I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5866 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requiring the Secretary of Energy 

to carry out initiatives to advance innovation in nuclear energy technologies, to make nuclear energy systems more competitive, to increase 

efficiency and safety of civilian nuclear power, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2010 

Mr. GORDON of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. HALL of Texas, Mr. BAIRD, and 

Mr. INGLIS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science and Technology 

A BILL 

To amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requiring the 

Secretary of Energy to carry out initiatives to advance 

innovation in nuclear energy technologies, to make nuclear energy systems more competitive, to increase efficiency and safety of civilian nuclear power, 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 Energy Re5 search and Development Act of 2010’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. OBJECTIVES. 

2 Section 951(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

3 U.S.C. 16271(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

5 (7) as paragraphs (5) through (10), respectively; 

6 and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol8 lowing new paragraphs: 

9 ‘‘(2) Reducing the costs of nuclear reactor sys10 tems. 

11 ‘‘(3) Reducing used nuclear fuel and nuclear 

12 waste products generated by civilian nuclear energy. 

13 ‘‘(4) Supporting technological advances in areas 

14 that industry by itself is not likely to undertake be15 cause of technical and financial uncertainty.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. FUNDING. 

17 Section 951 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

18 U.S.C. 16271) is further amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraphs 

20 (1) through (3) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) $419,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

22 ‘‘(2) $429,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

23 ‘‘(3) $439,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (d)— 

25 (A) by striking ‘‘under subsection (a)’’ and 

26 inserting ‘‘under subsection (b)’’; 


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1 (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) For activities under section 953— 

4 ‘‘(A) $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

5 ‘‘(B) $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(C) $201,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.’’; 

8 and 

9 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

10 following new paragraphs: 

11 ‘‘(4) For activities under section 952, other 

12 than those described in section 952(d)— 

13 ‘‘(A) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

14 ‘‘(B) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

15 ‘‘(C) $64,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

16 ‘‘(5) For activities under section 952(d)— 

17 ‘‘(A) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

18 ‘‘(B) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

19 ‘‘(C) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2013. 

20 ‘‘(6) For activities under section 958— 

21 ‘‘(A) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

22 ‘‘(B) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; and 

23 ‘‘(C) $99,000,000 for fiscal year 2013.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

4 U.S.C. 16272) is amended by striking subsections (c) 

5 through (e) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) REACTOR CONCEPTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

8 out a program of research, development, demonstra9 tion, and commercial application to advance fission 

10 power systems as well as technologies to sustain cur11 rently deployed systems. 

12 ‘‘(2) DESIGNS AND TECHNOLOGIES.—In con13 ducting the program under this subsection, the Sec14 retary shall examine advanced reactor designs and 

15 nuclear technologies, including those that— 

16 ‘‘(A) are economically competitive with 

17 other electric power generation plants; 

18 ‘‘(B) have higher efficiency, lower cost, and 

19 improved safety compared to reactors in oper20 ation as of the date of enactment of the Nu21 clear Energy Research and Development Act of 

22 2010; 

23 ‘‘(C) utilize passive safety features; 

24 ‘‘(D) minimize proliferation risks; 

25 ‘‘(E) substantially reduce production of 

26 high-level waste per unit of output; 


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1 ‘‘(F) increase the life and sustainability of 

2 reactor systems currently deployed; 

3 ‘‘(G) use improved instrumentation; or 

4 ‘‘(H) are capable of producing large-scale 

5 quantities of hydrogen or process heat. 

6 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.—In car7 rying out the program under this subsection, the 

8 Secretary shall seek opportunities to enhance the 

9 progress of the program through international co10 operation through such organizations as the Genera11 tion IV International Forum, or any other inter12 national collaboration the Secretary considers appro13 priate. 

14 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—No funds authorized to be 

15 appropriated to carry out the activities described in 

16 this subsection shall be used to fund the activities 

17 authorized under sections 641 through 645.’’. 

