[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4538 Introduced in House (IH)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4538

  To amend the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to require commercial 
   nuclear utilities to transfer spent nuclear fuel pools into spent 
 nuclear fuel dry casks and convey to the Secretary of Energy title to 
               all spent nuclear fuel thus safely stored.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 14, 2005

  Mr. Matheson (for himself, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Gibbons, Mr. Bishop of 
Utah, Mr. Cannon, and Mr. Porter) 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 require commercial 
   nuclear utilities to transfer spent nuclear fuel pools into spent 
 nuclear fuel dry casks and convey to the Secretary of Energy title to 
               all spent nuclear fuel thus safely stored.

    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 ``Spent Nuclear Fuel On-Site Storage 
Security Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. 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--Dry Cask Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel

``SEC. 185. DRY CASK STORAGE OF SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Contractor.--The term `contractor' means a person 
        that holds a contract under section 302(a).
            ``(2) Spent nuclear fuel pool.--The term `spent nuclear 
        fuel pool' means a water-filled container in which spent 
        nuclear fuel rods are stored.
            ``(3) Spent nuclear fuel dry cask.--The term `spent nuclear 
        fuel dry cask' means the container, and all the components and 
        systems associated with the container, in which spent nuclear 
        fuel is stored at a Commission-licensed independent spent fuel 
        storage facility located at the power reactor site. The design 
        of any such spent nuclear fuel dry cask shall be approved by 
        the Commission.
    ``(b) Transfer of Spent Nuclear Fuel.--
            ``(1) In general.--A contractor shall transfer spent 
        nuclear fuel from spent nuclear fuel pools to spent nuclear 
        fuel dry casks at a Commission-licensed independent spent fuel 
        storage facility located at the power reactor site.
            ``(2) Spent nuclear fuel stored as of date of enactment.--A 
        contractor shall complete the transfer of all spent nuclear 
        fuel that is stored in spent nuclear fuel pools as of the date 
        of enactment of this subsection not later than 6 years after 
        the date of enactment of this subsection.
            ``(3) Spent nuclear fuel stored after date of enactment.--A 
        contractor shall complete the transfer of any spent nuclear 
        fuel that is stored in a spent nuclear fuel pool after the date 
        of enactment of this subsection not later than 6 years after 
        the date on which the spent nuclear fuel is discharged from the 
        reactor.
            ``(4) Inadequate funds.--If funds are not available to 
        complete a transfer under paragraph (2) or (3), the contractor 
        may apply to the Commission to extend the deadline for the 
        transfer to be completed.
    ``(c) Funding.--The Secretary shall make grants to compensate a 
contractor for expenses incurred in carrying out subsection (b), 
including costs associated with--
            ``(1) licensing and construction of an independent spent 
        fuel storage facility located at the power reactor site;
            ``(2) construction and delivery of spent nuclear fuel dry 
        casks;
            ``(3) transfers of spent nuclear fuel;
            ``(4) documentation relating to the transfers;
            ``(5) security; and
            ``(6) hardening.
    ``(d) Conveyance of Title.--
            ``(1) Determination.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        transfer of spent nuclear fuel from a spent nuclear fuel pool 
        to a spent nuclear fuel dry cask, the Commission shall 
        determine whether the contractor carried out the transfer in 
        full compliance with regulations promulgated by the Commission.
            ``(2) Noncompliance.--If the Commission determines that any 
        technical standard or compliance provision under the 
        regulations was not complied with, the Commission shall--
                    ``(A) notify the contractor; and
                    ``(B) take such actions as are necessary to obtain 
                full compliance.
            ``(3) Certification and conveyance of title.--When the 
        Commission determines that the contractor has fully complied 
        with the regulations--
                    ``(A) the Commission shall certify that safe 
                transfer has been accomplished; and
                    ``(B) the Secretary shall accept the conveyance of 
                title to the spent nuclear fuel dry cask (including the 
                contents of the cask) from the contractor.
            ``(4) Responsibility.--A conveyance of title under 
        paragraph (3)(B) shall confer on the Secretary full 
        responsibility (including financial responsibility) for the 
        possession, stewardship, maintenance, and monitoring of all 
        spent nuclear fuel transferred to the Secretary.''.
    (b) Funding.--Section 302(d) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 
1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(d)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) the provision of grants under section 185(d).''.

SEC. 3. IMMEDIATE CONVEYANCE OF TITLE TO SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL PREVIOUSLY 
              CERTIFIED TO BE IN COMPLIANCE.

    Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Energy shall accept the conveyance of title to all spent 
nuclear fuel with respect to which, before the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has certified that a 
contractor under section 302 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 
(42 U.S.C. 10222) has completed transfer to spent nuclear fuel dry 
casks in compliance with applicable regulations in effect as of the 
date of transfer.
                                 <all>