I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9015 

To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an emissions avoidance program for certain nuclear reactors, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 17, 2020 

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, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, and Financial 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 direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 

Agency to establish an emissions avoidance program for 

certain nuclear reactors, 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; DEFINITIONS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Preserving Existing Nuclear Energy Generation Act’’. 

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency. 

4 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON5 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con6 gress’’ means— 

7 (A) the Committee on Environment and 

8 Public Works of the Senate; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com10 merce of the House of Representatives. 

11 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

12 means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

13 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Energy. 

15 SEC. 2. NUCLEAR REACTOR INCENTIVES. 

16 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) CERTIFIED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 

18 ‘‘certified nuclear reactor’’ means a nuclear reactor 

19 that— 

20 (A) operates in a competitive electricity 

21 market; and 

22 (B) is certified under subsection 

23 (c)(2)(A)(i) to submit a sealed bid in accord24 ance with subsection (d). 


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1 (2) CREDIT.—The term ‘‘credit’’ means a credit 

2 allocated to a certified nuclear reactor under sub3 section (e)(2). 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—Subject to the 

5 availability of appropriations, the Administrator, in con6 sultation with the Secretary, shall establish an emissions 

7 avoidance program— 

8 (1) to evaluate nuclear reactors that are pro9 jected to cease operations due to economic factors; 

10 and 

11 (2) to allocate credits to certified nuclear reac12 tors that are selected under paragraph (1)(B) of 

13 subsection (e) to receive credits under paragraph (2) 

14 of that subsection. 

15 (c) CERTIFICATION.— 

16 (1) APPLICATION.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—In order to be certified 

18 under paragraph (2)(A)(i), the owner or oper19 ator of a nuclear reactor that is projected to 

20 cease operations due to economic factors shall 

21 submit to the Administrator an application at 

22 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

23 information as the Administrator determines to 

24 be appropriate, including— 


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1 (i) information on the operating costs 

2 necessary to make the determination de3 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(ii)(II), includ4 ing— 

5 (I) the average annual operating 

6 loss per megawatt-hour expected to be 

7 incurred by the nuclear reactor over 

8 the 4-year period for which credits 

9 would be allocated; 

10 (II) any private or publicly avail11 able data with respect to current or 

12 projected bulk power market prices; 

13 (III) out-of-market revenue 

14 streams; 

15 (IV) operations and maintenance 

16 costs; 

17 (V) capital costs, including fuel; 

18 and 

19 (VI) operational and market 

20 risks; 

21 (ii) an estimate of the potential incre22 mental emissions of carbon dioxide, nitro23 gen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate mat24 ter, and hazardous air pollutants that 


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1 would result if the nuclear reactor were to 

2 cease operations; 

3 (iii) information on the source of re4 covered uranium and the location where 

5 the uranium is converted, enriched, and 

6 fabricated into fuel assemblies for the nu7 clear reactor for the 4-year period for 

8 which credits would be allocated; and 

9 (iv) a detailed plan to sustain oper10 ations at the conclusion of the applicable 

11 4-year period for which credits would be 

12 allocated— 

13 (I) without receiving additional 

14 credits; or 

15 (II) with the receipt of additional 

16 credits of a lower amount than the 

17 credits allocated during that 4-year 

18 credit period. 

19 (B) TIMELINE.—The Administrator shall 

20 accept applications described in subparagraph 

21 (A)— 

22 (i) until the date that is 120 days 

23 after the date of enactment of this Act; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) not less frequently than every year 

2 thereafter. 

3 (2) DETERMINATION TO CERTIFY.— 

4 (A) DETERMINATION.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

6 days after the applicable date under sub7 paragraph (B) of paragraph (1), the Ad8 ministrator, in consultation with the Sec9 retary, shall determine whether to certify, 

10 in accordance with clauses (ii) and (iii) of 

11 this subparagraph, each nuclear reactor for 

12 which an application is submitted under 

13 subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1). 