18 SEC. 5. SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM. 

19 Section 952 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

20 U.S.C. 16272) is further amended by adding at the end 

21 the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(d) SMALL MODULAR REACTOR PROGRAM.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

24 out a small modular reactor program to promote the 

25 research, development, demonstration, and commerVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:33 Jul 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5866.IH H5866

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1 cial application of small modular reactors, including 

2 through cost-shared projects for commercial applica3 tion of reactor system designs. Activities may also 

4 include development of advanced computer modeling 

5 and simulation tools, by Federal or non-Federal en6 tities, that demonstrate and validate new design ca7 pabilities of innovative small modular reactor de8 signs. 

9 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this 

10 subsection, the term ‘small modular reactor’ means 

11 a nuclear reactor— 

12 ‘‘(A) with a rated capacity of less than 300 

13 electrical megawatts; and 

14 ‘‘(B) that can be constructed and operated 

15 in combination with similar reactors at a single 

16 site. 

17 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Demonstration activities 

18 carried out under this section shall be limited to in19 dividual technologies and systems, and shall not in20 clude demonstration of full reactor systems or full 

21 plant operations. 

22 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—In conducting the 

23 small modular reactor program, the Secretary may 

24 enter into cooperative agreements to support small 

25 modular reactor designs that enable— 


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1 ‘‘(A) lower capital costs or increased access 

2 to private financing in comparison to current 

3 large reactor designs; 

4 ‘‘(B) reduced long-term radiotoxicity, 

5 mass, or decay heat of the nuclear waste pro6 duced by generation; 

7 ‘‘(C) increased operating safety of nuclear 

8 facilities; 

9 ‘‘(D) reduced dependence of reactor sys10 tems on water resources; 

11 ‘‘(E) increased seismic resistance of nu12 clear generation; 

13 ‘‘(F) reduced proliferation risks through 

14 integrated safeguards and security proliferation 

15 controls; and 

16 ‘‘(G) increased efficiency in reactor manu17 facturing and construction. 

18 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to enter into 

19 a cooperative agreement with the Secretary under 

20 this subsection, an applicant shall submit to the Sec21 retary a proposal for the small modular reactor 

22 project to be undertaken. The proposal shall docu23 ment— 

24 ‘‘(A) all partners and suppliers that will be 

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1 cluding a description of each partner or sup2 plier’s anticipated domestic and international 

3 activities; 

4 ‘‘(B) measures to be undertaken to enable 

5 cost-effective implementation of the small mod6 ular reactor project; 

7 ‘‘(C) an accounting structure approved by 

8 the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(D) all known assets that shall be con10 tributed to satisfy the non-Federal share re11 quirement under paragraph (6). 

12 ‘‘(6) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Notwithstanding 

13 section 988, the Secretary shall require the parties 

14 to a cooperative agreement under this subsection to 

15 be responsible for not less than 50 percent of the 

16 costs of the small modular reactor project. 

17 ‘‘(7) CALCULATION OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE

18 AMOUNT.—Section 988(d) of the Energy Policy Act 

19 of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16352(d)) shall apply in deter20 mining the non-Federal share in conjunction with an 

21 award of financial assistance under this section. 

22 ‘‘(8) PROJECT SELECTION CRITERIA.—The Sec23 retary shall consider the following factors in entering 

24 into a cooperative agreement under this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) The domestic manufacturing capabili2 ties of the parties to the cooperative agreement 

3 and their partners and suppliers. 

4 ‘‘(B) The viability of the reactor design 

5 and the business plan or plans of the parties to 

6 the cooperative agreement. 

7 ‘‘(C) The parties to the cooperative agree8 ment’s potential to continue the development of 

9 small modular reactors without Federal sub10 sidies or loan guarantees. 

11 ‘‘(D) The non-Federal share to be pro12 vided.’’. 

13 SEC. 6. FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

14 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 953 of the Energy Pol15 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16273) is amended— 

16 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘AD17 VANCED FUEL CYCLE INITIATIVE’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘FUEL CYCLE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT’’; 

19 (2) by striking subsection (a); 

20 (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 

21 as subsections (d) through (f), respectively; and 

22 (4) by inserting before subsection (d), as so re23 designated by paragraph (3) of this subsection, the 

24 following new subsections: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

2 fuel cycle research and development program (referred to 

3 in this section as the ‘program’) on fuel cycle options that 

4 improve uranium resource utilization, maximize energy 

5 generation, minimize nuclear waste creation, improve safe6 ty, and mitigate risk of proliferation in support of a na7 tional strategy for spent nuclear fuel and the reactor con8 cepts research, development, demonstration, and commer9 cial application program under section 952(c). 

