public and 

3 the common defense and security; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the licensee (and, if applicable, 

5 the transferee) has a substantial likelihood 

6 of implementing the proposed PSDAR or 

7 license transfer within the timeframe de8 scribed in the proposed PSDAR or license 

9 transfer application; 

10 ‘‘(iii) the proposed PSDAR or license 

11 transfer is in accordance with applicable 

12 law (including regulations); and 

13 ‘‘(iv) the licensee (and, if applicable, 

14 the transferee) has demonstrated that the 

15 licensee has, or will have, the funds re16 quired to fully implement the proposed 

17 PSDAR or license transfer within the 

18 timeframe described in the proposed 

19 PSDAR or license transfer application, 

20 based on— 

21 ‘‘(I) a comprehensive radiological 

22 site assessment and characterization; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) a nonradiological site as2 sessment and characterization con3 ducted by the host State. 

4 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF ADEQUACY.— 

5 Subject to paragraph (4), if the Commission de6 termines that a proposed PSDAR or license 

7 transfer is adequate under subparagraphs (A) 

8 and (B), the Commission shall issue a decision 

9 document approving the PSDAR or license 

10 transfer. 

11 ‘‘(D) DETERMINATION OF INADEQUACY.— 

12 If the Commission determines that a proposed 

13 PSDAR or license transfer is inadequate under 

14 subparagraphs (A) and (B)— 

15 ‘‘(i) the Commission shall issue a deci16 sion document rejecting the proposed 

17 PSDAR or license transfer, including a de18 scription of the reasons for the decision, by 

19 the applicable deadline under paragraph 

20 (4); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) not later than 2 years after the 

22 date of cessation of operations at the appli23 cable covered facility, the licensee shall de24 velop and submit to the Commission a new 


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1 proposed PSDAR or license transfer in ac2 cordance with this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) CONDITIONAL SUPPORT BY HOST

4 STATE.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In any case in which 

6 the host State files with the Commission a 

7 statement of conditional support of a proposed 

8 PSDAR or license transfer under paragraph 

9 (1)(B), the Commission shall determine whether 

10 the proposed PSDAR or license transfer is per11 missible under applicable law (including regula12 tions). 

13 ‘‘(B) CHANGES.—Notwithstanding the 

14 adequate protection of public health and safety 

15 or the common defense and security, for each 

16 change recommended by the host State under 

17 paragraph (1)(B), the Commission shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) provide for the inclusion of the 

19 change into the final PSDAR or license 

20 transfer, unless the Commission deter21 mines the change to be inappropriate for 

22 inclusion, based on clear and convincing 

23 evidence that— 

24 ‘‘(I) the change violates applica25 ble law; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) the total costs of the 

2 change substantially outweigh the 

3 safety, economic, or environmental 

4 benefits of the change to the host 

5 State; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) if applicable, provide the ration7 ale for each determination of inappropri8 ateness under clause (i). 

9 ‘‘(C) DECISION DOCUMENT.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to para11 graph (4), based on the determinations 

12 made under subparagraphs (A) and (B), 

13 the Commission shall issue a decision doc14 ument relating to a proposed PSDAR or li15 cense transfer that, as applicable— 

16 ‘‘(I) approves the proposed 

17 PSDAR or license transfer with any 

18 changes recommended by the host 

19 State that are not determined to be 

20 inappropriate under subparagraph 

21 (B); or 

22 ‘‘(II) rejects the proposed 

23 PSDAR or license transfer. 

24 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE LAW.—A decision 

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1 paragraph (C) or (D)(i) of paragraph (2) 

2 shall be considered to be a final order en3 tered in a proceeding under section 189 a. 

4 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT ON APPROVAL.—On ap5 proval by the Commission of a proposed 

6 PSDAR or license transfer under subparagraph 

7 (C)(i)(I) or paragraph (2)(C)— 

8 ‘‘(i) the PSDAR or approval of the li9 cense transfer by the Commission shall be 

10 final; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the licensee may begin implemen12 tation of the PSDAR. 