14 (ii) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—To 

15 the maximum extent practicable, the Ad16 ministrator, in consultation with the Sec17 retary, shall only certify a nuclear reactor 

18 under clause (i) if— 

19 (I) the nuclear reactor has a 

20 good safety record, as determined by 

21 the Action Matrix of the Commission 

22 or the Performance Indicators of the 

23 Reactor Oversight Process, such that 

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1 censee response’’ column indicating no 

2 current significant safety issues; 

3 (II) after considering the infor4 mation submitted under paragraph 

5 (1)(A)(i), the Administrator deter6 mines that the nuclear reactor is pro7 jected to cease operations due to eco8 nomic factors; and 

9 (III) after considering the esti10 mate submitted under paragraph 

11 (1)(A)(ii), the Administrator deter12 mines that emissions of carbon diox13 ide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, 

14 particulate matter, and hazardous air 

15 pollutants would increase if the nu16 clear reactor were to cease operations 

17 and be replaced with other types of 

18 power generation. 

19 (iii) PRIORITY.—In determining 

20 whether to certify a nuclear reactor under 

21 clause (i), the Administrator, in consulta22 tion with the Secretary, shall give priority 

23 to a nuclear reactor that uses uranium 

24 that is recovered, converted, enriched, and 


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1 fabricated into fuel assemblies in the 

2 United States. 

3 (B) NOTICE.—For each application re4 ceived under paragraph (1)(A), the Adminis5 trator, in consultation with the Secretary, shall 

6 provide to the applicable owner or operator, as 

7 applicable— 

8 (i) a notice of the certification of the 

9 applicable nuclear reactor; or 

10 (ii) a notice that describes the reasons 

11 why the certification of the applicable nu12 clear reactor was denied. 

13 (d) BIDDING PROCESS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

15 the Administrator shall establish a deadline by which 

16 each certified nuclear reactor shall submit to the Ad17 ministrator a sealed bid that— 

18 (A) describes the price per megawatt-hour 

19 required to maintain operations of the certified 

20 nuclear reactor during the 4-year period for 

21 which the certified nuclear reactor would receive 

22 credits; and 

23 (B) includes a commitment, subject to the 

24 receipt of credits, to provide a specific number 


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1 of megawatt-hours of generation during the 4- 

2 year period for which credits would be allocated. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The deadline established 

4 under paragraph (1) shall be not later than 30 days 

5 after the first date on which the Administrator has 

6 made the determination described in paragraph 

7 (2)(A)(i) of subsection (c) with respect to each appli8 cation submitted under paragraph (1)(A) of that 

9 subsection. 

10 (e) ALLOCATION.— 

11 (1) AUCTION.—The Administrator, in consulta12 tion with the Secretary, shall— 

13 (A) in consultation with the heads of appli14 cable Federal agencies, establish a process for 

15 evaluating bids submitted under subsection 

16 (d)(1) through an auction process; and 

17 (B) select certified nuclear reactors to be 

18 allocated credits. 

19 (2) CREDITS.—Subject to subsection (f)(2), on 

20 selection under paragraph (1), a certified nuclear re21 actor shall be allocated credits for a 4-year period 

22 beginning on the date of the selection. 

23 (3) REQUIREMENT.—To the maximum extent 

24 practicable, the Administrator shall use the amounts 

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1 cate credits to as many certified nuclear reactors as 

2 possible. 

3 (f) RENEWAL.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The owner or operator of a 

5 certified nuclear reactor may seek to recertify the 

6 nuclear reactor in accordance with this section. 

7 (2) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

8 provision of this section, the Administrator may not 

9 allocate any credits after September 30, 2026. 

10 (g) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) AUDIT.—During the 4-year period begin12 ning on the date on which a certified nuclear reactor 

13 first receives a credit, the Administrator, in con14 sultation with the Secretary, shall periodically audit 

15 the certified nuclear reactor. 

16 (2) RECAPTURE.—The Administrator shall, by 

17 regulation, provide for the recapture of the alloca18 tion of any credit to a certified nuclear reactor that, 

19 during the period described in paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) terminates operations; or 

21 (B) does not operate at an annual loss in 

22 the absence of an allocation of credits to the 

23 certified nuclear reactor. 

24 (3) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Administrator, in 

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1 cedures to ensure that any confidential, private, pro2 prietary, or privileged information that is included in 

3 a sealed bid submitted under this section is not pub4 licly disclosed or otherwise improperly used. 

5 (h) REPORT.—Not later than January 1, 2024, the 

6 Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to 

7 Congress a report with respect to the credits allocated to 

8 certified nuclear reactors, which shall include— 

9 (1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of the 

10 credits in avoiding emissions of carbon dioxide, ni11 trogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate matter, and 

12 hazardous air pollutants while ensuring grid reli13 ability; 

14 (2) a quantification of the ratepayer savings 

15 achieved under this section; and 

16 (3) any recommendations to renew or expand 

17 the credits. 

