I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3448 
To establish an expedited schedule for the issuance of a Combined Construc-
tion and Operating License for nuclear reactors that meet certain condi-
tions, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 31, 2009 
Mr. PITTS (for himself, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. BACHUS, Mr. OLSON, Mr. 
CRENSHAW, Mrs. MYRICK, Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina, Mr. FLEM-
ING, and Mr. PAULSEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, 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 establish an expedited schedule for the issuance of a 
Combined Construction and Operating License for nu-
clear reactors that meet certain conditions, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Streamline America’s 
Future Energy Nuclear Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. 
Nothing in this Act shall supersede, mitigate, detract 
from, or in anyway decrease the Nuclear Regulatory Com-
mission’s ability to maintain the highest possible levels of 
public health and safety standards, consistent with the 
provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. No authority 
granted by this Act shall be executed in a manner that 
jeopardizes, minimizes, reduces, or lessens public health 
and safety standards. 
SEC. 3. STREAMLINING COMBINED CONSTRUCTION AND 
OPERATING LICENSE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Nuclear Regulatory Commis-
sion shall establish and implement an expedited procedure 
for issuing a Combined Construction and Operating Li-
cense. 
(b) QUALIFICATIONS.—To qualify for the expedited 
procedure under this section, an applicant shall— 
(1) apply for construction of a reactor based on 
a design approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Com-
mission; 
(2) construct the new reactor on or adjacent to 
a site where an operating nuclear power plant al-
ready exists; 
(3) not be subject to a Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission order to modify, suspend, or revoke a li-
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cense under section 2.202 of title 10, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations; and 
(4) submit a complete Combined Construction 
and Operating License application that is docketed 
by the Commission. 
(c) EXPEDITED PROCEDURE.—With respect to a li-
cense for which the applicant has satisfied the require-
ments of subsection (b) and seeks fast track consideration, 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall follow the fol-
lowing procedures: 
(1) Undertake an expedited environmental re-
view process and issue a draft Environmental Im-
pact Statement within 12 months after the applica-
tion is accepted for docketing. 
(2) Complete any public licensing hearings and 
related processes within 24 months of accepting for 
docketing the expedited Combined Construction and 
Operating License application. Such hearings shall 
begin with the issuance of a draft Environmental 
Impact Statement. 
(3) Complete the technical review process and 
issue the Safety Evaluation Report and the final En-
vironmental Impact Statement within 18 months 
after the application is accepted for docketing. 
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(4) Make a final decision on whether to issue 
the Combined Construction and Operating License 
within 25 months after docketing the application. 
(d) GOALS.—The Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
shall present recommendations to Congress within 90 days 
of the date of enactment of this Act for procedures that 
would further facilitate the licensing of new nuclear reac-
tors in a timely manner. 
SEC. 4. REACTOR DESIGN CERTIFICATION. 
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall reduce by 
one half the time necessary to certify a reactor design and 
may include designs under consideration for certification 
by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as of the date of 
enactment of this Act. Such a schedule shall be presented 
to Congress within one year of date of enactment of this 
Act. 
SEC. 5. TECHNOLOGY NEUTRAL PLANT DESIGN SPECIFICA-
TIONS. 
Within one year of date of enactment of this Act, the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall outline to the Con-
gress an approach that will allow the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission to develop technology-neutral guidelines for 
nuclear plant licensing in the future that would allow for 
the more seamless entry of new technologies into the mar-
ketplace. 
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SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND PERSONNEL RE-
SOURCES. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall 
transmit to the Congress a request for such additional 
funding and personnel resources as are necessary to carry 
out sections 2 through 5 without delaying consideration 
of applications for Combined Construction and Operating 
Licenses or reactor design certifications not subject to ex-
pedited procedures under this Act. 
SEC. 7. NATIONAL LABORATORY SUPPORT. 
Each national laboratory with expertise in the nuclear 
field shall, in coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory 
Commission, dedicate personnel to supporting either or 
both the expedited licensing procedures under section 3 
and the expedited design certification procedures under 
section 4. 
SEC. 8. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FUNDS. 
To both support the Nation’s effort to efficiently li-
cense new nuclear power plants and build the expertise 
and workforce necessary to regulate and operate those 
plants, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the De-
partment of Energy shall direct educational funding to 
programs to enhance or directly support the activities au-
thorized by this Act. 
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SEC. 9. NATIONAL NUCLEAR ENERGY COUNCIL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) The Secretary of Energy shall establish a 
National Nuclear Energy Council (in this section re-
ferred to as the ‘‘Council’’). 
(2) The Council shall be subject to the require-
ments of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
U.S.C. App.). 
(b) PURPOSE.—The Council shall— 
(1) serve in an advisory capacity to the Sec-
retary of Energy regarding nuclear energy on mat-
ters submitted to the Council by the Secretary of 
Energy; 
(2) advise, inform, and make recommendations 
to the Secretary of Energy with respect to any mat-
ter relating to nuclear energy; 
(3) help nuclear energy related investors to 
navigate the Federal bureaucracy to efficiently bring 
their products and services to the marketplace; and 
(4) not participate in any research and develop-
ment or commercialization activities. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION.— 
(1) The members of the Council shall be ap-
pointed by the Secretary of Energy. 
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(2) The Council may establish such study and 
administrative committees as it considers appro-
priate. 
SEC. 10. NUCLEAR POWER 2010. 
There are authorized to be appropriated for the Nu-
clear Power 2010 $121,000,000 to accomplish its original 
mission of defining the plant permitting and design certifi-
cation process by September 30, 2010, at which date the 
program shall cease to exist. 
SEC. 11. NEXT GENERATION NUCLEAR POWER PLANT. 
The Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regu-
latory Commission shall reevaluate the Next Generation 
Nuclear Power Plant schedule with the purpose of signifi-
cant acceleration. Within 180 days of the date of enact-
ment of this Act, program managers shall submit to the 
Congress a revised schedule, including funding require-
ments, that would allow for program completion as near 
as is possible to 2015 (halving the current schedule of pro-
gram completion in 2021). 
SEC. 12. URANIUM MINING ON FEDERAL LANDS. 
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 shall not be used to arbitrarily prevent uranium min-
ing from taking place on Federal lands. The Federal Gov-
ernment shall not collect additional leasing fees, beyond 
that which are currently applicable, to mine uranium on 
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Federal lands. Any fees collected in association with com-
mercial uranium mining on Federal lands that should be 
applied for remediation purposes, shall only be applied to 
the remediation of sites that incurred damage as a result 
of commercial nuclear activities. Such fees shall not be ap-
plied to the remediation of any sites that incurred damage 
as a result of Government or Government-sponsored ac-
tivities. 
Æ 
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