I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1320 

To amend the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 related to Nuclear 

Regulatory Commission user fees and annual charges, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2017 

Mr. KINZINGER (for himself and Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 

related to Nuclear Regulatory Commission user fees and 

annual charges, 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 ‘‘Nuclear Utilization 

5 of Keynote Energy Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION USER FEES 

2 AND ANNUAL CHARGES THROUGH FISCAL 

3 YEAR 2019. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6101(c)(2)(A) of the Om5 nibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

6 2214(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (2) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the 

9 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(v) amounts appropriated to the 

12 Commission for the fiscal year for activi13 ties related to the development of a regu14 latory framework for advanced nuclear re15 actor technologies.’’. 

16 (b) REPEAL.—Effective October 1, 2019, section 

17 6101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 

18 (42 U.S.C. 2214) is repealed. 

19 SEC. 3. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION USER FEES 

20 AND ANNUAL CHARGES FOR FISCAL YEAR 

21 2020 AND EACH FISCAL YEAR THEREAFTER. 

22 (a) ANNUAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—In the annual budget jus24 tification submitted by the Commission to Congress, 

25 the Commission shall expressly identify anticipated 

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1 quested activities of the Commission anticipated to 

2 occur during the applicable fiscal year. 

3 (2) RESTRICTION.—Budget authority granted 

4 to the Commission for purposes of the requested ac5 tivities of the Commission shall be used, to the max6 imum extent practicable, solely for conducting re7 quested activities of the Commission. 

8 (3) LIMITATION ON CORPORATE SUPPORT

9 COSTS.—With respect to the annual budget justifica10 tion submitted to Congress, corporate support costs, 

11 to the maximum extent practicable, shall not exceed 

12 the following percentages of the total budget author13 ity of the Commission requested in the annual budg14 et justification: 

15 (A) 30 percent for each of fiscal years 

16 2020 and 2021. 

17 (B) 29 percent for each of fiscal years 

18 2022 and 2023. 

19 (C) 28 percent for fiscal year 2024 and 

20 each fiscal year thereafter. 

21 (b) FEES AND CHARGES.— 

22 (1) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each fiscal year, the 

24 Commission shall assess and collect fees and 

25 charges in accordance with paragraphs (2) and 


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1 (3) in a manner that ensures that, to the max2 imum extent practicable, the amount collected 

3 is equal to an amount that approximates— 

4 (i) the total budget authority of the 

5 Commission for that fiscal year; less 

6 (ii) the budget authority of the Com7 mission for the activities described in sub8 paragraph (B). 

9 (B) EXCLUDED ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.— 

10 The activities referred to in subparagraph 

11 (A)(ii) are the following: 

12 (i) An activity not attributable to an 

13 existing NRC licensee or class of licensee 

14 as identified by the Commission in Table 

15 III of the final rule of the Commission en16 titled ‘‘Revision of Fee Schedules; Fee Re17 covery for Fiscal Year 2016’’ (81 Fed. 

18 Reg. 41171 (June 24, 2016)). 

19 (ii) Amounts appropriated for a fiscal 

20 year to the Commission— 

21 (I) from the Nuclear Waste Fund 

22 established under section 302(c) of 

23 the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 

24 (42 U.S.C. 10222(c)); 


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1 (II) for implementation of section 

2 3116 of the Ronald W. Reagan Na3 tional Defense Authorization Act for 

4 Fiscal Year 2005 (50 U.S.C. 2601 

5 note; Public Law 108–375); 

6 (III) for the homeland security 

7 activities of the Commission (other 

8 than for the costs of fingerprinting 

9 and background checks required 

10 under section 149 of the Atomic En11 ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2169) 

12 and the costs of conducting security 

13 inspections); 

14 (IV) for the Inspector General 

15 services of the Commission provided 

16 to the Defense Nuclear Facilities 

17 Safety Board; 

18 (V) for research and development 

19 at universities in areas relevant to the 

20 mission of the applicable university; 

21 (VI) for a nuclear science and en22 gineering grant program that will sup23 port multiyear projects that do not 

24 align with programmatic missions but 

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1 cipline of nuclear science and engi2 neering; and 

3 (VII) for any other fee-relief ac4 tivity described in the final rule of the 

5 Commission entitled ‘‘Revision of Fee 

6 Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal 

7 Year 2016’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 41171 

8 (June 24, 2016)). 

9 (iii) Costs for activities related to the 

10 development of regulatory infrastructure 

11 for advanced nuclear reactor technologies. 

