I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1679
To ensure that nuclear energy continues to contribute to the supply of
electricity in the United States.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 2, 2001
Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. STENHOLM, Mr. BURR of North Carolina, Mr.
HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. WAMP, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. NORWOOD, and
Mrs. WILSON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee
on Science, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To ensure that nuclear energy continues to contribute to
the supply of electricity in the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Electricity Supply Assurance Act of 2001’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR CONTINUED USE OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
Subtitle A—Price-Anderson Amendments
Sec. 101. Short title.
Sec. 102. Indemnification authority.
Sec. 103. Maximum assessment.
Sec. 104. Department of Energy liability limit.
Sec. 105. Incidents outside the United States.
Sec. 106. Reports.
Sec. 107. Inflation adjustment.
Sec. 108. Civil penalties.
Sec. 109. Applicability.
Subtitle B—Leadership of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science, and
Technology and the Office of Science
Sec. 111. Assistant Secretaries.
Subtitle C—Funding of Certain Department of Energy Programs
Sec. 121. Nuclear Energy Research Initiative.
Sec. 122. Nuclear Plant Optimization Program.
Sec. 123. Uprating of nuclear plant operations.
Sec. 124. University programs.
Sec. 125. Prohibition of commercial sales of uranium and conversion held by
the Department of Energy until 2005.
Sec. 126. Cooperative research and development and special demonstration
projects for the uranium mining industry.
Sec. 127. Mixed oxide fuel program.
Sec. 128. Maintenance of a viable domestic uranium conversion industry.
Sec. 129. Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
Sec. 130. Nuclear generation report.
TITLE II—CONSTRUCTION OF NUCLEAR PLANTS
Sec. 201. Research program.
Sec. 202. Nuclear plant completion initiative.
Sec. 203. Early site permit demonstration program.
Sec. 204. Nuclear energy technology study for Generation IV reactors.
Sec. 205. Research supporting regulatory processes for new reactor technologies
and designs.
TITLE III—EVALUATIONS OF NUCLEAR ENERGY
Sec. 301. Environmentally preferable purchasing.
Sec. 302. Emission-free control measures under a State implementation plan.
Sec. 303. Prohibition of discrimination against emission-free electricity projects
in international development programs.
TITLE IV—DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL
STRATEGY
Sec. 401. Finding.
Sec. 402. Office of Spent Nuclear Fuel Research.
Sec. 403. Advanced fuel recycling technology development program.
TITLE V—NATIONAL ACCELERATOR SITE
Sec. 501. Finding.
Sec. 502. Definitions.
Sec. 503. Advanced Accelerator Applications Program.
TITLE VI—NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION REFORM
Sec. 601. Definitions.
Sec. 602. Office location.
Sec. 603. License period.
Sec. 604. Elimination of foreign ownership restrictions.
Sec. 605. Elimination of duplicative antitrust review.
Sec. 606. Gift acceptance authority.
Sec. 607. Authority over former licensees for decommissioning funding.
Sec. 608. Carrying of firearms by licensee employees.
Sec. 609. Cost recovery from Government agencies.
Sec. 610. Hearing procedures.
Sec. 611. Unauthorized introduction of dangerous weapons.
Sec. 612. Sabotage of nuclear facilities or fuel.
