1.This Act may be cited as
the Strengthening Management of
Advanced Recycling Technologies Act of 2008
or the
SMART Act of
2008
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The
term Commission means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
(2)The term private
entity means—
(A)a person, municipality, or electric utility
(as those terms are defined in section 3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C.
796)); and
(B)any legal successor, representative, agent,
or agency of any person or entity described in subsection (a).
(3)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.
3.Cost-share
commercial nuclear licensing program
(a)The Secretary shall offer to enter into 1 or more
cooperative agreements with private entities—
(1)to develop the
required licensing documentation and technical criteria for new recycling
plants, as determined by the Commission by rule;
(2)to conduct design
and engineering work on not less than 1, but not more than 2, recycling
technology designs—
(A)that is
sufficient to develop the designs to a state of design completion; and
(B)to allow for the
development of firm cost estimates with respect to the development of the
recycling technologies; and
(3)to share the cost
of obtaining construction and operating licenses for not more than 2 used fuel
recycling facilities with a maximum individual capacity of 2,500 metric tons
per year and a minimum capacity of not less than 500 metric tons.
(b)Assistance under this section shall be awarded on a
competitive basis.
(c)As a condition of awarding assistance under this section,
the Secretary shall require that Federal funds provided under this section be
matched with equal matching funds from a non-Federal source.
(d)Assistance
under this section shall be awarded only to private entities that propose to
develop recycling facilities that—
(1)do not separate
pure plutonium;
(2)reduce the burden
on geological repositories for ultimate waste disposal;
(3)promote
extraction of additional useful energy from used fuel from recycling or
reuse;
(4)use only fuel
that is produced from reactors that are located in the United States;
and
(5)produce fuel for
civilian nuclear power reactors that are located in the United States.
4.Long-term
contracts for recycling commercial used nuclear fuel
(a)Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary shall offer to
enter into long-term contracts with private entities to recycle commercial used
nuclear fuel.
(b)The
Secretary may enter into a long-term contract under subsection (a) only if the
recycling—
(1)does not separate
pure plutonium;
(2)reduces the
burden on geological repositories for ultimate waste disposal;
(3)promotes
extraction of additional useful energy from used fuel from recycling or
reuse;
(4)uses only fuel
that is produced from reactors that are located in the United States;
and
(5)produces fuel for
civilian nuclear power reactors that are located in the United States.
5.Incentives for
siting of temporary used fuel storage facilities
(a)In
this section:
(1)The
term agreement means a temporary used fuel storage facility
agreement entered into under subsection (e).
(2)The term first used fuel receipt means the
receipt of used fuel by a temporary used fuel storage facility at a site within
the jurisdiction of a unit of local government that is a party to an
agreement.
(3)The term unit of local government means
any borough, city, county, parish, town, township, village, or other general
purpose political subdivision of a State, or association of 2 or more political
subdivisions of a State.
(4)The term used fuel means—
(A)high-level
radioactive waste produced by facilities with which the Secretary has entered
into a long-term contract under section 4; or
(B)used nuclear
fuel.
(b)The
Secretary shall offer to enter into temporary used fuel storage facility
agreements in accordance with this section.
(c)Notice from
units of local government to SecretaryNot later than 180 days
after the date of enactment of this Act, representatives of a unit of local
government may submit to the Secretary written notice that the unit of local
government is willing to have a privately owned and operated temporary used
fuel storage facility located at an identified site within the jurisdiction of
the units of local government.
(d)
(1)The Secretary shall make payments of $1,000,000 each year
to not more than 11 units of local government that have submitted notices under
subsection (c).
(2)If more than 11 notices are received under subsection
(c), the Secretary shall make payments to the first 11 units of local
government, based on the order in which the notices are received.
(3)The
payments shall be made annually for a 3-year period, on the anniversary date of
the filing of the notice under subsection (c).
(e)
(1)On the docketing of an application for a license for a
temporary used fuel storage facility at a site within the jurisdiction of an
unit of local government by the Commission, the Secretary shall offer to enter
into a temporary used fuel storage facility economic impact agreement with the
unit of local government.
(2)An agreement between the Secretary and a unit of local
government under this subsection shall contain such terms and conditions
(including such financial and institutional arrangements) as the Secretary and
the unit of local government determine to be reasonable and appropriate.
(3)An
agreement may be—
(A)amended only with
the mutual consent of the parties to the agreement; and
(B)terminated only
in accordance with paragraph (4).
(4)The
Secretary shall terminate an agreement if the Secretary determines that any
major element of the temporary used fuel storage facility required under the
agreement will not be completed.
