STRANDED Act of 2021
Bill: S.1290 | Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy (D-IL)
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Sensible, Timely Relief for America's Nuclear Districts' Economic Development Act of 2021 or the STRANDED Act of 2021
This bill provides resources to communities that are challenged by stranded nuclear waste.
The bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a competitive prize competition for affected communities to carry out alternatives to nuclear facilities, generating sites, and waste sites.
DOE must also (1) establish the Stranded Nuclear Waste Task Force to study existing public and private resources and funding for affected communities, and (2) establish a grant program to assist localities near nuclear power plants to offset the impacts of stranded nuclear waste in affected communities.

To assist communities affected by stranded nuclear waste, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Sensible, Timely Relief for 
America's Nuclear Districts' Economic Development Act of 2021'' or the 
``STRANDED Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) in 1982, Congress authorized the Secretary of Energy 
        and the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to safely 
        manage and dispose of the most highly radioactive nuclear waste 
        of the United States, a responsibility that includes--
                    (A) removing spent nuclear fuel from commercial 
                nuclear power plants for a fee; and
                    (B) transporting the spent fuel to--
                            (i) a permanent geological repository; or
                            (ii) an interim storage facility before 
                        permanent disposal;
            (2) for more than 30 years, nuclear power plants have 
        operated in good faith that the Federal Government would 
        establish a permanent geological repository;
            (3) communities affected by stranded nuclear waste are in 
        fact interim nuclear waste storage sites;
            (4) the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101 
        et seq.)--
                    (A) directed the Secretary to make annual impact 
                assistance payments to States or appropriate units of 
                local government to mitigate the social and economic 
                impacts of the establishment and operation of interim 
                nuclear waste storage capacity within the 
                jurisdictional boundaries of an affected community; and
                    (B) established the rate for impact assistance 
                payments at $15 per kilogram of spent nuclear fuel;
            (5) decommissioning a commercial nuclear power plant is 
        often catastrophic for the host community because nuclear power 
        plants are major employers and the primary source of local tax 
        revenue;
            (6) stranded nuclear waste is a profound obstacle to future 
        economic growth, deterring potential employers and residents 
        from considering the host community;
            (7) stranded nuclear waste prevents economic development in 
        communities in which the stranded nuclear waste is located; and
            (8) it is critical to provide resources to communities 
        that--
                    (A) are challenged by stranded nuclear waste; or
                    (B) will be challenged by stranded nuclear waste 
                during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 
                enactment of this Act.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Academy.--The term ``Academy'' means the National 
        Academy of Sciences.
            (2) Affected community.--The term ``affected community'' 
        means a unit of local government, including a county, city, 
        town, village, school district, or special district, that 
        contains stranded nuclear waste within the boundaries of the 
        unit of local government, as determined by the Secretary.
            (3) Eligible civilian nuclear power plant.--The term 
        ``eligible civilian nuclear power plant'' means a nuclear power 
        plant that--
                    (A) has been decommissioned; or
                    (B) is in the process of being decommissioned.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Energy.
            (5) Stranded nuclear waste.--The term ``stranded nuclear 
        waste'' means nuclear waste or spent nuclear fuel stored in dry 
        casks or spent fuel pools at a decommissioned or 
        decommissioning nuclear facility.

SEC. 4. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS PRIZE COMPETITION.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish under section 24 
of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 
3719) a competitive prize competition (referred to in this section as 
the ``prize competition'') to award prizes for proposals for affected 
communities to carry out alternatives to nuclear facilities, generating 
sites, and waste sites.
    (b) Prize Board.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established an advisory board 
        (referred to in this section as the ``Board'') to advise the 
        Secretary on--
                    (A) the design and implementation of the prize 
                competition; and
                    (B) the development of each pilot project under 
                subsection (d).
            (2) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of not fewer 
        than 9 members appointed by the Secretary--
                    (A) who shall provide expertise in--
                            (i) nuclear waste;
                            (ii) workforce issues;
                            (iii) technology development; and
                            (iv) economic development; and
                    (B) who may include representatives from--
                            (i) the National Laboratories;
                            (ii) nonprofit organizations; and
                            (iii) institutions of higher education.
    (c) Award Amount.--An award under the prize competition shall be in 
the amount of $500,000.
    (d) Pilot Project.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Board, shall develop a pilot project based on each proposal for 
        which a prize is awarded under the prize competition.
            (2) Funding.--Of the amounts made available under section 
        8, the Secretary may use $500,000 to carry out each pilot 
        project under paragraph (1).
    (e) Report.--Not later than 60 days after the date on which a prize 
is awarded under the prize competition, the Secretary shall submit to 
the relevant committees of Congress a report that describes the 
proposal for which the prize was awarded.

SEC. 5. STRANDED NUCLEAR WASTE TASK FORCE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a task force, to 
be known as the ``Stranded Nuclear Waste Task Force''--
            (1) to conduct a study on existing public and private 
        resources and funding for which affected communities may be 
        eligible; and
            (2) to develop immediate and long-term economic adjustment 
        plans tailored to the needs of each affected community.
    (b) Study.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Stranded Nuclear Waste Task Force shall complete and 
submit to Congress the study described in subsection (a).

SEC. 6. ECONOMIC IMPACT GRANTS.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish and carry out a 
noncompetitive grant program to provide financial assistance to units 
of local government within the jurisdictional boundary of which an 
eligible civilian nuclear power plant is located to offset the economic 
and social impacts of stranded nuclear waste in affected communities.
    (b) Eligibility.--A unit of local government that is an affected 
community shall be eligible to receive a grant under this section for a 
fiscal year.
    (c) Awards.--
            (1) Amount.--The amount of a grant awarded under subsection 
        (a) shall be equal to $15 for each kilogram of spent nuclear 
        fuel stored at the eligible civilian nuclear power plant in the 
        affected community.
            (2) Number and frequency.--With respect to each eligible 
        civilian nuclear power plant, the Secretary may only award 1 
        grant under subsection (a) to each eligible unit of local 
        government for each fiscal year.

SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter through fiscal year 2026, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) describes and evaluates the progress and effectiveness 
        of--
                    (A) the prize competition established under section 
                4(a);
                    (B) each pilot project established under section 
                4(d); and
                    (C) the grant program established under section 
                6(a); and
            (2) provides recommendations for legislative, regulatory, 
        or other changes to improve the prize competition, pilot 
        projects, or grant program described in paragraph (1), as 
        applicable.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Secretary to carry out this Act $175,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2022 through 2026.
    (b) No Offset.--None of the funds made available under this section 
may be used to offset the funding for any other Federal program.
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