12 (C) EXCEPTION.—The exclusion described 

13 in subparagraph (B)(iii) shall cease to be effec14 tive on January 1, 2031. 

15 (D) REPORT.—Not later than December 

16 31, 2029, the Commission shall submit to the 

17 Committee on Appropriations and the Com18 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the 

19 Senate and the Committee on Appropriations 

20 and the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

21 of the House of Representatives a report de22 scribing the views of the Commission on the 

23 continued appropriateness and necessity of the 

24 funding described in subparagraph (B)(iii). 


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1 (2) FEES FOR SERVICE OR THING OF VALUE.— 

2 In accordance with section 9701 of title 31, United 

3 States Code, the Commission shall charge fees to 

4 any person who receives a service or thing of value 

5 from the Commission to cover the costs to the Com6 mission of providing the service or thing of value. 

7 (3) ANNUAL FEES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara9 graph (B) and except as provided in subpara10 graph (D), the Commission may charge to any 

11 licensee or certificate holder of the Commission 

12 an annual fee. 

13 (B) CAP ON ANNUAL FEES OF CERTAIN LI14 CENSEES.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—The annual fee 

16 under subparagraph (A) charged to an op17 erating reactor licensee, to the maximum 

18 extent practicable, shall not exceed the an19 nual fee amount per operating reactor li20 censee established in the final rule of the 

21 Commission entitled ‘‘Revision of Fee 

22 Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 

23 2016’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 41171 (June 24, 

24 2016)), as may be adjusted annually by 

25 the Commission to reflect changes in the 


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1 Consumer Price Index published by the 

2 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart3 ment of Labor. 

4 (ii) WAIVER.—The Commission may 

5 waive, for a period of 1 year, the cap on 

6 annual fees described in clause (i) if the 

7 Commission submits to the Committee on 

8 Appropriations and the Committee on En9 vironment and Public Works of the Senate 

10 and the Committee on Appropriations and 

11 the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

12 of the House of Representatives a written 

13 determination that the cap on annual fees 

14 may compromise the safety and security 

15 mission of the Commission. 

16 (C) AMOUNT PER LICENSEE.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

18 shall establish by rule a schedule of fees 

19 fairly and equitably allocating the aggre20 gate amount of charges described in sub21 paragraph (A) among licensees and certifi22 cate holders. 

23 (ii) REQUIREMENT.—The schedule of 

24 fees under clause (i)— 


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1 (I) to the maximum extent prac2 ticable, shall be based on the cost of 

3 providing regulatory services; and 

4 (II) may be based on the alloca5 tion of the resources of the Commis6 sion among licensees or certificate 

7 holders or classes of licensees or cer8 tificate holders. 

9 (D) EXEMPTION.— 

10 (i) DEFINITION OF RESEARCH REAC11 TOR.—In this subparagraph, the term ‘‘re12 search reactor’’ means a nuclear reactor 

13 that— 

14 (I) is licensed by the Commission 

15 under section 104 c. of the Atomic 

16 Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 

17 2134(c)) for operation at a thermal 

18 power level of not more than 10 

19 megawatts; and 

20 (II) if licensed under subclause 

21 (I) for operation at a thermal power 

22 level of more than 1 megawatt, does 

23 not contain— 


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1 (aa) a circulating loop 

2 through the core in which the li3 censee conducts fuel experiments; 

4 (bb) a liquid fuel loading; or 

5 (cc) an experimental facility 

6 in the core in excess of 16 square 

7 inches in cross-section. 

8 (ii) EXEMPTION.—Subparagraph (A) 

9 shall not apply to the holder of any license 

10 for a federally owned research reactor used 

11 primarily for educational training and aca12 demic research purposes. 

13 (c) PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall de15 velop for the requested activities of the Commis16 sion— 

17 (A) performance metrics; and 

18 (B) on each request, milestone schedules. 

19 (2) DELAYS IN ISSUANCE OF FINAL SAFETY

20 EVALUATION.—The Executive Director for Oper21 ations of the Commission shall inform the Commis22 sion of a delay in issuance of the final safety evalua23 tion for a requested activity of the Commission by 

24 the completion date required by the performance 


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1 metrics or milestone schedule under paragraph (1) 

2 by not later than 30 days after the completion date. 

3 (3) DELAYS IN ISSUANCE OF FINAL SAFETY

4 EVALUATION EXCEEDING 180 DAYS.—If the final 

5 safety evaluation for the requested activity of the 

6 Commission described in paragraph (2) is not com7 pleted by the date that is 180 days after the comple8 tion date required by the performance metrics or 

9 milestone schedule under paragraph (1), the Com10 mission shall submit to the appropriate congres11 sional committees a timely report describing the 

12 delay, including a detailed explanation accounting 

13 for the delay and a plan for timely completion of the 

14 final safety evaluation. 