(5)Not more than 2 agreements may be in effect at any
time.
(6)
(A)If the Secretary enters into an agreement under this
subsection, the Secretary shall make to the unit of local government and the
State in which the unit of local government is located—
(i)payments
of—
(I)on the date of
entering into the agreement under this subsection, $6,000,000;
(II)during the
period beginning on the date of entering into an agreement and ending on the
date of first used fuel receipt or denial of the license application for a
temporary used fuel storage facility by the Commission, whichever is later,
$10,000,000 for each year; and
(III)during the
period beginning on the date of first used fuel receipt and ending on the date
of closure of the facility, a total of the higher of—
- (aa)$15,000,000 for
each year; or
- (bb)$15,000 per
metric ton of used fuel received at the facility for each year, up to a maximum
of $25,000,000 for each year; and
(ii)a
payment of $20,000,000 on closure of the facility.
(B)Timing of
annual paymentsThe Secretary shall make annual payments under
subparagraph (A)(i)—
(i)in
the case of annual payments described in subparagraph (A)(i)(II), on the
anniversary of the date of the docketing of the license application by the
Commission; and
(ii)in
the case of annual payments described in subparagraph (A)(i)(III), on the date
of the first used fuel receipt and thereafter on the anniversary date of the
first used fuel receipt, in lieu of annual payments described in subparagraph
(A)(i)(II).
(C)Subject to subparagraph (A)(ii), the authority to make
payments under this paragraph terminates on the date of closure of the
facility.
6.Acceptance,
storage, and settlement of claims
(a)The Secretary shall offer to enter into a long-term
contract for the storage of used fuel from civilian nuclear power plants with a
private entity that owns or operates an independent used fuel storage facility
licensed by the Commission that is located within the jurisdiction of a unit of
local government to which payments are made pursuant to section 5(e).
(b)Settlement and
acceptance of used fuel
(1)At the request of a party to a contract under section
302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222(a)), the
Secretary may enter into an agreement for the settlement of all claims against
the Secretary under a contract for failure to dispose of high-level radioactive
waste or used nuclear fuel not later than January 31, 1998.
(2)A settlement agreement described in paragraph
(1)—
(A)shall contain
such terms and conditions (including such financial and institutional
arrangements) as the Secretary and the party to the contract determine to be
reasonable and appropriate; and
(B)may include the
acceptance of used fuel from the party to the contract for storage at a
facility with respect to which the Secretary has a long-term contract under
paragraph (1).
(c)Acceptance of used fuel by the Secretary under
subsection (b) shall constitute transfer of title to the Secretary.
(d)Priority for
acceptance for closed facilitiesIf a request for fuel acceptance
is made under paragraph (2) by a facility that has produced used nuclear fuel
and that is shut down permanently and the facility has been decommissioned, the
Secretary shall provide priority for the acceptance of the fuel produced by the
facility.
(e)Transportation
of used fuel
(1)The Secretary shall provide for the transportation of
used fuel accepted by the Secretary under this subsection.
(2)
(A)The Secretary shall procure all systems and components
necessary to transport used fuel from facilities designated by contract holders
to 1 or more storage facilities under this subsection.
(B)The
Secretary shall—
(i)use
transportation and storage casks that are approved by the Commission in use at
facilities designated by contract holders; and
(ii)compensate the
owner and operator of each facility for the use of the casks.
7.
(a)Section 302(a) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42
U.S.C. 10222(a)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(2)—
(A)by striking
(2) For
and inserting the following:
(2)Fee for
electricity from civilian nuclear power reactors
(A)For
;
and
(B)by adding at the
end the following:
(B)For electricity generated by a civilian nuclear power reactor
and sold on or after the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment of
the Strengthening Management of Advanced
Recycling Technologies Act of 2008, the fee under paragraph (1)
shall be 1 mill per kilowatt-hour.
;
and
(2)in paragraph
(4)—
(A)by designating
the first through fifth sentences as subparagraphs (A) through (E),
respectively; and
(B)by striking
subparagraph (E) (as so designated) and inserting the following:
(E)Effective date
of adjusted feeThe adjusted fee proposed by the Secretary shall
be effective on the date a law is enacted approving the proposed adjustment of
the
Secretary.
.
(b)Establishment
of nuclear waste fundsSection 302 of the Nuclear Waste Policy
Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222) is amended by striking subsection (c) and
inserting the following:
(c)Establishment
of nuclear waste funds
(1)Nuclear Waste
Revolving Fund
(A)There
is established in the Treasury of the United States a separate revolving fund,
to be known as the Nuclear Waste Revolving Fund (referred to in this section as
the Waste Fund
).
