Sec. 103. Advanced nuclear reactor program

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For the purpose of predictable, efficient, and timely reviews, not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall develop and implement, within the existing regulatory framework, strategies for— establishing stages in the licensing process for commercial advanced nuclear reactors; and developing procedures and processes for— using a licensing project plan; and optional use of a conceptual design assessment. Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall develop and implement, where appropriate, strategies for the increased use of risk-informed, performance-based licensing evaluation techniques and guidance for commercial advanced nuclear reactors within the existing regulatory framework, including evaluation techniques and guidance for the resolution of the following:

Applicable policy issues identified during the course of review by the Commission of a commercial advanced nuclear reactor licensing application. The issues described in SECY–93–092 and SECY–15–077, including— licensing basis event selection and evaluation; source terms; containment performance; and emergency preparedness. For the purpose of predictable, efficient, and timely reviews, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall develop and implement strategies within the existing regulatory framework for licensing research and test reactors, including the issuance of guidance.

Not later than December 31, 2027, the Commission shall complete a rulemaking to establish a technology-inclusive, regulatory framework for optional use by commercial advanced nuclear reactor applicants for new reactor license applications. As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall provide for staff training or the hiring of experts, as necessary— to support the activities described in paragraphs

(1)through (4); and to support preparations— to conduct pre-application interactions; and to review commercial advanced nuclear reactor license applications. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Commission to carry out this subsection $14,420,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report for expediting and establishing stages in the licensing process for commercial advanced nuclear reactors that will allow implementation of the licensing process by not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act (referred to in this subsection as the report ). In developing the report, the Commission shall seek input from the Secretary, the nuclear energy industry, a diverse set of technology developers, and other public stakeholders. The report shall include proposed cost estimates, budgets, and timeframes for implementing strategies to establish stages in the licensing process for commercial advanced nuclear reactor technologies. Consistent with the role of the Commission in protecting public health and safety and common defense and security, the report shall evaluate— the unique aspects of commercial advanced nuclear reactor licensing, including the use of alternative coolants, operation at or near atmospheric pressure, and the use of passive safety strategies; strategies for the qualification of advanced nuclear reactor fuel, including the use of computer modeling and simulation and experimental validation; and for the purposes of predictable, efficient, and timely reviews, any associated legal, regulatory, and policy issues the Commission should address with regard to the licensing of commercial advanced nuclear reactor technologies; options for licensing commercial advanced nuclear reactors under the regulations of the Commission contained in title 10, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), including— the development and use under the regulatory framework of the Commission in effect on the date of enactment of this Act of a licensing project plan that could establish— milestones that— correspond to stages of a licensing process for the specific situation of a commercial advanced nuclear reactor project; and use knowledge of the ability of the Commission to review certain design aspects; and guidelines defining the roles and responsibilities between the Commission and the applicant at the onset of the interaction— to provide the foundation for effective communication and effective project management; and to ensure efficient progress; the use of topical reports, standard design approval, and other appropriate mechanisms as tools to introduce stages into the commercial advanced nuclear reactor licensing process, including how the licensing project plan might structure the use of those mechanisms; collaboration with standards-setting organizations to identify specific technical areas for which new or updated standards are needed and providing assistance if appropriate to ensure the new or updated standards are developed and finalized in a timely fashion; the incorporation of consensus-based codes and standards developed under clause

(iii)into the regulatory framework— to provide predictability for the regulatory processes of the Commission; and to ensure timely completion of specific licensing actions; the development of a process for, and the use of, conceptual design assessments; and identification of any policies and guidance for staff that will be needed to implement clauses

(i)and (ii); options for improving the efficiency, timeliness, and cost-effectiveness of licensing reviews of commercial advanced nuclear reactors, including opportunities to minimize the delays that may result from any necessary amendment or supplement to an application; options for improving the predictability of the commercial advanced nuclear reactor licensing process, including the evaluation of opportunities to improve the process by which application review milestones are established and met; and the extent to which Commission action or modification of policy is needed to implement any part of the report. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report for increasing, where appropriate, the use of risk-informed and performance-based evaluation techniques and regulatory guidance in licensing commercial advanced nuclear reactors within the existing regulatory framework (referred to in this subsection as the report ). In developing the report, the Commission shall seek input from the Secretary, the nuclear energy industry, technology developers, and other public stakeholders. The report shall include proposed cost estimates, budgets, and timeframes for implementing a strategy to increase the use of risk-informed and performance-based evaluation techniques and regulatory guidance in licensing commercial advanced nuclear reactors. Consistent with the role of the Commission in protecting public health and safety and common defense and security, the report shall evaluate— the ability of the Commission to develop and implement, where appropriate, risk-informed and performance-based licensing evaluation techniques and guidance for commercial advanced nuclear reactors within existing regulatory frameworks not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, including policies and guidance for the resolution of— issues relating to— licensing basis event selection and evaluation; use of mechanistic source terms; containment performance; emergency preparedness; and the qualification of advanced nuclear reactor fuel; and other policy issues previously identified; and the extent to which Commission action is needed to implement any part of the report. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report for preparing the licensing process for research and test reactors within the existing regulatory framework (referred to in this subsection as the report ). In developing the report, the Commission shall seek input from the Secretary, the nuclear energy industry, a diverse set of technology developers, and other public stakeholders. The report shall include proposed cost estimates, budgets, and timeframes for preparing the licensing process for research and test reactors. Consistent with the role of the Commission in protecting public health and safety and common defense and security, the report shall evaluate— the unique aspects of research and test reactor licensing and any associated legal, regulatory, and policy issues the Commission should address to prepare the licensing process for research and test reactors; the feasibility of developing guidelines for advanced reactor demonstrations and prototypes to support the review process for advanced reactors designs, including designs that use alternative coolants or alternative fuels, operate at or near atmospheric pressure, and use passive safety strategies; and the extent to which Commission action or modification of policy is needed to implement any part of the report. Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report (referred to in this subsection as the report ) for— completing a rulemaking to establish a technology-inclusive regulatory framework for optional use by applicants in licensing commercial advanced nuclear reactor technologies in new reactor license applications; and ensuring that the Commission has adequate expertise, modeling, and simulation capabilities, or access to those capabilities, to support the evaluation of commercial advanced reactor license applications, including the qualification of advanced nuclear reactor fuel. In developing the report, the Commission shall seek input from the Secretary, the nuclear energy industry, a diverse set of technology developers, and other public stakeholders. The report shall include proposed cost estimates, budgets, and timeframes for developing and implementing a technology-inclusive regulatory framework for licensing commercial advanced nuclear reactor technologies, including completion of a rulemaking. Consistent with the role of the Commission in protecting public health and safety and common defense and security, the report shall evaluate— the ability of the Commission to complete a rulemaking to establish a technology-inclusive regulatory framework for licensing commercial advanced nuclear reactor technologies by December 31, 2027; the extent to which additional legislation, or Commission action or modification of policy, is needed to implement any part of the new regulatory framework; the need for additional Commission expertise, modeling, and simulation capabilities, or access to those capabilities, to support the evaluation of licensing applications for commercial advanced nuclear reactors and research and test reactors, including applications that use alternative coolants or alternative fuels, operate at or near atmospheric pressure, and use passive safety strategies; and the budgets and timeframes for acquiring or accessing the necessary expertise to support the evaluation of license applications for commercial advanced nuclear reactors and research and test reactors.