[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3060 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3060
To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for thorium fuel
cycle nuclear power generation.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 3, 2010
Mr. Hatch (for himself and Mr. Reid) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for thorium fuel
cycle nuclear power generation.
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 ``Thorium Energy Security Act of
2010''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the United States and foreign countries will continue
to demand increasing quantities of energy into the foreseeable
future in order to support economic growth;
(2) nuclear power provides energy without generating
significant quantities of greenhouse gases;
(3) the growth of nuclear power in the United States and
many foreign countries has faced barriers from concerns related
to--
(A) the proliferation of weapons-useable material;
and
(B) the proper disposal of spent nuclear fuel;
(4) nuclear power plants operating on an advanced thorium
fuel cycle to generate nuclear energy--
(A) would not produce weapons-useable material in
spent fuel; and
(B) would produce less long-term waste as compared
to other nuclear power plants;
(5) thorium fuel cycle technology was originally developed
and proven in the United States;
(6) the United States possesses significant domestic
quantities of thorium in accessible high-grade deposits;
(7) cutting-edge research relating to thorium fuel cycle
technology continues to be carried out by entities in the
United States; and
(8) it is in the national security and foreign policy
interest of the United States that foreign countries seeking to
establish or expand generation and use of nuclear power should
be provided--
(A) access to advanced thorium fuel cycle
technology;
(B) incentives to explore the thorium-based fuel
cycle as a means to reduce the risk of nuclear
proliferation; and
(C) access to a secure domestic supply of thorium.
SEC. 3. THORIUM FUEL CYCLE NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION.
(a) In General.--Chapter 19 of title I of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2015 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 244
the following:
``SEC. 251. THORIUM FUEL CYCLE NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Chairman.--The term `Chairman' means the Chairman of
the Commission.
``(2) Department.--The term `Department' means the
Department of Energy.
``(3) Office.--The term `Office' means an office
established under subsection (b)(1).
``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Energy.
``(b) Offices for Research and Regulation of Thorium Fuel Cycle
Nuclear Power Generation.--The Secretary, in consultation with the
Chairman, shall establish and provide funds to--
``(1) an office for the regulation of thorium fuel cycle
nuclear power generation within the Commission; and
``(2) an office of thorium-based fuel cycle research within
the Department.
``(c) Regulations.--
``(1) Fuel.--Not later than December 31, 2011, the
Chairman, in consultation with industry and nonindustry
experts, shall establish standards for the manufacture,
testing, use, and management of spent thorium-based nuclear
fuel.
``(2) Power generation.--Not later than December 31, 2012,
the Chairman, in cooperation with the Secretary, shall
promulgate regulations for facilities and materials used in
thorium-based fuel cycle power generation.
``(d) Demonstration Projects.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with
industry experts, nonindustry experts, and National
Laboratories, shall carry out demonstration projects for
thorium-based nuclear power generation.
``(2) Administration.--In preparing for and selecting
demonstration projects, the Secretary shall consult with
reactor designers, utilities, engineering, and manufacturing
firms to--
``(A) determine the optimum use of thorium in
different reactor types;
``(B) prioritize thorium-based fuel cycle options
that take advantage of existing nuclear power
infrastructure and could be deployed in support of
light water reactors like reactors used in the United
States in the near term;
``(C) license the manufacture of thorium-based
fuels;
``(D) qualify and license thorium-based fuel for
use in commercial reactors; and
``(E) develop and maintain databases necessary for
United States industry and regulators to safely license
and use advanced fuels.
``(e) International Partnerships and Incentives.--Not later than
December 31, 2011, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report
providing recommendations with respect to methods of--
``(1) strengthening international partnerships to advance
nuclear nonproliferation through the design and deployment of
thorium fuel cycle nuclear power generation; and
``(2) providing incentives to nuclear reactor operators to
use proliferation-resistant, low-waste thorium fuels in lieu of
other fuels.
``(f) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this section and annually thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation
with the Chairman, shall submit to Congress a report describing, with
respect to the preceding calendar year--
``(1) progress made in implementing this section; and
``(2) activities carried out by the Department and
Commission pursuant to this section.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $250,000,000
for the period of fiscal years 2011 through 2016.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Section 11 f. of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(f)) is amended by striking ``Atomic Energy
Commission'' and inserting ``Nuclear Regulatory Commission''.
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