18 SEC. 3. NUCLEAR CLOSURE COMMUNITIES. 

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD.—The term 

21 ‘‘community advisory board’’ means a community 

22 committee or other advisory organization that aims 

23 to foster communication and information exchange 

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1 commissioning activities and members of the com2 munity that decommissioning activities may affect. 

3 (2) DECOMMISSION.—The term ‘‘decommis4 sion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

5 50.2 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

6 successor regulations). 

7 (3) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

8 recipient’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

9 3 of the Public Works and Economic Development 

10 Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3122). 

11 (4) LICENSEE.—The term ‘‘licensee’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 50.2 of title 10, 

13 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula14 tions). 

15 (5) NUCLEAR CLOSURE COMMUNITY.—The 

16 term ‘‘nuclear closure community’’ means a unit of 

17 local government, including a county, city, town, vil18 lage, school district, or special district that has been 

19 impacted, or reasonably demonstrates to the satis20 faction of the Secretary of Commerce, that it will be 

21 impacted, by a nuclear power plant licensed by the 

22 Commission that has ceased operation or has pro23 vided a written notification to the Commission that 

24 it will cease operations as of the date of enactment 

25 of this Act. 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Com3 merce shall establish a grant program to provide grants 

4 to eligible recipients— 

5 (1) to provide financial assistance to local gov6 ernments who have experienced, or are anticipating, 

7 major revenue shortfalls due to the closure, or an8 nounced closure, of a nuclear power plant; 

9 (2) to assist with economic development in nu10 clear closure communities; and 

11 (3) to fund community advisory boards in nu12 clear closure communities. 

13 (c) REQUIREMENT.—In carrying out this section, to 

14 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of Com15 merce shall implement the recommendations described in 

16 the report submitted to Congress under section 108 of the 

17 Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (Public 

18 Law 115–439; 132 Stat. 5577) entitled ‘‘Best Practices 

19 for Establishment and Operation of Local Community Ad20 visory Boards Associated with Decommissioning Activities 

21 at Nuclear Power Plants’’. 

22 (d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary of 

23 Commerce shall establish a formula to ensure, to the max24 imum extent practicable, geographic diversity among 

25 grant recipients under this section. 


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1 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

3 appropriated to the Secretary of Commerce— 

4 (A) to carry out subsection (b)(1), 

5 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

6 through 2026; 

7 (B) to carry out subsection (b)(2), 

8 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

9 through 2026; and 

10 (C) to carry out subsection (b)(3), 

11 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

12 through 2023. 

13 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made available 

14 under this section shall remain available for a period 

15 of 5 years beginning on the date on which the 

16 amounts are made available. 

17 (3) NO OFFSET.—None of the funds made 

18 available under this section may be used to offset 

19 the funding for any other Federal program. 

20 SEC. 4. REPORT ON LESSONS LEARNED DURING THE 

21 COVID–19 PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall sub24 mit to the appropriate committees of Congress and make 

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1 mission during the public health emergency declared by 

2 the Secretary of Health and Human Services under sec3 tion 319 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

4 247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 

5 (b) CONTENTS.—The report under subsection (a) 

6 shall include— 

7 (1) an identification of the processes, proce8 dures, and other regulatory policies that were re9 vised or temporarily suspended during the public 

10 health emergency described in subsection (a); 

11 (2) a review of actions, if any, taken by the 

12 Commission that examines how any revision or tem13 porary suspension of a process, procedure, or other 

14 regulatory policy identified under paragraph (1) may 

15 or may not have compromised the ability of the 

16 Commission to license and regulate the civilian use 

17 of radioactive materials in the United States to pro18 tect public health and safety, promote the common 

19 defense and security, and protect the environment; 

20 (3) a description of any process efficiencies or 

21 challenges that resulted from the matters identified 

22 under paragraph (1); 

23 (4) a discussion of lessons learned from the 

24 matters described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3); 


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1 (5) a list of actions that the Commission may 

2 take to incorporate into the licensing activities and 

3 regulations of the Commission, without compro4 mising the mission of the Commission— 

5 (A) the lessons described in paragraph (4); 

6 and 

7 (B) the information provided under para8 graphs (2) and (3); and 

9 (6) a description of when the actions described 

10 in paragraph (5) may be implemented. 

Æ 


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