[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1381 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1381

   To require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider certain 
   criteria in relicensing nuclear facilities, and to provide for an 
 independent assessment of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station 
  by the National Academy of Sciences before any relicensing of that 
                               facility.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 12, 2005

  Mr. Corzine introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to consider certain 
   criteria in relicensing nuclear facilities, and to provide for an 
 independent assessment of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station 
  by the National Academy of Sciences before any relicensing of that 
                               facility.

    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 ``Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating 
Station Relicensing Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, which has 
        been in operation for more than 35 years, is the oldest nuclear 
        facility in the United States;
            (2) as of the date of enactment of this Act, more than 
        3,500,000 people reside within a 50-mile radius of the Station;
            (3) nuclear power facilities have been identified as 
        targets for terrorist attacks;
            (4) it is necessary to assess the safety, performance, and 
        reliability of the oldest operating reactor in the United 
        States; and
            (5) an independent assessment of the Station will help in 
        determining whether the Station can continue to maintain 
        adequate levels of safety.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Nuclear 
        Regulatory Commission.
            (2) Station.--The term ``Station'' means the Oyster Creek 
        Nuclear Generating Station.

SEC. 4. RELICENSING CRITERIA FOR NUCLEAR FACILITIES.

    Section 182 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2232) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``e. In determining whether to approve an application for 
relicensing, the Commission shall evaluate the facility with respect 
to--
            ``(1) the health risks, vulnerability to terrorist attack, 
        evacuation plans, surrounding population increases, ability to 
        store nuclear waste, and safety and security record of the 
        facility; and
            ``(2) the impact of a nuclear accident at the facility.''.

SEC. 5. INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENT OF STATION.

    (a) In General.--The Commission shall not relicense the Station 
until--
            (1) a date that is not earlier than 90 days after the date 
        on which the Commission receives the report described in 
        subsection (b); and
            (2) the Commission has given appropriate consideration to 
        the recommendations in the report.
    (b) Assessment by National Academy of Sciences.--The Commission 
shall enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to 
submit to the Commission a report that includes, with respect to the 
Station--
            (1) an independent assessment of safety performance; and
            (2) recommendations with respect to--
                    (A) whether the Station should be relicensed by the 
                Commission; and
                    (B) conditions for relicensing the Station.
    (c) Inclusions.--In preparing the report under subsection (b), the 
National Academy of Sciences, in accordance with any applicable 
regulations issued by the Commission, shall--
            (1) provide an independent assessment of whether the 
        Station conforms to the design and licensing bases of the 
        Station, including appropriate reviews at the site and 
        corporate offices of the Station;
            (2) provide an independent assessment of the operational 
        safety performance of the Station, including an identification 
        of risk factors, as the National Academy of Sciences determines 
        to be appropriate;
            (3) provide an independent assessment of--
                    (A) the health risks, vulnerability to terrorist 
                attack, evacuation plans, surrounding population 
                increases, ability to store nuclear waste, and safety 
                and security record of the Station; and
                    (B) the impact of a nuclear accident at the 
                Station;
            (4) evaluate the effectiveness of licensee self-
        assessments, corrective actions, and improvement plans at the 
        Station;
            (5) determine any cause of a safety problem at the Station;
            (6) assess the overall performance of the Station; and
            (7) assess, and provide recommendations regarding, the 
        optimal life expectancy of--
                    (A) the Station; and
                    (B) nuclear facilities that are similar in design 
                to the Station, as determined by the National Academy 
                of Sciences.
    (d) Access.--The Chairperson of the Commission shall issue such 
regulations as are necessary to ensure appropriate access to the 
National Academy of Sciences to carry out this section, as determined 
by the Chairperson.
    (e) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Commission shall submit to Congress the report of the 
National Academy of Sciences described in subsection (b).
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