15 (d) ACCURATE INVOICING.—With respect to invoices 

16 for fees and charges described in subsection (b)(2), the 

17 Commission shall— 

18 (1) ensure appropriate management review and 

19 concurrence prior to the issuance of invoices; 

20 (2) develop and implement processes to audit 

21 invoices to ensure accuracy, transparency, and fair22 ness; and 

23 (3) modify regulations to ensure fair and appro24 priate processes to provide licensees and applicants 

25 an opportunity to efficiently dispute or otherwise 


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1 seek review and correction of errors in invoices for 

2 fees and charges. 

3 (e) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2021, 

4 the Commission shall submit to the Committee on Appro5 priations and the Committee on Environment and Public 

6 Works of the Senate and the Committee on Appropria7 tions and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the 

8 House of Representatives a report describing the imple9 mentation of this section, including any impacts and rec10 ommendations for improvement. 

11 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 

13 ‘‘advanced nuclear reactor’’ means a nuclear fission 

14 or fusion reactor, including a prototype plant (as de15 fined in sections 50.2 and 52.1 of title 10, Code of 

16 Federal Regulations), with significant improvements 

17 compared to commercial nuclear reactors under con18 struction as of the date of enactment of this Act, in19 cluding improvements such as— 

20 (A) additional inherent safety features; 

21 (B) significantly lower levelized cost of 

22 electricity; 

23 (C) lower waste yields; 

24 (D) greater fuel utilization; 

25 (E) enhanced reliability; 


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1 (F) increased proliferation resistance; 

2 (G) increased thermal efficiency; or 

3 (H) ability to integrate into electric and 

4 nonelectric applications. 

5 (2) APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘applicant’’ means 

6 an applicant for a license, certification, permit, or 

7 other form of approval from the Commission for a 

8 commercial advanced nuclear reactor or a research 

9 and test reactor. 

10 (3) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com12 mittees’’ means the Committee on Environment and 

13 Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on 

14 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representa15 tives. 

16 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

17 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

18 (5) CORPORATE SUPPORT COSTS.—The term 

19 ‘‘corporate support costs’’ means expenditures for 

20 acquisitions, administrative services, financial man21 agement, human resource management, information 

22 management, information technology, policy support, 

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1 gressional Budget Justification for Fiscal Year 2017 

2 of the Commission. 

3 (6) REQUESTED ACTIVITY OF THE COMMIS4 SION.—The term ‘‘requested activity of the Commis5 sion’’ means— 

6 (A) the processing of applications for— 

7 (i) design certifications or approvals; 

8 (ii) licenses; 

9 (iii) permits; 

10 (iv) license amendments; 

11 (v) license renewals; 

12 (vi) certificates of compliance; and 

13 (vii) power uprates; and 

14 (B) any other activity requested by a li15 censee or applicant. 

16 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section takes effect on 

17 October 1, 2019. 

18 SEC. 4. STUDY ON ELIMINATION OF FOREIGN LICENSING 

19 RESTRICTIONS. 

20 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Comptroller General, in consultation with 

22 the Secretary of Energy, shall transmit to Congress a re23 port containing the results of a study on the feasibility 

24 and implications of repealing restrictions under sections 

25 103d. and 104d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 on 


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1 issuing licenses for certain nuclear facilities to an alien 

2 or an entity owned, controlled, or dominated by an alien, 

3 a foreign corporation, or a foreign government. 

4 SEC. 5. STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF THE ELIMINATION OF 

5 MANDATORY HEARING FOR UNCONTESTED 

6 LICENSING APPLICATIONS. 

7 Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Comptroller General, in consultation with 

9 the Secretary of Energy, shall transmit to Congress a re10 port containing the results of a study on the impact of 

11 the elimination of mandatory hearings for uncontested li12 censing and construction permit applications under the 

13 Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 

14 SEC. 6. INFORMAL HEARING PROCEDURES. 

15 (a) PROCEDURES.—Section 189 a. of the Atomic En16 ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2239(a)) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) Any hearing under this section shall be con19 ducted using informal adjudicatory procedures in accord20 ance with sections 553 and 555 of title 5, United States 

21 Code, unless the Commission determines that formal adju22 dicatory procedures are necessary— 

23 ‘‘(A) to develop a sufficient record; or 

24 ‘‘(B) to achieve fairness.’’. 