10 ‘‘(b) FUEL CYCLE OPTIONS.—Under this section the 

11 Secretary may consider implementing the following initia12 tives: 

13 ‘‘(1) OPEN CYCLE.—Developing fuels, including 

14 the use of nonuranium materials, for use in reactors 

15 that increase energy generation and minimize the 

16 amount of nuclear waste produced in an open fuel 

17 cycle. 

18 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED OPEN CYCLE.—Developing fuel 

19 forms, reactors, and limited separation and trans20 mutation methods that increase fuel utilization and 

21 reduce nuclear waste in a modified open fuel cycle. 

22 ‘‘(3) FULL RECYCLE.—Developing technologies 

23 to repeatedly recycle nuclear waste products to mini24 mize radiotoxicity, mass, and decay heat to the 

25 greatest extent possible. 


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1 ‘‘(4) ADVANCED STORAGE METHODS.—Devel2 oping advanced storage technologies for both onsite 

3 and long-term storage that substantially prolong the 

4 effective life of current storage devices or that sub5 stantially improve upon existing nuclear waste stor6 age technologies and methods, including repositories. 

7 ‘‘(5) ALTERNATIVE AND DEEP BOREHOLE

8 STORAGE METHODS.—Developing alternative storage 

9 methods for long-term storage, including deep 

10 boreholes into stable crystalline rock formations and 

11 salt dome storage. 

12 ‘‘(6) OTHER TECHNOLOGIES.—Developing any 

13 other technology or initiative that the Secretary de14 termines is likely to advance the objectives of the 

15 program established under subsection (a). 

16 ‘‘(c) BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION REPORT.—In car17 rying out this section the Secretary shall give consider18 ation to the final report on a long-term nuclear waste solu19 tion produced by the Blue Ribbon Commission on Amer20 ica’s Nuclear Future. Not later than 180 days after the 

21 release of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nu22 clear Future final report, the Secretary shall transmit to 

23 Congress a report describing any plans the Department 

24 may have to incorporate any relevant recommendations 

25 from this report into the program.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The item relating 

2 to section 953 in the table of contents of the Energy Policy 

3 Act of 2005 is amended to read as follows: 

‘‘Sec. 953. Fuel cycle research and development.’’. 

4 SEC. 7. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) AMENDMENT.—Subtitle E of title IX of the En7 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16271 et seq.) is 

8 amended by adding at the following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 958. NUCLEAR ENERGY ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

11 program to support the integration of activities under12 taken through the reactor concepts research, development, 

13 demonstration, and commercial application program under 

14 section 952(c) and the fuel cycle research and development 

15 program under section 953, and support crosscutting nu16 clear energy concepts. Activities commenced under this 

17 section shall be concentrated on broadly applicable re18 search and development focus areas. 

19 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Activities conducted under this 

20 section may include research involving— 

21 ‘‘(1) advanced reactor materials; 

22 ‘‘(2) advanced catastrophic radiation mitigation 

23 methods; 

24 ‘‘(3) advanced proliferation and security risk 

25 assessment methods; 


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1 ‘‘(4) advanced sensors and instrumentation; 

2 ‘‘(5) advanced nuclear manufacturing methods; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(6) any crosscutting technology or trans5 formative concept aimed at establishing substantial 

6 and revolutionary enhancements in the performance 

7 of future nuclear energy systems that the Secretary 

8 considers relevant and appropriate to the purpose of 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit, as part 

11 of the annual budget submission of the Department, a re12 port on the activities of the program conducted under this 

13 section, which shall include a brief evaluation of each ac14 tivity’s progress.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con16 tents of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 is amended by 

17 adding at the end of the items for subtitle E of title IX 

18 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 958. Nuclear energy enabling technologies.’’. 

19 SEC. 8. EMERGENCY RISK ASSESSMENT AND PREPARED20 NESS REPORT. 

21 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress 

23 a report summarizing quantitative risks associated with 

24 the potential of a severe accident arising from the use of 

25 nuclear power, and outlining the technologies currently 


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1 available to mitigate the consequences of such an accident. 

