IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4979 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 13, 2016 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To foster civilian research and development of advanced nuclear energy technologies and enhance the licensing and 

commercial deployment of such technologies. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advanced Nuclear 

3 Technology Development Act of 2016’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Nuclear energy generates approximately 20 

7 percent of the total electricity and approximately 60 

8 percent of the carbon-free electricity of the United 

9 States. 

10 (2) Nuclear power plants operate consistently at 

11 a 90 percent capacity factor, and provide consumers 

12 and businesses with reliable and affordable elec13 tricity. 

14 (3) Nuclear power plants generate billions of 

15 dollars in national economic activity through nation16 wide procurements and provide thousands of Ameri17 cans with high paying jobs contributing substantially 

18 to the local economies in communities where they 

19 operate. 

20 (4) The United States commercial nuclear in21 dustry must continue to lead the international civil22 ian nuclear marketplace, because it is one of our 

23 most powerful national security tools, guaranteeing 

24 the safe, secure, and exclusively peaceful use of nu25 clear energy. 


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1 (5) Maintaining the Nation’s nuclear fleet of 

2 commercial light water reactors and expanding the 

3 use of new advanced reactor designs would support 

4 continued production of reliable baseload electricity 

5 and maintain United States global leadership in nu6 clear power. 

7 (6) Nuclear fusion technology also has the po8 tential to generate electricity with significantly in9 creased safety performance and no radioactive waste. 

10 (7) The development of advanced reactor de11 signs would benefit from a performance-based, risk12 informed, efficient, and cost-effective regulatory 

13 framework with defined milestones and the oppor14 tunity for applicants to demonstrate progress 

15 through Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) ADVANCED NUCLEAR REACTOR.—The term 

19 ‘‘advanced nuclear reactor’’ means— 

20 (A) a nuclear fission reactor with signifi21 cant improvements over the most recent genera22 tion of nuclear fission reactors, which may in23 clude inherent safety features, lower waste 

24 yields, greater fuel utilization, superior reliVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:49 Sep 13, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4979.RFS H4979

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1 ability, resistance to proliferation, and increased 

2 thermal efficiency; or 

3 (B) a nuclear fusion reactor. 

4 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

5 means the Department of Energy. 

6 (3) LICENSING.—The term ‘‘licensing’’ means 

7 NRC activities related to reviewing applications for 

8 licenses, permits, and design certifications, and re9 quests for any other regulatory approval for nuclear 

10 reactors within the responsibilities of the NRC under 

11 the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. 

12 (4) NATIONAL LABORATORY.—The term ‘‘Na13 tional Laboratory’’ has the meaning given that term 

14 in section 2 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

15 U.S.C. 15801). 

16 (5) NRC.—The term ‘‘NRC’’ means the Nu17 clear Regulatory Commission. 

18 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Energy. 

20 SEC. 4. AGENCY COORDINATION. 

21 The NRC and the Department shall enter into the 

22 a memorandum of understanding regarding the following 

23 topics: 

24 (1) TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.—Ensuring that 

25 the Department has sufficient technical expertise to 


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1 support the civilian nuclear industry’s timely re2 search, development, demonstration, and commercial 

3 application of safe, innovative advanced reactor tech4 nology and the NRC has sufficient technical exper5 tise to support the evaluation of applications for li6 censes, permits, and design certifications, and other 

7 requests for regulatory approval for advanced reac8 tors. 

9 (2) MODELING AND SIMULATION.—The use of 

10 computers and software codes to calculate the behav11 ior and performance of advanced reactors based on 

12 mathematical models of their physical behavior. 

13 (3) FACILITIES.—Ensuring that the Depart14 ment maintains and develops the facilities to enable 

15 the civilian nuclear industry’s timely research, devel16 opment, demonstration, and commercial application 

17 of safe, innovative reactor technology and ensuring 

18 that the NRC has access to such facilities, as need19 ed. 

20 SEC. 5. REPORTING TO CONGRESS. 

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

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consulta23 tion with the National Laboratories, relevant Federal 

24 agencies, and other stakeholders, shall submit to the Com25 mittee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on 


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1 Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Environment and Pub3 lic Works and the Committee Energy and Natural Re4 sources of the Senate a report assessing the capabilities 

5 of the Department to authorize, host, and oversee pri6 vately proposed and funded experimental reactors. 

