A House Energy and Commerce Committee panel is set to consider six nuclear power-related bills Tuesday morning, according to the committee’s website.
The Energy Subcommittee will convene at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time to markup bills on topics ranging from uranium enrichment to Nuclear Regulatory Commission pay to nuclear transparency at the Department of Energy.
The bills would amend certain provisions of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, according to an online agenda updated Monday. Here is a rundown of the bills, with links to the texts, to be considered at the amendment session:
The Nuclear REFUEL (Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing) Act would amend a section of the Atomic Energy Act to include “reprocessing spent nuclear fuel in a manner that does not separate plutonium from other transuranic elements.”
The American Enrichment Deployment Act would revise the act “to update the licensing procedures for uranium enrichment facilities to enable the timely, safe deployment of such facilities.”
The Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act allows the NRC to go straight to permit issuance for construction, operation or both, “in the absence of a request for a hearing” by an affected party. Skipping a hearing would also hinge on the commission being satisfied the move would entail “no significant hazards.”
The Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act seeks to “update the role of the [NRC] Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards in the licensing and oversight” of nuclear reactors,” according to the bill’s text.
The NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act would provide the commission with “compensation authority for certain career appointees,” according to bill text.
The Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act is meant to ensure DOE posts on publicly-accessible websites any authorizations of certain nuclear facilities.