To extend indemnification authority under section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, and for other purposes.

January 8, 2003

Mrs. WILSON of New Mexico (for herself, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BURR, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. NORWOOD, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. WAMP, and Mr. WHITFIELD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

To extend indemnification authority under section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 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 `Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF INDEMNIFICATION AUTHORITY.

(a) INDEMNIFICATION OF NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION LICENSEES- Section 170 c. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(c)) is amended--

(1) in the subsection heading, by striking `LICENSES' and inserting `LICENSEES'; and

(2) by striking `August 1, 2002' each place it appears and inserting `August 1, 2017'.

(b) INDEMNIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CONTRACTORS- Section 170 d.(1)(A) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)(1)(A)) is amended by striking `December 31, 2004' and inserting `August 1, 2017'.

(c) INDEMNIFICATION OF NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS- Section 170 k. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(k)) is amended by striking `August 1, 2002' each place it appears and inserting `August 1, 2017'.

SEC. 3. MAXIMUM ASSESSMENT.

Section 170 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210) is amended--

(1) in the second proviso of the third sentence of subsection b.(1)--

(A) by striking `$63,000,000' and inserting `$94,000,000'; and

(B) by striking `$10,000,000 in any 1 year' and inserting `$15,000,000 in any 1 year (subject to adjustment for inflation under subsection t.)'; and

(2) in subsection t.(1)--

(A) by inserting `total and annual' after `amount of the maximum';

(B) by striking `the date of the enactment of the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988' and inserting `July 1, 2002'; and

(C) by striking `such date of enactment' and inserting `July 1, 2002'.

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY LIABILITY LIMIT.

(a) INDEMNIFICATION OF DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY CONTRACTORS- Section 170 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

`(2) In an agreement of indemnification entered into under paragraph (1), the Secretary--

`(A) may require the contractor to provide and maintain financial protection of such a type and in such amounts as the Secretary shall determine to be appropriate to cover public liability arising out of or in connection with the contractual activity; and

`(B) shall indemnify the persons indemnified against such liability above the amount of the financial protection required, in the amount of $10,000,000,000 (subject to adjustment for inflation under subsection t.), in the aggregate, for all persons indemnified in connection with the contract and for each nuclear incident, including such legal costs of the contractor as are approved by the Secretary.'.

(b) CONTRACT AMENDMENTS- Section 170 d. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)) is further amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:

`(3) All agreements of indemnification under which the Department of Energy (or its predecessor agencies) may be required to indemnify any person under this section shall be deemed to be amended, on the date of enactment of the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2003, to reflect the amount of indemnity for public liability and any applicable financial protection required of the contractor under this subsection.'.

(c) LIABILITY LIMIT- Section 170 e.(1)(B) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(e)(1)(B)) is amended--

(1) by striking `the maximum amount of financial protection required under subsection b. or'; and

(2) by striking `paragraph (3) of subsection d., whichever amount is more' and inserting `paragraph (2) of subsection d.'.

SEC. 5. INCIDENTS OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

(a) AMOUNT OF INDEMNIFICATION- Section 170 d.(5) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(d)(5)) is amended by striking `$100,000,000' and inserting `$500,000,000'.

(b) LIABILITY LIMIT- Section 170 e.(4) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(e)(4)) is amended by striking `$100,000,000' and inserting `$500,000,000'.

SEC. 6. REPORTS.

Section 170 p. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(p)) is amended by striking `August 1, 1998' and inserting `August 1, 2013'.

SEC. 7. INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.

Section 170 t. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(t)) is amended--

(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph (3); and

(2) by adding after paragraph (1) the following:

`(2) The Secretary shall adjust the amount of indemnification provided under an agreement of indemnification under subsection d. not less than once during each 5-year period following July 1, 2002, in accordance with the aggregate percentage change in the Consumer Price Index since--

`(A) that date, in the case of the first adjustment under this paragraph; or

`(B) the previous adjustment under this paragraph.'.

SEC. 8. TREATMENT OF MODULAR REACTORS.

Section 170 b. of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(5)(A) For purposes of this section only, the Commission shall consider a combination of facilities described in subparagraph (B) to be a single facility having a rated capacity of 100,000 electrical kilowatts or more.

`(B) A combination of facilities referred to in subparagraph (A) is 2 or more facilities located at a single site, each of which has a rated capacity of 100,000 electrical kilowatts or more but not more than 300,000 electrical kilowatts, with a combined rated capacity of not more than 1,300,000 electrical kilowatts.'.

SEC. 9. APPLICABILITY.

The amendments made by sections 3, 4, and 5 do not apply to a nuclear incident that occurs before the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 10. CIVIL PENALTIES.

(a) REPEAL OF AUTOMATIC REMISSION- Section 234A b.(2) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2282a(b)(2)) is amended by striking the last sentence.

(b) LIMITATION FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS- Subsection d. of section 234A of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2282a(d)) is amended to read as follows:

`d.(1) Notwithstanding subsection a., in the case of any not-for-profit contractor, subcontractor, or supplier, the total amount of civil penalties paid under subsection a. may not exceed the total amount of fees paid within any one-year period (as determined by the Secretary) under the contract under which the violation occurs.

`(2) For purposes of this section, the term `not-for-profit' means that no part of the net earnings of the contractor, subcontractor, or supplier inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any natural person or for-profit artificial person.'.

(c) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this section shall not apply to any violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 occurring under a contract entered into before the date of enactment of this section.

END