42 U.S.C. § 16281
The Secretary shall establish and carry out, through the Office of Nuclear Energy, a program to support the availability of HA-LEU for civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use.
In carrying out the program under paragraph (1), the Secretary-
The requirements of section 3112 of the USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h-10), except for the requirements of subparagraph (A) of section 3112(d)(2), shall not apply to the provision of enrichment services, or the sale or transfer of HA-LEU for commercial use by the Secretary to a member of the consortium under this subsection.
HA-LEU made available to members of the consortium established pursuant to paragraph (2)(F) for demonstration projects shall remain the property of and title will remain with the Department, which shall be responsible for the storage, use, and disposition of all radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel created by the irradiation, processing, or purification of such uranium, and shall not be subject to the requirements of a sale or transfer of uranium under sections 3112, except for the requirements of subparagraph (A) of section 3112, and 3113 of the USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h-10; 42 U.S.C. 2297h-11).
The Secretary shall only make available to a member of the consortium under this section for commercial or demonstration project use material that the President has determined is not necessary for national security needs, provided that this available material shall not include any material that the Secretary may determine to be necessary for the National Nuclear Security Administration or other critical Departmental missions.
The Secretary may not make commitments under this section (including cooperative agreements (used in accordance with section 6305 of title 31), purchase agreements, guarantees, leases, service contracts, or any other type of commitment) for the purchase or other acquisition of HA-LEU unless-
The authority of the Secretary to carry out the program under this subsection shall expire on the earlier of-
The Secretary shall not barter or otherwise sell or transfer uranium in any form in exchange for services relating to the final disposition of radioactive waste from uranium that is made available under this subsection.
Not later than 12 months after December 27, 2020, the Commission shall submit to Congress a report that includes-
Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes actions proposed to be carried out by the Secretary under the program described in subsection (a)(1).
In developing the report under this paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with-
The report under this paragraph shall include estimated costs, budgets, and timeframes for all activities carried out under this section.
The report under this paragraph shall evaluate-
Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall, after consulting with relevant entities, including National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, and technology developers, submit to Congress a report identifying any and all options for providing nuclear material, containing isotopes other than the uranium-235 isotope, such as uranium-233 and thorium-232 to be used as fuel for advanced nuclear reactor research, development, demonstration, or commercial application purposes.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out research, development, demonstration, and transportation activities in this section-
In this section:
The term "Commission" means the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The term "demonstration project" has the meaning given such term in section 16279a of this title.
The term "HA-LEU" means high-assay low-enriched uranium.
The term "high-assay low-enriched uranium" means uranium having an assay greater than 5.0 weight percent and less than 20.0 weight percent of the uranium-235 isotope.
The term "high-enriched uranium" means uranium with an assay of 20.0 weight percent or more of the uranium-235 isotope.
42 U.S.C. § 16281
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012, referred to in subsec. (a)(2)(D)(vii), is subtitle F (§3171 et seq.) of title XXXI of div. C of Pub. L. 112-239, 126 Stat. 2211. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 2013 Amendment note set out under section 2011 of this title and Tables.Section 16279a of this title (as added by section 2003), referred to in subsec. (b)(2)(D)(iii), is section 16279a of this title as added by section 2003 of div. Z of Pub. L. 116-260.
CODIFICATIONSection was enacted as part of the Energy Act of 2020, and not as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 which comprises this chapter.