(B)Subject
to paragraph (2)(B)(i), the Waste Fund shall consist of—
(i)all interest
realized by the Secretary under subsection (e), which have been and shall be
deposited in the Waste Fund immediately on receipt;
(ii)any
appropriation made to the Waste Fund; and
(iii)any unexpended
balances available on January 7, 1983, for functions or activities necessary or
incident to the disposal of civilian high level radioactive waste or civilian
used nuclear fuel, which shall be transferred to the Waste Fund on the date of
enactment of this subparagraph.
(2)Nuclear Waste
Legacy Fund
(A)There
is established in the Treasury of the United States a separate fund, to be
known as the Nuclear Waste Legacy Fund (referred to in this section as the
Legacy Fund
).
(B)The
Legacy Fund shall consist of—
(i)the amount of the
corpus minus $1 billion which shall be transferred from the Waste Fund on the
date of enactment of this subparagraph;
(ii)fees paid under
subsections (a) and (b); and
(iii)any
appropriations made to the Legacy
Fund.
.
(c)Authorized uses
of nuclear waste fundsSection 302(d) of the Nuclear Waste Policy
Act (42 U.S.C. 10222(d)) is amended in the first sentence—
(1)in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by inserting management of used nuclear fuel
or
after only for purposes of
;
(2)in paragraph (5),
by striking and
after the semicolon at the end;
(3)in paragraph (6),
by striking and 219.
and inserting 141, and 219 and
section 5 of the Strengthening Management of
Advanced Recycling Technologies Act of 2008; and
;
and
(4)by inserting
after paragraph (6) the following:
(7)any costs
associated with storage and recycling of used nuclear fuel incurred pursuant to
sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Strengthening
Management of Advanced Recycling Technologies Act of
2008.
.
(d)Section 302(e) of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982
(42 U.S.C. 10222(e)) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
paragraphs (4) through (6) as paragraphs (6) through (8), respectively;
and
(2)by striking
(e) Administration of
waste fund
and all that follows through the end of
paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
(e)
(1)The Secretary of the Treasury shall maintain the Waste
Fund and the Legacy Fund (referred to in this subsection as the
Funds
).
(2)After consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury,
the Secretary shall report annually to Congress on the financial condition and
operations of the Funds during the preceding fiscal year.
(3)
(A)The
Secretary shall submit the budget of the Funds to the Office of Management and
Budget triennially along with the budget of the Department of Energy submitted
in accordance with chapter 11 of title 31, United States Code.
(B)The
budget of the Funds shall—
(i)contain estimates
made by the Secretary of expenditures from the Funds, and other relevant
financial matters, for the succeeding 3 fiscal years; and
(ii)be included in
the budget for the United States Government.
(4)
(A)
(i)Subject to subsection (d) and any limitations in
appropriations Acts, the Secretary may make expenditures from the Waste Fund
without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation to carry out
this Act.
(ii)Notwithstanding clause (i), the Secretary shall make
expenditures from the Waste Fund to make payments under contracts and
agreements entered into by the Secretary under sections 4(a), 5(e), and 5(f) of
the Strengthening Management of Advanced
Recycling Technologies Act of 2008 without further appropriation
and without fiscal year limitation.
(B)The Secretary may make expenditures from the Legacy Fund,
subject to appropriations, to remain available until expended.
(5)If
the Secretary determines that either of the Funds contains at any time amounts
in excess of current needs, the Secretary may request the Secretary of the
Treasury to invest such amounts, or any portion of such amounts as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate, in obligations of the United
States—
(A)having maturities
determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to be appropriate to the needs of
the Fund; and
(B)bearing interest
at rates determined to be appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury, taking
into consideration the current average market yield on outstanding marketable
obligations of the United States with remaining periods to maturity comparable
to the maturities of those investments, except that the interest rate on the
investments shall not exceed the average interest rate applicable to existing
borrowing.
.
(e)
(1)Section 6 of the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10105) is repealed.
(2)Section 302 of
the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10222) is amended by striking
the section heading and inserting the following: Nuclear Waste
Funds
.
8.For purposes of a
determination by the Commission on whether to grant, amend, or renew any
license under the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) and this Act, the obligation of the
Secretary to develop a repository in accordance with the
Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42
U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) shall provide sufficient and independent grounds for any
further findings by the Commission of reasonable assurances that used nuclear
fuel and high-level radioactive waste would be disposed of safely and in a
timely manner.