13 ‘‘(E) REJECTION.—If the Commission re14 jects a proposed PSDAR or license transfer 

15 under subparagraph (C)(i)(II), not later than 2 

16 years after the date of cessation of operations 

17 at the applicable covered facility, the licensee 

18 shall develop and submit to the Commission a 

19 new proposed PSDAR or license transfer in ac20 cordance with this section. 

21 ‘‘(4) DEADLINE FOR DECISION DOCUMENT.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara23 graphs (B) and (C), the Commission shall issue 

24 a decision document relating to a proposed 

25 PSDAR or license transfer under subparagraph 


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1 (C) or (D)(i) of paragraph (2) or paragraph 

2 (3)(C)(i) by not later than 1 year after the date 

3 on which the proposed PSDAR or an applica4 tion for transfer of a license, as applicable, is 

5 submitted to the Commission under subsection 

6 c. (1)(A). 

7 ‘‘(B) PROPOSED INTERMEDIATE LICENSE

8 TRANSFERS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF PROPOSED IN10 TERMEDIATE LICENSE TRANSFER.—In this 

11 subparagraph, the term ‘proposed inter12 mediate license transfer’ means a proposed 

13 transfer of license— 

14 ‘‘(I) for a covered facility on be15 half of which a proposed PSDAR has 

16 been submitted by the licensee to the 

17 Commission under subsection c. 

18 (1)(A)(i); and 

19 ‘‘(II) the notice of which is sub20 mitted to the Commission under sub21 section c. (1)(A)(ii) before the applica22 ble deadline under subparagraph (A) 

23 for the issuance by the Commission of 

24 a decision document relating to the 


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1 proposed PSDAR described in sub2 clause (I). 

3 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE.—Subject to subpara4 graph (C), in any case in which a licensee 

5 submits to the Commission a notice of a 

6 proposed intermediate license transfer of a 

7 covered facility, the Commission shall issue 

8 a decision document relating to the pro9 posed PSDAR of the covered facility by 

10 not later than 1 year after the date of re11 ceipt of the application for transfer of a li12 cense. 

13 ‘‘(C) EXTENSION.—If there are unforeseen 

14 circumstances, including unexpected technical 

15 issues, site-specific characteristics, or other ex16 ternal factors that could affect the ability of the 

17 Commission to issue a decision document by a 

18 deadline specified in subparagraph (A) or 

19 (B)(ii), the Commission may extend the applica20 ble deadline for a reasonable period of time, as 

21 determined by the Commission. 

22 ‘‘f. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ACTION BY TRANSFEREES.—On transfer 

24 of a license for a covered facility by a licensee to a 

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1 feree shall conduct consultation in accordance with 

2 subsection b. with respect to each proposed PSDAR 

3 developed by the transferee for the covered facility. 

4 ‘‘(2) STATE ENVIRONMENTAL LAW COMPLI5 ANCE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

6 section, the Commission shall not approve a pro7 posed PSDAR or license transfer under this section 

8 unless the proposed PSDAR or license transfer for 

9 a covered facility includes a requirement that the li10 censee and the transferee, if applicable, shall comply 

11 with applicable State law relating to air, water, or 

12 soil quality or radiological standards with respect to 

13 the implementation of the proposed PSDAR or li14 cense transfer in any case in which the applicable 

15 State law is more restrictive than an applicable Fed16 eral law. 

17 ‘‘g. APPLICATION TO EXISTING DECOMMISSIONING

18 ACTIVITIES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall no20 tify— 

21 ‘‘(A) each licensee or transferee, if applica22 ble, of the opportunity to develop and submit to 

23 the Commission for approval a revised PSDAR 

24 for any covered facility of the licensee for 


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1 which, as of the date of enactment of this sec2 tion— 

3 ‘‘(i) decontamination and dismantle4 ment activities described in the PSDAR 

5 have not commenced at the covered facil6 ity; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) decontamination and dismantle8 ment activities described in the PSDAR 

9 have been commenced at the covered facil10 ity for a period of less than 5 years; and 

11 ‘‘(B) each affected State with respect to a 

12 covered facility described in subparagraph (A) 

13 of the opportunity to consult with a licensee or 

14 transferee described in that subparagraph in 

15 accordance with subsection b. 