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
DEVELOPMENT, QUALIFICATION, AND LICENSING OF ADVANCED NUCLEAR FUEL CONCEPTS Pub. L. 118-67, div. B, title IV, §404, July 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 1469, provided that: "(a) IN GENERAL.-The [Nuclear Regulatory] Commission shall establish an initiative to enhance preparedness and coordination with respect to the qualification and licensing of advanced nuclear fuel."(b) AGENCY COORDINATION.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [July 9, 2024], the Commission and the Secretary of Energy shall enter into a memorandum of understanding-"(1) to share technical expertise and knowledge through-"(A) enabling the testing and demonstration of accident tolerant fuels for existing commercial nuclear reactors and advanced nuclear reactor fuel concepts to be proposed and funded, in whole or in part, by the private sector;"(B) operating a database to store and share data and knowledge relevant to nuclear science and engineering between Federal agencies and the private sector; "(C) leveraging expertise with respect to safety analysis and research relating to advanced nuclear fuel; and"(D) enabling technical staff to actively observe and learn about technologies, with an emphasis on identification of additional information needed with respect to advanced nuclear fuel; and"(2) to ensure that- "(A) the Department of Energy has sufficient technical expertise to support the timely research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of advanced nuclear fuel;"(B) the Commission has sufficient technical expertise to support the evaluation of applications for licenses, permits, and design certifications and other requests for regulatory approval for advanced nuclear fuel;"(C)(i) the Department of Energy maintains and develops the facilities necessary to enable the timely research, development, demonstration, and commercial application by the civilian nuclear industry of advanced nuclear fuel; and"(ii) the Commission has access to the facilities described in clause (i), as needed; and"(D) the Commission consults, as appropriate, with the modeling and simulation experts at the Office of Nuclear Energy of the Department of Energy, at the National Laboratories, and within industry fuel vendor teams in cooperative agreements with the Department of Energy to leverage physics-based computer modeling and simulation capabilities. "(c) REPORT.-"(1) IN GENERAL.-Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate] a report describing the efforts of the Commission under subsection (a), including-"(A) an assessment of the preparedness of the Commission to review and qualify for use-"(i) accident tolerant fuel;"(ii) ceramic cladding materials; "(iii) fuels containing silicon carbide;"(iv) high-assay, low-enriched uranium fuels;"(v) molten-salt based liquid fuels;"(vi) fuels derived from spent nuclear fuel or depleted uranium; and"(vii) other related fuel concepts, as determined by the Commission;"(B) activities planned or undertaken under the memorandum of understanding described in subsection (b);"(C) an accounting of the areas of research needed with respect to advanced nuclear fuel; and"(D) any other challenges or considerations identified by the Commission. "(2) CONSULTATION.-In developing the report under paragraph (1), the Commission shall seek input from-"(A) the Secretary of Energy;"(B) National Laboratories;"(C) the nuclear energy industry;"(D) technology developers;"(E) nongovernmental organizations; and "(F) other public stakeholders."[For definitions of terms used in section 404 of Pub. L. 118-67 set out above, see section 2 of Pub. L. 118-67 set out as a note under section 2011 of this title.]
RECEIPTS TO BE CREDITED TO AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE FUND Pub. L. 118-42, div. D, title III, §312(a), Mar. 9, 2024, 138 Stat. 210, provided in part: "That notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, receipts from the sale or transfer of LEU and HALEU or from any other transaction in connection with the amounts repurposed, transferred, or otherwise made available pursuant to this section shall hereafter be credited to the 'American Energy Independence Fund' as discretionary offsetting collections and shall be available, for the same purposes as funds repurposed or transferred pursuant to this section, to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts: Provided further, That receipts may hereafter be collected from transactions entered into pursuant to section 2001(a)(2)(F)(iii) of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16281(a)(2)(F)(iii)) and, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, receipts from any transaction entered into pursuant to section 2001(a)(2)(F)(ii) and (iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 16281(a)(2)(F)(ii) and (iii)) shall hereafter be credited to the 'American Energy Independence Fund' as discretionary offsetting collections and shall be available, for the same purposes as funds repurposed or transferred pursuant to this section, to the extent and in the amounts provided in advance in appropriations Acts".
- Consortium
- The term "Consortium" means the High-Performance Green Building Partnership Consortium created in response to section 17092(c)(1) of this title to represent the private sector in a public-private partnership to promote high-performance green buildings and zero-net-energy commercial buildings.
- Secretary
- The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.1See References in Text note below.
- project
- The terms "federally assisted housing" and "project" mean-(A) a public housing project (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)] );(B) housing for which project-based assistance is provided under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f] ;(C) housing that is assisted under section 1701q of title 12;(D) housing that is assisted under section 1701q of title 12, as such section existed before November 28, 1990;(E) housing financed by a loan or mortgage insured under section 1715l(d)(3) of title 12 that bears interest at a rate determined under the proviso of section 1715l(d)(5) of title 12;(F) housing insured, assisted, or held by the Secretary or a State or State agency under section 1715z-1 of title 12;(G) housing constructed or substantially rehabilitated pursuant to assistance provided under section 8(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(b)(2)], as in effect before October 1, 1983, that is assisted under a contract for assistance under such section; and(H) housing that is assisted under section 80131 of this title.