I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 6526 

To facilitate the efficient licensing and deployment of advanced civilian nuclear 

technologies. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 30, 2023 

Mr. HUDSON (for himself and Ms. SCHRIER) 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 ‘‘(iv) 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 site or any site or installation 

17 that is critical national security infra18 structure (as defined in section 327(d) 

19 of the John S. McCain National De20 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

21 Year 2019); and 

22 ‘‘(II) pre-application activities re23 lating to an early site permit (as so 

24 defined) to demonstrate an advanced 

25 nuclear reactor on a Department of 

26 Energy site or any site or installation 


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1 that is critical national security infra2 structure (as defined in section 327(d) 

3 of the John S. McCain National De4 fense Authorization Act for Fiscal 

5 Year 2019).’’. 

6 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

7 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2024. 

8 SEC. 3. REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR MICRO-REAC9 TORS. 

10 (a) MICRO-REACTOR LICENSING.—The Nuclear Reg11 ulatory Commission (in this section referred to as the 

12 ‘‘Commission’’) shall— 

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

14 enactment of this Act, develop risk-informed and 

15 performance-based strategies and guidance to license 

16 and regulate micro-reactors pursuant to section 103 

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

18 2133), including strategies and guidance for— 

19 (A) staffing and operations; 

20 (B) oversight and inspections; 

21 (C) safeguards and security; 

22 (D) emergency preparedness; 

23 (E) risk analysis methods, including alter24 natives to probabilistic risk assessments; 


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1 (F) decommissioning funding assurance 

2 methods that permit the use of design- and site3 specific cost estimates; 

4 (G) the transportation of fueled micro-re5 actors; and 

6 (H) siting, including in relation to— 

7 (i) the population density criterion 

8 limit described in the policy issue paper on 

9 population-related siting considerations for 

10 advanced reactors dated May 8, 2020, and 

11 numbered SECY–20–0045; 

12 (ii) licensing mobile deployment; and 

13 (iii) environmental reviews; and 

14 (2) not later than 3 years after the date of en15 actment of this Act, implement, as appropriate, the 

16 strategies and guidance developed under paragraph 

17 (1)— 

18 (A) within the existing regulatory frame19 work; 

20 (B) through the technology-inclusive, regu21 latory framework to be established under sec22 tion 103(a)(4) of the Nuclear Energy Innova23 tion and Modernization Act (42 U.S.C. 2133 

24 note; Public Law 115–439); or 

25 (C) through a pending or new rulemaking. 


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1 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing and imple2 menting strategies and guidance under subsection (a), the 

3 Commission shall consider— 

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

5 including characteristics relating to— 

6 (A) physical size; 

7 (B) design simplicity; and 

8 (C) source term; 

9 (2) opportunities to address redundancies and 

10 inefficiencies; 

11 (3) opportunities to consolidate review phases 

12 and reduce transitions between review teams; 

13 (4) opportunities to establish integrated review 

14 teams to ensure continuity throughout the review 

15 process; and 

16 (5) other relevant considerations discussed in 

17 the policy issue paper on policy and licensing consid18 erations related to micro-reactors dated October 6, 

19 2020, and numbered SECY–20–0093. 

20 (c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

21 the Commission shall consult with— 

22 (1) the Secretary of Energy; 

23 (2) the heads of other Federal agencies, as ap24 propriate; 

25 (3) micro-reactor technology developers; and 


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1 (4) other stakeholders. 

2 SEC. 4. EXPEDITED SUBSEQUENT COMBINED LICENSES. 

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

4 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (referred to in this 

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

6 an expedited procedure for issuing a combined license pur7 suant to section 185 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 

8 (42 U.S.C. 2235). 

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

10 procedure under subsection (a), an applicant— 

11 (1) shall submit a combined license application 

12 for a new nuclear reactor based off a previously li13 censed design; 

14 (2) shall propose to construct the new nuclear 

15 reactor on or adjacent to a site on which a nuclear 

16 reactor already operates or previously operated; and 

17 (3) may not be subject to an order of the Com18 mission to suspend or revoke a license under section 

19 2.202 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

20 any successor regulation). 

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

22 combined license for which the applicant has satisfied the 

23 requirements described in subsection (b), the Commission 

24 shall, to the maximum extent practicable— 


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

2 is accepted for docketing, issue a draft environ3 mental impact statement; 

4 (2) not later than 18 months after the applica5 tion is accepted for docketing— 

6 (A) complete the technical review process; 

7 and 

8 (B) issue a safety evaluation report and 

9 final environmental impact statement; 

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

11 is accepted for docketing, complete any necessary 

12 public licensing hearings and related processes; and 

13 (4) not later than 25 months after the applica14 tion is accepted for docketing, make a final decision 

15 on whether to issue the combined license. 

16 (d) PERFORMANCE AND REPORTING.— 

17 (1) DELAYS IN ISSUANCE.—Not later than 30 

18 days after the applicable deadline, the Executive Di19 rector for Operations of the Commission shall inform 

20 the Commission of any failure to meet a deadline 

21 under subsection (c). 

22 (2) DELAYS IN ISSUANCE EXCEEDING 90

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

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

25 date required under such subsection, the CommisVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 07, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6526.IH H6526

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1 sion shall submit to the Committee on Environment 

2 and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee 

3 on Energy and Commerce of the House of Rep4 resentatives a report describing the delay, including 

5 a detailed explanation accounting for the delay and 

6 a plan for completion of the applicable action. 

7 SEC. 5. PILOT PROGRAM FOR NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE 

8 AGREEMENTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of title VI of the En10 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109–58; 119 Stat. 

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

12 ‘‘SEC. 639A. LONG-TERM NUCLEAR POWER PURCHASE 

13 AGREEMENT PILOT PROGRAM. 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab15 lish a pilot program under which the Secretary shall enter 

16 into at least one long-term power purchase agreement for 

17 power generated by a commercial nuclear reactor with re18 spect to which an operating license is issued by the Nu19 clear Regulatory Commission after January 1, 2024. 

20 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In establishing the pilot pro21 gram under this section, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) consult with the heads of other Federal de23 partments and agencies that may benefit from pur24 chasing nuclear power for a period of longer than 10 

25 years, including the Secretary of Defense; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) not later than December 31, 2028, enter 

2 into at least one long-term agreement to purchase 

3 power from a commercial nuclear reactor described 

4 in subsection (a). 

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

6 other provision of law, an agreement entered into pursuant 

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

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

9 years and not more than 40 years. 

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

11 Secretary shall prioritize entering into long-term power 

12 purchase agreements for power generated by first-of-a13 kind or early deployment commercial nuclear reactors that 

14 will provide reliable and resilient power— 

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

16 purposes; or 

17 ‘‘(2) for other purposes that the Secretary de18 termines are in the national interest, including for 

19 remote off-grid scenarios or grid-connected scenarios 

20 that provide capabilities commonly known as 

21 ‘islanding power capabilities’ during an emergency. 

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

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

24 is higher than the average market rate, unless the agreeVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:22 Dec 07, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6526.IH H6526

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1 ment is for power generated by a commercial nuclear reac2 tor described in subsection (d).’’. 

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

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

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

6 to section 639 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 639A. Long-term nuclear power purchase agreement pilot program.’’. 

Æ 


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