16 ‘‘(2) PROCESS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 paragraphs (3) and (4), if a licensee or trans19 feree described in paragraph (1)(A) elects to 

20 submit to the Commission a revised PSDAR 

21 under that paragraph, the process for consider22 ation and approval of the revised PSDAR shall 

23 be carried out in accordance with— 

24 ‘‘(i) the process for consideration and 

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1 ered facility under subsections b., c., d., 

2 and f.; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the process for support, condi4 tional support, or nonsupport by the host 

5 State under subsection e. 

6 ‘‘(B) NONSELECTION.—If a licensee or 

7 transferee described in paragraph (1)(A) elects 

8 not to revise an original PSDAR under that 

9 paragraph, the host State may file a statement 

10 of support, conditional support, or nonsupport 

11 for the original PSDAR in accordance with the 

12 process for support, conditional support, or 

13 nonsupport by a host State under subsection e. 

14 ‘‘(3) DECISION DOCUMENT.—A decision docu15 ment for a revised PSDAR submitted under para16 graph (1)(A), or for an original PSDAR in any case 

17 in which the licensee or transferee elects not to re18 vise the original PSDAR, shall be issued in accord19 ance with subparagraph (C) or (D)(I) of subsection 

20 e. (2) or subsection e. (3)(C), as applicable, except 

21 that the Commission shall issue the decision docu22 ment by the date that is 1 year after the date on 

23 which the applicable decontamination and dismantle24 ment activities commence at the applicable covered 

25 facility. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REVISION AFTER DETERMINATION OF IN2 ADEQUACY.—If the Commission rejects a revised 

3 PSDAR submitted by a licensee or transferee under 

4 paragraph (1)(A) in accordance with subsection e. 

5 (2)(D) or subsection e. (3)(E), the licensee or trans6 feree shall develop and submit to the Commission a 

7 new revised PSDAR in accordance with this sub8 section by not later than 2 years after the date of 

9 the rejection.’’. 

10 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Atomic Energy Act of 

12 1954 is amended— 

13 (A) in section 103 (42 U.S.C. 2133)— 

14 (i) in subsection d., in the second sen15 tence, by striking ‘‘any any’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘any’’; and 

17 (ii) by redesignating subsection f. as 

18 subsection e.; and 

19 (B) in section 111 (42 U.S.C. 2141), by 

20 striking the section designation and all that fol21 lows through ‘‘The Nuclear’’ in subsection a. 

22 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 111. LICENSING BY NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMIS2 SION OF DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN MATE3 RIALS BY DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. 

4 ‘‘a. The Nuclear’’. 

5 (2) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of con6 tents of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (68 Stat. 

7 919; 126 Stat. 2216) is amended by striking the 

8 items relating to chapter 10 of title I and inserting 

9 the following: 

‘‘CHAPTER 10. ATOMIC ENERGY LICENSES

‘‘Sec. 101. License required. 

‘‘Sec. 102. Utilization and production facilities for industrial or commercial 

purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 103. Commercial licenses. 

‘‘Sec. 104. Medical therapy and research and development. 

‘‘Sec. 105. Antitrust provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 106. Classes of facilities. 

‘‘Sec. 107. Operators’ licenses. 

‘‘Sec. 108. War or national emergency. 

‘‘Sec. 109. Component and other parts of facilities. 

‘‘Sec. 110. Exclusions. 

‘‘Sec. 111. Licensing by Nuclear Regulatory Commission of distribution of certain materials by Department of Energy. 

‘‘Sec. 112. Domestic medical isotope production. 

‘‘Sec. 113. Post-shutdown decommissioning activities reports.’’. 

Æ 


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