Sec. 5. Thorium Storage, Energy, and Industrial Products Corporation
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As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Cooperative Board, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall establish the Thorium Storage, Energy, and Industrial Products Corporation to develop uses and markets for thorium, including energy. The Corporation shall operate under a Federal charter. The Board of Directors of the Corporation shall comprise five members. The initial members of the Corporation Board shall consist of the following members, to be appointed by the Secretary of Defense: one member, who shall represent the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; a J–7 who will represent the Director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; one member, who shall represent United States advocacy groups for commercial development of thorium in nuclear energy systems; one member, who shall represent a national laboratory; and one member, who is the member of the Initial Board of Directors appointed under section 4(b)(1)(A)(v).
Subject to subparagraphs
(A)and (D), subsequent members of the Corporation Board and Executive Committee shall be appointed in accordance with bylaws of the Corporation established under paragraph (2)(B)(i). The initial members appointed under clauses
(iv)and
(v)of subparagraph
(B)shall remain on the Corporation Board and the Executive Committee, until such time as— the members voluntarily resign; in the case of a member appointed under subparagraph (B)(iv), a majority of the members of the Corporation Board votes to remove the member from the Corporation Board; or in the case of a member appointed under subparagraph (B)(v), a majority of the members of the Corporation Board votes to remove the member from the Corporation Board and the Cooperative Board. The Executive Committee for the Corporation shall comprise the initial members of the Corporation Board appointed under clauses
(iv)and
(v)of paragraph (1)(B). The Executive Committee shall— establish the charter, bylaws, rules of governance, and corporate structure for the Corporation; and make formative business decisions with respect to the Corporation. The Corporation may establish one or more entities, to be known as an Industrial Products Corporation for the certification, licensing, insuring, and commercial development of all non-energy uses for thorium (including thorium isotopes and thorium daughter elements), including— alloys; catalysts; medical isotopes; and other products. The entities described in subparagraph
(A)may— develop standards, procedures, and protocols for the approval of commercial and industrial applications for thorium; carry out directly the production and sale of thorium-related non-energy products; and sell or license any production or sales rights to third parties. To develop and commercialize non-energy uses for thorium, the corporation Board may— create, sell, or distribute the equity of an entity described in subparagraph (A); and establish partnerships with Federal agencies, foreign governments, and private entities relating to businesses and activities of the entity. To develop and commercialize thorium energy, the Corporation may sell or distribute equity and establish partnerships with the United States, foreign governments, and private entities— to create capital; to develop intellectual property; to acquire technology; to establish business partnerships and raw material supply chains; to develop commercial thorium energy systems; to develop commercial systems for the reduction of spent fuel; to develop hardened energy systems for the United States military; and to develop process heat technologies systems for coal-to-liquid fuel separation, desalinization, chemical synthesis, and other applications. The Corporation shall— on a preprocessing basis, assume liability for and ownership of all thorium and mineralogically associated or related actinides and decay products contained within the monazite and other rare-earth mineralizations in the possession of the cooperative; separate the thorium from the rare-earth concentrates, take physical possession and safely store all thorium-containing actinide byproducts, with the costs of the storage to be paid by the Corporation from fees charged or revenue from sales of other valuable actinides and decay products, and thus after— develop new markets and uses for thorium; develop energy systems that utilize thorium; and develop, manage, and control national and international energy leasing and distribution platforms related to thorium energy systems. The Corporation shall— in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretary of Energy, be responsible for the safe, long-term storage of all thorium and thorium decay products generated through the Cooperative, consistent with part 192 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act), while taking into account the low relative risks relating to thorium; and develop uses and markets for thorium, including energy, by coordinating and structuring domestic and international investment partnerships for the development of commercial and industrial uses for thorium. The Corporation shall retain an independent auditor to evaluate the extent to which Federal funds, if any, made available to the Corporation for research and development activities have been expended in a manner that is consistent with the purposes of this Act and the charter, bylaws, and rules of governance of the Corporation. The auditor retained under paragraph
(1)shall submit to the Secretary of Defense, the Corporation, and the Comptroller General of the United States an annual report containing the findings and determinations of the auditor. The Comptroller General of the United States shall— review each annual report submitted to the Comptroller General by the auditor under paragraph (2); and submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report containing the comments of the Comptroller General on the accuracy and completeness of the report and any other matters relating to the report that the Comptroller General considers appropriate. Not later than seven years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Corporation shall reimburse the Federal Government for the administrative costs associated with the establishment of its charter.