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1 (b) HEARINGS ON LICENSING OF URANIUM ENRICH2 MENT FACILITIES.—Section 193 b. of the Atomic Energy 

3 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2243(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘on the 

5 record’’ and all that follows through ‘‘and 63’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘if a person the interest of whom may be 

7 affected by the construction and operation of a ura8 nium enrichment facility under sections 53 and 63 

9 has requested a hearing regarding the licensing of 

10 the construction and operation of the facility’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Such hear12 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘If a hearing is held under para13 graph (1), the hearing’’. 

14 SEC. 7. APPLICATION REVIEWS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY 

15 PROJECTS. 

16 Section 185 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 

17 U.S.C. 2235) is amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘c. APPLICATION REVIEWS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY

20 PROJECTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) STREAMLINING LICENSE APPLICATION RE22 VIEW.—With respect to an application that is dock23 eted seeking issuance of a construction permit, oper24 ating license, or combined construction permit and 

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1 ity, the Commission shall include the following pro2 cedures: 

3 ‘‘(A) Undertake an expedited environ4 mental review process and issue any draft envi5 ronmental impact statement within 24 months 

6 after the application is accepted for docketing. 

7 ‘‘(B) Complete the technical review process 

8 and issue any safety evaluation report and any 

9 final environmental impact statement within 42 

10 months after the application is accepted for 

11 docketing. 

12 ‘‘(2) EARLY SITE PERMIT.— 

13 ‘‘(A) SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IM14 PACT STATEMENT.—In a proceeding for a com15 bined construction permit and operating license 

16 for a site for which an early site permit has 

17 been issued, any environmental impact state18 ment prepared by the Commission and cooper19 ating agencies shall be prepared as a supple20 ment to the environmental impact statement 

21 prepared for the early site permit. 

22 ‘‘(B) INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE.— 

23 The supplemental environmental impact state24 ment shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) incorporate by reference the anal2 ysis, findings, and conclusions from the en3 vironmental impact statement prepared for 

4 the early site permit; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) include additional discussion, 

6 analyses, findings, and conclusions on mat7 ters resolved in the early site permit pro8 ceeding only to the extent necessary to ad9 dress information that is new and signifi10 cant in that the information would materi11 ally change the prior findings or conclu12 sions. 

13 ‘‘(3) PRODUCTION OR UTILIZATION FACILITY

14 LOCATED AT AN EXISTING SITE.—In reviewing an 

15 application for an early site permit, construction 

16 permit, operating license, or combined construction 

17 permit and operating license for a production or uti18 lization facility located at the site of a licensed pro19 duction or utilization facility, the Commission shall, 

20 to the extent practicable, use information that was 

21 part of the licensing basis of the licensed production 

22 or utilization facility. 

23 ‘‘(4) HEARING ON EARLY SITE PERMIT, CON24 STRUCTION PERMIT, AND COMBINED CONSTRUCTION

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1 sion shall issue and make immediately effective an 

2 early site permit or construction permit for a pro3 duction or utilization facility upon finding that the 

4 application therefor satisfies the requirements of this 

5 Act, notwithstanding the pendency before the Com6 mission of a request for a hearing. Following com7 pletion of any required hearing, the Commission 

8 shall take any appropriate action with respect to the 

9 early site permit, construction permit, or combined 

10 construction permit and operating license to the ex11 tent necessary to account for the hearing results. 

12 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall 

13 initiate a rulemaking, to be completed 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of the Nuclear Utilization of 

15 Keynote Energy Act, to amend the regulations of 

16 the Commission to implement this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Nothing 

18 in this subsection exempts the Commission from any 

19 requirement for full compliance with section 

20 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

21 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).’’. 

22 SEC. 8. NUCLEAR REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING. 

23 (a) RULEMAKING.—Chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy 

24 Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2201–2210i) is amended by add25 ing at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 170J. DECOMMISSIONING NUCLEAR REACTOR

2 RULEMAKING.— 

3 ‘‘The Commission shall, not later than 90 days after 

4 the date of enactment of this section, initiate a rulemaking 

5 proceeding, including notice and opportunity for public 

6 comment, to be completed not later than 48 months after 

7 that date, to address the regulatory framework for decom8 missioning nuclear reactors licensed under section 103 or 

9 104b.’’. 

10 (b) TABLE OF SECTIONS AMENDMENT.—The table of 

11 sections for chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 

12 is amended by adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 170J. Decommissioning nuclear reactor rulemaking.’’. 

Æ 


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