I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1578 
To streamline nuclear technology regulatory permitting and licensing, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 3, 2021 
Mr. KINZINGER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To streamline nuclear technology regulatory permitting and 
licensing, 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 ‘‘Nuclear Licensing Ef-
ficiency Act’’. 
SEC. 2. STREAMLINING APPLICATION AND SITE PERMIT 
REVIEWS. 
Section 185 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
U.S.C. 2235) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘c. APPLICATION REVIEWS FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY 
PROJECTS.— 
‘‘(1) STREAMLINING LICENSE APPLICATION RE-
VIEW.—With respect to an application that is dock-
eted seeking issuance of a construction permit, oper-
ating license, or combined construction permit and 
operating license for a production or utilization facil-
ity, the Commission shall include the following pro-
cedures: 
‘‘(A) Undertake an environmental review 
process and issue any draft environmental im-
pact statement to the maximum extent prac-
ticable within 24 months after the application is 
accepted for docketing. 
‘‘(B) Complete the technical review process 
and issue any safety evaluation report and any 
final environmental impact statement to the 
maximum extent practicable within 42 months 
after the application is accepted for docketing. 
‘‘(2) EARLY SITE PERMIT.— 
‘‘(A) SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IM-
PACT STATEMENT.—In a proceeding for a com-
bined construction permit and operating license 
for a site for which an early site permit has 
been issued, any environmental impact state-
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ment prepared by the Commission and cooper-
ating agencies shall be prepared as a supple-
ment to the environmental impact statement 
prepared for the early site permit. 
‘‘(B) INCORPORATION
BY
REFERENCE.— 
The supplemental environmental impact state-
ment shall— 
‘‘(i) incorporate by reference the anal-
ysis, findings, and conclusions from the en-
vironmental impact statement prepared for 
the early site permit; and 
‘‘(ii) include additional discussion, 
analyses, findings, and conclusions on mat-
ters resolved in the early site permit pro-
ceeding only to the extent necessary to ad-
dress information that is new and signifi-
cant in that the information would materi-
ally change the prior findings or conclu-
sions. 
‘‘(3) PRODUCTION
OR
UTILIZATION
FACILITY 
LOCATED AT AN EXISTING SITE.—In reviewing an 
application for an early site permit, construction 
permit, operating license, or combined construction 
permit and operating license for a production or uti-
lization facility located at the site of a licensed pro-
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duction or utilization facility, the Commission shall, 
to the extent practicable, use information that was 
part of the licensing basis of the licensed production 
or utilization facility. 
‘‘(4) REGULATIONS.—The Commission shall 
initiate a rulemaking, not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this subsection, to amend the 
regulations of the Commission to implement this 
subsection. 
‘‘(5) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT DE-
FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘environmental 
impact statement’ means a detailed statement re-
quired under section 102(2)(C) of the National En-
vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
4332(2)(C)). 
‘‘(6) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Nothing 
in this subsection exempts the Commission from any 
requirement 
for 
full 
compliance 
with 
section 
102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)).’’. 
SEC. 3. UPDATING HEARING PROCEDURES. 
(a) INFORMAL HEARING PROCEDURES.—Section 189 
a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2239(a)) 
is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(3) The Commission may use informal adjudicatory 
procedures for any hearing required under this section for 
which the Commission determines that adjudicatory proce-
dures under section 554 of title 5, United States Code, 
are unnecessary.’’. 
(b) STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF THE ELIMINATION OF 
MANDATORY HEARING FOR UNCONTESTED LICENSING 
APPLICATIONS.—Not later than 18 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 
transmit to Congress a report containing the results of 
a study on the effects of eliminating the hearings required 
under section 189 a. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 
(42 U.S.C. 2239(a)) for an application under section 103 
or section 104 b. of such Act for a construction permit 
for a facility in the absence of a request of any person 
whose interest may be affected by the proceeding. 
SEC. 4. EFFICIENCY OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON REAC-
TOR SAFEGUARDS. 
(a) COMMITTEE COMPOSITION.—Section 29 of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2039) is amended 
by inserting ‘‘The Commission shall seek to include a di-
versity of disciplines and operational experiences when ap-
pointing members of the Committee.’’ after ‘‘four years 
each.’’. 
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(b) LICENSE APPLICATIONS.—Section 182 b. of the 
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2232(b)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the Com-
mission determines referral of an application to the Com-
mittee is necessary, the Committee shall initiate a review 
of the application not later than 30 days after receiving 
such referral, and shall submit a report thereon under this 
subsection not later than 180 days after initiating such 
review.’’. 
SEC. 5. UPDATING NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 
USER FEES AND CHARGES. 
Section 102(b)(3)(B) of the Nuclear Energy Innova-
tion and Modernization Act (Public Law 115–439) is 
amended— 
(1) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 
(2) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 
‘‘(ii) FUEL FACILITIES.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The total an-
nual charges under subparagraph (A) 
charged to fuel facility licensees, to 
the maximum extent practicable, shall 
not exceed an amount that is equal to 
the total annual fees collected from 
the fuel facilities class under the final 
rule of the Commission entitled ‘Revi-
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sion of Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery 
for Fiscal Year 2016’ (81 Fed Reg. 
41171 
(June 
24, 
2016)), 
which 
amount may be adjusted annually by 
the Commission to reflect changes in 
the Consumer Price Index published 
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 
the Department of Labor. 
‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—Subclause (I) 
shall not apply if the number of li-
censed facilities classified by the Com-
mission as fuel facilities exceeds 
seven. 
‘‘(III) 
CHANGES
TO
ANNUAL 
CHARGES.—Any change in an annual 
charge 
under 
subparagraph 
(A) 
charged to a fuel facility licensee shall 
be based on— 
‘‘(aa) a change in the regu-
latory services provided with re-
spect to the fuel facility; or 
‘‘(bb) an adjustment de-
scribed in subclause (I).’’; and 
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(3) in clause (iii), as redesignated by paragraph 
(1) of this section, by striking ‘‘clause (i)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘clause (i) or (ii)’’. 
SEC. 6. TECHNICAL CORRECTION. 
Section 104 c. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
U.S.C. 2134(c)) is amended— 
(1) by striking the third sentence and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(3) LIMITATION
ON
UTILIZATION
FACILI-
TIES.—The Commission may issue a license under 
this section for a utilization facility useful in the 
conduct of research and development activities of the 
types specified in section 31 if— 
‘‘(A) not more than 75 percent of the an-
nual costs to the licensee of owning and oper-
ating the facility are devoted to the sale, other 
than for research and development or education 
and training, of— 
‘‘(i) nonenergy services; 
‘‘(ii) energy; or 
‘‘(iii) a combination of nonenergy 
services and energy; and 
‘‘(B) not more than 50 percent of the an-
nual costs to the licensee of owning and oper-
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ating the facility are devoted to the sale of en-
ergy.’’; 
(2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘The 
Commission’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(2) REGULATION.—The Commission’’; and 
(3) by striking ‘‘C. The Commission’’and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘C. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 
and (3), the Commission’’. 
Æ 
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