Two lawmakers from Vermont are again pressing legislation intended to provide states with more say in the planning for decommissioning of nuclear power plants.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and Rep. Peter Welch (D) filed the Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2018 in their respective chambers on Wednesday. They previously introduced largely identical legislation in the last Congress, Sanders in 2015 and Welch in 2016; neither of those bills made it out of committee.
The bills would amend the 1954 Atomic Energy Act, so that nuclear power plant licensees would be required to consult on a decommissioning plan with the host state and local, tribal, or state governments within 50 miles of the facility. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission would also have to take public comment on the decommissioning plan, and assess and formally accept or dismiss state input on the matter.
Vermont is home to the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, which owner Entergy closed in December 2014. The power company is now seeking state and federal regulatory approval to by the end of this year sell the facility to NorthStar Group Services for decommissioning.
“Vermonters are well aware that decommissioning a nuclear power plant has an enormous economic and environmental impact on states and neighboring communities,” Welch said in a prepared statement. “It is essential that state and local leaders have a seat at the table throughout the decommissioning process. This commonsense legislation ensures the decommissioning process is transparent, inclusive and collaborative so that all interested parties are heard.”
The NRC, which regulates commercial nuclear power and waste activities, requires licensees to submit a post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) within two years of a nuclear power plant’s closure. The document details the anticipated approach, cost, and schedule of decommissioning.
Along with mandating that licensees consulting with local governments in developing the PSDAR, the bills would require the NRC to establish a 90-day public input period allowing for written comments and no fewer than two public hearings on the document. The host state would also have 60 days to file a statement of support, conditional support, or opposition to the PSDAR. All input would be considered in the regulator’s consideration of the decommissioning plan.
Support from the host state would allow the licensee to secure expedited NRC approval for the PSDAR, under the legislation. If not, the host state’s recommendations would be considered for making amendments to the plan.
To be found adequate by the NRC, according to the bill, the decommissioning plan would have to: ensure protection of human health and the environment; have a “substantial likelihood” of being implemented in the schedule laid out by the licensee; be in line with all applicable laws and regulations; and be fully funded by the plant owner. If the PSDAR is determined to be inadequate, the licensee would have to submit a new plan within the two-year time frame.
In order to secure NRC approval, the PSDAR would have to require the licensee to obey all laws on air, water, and soil standards, as well as “radiological standards with respect to the implementation of the proposed PSDAR if the applicable State law is more restrictive than the applicable Federal law.”
As of Thursday, Welch’s bill had three co-sponsors and was referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Sanders also had three co-sponsors for his legislation, which was directed to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