Sec. 613. Nuclear decommissioning obligations of nonlicensees.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that—
(1) the standard of living for citizens of the
United States is linked to the availability of reliable,
low-cost energy supplies;
(2) personal use patterns, manufacturing proc-
esses, and advanced cyber information all fuel in-
creases in the demand for electricity;
(3) demand-side management, while important,
is not likely to halt the increase in energy demand;
(4) the United States needs an energy portfolio
containing nuclear generation to limit fluctuations in
overall energy prices;
(5)(A) nuclear power is the largest producer of
essentially emission-free electricity;
(B) nuclear energy is one of the few energy
sources that controls all pollutants;
(C) nuclear plants are demonstrating excellent
reliability as the plants produce power at low cost
with a superb safety record; and
(D) the generation costs of nuclear power are
not subject to the same price fluctuations as fossil
fuels;
(6) requirements for new highly reliable base-
load generation capacity coupled with increasing en-
vironmental concerns and limited long-term avail-
ability of fossil fuels require that the United States
preserve the nuclear energy option into the future;
(7) to ensure the reliability of electricity supply
and delivery, the United States needs programs to
encourage the extended or more efficient operation
of currently existing nuclear plants and the con-
struction of new nuclear plants;
(8) a qualified workforce is a prerequisite to
continued safe operation of—
(A) nuclear plants;
(B) the nuclear navy;
(C) programs dealing with high-level or
low-level waste from civilian or defense facili-
ties; and
(D) research and medical uses of nuclear
technologies;
(9) uncertainty surrounding the costs associ-
ated with regulatory approval for siting, con-
structing, and operating nuclear plants confuses the
economics for new plant investments;
(10) to ensure the long-term reliability of sup-
plies of nuclear fuel, the United States must ensure
that the domestic uranium mining, conversion, and
enrichment service industries remain viable;
(11)(A) technology developed in the United
States and worldwide, broadly labeled as the Genera-
tion IV Reactor, is demonstrating that new designs
of nuclear reactors are feasible;
(B) plants using the new designs would have
improved safety, minimized proliferation risks, re-
duced spent fuel, and much lower costs; and
(C)(i) the nuclear facility infrastructure needed
to conduct nuclear energy research and development
in the United States has been allowed to erode over
the past decade; and
(ii) that infrastructure must be restored to sup-
port development of Generation IV nuclear energy
systems;
(12)(A) to ensure the long-term viability of nu-
clear power, the public must be confident that final
waste forms resulting from spent fuel are controlled
so as to have negligible impact on the environment;
and
(B) continued research on repositories, and on
approaches to mitigate the toxicity of materials en-
tering any future repository, would serve that public
interest; and
(13)(A) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
must continue its stewardship of the safety of our
nuclear industry;
(B) at the same time, the Commission must
streamline processes wherever possible to provide
timely responses to a wide range of safety, upgrade,
and licensing issues;
(C) the Commission should conduct research on
new reactor technologies to support future regu-
latory decisions; and
(D) a revision of certain Commission proce-
dures would assist in more timely processing of li-
cense applications and other requests for regulatory
action.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’
means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(2) EARLY SITE PERMIT.—The term ‘‘early site
permit’’ means a permit for a site to be a future lo-
cation for a nuclear plant under subpart A of part
52 of title 10, Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) NUCLEAR
PLANT.—The term ‘‘nuclear
plant’’ means a nuclear energy facility that gen-
erates electricity.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Energy.
TITLE I—SUPPORT FOR CONTIN-
UED USE OF NUCLEAR EN-
ERGY
Subtitle A—Price-Anderson
Amendments
SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE.
This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Price-Anderson
Amendments Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 102. INDEMNIFICATION AUTHORITY.
(a) INDEMNIFICATION
OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY
COMMISSION LICENSEES.—Section 170 c. of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(c)) is amended—
(1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘LI-
CENSES’’ and inserting ‘‘LICENSEES’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘August 1, 2002’’ each place it
appears and inserting ‘‘August 1, 2012’’.
(b) INDEMNIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
CONTRACTORS.—Section 170 d.(1)(A) of the Atomic En-
ergy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)(1)(A)) is amended
by striking ‘‘, until August 1, 2002,’’.
(c) INDEMNIFICATION OF NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL
INSTITUTIONS.—Section 170 k. of the Atomic Energy Act
of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(k)) is amended by striking ‘‘Au-
gust 1, 2002’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘August
1, 2012’’.
SEC. 103. MAXIMUM ASSESSMENT.
Section 170 b.(1) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954
(42 U.S.C. 2210(b)(1)) is amended in the second proviso
of the third sentence by striking ‘‘$10,000,000’’ and in-
serting ‘‘$20,000,000’’.
SEC. 104. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY LIABILITY LIMIT.
(a) AGGREGATE LIABILITY LIMIT.—Section 170 d.
of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d))
is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the
following:
‘‘(2) LIABILITY LIMIT.—In an agreement of indem-
nification entered into under paragraph (1), the
Secretary—
‘‘(A) may require the contractor to provide and
maintain the financial protection of such a type and
in such amounts as the Secretary shall determine to
be appropriate to cover public liability arising out of
or in connection with the contractual activity; and
‘‘(B) shall indemnify the persons indemnified
against such liability above the amount of the finan-
cial 
protection 
required, 
in 
the 
amount 
of
$10,000,000,000 (subject to adjustment for inflation
under subsection t.), in the aggregate, for all per-
sons indemnified in connection with the contract and
for each nuclear incident, including such legal costs
of the contractor as are approved by the Secretary.’’.
(b) CONTRACT AMENDMENTS.—Section 170 d. of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)) is
amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(3) CONTRACT AMENDMENTS.—All agreements of
indemnification under which the Department of Energy
(or its predecessor agencies) may be required to indemnify
any person shall be deemed to be amended, on the date
of enactment of the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of
2001, to reflect the amount of indemnity for public liabil-
ity and any applicable financial protection required of the
contractor under this subsection on that date.’’.