7 (b) CONTENTS.—Such report shall address— 

8 (1) the safety review and oversight capabilities 

9 of the Department, including options to leverage ex10 pertise from the NRC and the National Labora11 tories; 

12 (2) options to regulate Department hosted, pri13 vately proposed and funded experimental reactors; 

14 (3) potential sites capable of hosting the activi15 ties described in subsection (a); 

16 (4) the efficacy of the available contractual 

17 mechanisms of the Department to partner with the 

18 private sector and other Federal agencies, including 

19 cooperative research and development agreements, 

20 strategic partnership projects, and agreements for 

21 commercializing technology; 

22 (5) the Federal Government’s liability with re23 spect to the disposal of low-level radioactive waste, 

24 spent nuclear fuel, or high-level radioactive waste, as 


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1 defined by section 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act 

2 of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101); 

3 (6) the impact on the Nation’s aggregate inven4 tory of low-level radioactive waste, spent nuclear 

5 fuel, or high-level radioactive waste; 

6 (7) potential cost structures relating to physical 

7 security, decommissioning, liability, and other long8 term project costs; and 

9 (8) other challenges or considerations identified 

10 by the Secretary. 

11 (c) UPDATES.—The Secretary shall update relevant 

12 provisions of the report submitted under subsection (a) 

13 every 2 years and submit that update to the Committee 

14 on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Science, 

15 Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives 

16 and the Committee on Environment and Public Works and 

17 the Committee Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen18 ate. 

19 SEC. 6. ADVANCED REACTOR REGULATORY FRAMEWORK. 

20 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 1 year after 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the NRC shall transmit 

22 to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Com23 mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 

24 of Representatives and the Committee on Environment 

25 and Public Works of the Senate a plan for developing an 


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1 efficient, risk-informed, technology-neutral framework for 

2 advanced reactor licensing. The plan shall evaluate the fol3 lowing subjects, consistent with the NRC’s role in pro4 tecting public health and safety and common defense and 

5 security: 

6 (1) The unique aspects of advanced reactor li7 censing and any associated legal, regulatory, and 

8 policy issues the NRC will need to address to de9 velop a framework for licensing advanced reactors. 

10 (2) Options for licensing advanced reactors 

11 under existing NRC regulations in title 10 of the 

12 Code of Federal Regulations, a proposed new regu13 latory framework, or a combination of these ap14 proaches. 

15 (3) Options to expedite and streamline the li16 censing of advanced reactors, including opportunities 

17 to minimize the time from application submittal to 

18 final NRC licensing decision and minimize the 

19 delays that may result from any necessary amend20 ments or supplements to applications. 

21 (4) Options to expand the incorporation of con22 sensus-based codes and standards into the advanced 

23 reactor regulatory framework to minimize time to 

24 completion and provide flexibility in implementation. 


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1 (5) Options to make the advanced reactor li2 censing framework more predictable. This evaluation 

3 should consider opportunities to improve the process 

4 by which application review milestones are estab5 lished and maintained. 

6 (6) Options to allow applicants to use phased 

7 review processes under which the NRC issues ap8 provals that do not require the NRC to re-review 

9 previously approved information. This evaluation 

10 shall consider the NRC’s ability to review and condi11 tionally approve partial applications, early design in12 formation, and submittals that contain design cri13 teria and processes to be used to develop information 

14 to support a later phase of the design review. 

15 (7) The extent to which NRC action or modi16 fication of policy is needed to implement any part of 

17 the plan required by this subsection. 

18 (8) The role of licensing advanced reactors 

19 within NRC long-term strategic resource planning, 

20 staffing, and funding levels. 

21 (9) Options to provide cost-sharing financial 

22 structures for license applicants in a phased licens23 ing process. 

24 (b) COORDINATION AND STAKEHOLDER INPUT RE25 QUIRED.—In developing the plan required by subsection 


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1 (a), the NRC shall seek input from the Department, the 

2 nuclear industry, and other public stakeholders. 

3 (c) COST AND SCHEDULE ESTIMATE.—The plan re4 quired by subsection (a) shall include proposed cost esti5 mates, budgets, and specific milestones for implementing 

6 the advanced reactor regulatory framework by September 

7 30, 2019. 

8 (d) DESIGN CERTIFICATION STATUS.—In the NRC’s 

9 first budget request after the acceptance of any design cer10 tification application for an advanced nuclear reactor, and 

11 annually thereafter, the NRC shall provide the status of 

12 performance metrics and milestone schedules. The budget 

13 request shall include a plan to correct or recover from any 

14 milestone schedule delays, including delays because of 

15 NRC’s inability to commit resources for its review of the 

16 design certification applications. 

17 SEC. 7. USER FEES AND ANNUAL CHARGES. 

18 Section 6101(c)(2)(A) of the Omnibus Budget Rec19 onciliation Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 2214(c)(2)(A)) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (iii); 

22 (2) by striking the period at the end of clause 

23 (iv) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


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1 ‘‘(v) for fiscal years ending before Oc2 tober 1, 2020, amounts appropriated to 

3 the Commission for activities related to the 

4 development of regulatory infrastructure 

5 for advanced nuclear reactor tech6 nologies.’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 12, 

2016. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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