2 The report shall include recommendations of areas of tech3 nological development that should be pursued to reduce 

4 the public harm arising from such an incident. 

5 SEC. 9. NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR PLANT. 

6 (a) PROTOTYPE PLANT LOCATION.—Section 

7 642(b)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

8 16022(b)(3)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(3) PROTOTYPE PLANT LOCATION.—The pro10 totype nuclear reactor and associated plant shall be 

11 constructed at a location determined by the consor12 tium through an open and transparent competitive 

13 selection process.’’. 

14 (b) REPORT.— 

15 (1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comp17 troller General shall transmit to the Congress a re18 port providing a status update of the Next Genera19 tion Nuclear Plant program that provides analysis 

20 of— 

21 (A) its progress; 

22 (B) how Federal funds appropriated for 

23 the project have been distributed and spent; 

24 and 


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1 (C) the current and expected participation 

2 by non-Federal entities. 

3 (2) CONTENTS.—The report shall include— 

4 (A) an analysis of the proposed facility’s 

5 technical capabilities and remaining techno6 logical development challenges, and a cost esti7 mate and construction schedule; 

8 (B) an assessment of the advantages and 

9 disadvantages of funding a pilot-scale research 

10 reactor project in lieu of a full-scale commercial 

11 power reactor; 

12 (C) an assessment of alternative construc13 tion sites proposed by private industry; 

14 (D) an assessment of the extent to which 

15 the Department of Energy is working with in16 dustry and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

17 to ensure that the Next Generation Nuclear 

18 Plant program meets industry expectations for 

19 long-term application of technologies and ad20 dresses potential licensing procedures for de21 ployment; 

22 (E) an assessment of the known or antici23 pated challenges to securing private non-Fed24 eral cost share funds and any measures to over25 come these challenges, including any alternative 


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1 funding approaches such as front loading the 

2 Federal share; 

3 (F) an assessment of project risks, includ4 ing those related to— 

5 (i) project scope, schedule, and re6 sources; 

7 (ii) the formation of partnerships or 

8 agreements between the Department and 

9 the private sector necessary for the 

10 project’s success; and 

11 (iii) the Department’s capabilities to 

12 identify and manage such risks; and 

13 (G) an assessment of what is known about 

14 the potential impact of natural gas and other 

15 fossil fuel prices on private entity participation 

16 in the project. 

17 SEC. 10. TECHNICAL STANDARDS COLLABORATION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National In19 stitute of Standards and Technology shall establish a nu20 clear energy standards committee (in this section referred 

21 to as the ‘‘technical standards committee’’) to facilitate 

22 and support, consistent with the National Technology 

23 Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995, the development 

24 or revision of technical standards for new and existing nu25 clear power plants and advanced nuclear technologies. 


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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The technical standards 

3 committee shall include representatives from appro4 priate Federal agencies and the private sector, and 

5 be open to materially affected organizations involved 

6 in the development or application of nuclear energy7 related standards. 

8 (2) CO-CHAIRS.—The technical standards com9 mittee shall be co-chaired by a representative from 

10 the National Institute of Standards and Technology 

11 and a representative from a private sector standards 

12 organization. 

13 (c) DUTIES.—The technical standards committee 

14 shall, in cooperation with appropriate Federal agencies— 

15 (1) perform a needs assessment to identify and 

16 evaluate the technical standards that are needed to 

17 support nuclear energy, including those needed to 

18 support new and existing nuclear power plants and 

19 advanced nuclear technologies; 

20 (2) formulate, coordinate, and recommend pri21 orities for the development of new technical stand22 ards and the revision of existing technical standards 

23 to address the needs identified under paragraph (1); 

24 (3) facilitate and support collaboration and co25 operation among standards developers to address the 


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1 needs and priorities identified under paragraphs (1) 

2 and (2); 

3 (4) as appropriate, coordinate with other na4 tional, regional, or international efforts on nuclear 

5 energy-related technical standards in order to avoid 

6 conflict and duplication and to ensure global com7 patibility; and 

8 (5) promote the establishment and maintenance 

9 of a database of nuclear energy-related technical 

10 standards. 

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of 

13 fiscal years 2011 through 2013 to the Director of the Na14 tional Institute for Standards and Technology for activi15 ties under this section. 

Æ 


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