SEC. 105. INCIDENTS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
(a) AMOUNT
OF INDEMNIFICATION.—Section 170
d.(5) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.
2210(d)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘$100,000,000’’ and
inserting ‘‘$500,000,000’’.
(b) LIABILITY LIMIT.—Section 170 e.(4) of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(e)(4)) is
amended by striking ‘‘$100,000,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$500,000,000’’.
SEC. 106. REPORTS.
Section 170 p. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
U.S.C. 2210(p)) is amended by striking ‘‘August 1, 1998’’
and inserting ‘‘August 1, 2008’’.
SEC. 107. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.
Section 170 t. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
U.S.C. 2210(t)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (3); and
(2) by adding after paragraph (1) the following:
‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary shall adjust the
amount of indemnification provided under an agreement
of indemnification under subsection d. not less than once
during each 5-year period following the date of enactment
of the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2001, in ac-
cordance with the aggregate percentage change in the
Consumer Price Index since—
‘‘(A) that date of enactment, in the case of the
first adjustment under this subsection; or
‘‘(B) the previous adjustment under this sub-
section.’’.
SEC. 108. CIVIL PENALTIES.
(a) REPEAL
OF AUTOMATIC REMISSION.—Section
234A b.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C.
2282a(b)(2)) is amended by striking the last sentence.
(b) LIMITATION FOR NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS.—
Section 234A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
U.S.C. 2282a) is amended by striking subsection d. and
inserting the following:
‘‘d. Notwithstanding subsection a., no contractor,
subcontractor, or supplier of the Department of Energy
that is an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that is exempt from
taxation under section 501(a) of the Code shall be subject
to a civil penalty under this section in any fiscal year in
excess of the amount of any performance fee paid by the
Secretary during that fiscal year to the contractor, sub-
contractor, or supplier under the contract under which a
violation occurs.’’.
SEC. 109. APPLICABILITY.
(a) INDEMNIFICATION PROVISIONS.—The amend-
ments made by sections 103, 104, and 105 do not apply
to a nuclear incident that occurs before the date of enact-
ment of this Act.
(b) CIVIL PENALTY PROVISIONS.—The amendments
made by section 108(b) do not apply to a violation that
occurs under a contract entered into before the date of
enactment of this Act.
Subtitle B—Leadership of the Of-
fice of Nuclear Energy, Science
and Technology and the Office
of Science
SEC. 111. ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(a) of the Department
of Energy Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7133(a)) is
amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by strik-
ing ‘‘six’’ and inserting ‘‘eight’’.
(b) FUNCTIONS.—On appointment of the 2 additional
Assistant Secretaries of Energy under the amendment
made by subsection (a), the Secretary shall assign—
(1) to one of the Assistant Secretaries, who
shall be the Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy,
Science and Technology, the responsibility for over-
seeing and administering the Office of Nuclear En-
ergy, Science and Technology; and
(2) to the other of the Assistant Secretaries,
who shall be the Assistant Secretary for Science, the
responsibility for overseeing and administering the
Office of Science.
Subtitle C—Funding of Certain
Department of Energy Programs
SEC. 121. NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for a
Nuclear Energy Research Initiative to be managed by the
Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Science and
Technology for grants to be competitively awarded and
subject to peer review for research relating to nuclear
energy—
(1) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
(2) such sums as are necessary for fiscal years
2003 through 2006.
(b) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Science and the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives, and to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the Senate an annual report
on the activities of the Nuclear Energy Research Initia-
tive.
SEC. 122. NUCLEAR PLANT OPTIMIZATION PROGRAM.
(a) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for a
Nuclear Plant Optimization Program to be managed by
the Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy, Science and
Technology for a joint program with industry cost-shared
by at least 50 percent and subject to annual review by
the Secretary of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Research Advi-
sory Committee—
(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2002; and
(2) such sums as are necessary for fiscal years
2003 through 2006.
(b) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Science and the Committee on Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives, and to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Com-
mittee on Appropriations of the Senate an annual report
on the activities of the Nuclear Plant Optimization Pro-
gram.
SEC. 123. UPRATING OF NUCLEAR PLANT OPERATIONS.
(a) PAYMENT OF COMMISSION USER FEES.—The
Secretary shall reimburse all user fees incurred by a li-
censee of a nuclear plant for obtaining the approval of the
Commission to achieve a permanent increase in the rated
electricity capacity of the licensee’s nuclear plant if the
licensee provides information indicating to the satisfaction
of the Secretary that the licensee will achieve the increased
capacity before December 31, 2004.