[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5249 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5249
To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to align the licensing of
uranium enrichment facilities with other fuel cycle facilities under
that Act, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 5, 2026
Mr. Kelly (for himself and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and
Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to align the licensing of
uranium enrichment facilities with other fuel cycle facilities under
that Act, 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This Act may be cited as the ``Modernizing Outdated Regulations to
Expand American Fuel Act of 2026'' or the ``MORE American Fuel Act of
2026''.
SEC. 2. LICENSING OF URANIUM ENRICHMENT FACILITIES.
(a) Amendments.--Section 193 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42
U.S.C. 2243) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``construction
and''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``the hearing on''; and
(ii) by striking ``construction and'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking ``The Commission shall
conduct a single adjudicatory hearing on the
record'' and inserting ``In accordance with
section 189 a.(1)(A), the Commission shall
grant a hearing'';
(ii) by striking ``construction and''; and
(iii) by inserting ``on the request of any
person whose interest is affected by the
operation of the uranium enrichment facility
and shall admit that person as a party to the
proceeding'' after ``and 63'';
(B) by striking paragraph (2);
(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph
(2); and
(D) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), in the
paragraph heading, by striking ``Single proceeding''
and inserting ``No further action required'';
(3) in subsection (c), by striking ``construction and'';
and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Pre-License Construction.--Nothing in this section prohibits
the construction of a uranium enrichment facility prior to issuance of
a license authorizing operation of that facility under sections 53 and
63, subject to the conditions that the construction--
``(1) commences after the date on which the Commission
dockets the application;
``(2) complies with all applicable Federal laws and
regulations; and
``(3) is entirely at the risk of the applicant.''.
(b) Notification of Enrichment Construction.--As part of an
application for a license under sections 53 and 63 of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2093) for operation of a uranium
enrichment facility, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (referred to in
this section as the ``Commission'') shall require that an applicant
submit a certification that, not fewer than 15 days before commencing
construction of the uranium enrichment facility pursuant to subsection
(g) of section 193 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 2243), the applicant will
submit a written notification with respect to commencing construction
to--
(1) the Governor of the State in which the uranium
enrichment facility is to be located;
(2) the chief executive and governing body of each unit of
local government in which the facility is to be located; and
(3) the governing body of each Indian Tribe with
jurisdiction over land that would be included in the geographic
area of the emergency plan of the uranium enrichment facility
prepared pursuant to section 70.22(i)(1)(ii) of title 10, Code
of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation), if
applicable.
(c) Regulations Required.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate
regulations to revise part 70 of title 10, Code of Federal
Regulations, as appropriate to reflect the amendments made by
subsection (a).
(2) Pending applications.--With respect to an applicant for
a license under sections 53 and 63 of the Atomic Energy Act of
1954 (42 U.S.C. 2073, 2093) for the operation of a uranium
enrichment facility the application for which was submitted
before the date on which the regulations required under
paragraph (1) take effect, the Commission may grant an
exemption from the requirements of the regulations in effect on
the date on which the application was submitted in accordance
with this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act, or an amendment
made by this Act, limits or otherwise affects the authority of the
Commission to regulate construction as necessary to license and oversee
the operation of a uranium enrichment facility.
(e) Savings Clause.--Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by
this Act--
(1) limits or otherwise affects the authority of the
Commission to deny an application for a license to operate a
uranium enrichment facility because the applicant failed to
construct or operate the uranium enrichment facility in
accordance with applicable regulatory requirements; or
(2) affects judicial review of a final action by the
Commission otherwise available under section 189 of the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2239).
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