• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Archives
  • Links

Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Nuclear Provisions of S. 512, Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA)

May 15, 2017 By Rod Adams

The Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), S. 512, is a draft bill reported out of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee on March 22 that directs both the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and U.S. Department of Energy to make significant changes in the way they treat nuclear energy technology development.

While it is not an appropriation and includes no designated funding for the authorized actions, if enacted the measure would significantly affect the way both executive agencies spend resources and manage their responsibilities.

For NRC:

S. 512 amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 that requires the collection of fees from licensees and licensee applicants that cover 90% of its annual budget. Specifically, the bill:

  • Adds activities associated with developing advanced reactor
    regulations to the list of items that are excluded from the fee
    recovery requirements.

  • Repeals the 90% fee recovery requirement in fiscal year 2019
    and replaces it with language that requires a tighter relationship between assessed fees and the services provided to identifiable applicants.

  • Directs the NRC to identify and request budgetary resources, without tying it to fee recovery, for necessary actions that benefit the public, contribute to homeland security, improve international relations and benefit larger segments of the licensee and applicant pool.
  • Caps the annual license fee on operating reactors to the level assessed in 2015, adjusted for inflation.

The measure also directs NRC to act and produce status reports associated with developing a framework for licensing advanced reactors (as defined in the Act). Related actions include:

  • Investments in personnel and training to develop appropriate staff capacity and capability.
  • Staged licensing plan with achievable steps to demonstrate progress towards completion.
  • Increased use of risk-informed, performance based licensing evaluation techniques.
  • Extends related deadlines through 2029

For DOE:

NEIMA directs the department to develop an advanced nuclear energy cost share grant program for NRC pre-application reviews and application review costs with private sector vendors.

It also requires an evacuation report within 90 day of enactment to document lessons learned during spontaneous and direction evacuations in response to 9/11, Superstorm Sandy, Fukushima and other recent natural disasters.

The report must consider results from the state of the art reactor consequences analysis project and the examination of the basis for emergency planning zones for Small Modular Reactors and advanced reactors.


Note: A version of the above first appeared in the March 31, 2017 edition of Fuel Cycle Week. It is republished here with permission.

Filed Under: Atomic politics, Politics of Nuclear Energy

Avatar

About Rod Adams

Rod Adams is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience, now serving as a Managing Partner at Nucleation Capital, an emerging climate-focused fund. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial discussion and analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology and policies for several decades. He is the founder of Atomic Insights and host and producer of The Atomic Show Podcast.

Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarSusanne E. Vandenbosch says

    May 17, 2017 at 10:44 PM

    There is one provision of S.512 that I do not agree with. This provision is capping the annual license fee at 2015 levels adjusting for inflation. Some areas of the country have experienced significant increases in property taxes, other state and local taxes and health insurance costs. If you want to keep existing employees and be able to recruit excellent new employees the licensing agency must have sufficient funds.

    • AvatarRod Adams says

      May 19, 2017 at 8:11 AM

      @Suzanne

      I think most supporters of S. 512 agree that the agency needs to have sufficient funds to operate effectively, including attracting and retaining high quality employees. The burden of covering those costs, however, should be gradually rationalized so that it does not fall entirely on the limited and currently shrinking base of operating plants. That mode of operation results in a death spiral of ever increasing costs for each plant, causing marginal plants to close and even higher increases on the remaining plants.

      The “user fee” model of paying for regulatory services implemented by David Stockman and Ronald Reagan need to be updated to reflect the fact that many of the activities that the NRC does are not related to individual plants or even to the fleet of operating plants.

Primary Sidebar

Search Atomic Insights

Follow Atomic Insights

The Atomic Show

Atomic Insights

Recent Posts

Atomic Show #291 – Kalev Kallemets, Fermi Energia

Preliminary lessons available to be learned from Feb 2021 extended cold spell

South Texas Project Unit 1 tripped at 0537 on Feb 15, 2021

Atomic Show #290 – Myrto Tripathi, Voices of Nuclear

Change is in the wind: Commencing a new phase as a Venture Capitalist

  • Home
  • About Atomic Insights
  • Atomic Show
  • Contact
  • Links

Search Atomic Insights

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Atomic Insights

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy