I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3587 
To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide for the develop-
ment of plans for dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 22, 2015 
Mr. ENGEL (for himself, Mrs. LOWEY, and Mr. KEATING) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide 
for the development of plans for dry cask storage of 
spent nuclear fuel, 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 ‘‘Dry Cask Storage Act 
of 2015’’. 
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SEC. 2. EMERGENCY PLANNING ZONES; DRY CASK STOR-
AGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Nuclear Waste Pol-
icy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10121 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘Subtitle I—Emergency Planning 
Zones; Dry Cask Storage of 
Spent Nuclear Fuel 
‘‘SEC. 185. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle: 
‘‘(1) EMERGENCY PLANNING ZONE.—The term 
‘emergency planning zone’ means the emergency 
planning zone that is delineated with respect to the 
plume exposure pathway (as defined in section 350.2 
of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations (or any suc-
cessor regulation)) of a civilian nuclear power reac-
tor. 
‘‘(2) LICENSEE.—The term ‘licensee’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 50.2 of title 10, 
Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regu-
lation). 
‘‘(3) SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL DRY CASK.—The 
term ‘spent nuclear fuel dry cask’ means a container 
(including any components and systems associated 
with the container) in which spent nuclear fuel is 
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stored at an independent spent fuel storage facil-
ity— 
‘‘(A) that is— 
‘‘(i) licensed by the Commission; and 
‘‘(ii) located at a civilian nuclear 
power reactor site; and 
‘‘(B) the design of which— 
‘‘(i) includes a realistic security, seis-
mic, and flooding design basis, as deter-
mined by the Commission; and 
‘‘(ii) is approved by the Commission. 
‘‘SEC. 186. PLAN FOR DRY CASK STORAGE OF SPENT NU-
CLEAR FUEL. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, each licensee shall 
submit to the Commission a plan that provides for— 
‘‘(1) by the deadline specified in subsection (b), 
the transfer to spent nuclear fuel dry casks of any 
spent nuclear fuel that is— 
‘‘(A) stored by the licensee in spent nu-
clear fuel pools; and 
‘‘(B) qualified to be placed in spent nu-
clear fuel dry casks, in accordance with sub-
section (d); 
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‘‘(2) on completion of the transfer under para-
graph (1), the additional transfer, on an ongoing 
basis, of any additional spent nuclear fuel that is 
stored by the licensee in spent nuclear fuel pools and 
that, after the date of the transfer under paragraph 
(1), is determined to be qualified to be placed in 
spent nuclear fuel dry casks, in accordance with sub-
section (d), subject to the requirement that each ad-
ditional transfer shall be completed by the date that 
is 1 year after the date on which the applicable 
spent nuclear fuel is determined to be qualified to be 
placed in spent nuclear fuel dry casks, in accordance 
with that subsection; and 
‘‘(3) the configuration of the remaining spent 
nuclear fuel in the spent nuclear fuel pool in a man-
ner that minimizes the chance of a fire if there is 
a loss of water in the spent nuclear fuel pool. 
‘‘(b) DEADLINE FOR TRANSFER.—The deadline for 
transfer referred to in subsection (a)(1) is not later than 
the date that is 7 years after the date of submission of 
the plan. 
‘‘(c) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL BY COMMISSION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date on which a plan is submitted under 
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subsection (a), the Commission shall approve or dis-
approve the plan. 
‘‘(2) ACTION FOLLOWING DISAPPROVAL.—If the 
Commission disapproves a plan under paragraph 
(1), the Commission shall— 
‘‘(A) advise the licensee in writing of the 
reasons for the disapproval; 
‘‘(B) make recommendations for revisions 
to the plan, which shall be submitted to the 
Commission by the date that is 30 days after 
the date on which the Commission provides no-
tice of the disapproval under subparagraph (A); 
and 
‘‘(C) not later than 30 days after the date 
of receipt of a revised plan under subparagraph 
(B), approve or disapprove the revised plan. 
‘‘(d) QUALIFICATION
FOR PLACEMENT
IN SPENT 
NUCLEAR FUEL DRY CASKS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), spent nuclear fuel shall be considered to 
be qualified to be placed in spent nuclear fuel dry 
casks under this section if the spent nuclear fuel has 
been stored in spent nuclear fuel pools for a period 
of at least 7 years. 
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‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 
(1), spent nuclear fuel shall not be considered to be 
qualified to be placed in spent nuclear fuel dry casks 
under this section if there does not exist an ap-
proved spent nuclear fuel dry cask in which the 
spent nuclear fuel may be placed. 
‘‘(e) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 
the Commission may provide to any licensee that has 
a plan approved under subsection (c) a grant to as-
sist in the cost of transferring spent nuclear fuel to 
spent nuclear fuel dry casks under the approved 
plan. 
‘‘(2) PREFERENCE.—In providing grants under 
paragraph (1), the Commission shall give preference 
to funding the implementation of approved plans— 
‘‘(A) at civilian nuclear power reactors 
near a major population center; 
‘‘(B) at which the spent nuclear fuel pools 
are close to being filled to capacity; 
‘‘(C) that are supported by the State or 
unit of local government in which the civilian 
nuclear power reactor is located; and 
‘‘(D) at civilian nuclear power reactors 
that have permanently ceased operations. 
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‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—No grants may be provided 
under paragraph (1) to a licensee that the Commis-
sion determines is not in compliance with the ap-
proved plan, in accordance with subsection (f). 
‘‘(f) BIENNIAL REVIEW.—Beginning on the date that 
is 2 years after the date on which a plan is approved under 
subsection (c) and every 2 years thereafter, the Commis-
sion shall conduct a review to determine whether the li-
censee is in compliance with the approved plan. 
‘‘SEC. 187. EXPANSION AND APPLICABILITY OF EMERGENCY 
PLANNING ZONE. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The emergency planning zone 
that is applicable to each civilian nuclear power reactor 
shall be at least 10 miles in radius until the date on which 
all spent nuclear fuel at the civilian nuclear power reactor 
has been transferred to spent nuclear fuel dry casks. 
‘‘(b) 
EXPANSION
OF
EMERGENCY
PLANNING 
ZONE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2) and subject to paragraph (3), by the date 
that is 18 months after the date of enactment of 
this section, the Commission shall expand the emer-
gency planning zone that is applicable to each civil-
ian nuclear power reactor to 50 miles in radius. 
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‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to any civilian nuclear power reactor that is in 
compliance with a plan approved by the Commission 
under section 186(c), as determined by the Commis-
sion under section 186(f). 
‘‘(3) PAYMENT OF COSTS.—The licensee shall 
be responsible for all costs associated with the ex-
pansion of the applicable emergency planning zone 
under paragraph (1).’’. 
(b) USE OF INTEREST.—Section 302(e) of the Nu-
clear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(e)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) USE OF INTEREST.—Annually, the Sec-
retary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Commis-
sion an amount equal to at least 10 percent of the 
amount of interest generated during the preceding 
fiscal year under paragraph (3) for use, without fur-
ther appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to pay 
the costs of carrying out section 186(e).’’. 
Æ 
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