Price-Anderson Reauthorization Act of 2001

107th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 2983

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

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 2, 2001

Mrs. WILSON (for herself, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. NORWOOD, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mr. FOSSELLA, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. BURR of North Carolina, Mr. WELLER, and Mr. WHITFIELD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

A BILL

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 Reauthorization Act of 2001'.

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 `August 1, 2002' 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 b.(1) of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2210(b)(1)) is amended--

(1) in the second proviso of the third sentence--

(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-

(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, 2001'; and

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

`(A) may require the contractor to provide and maintain the 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 amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:

`(3) CONTRACT AMENDMENTS- 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 Reauthorization Act of 2001, to reflect the amount of indemnity for public liability and any applicable financial protection required of the contractor under this subsection.'.

(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) ADJUSTMENT- 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, 2001, 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. PRICE-ANDERSON 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 new paragraph:

`(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 950,000 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 enactment of this Act.

END