Title: Dry Cask Storage Act of 2019
Policy area: Energy

Summary:
Dry Cask Storage Act of 2019
This bill requires each licensee of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to submit a plan for (1) transfer (including on-going additional transfers) to spent nuclear fuel dry casks of any spent nuclear fuel stored by the licensee for at least seven years in spent nuclear fuel pools, and (2) configuration of the remaining spent nuclear fuel in the pool in a manner that minimizes the chance of a fire if there is a loss of water in the pool.
Among other requirements, the bill

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2854 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2854

   To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide for the 
expansion of emergency planning zones and the development of plans for 
    dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 13, 2019

 Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Sanders, and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                    on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to provide for the 
expansion of emergency planning zones and 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 Representatives 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 2019''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY PLANNING ZONES; DRY CASK STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR 
              FUEL.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Nuclear Waste Policy 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 successor regulation)) of a civilian 
        nuclear power reactor.
            ``(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 regulation).
            ``(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 stored at an independent spent fuel storage facility--
                    ``(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, 
                        seismic, and flooding design basis, as 
                        determined by the Commission; and
                            ``(ii) is approved by the Commission.

``SEC. 186. PLAN FOR DRY CASK STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR 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 nuclear fuel 
                pools; and
                    ``(B) qualified to be placed in spent nuclear fuel 
                dry casks, in accordance with subsection (d);
            ``(2) on completion of the transfer under paragraph (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 subsection 
        (d), subject to the requirement that each additional 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 manner 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 subsection (a), the Commission 
        shall approve or disapprove 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 notice 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 paragraph (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.
            ``(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 approved 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 assist 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 at which 
                the spent nuclear fuel pools are close to being filled 
                to capacity;
                    ``(B) that are supported by the State or unit of 
                local government in which the civilian nuclear power 
                reactor is located; and
                    ``(C) at civilian nuclear power reactors that have 
                permanently ceased operations.
            ``(3) Limitation.--No grants may be provided under 
        paragraph (1) to a licensee that the Commission determines is 
        not in compliance with the approved 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 Commission shall conduct a review to determine 
whether the licensee 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 paragraph (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 emergency planning zone that is applicable to each 
        civilian nuclear power reactor to 50 miles in radius.
            ``(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 Commission under section 186(f).
            ``(3) Payment of costs.--The licensee shall be responsible 
        for all costs associated with the expansion of the applicable 
        emergency planning zone under paragraph (1).''.
    (b) Use of Interest.--Section 302(e) of the Nuclear 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 Secretary of the 
        Treasury shall transfer to the Commission 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 
        further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to pay the 
        costs of carrying out section 186(e).''.
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