Advancing Nuclear Regulatory Oversight Act
This bill requires the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to report to Congress about (1) changes to its regulation of nuclear reactors and materials during the COVID-19 public health emergency, and (2) actions (e.g., the use of risk-informed, performance-based procedures) that may be implemented to enhance the efficiency of oversight and inspection programs.
Additionally, the Government Accountability Office must conduct a review of the commission's office and other facility space requirements and recommend ways to reduce office and facility costs.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6346 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6346
To update oversight and inspection practices of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 9, 2023
Mrs. Lesko introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To update oversight and inspection practices of the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Advancing Nuclear Regulatory
Oversight Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE COVID-19 HEALTH
EMERGENCY.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report on actions taken by the Commission
during the public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health
and Human Services under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID-19.
(b) Contents.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall--
(1) identify any processes, procedures, and other
regulatory policies that the Commission revised or temporarily
suspended during the public health emergency described in
subsection (a);
(2) examine how any revision or temporary suspension of a
process, procedure, or other regulatory policy identified under
paragraph (1) affected the ability of the Commission to license
and regulate the civilian use of radioactive materials in the
United States to protect public health and safety, promote the
common defense and security, and protect the environment;
(3) discuss lessons learned from the matters described in
paragraph (2);
(4) list actions that the Commission has taken or will take
to incorporate into the licensing and oversight activities of
the Commission, without compromising the mission of the
Commission, the lessons described in paragraph (3); and
(5) describe when the actions listed under paragraph (4)
were implemented or may be implemented.
SEC. 3. ADVANCING EFFICIENT, RISK-INFORMED OVERSIGHT AND INSPECTIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Commission shall develop and submit to the appropriate
committees of Congress a report that identifies specific improvements
to the nuclear reactor and materials oversight and inspection programs
carried out pursuant to the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 that the
Commission may implement to maximize the efficiency of such programs
through, where appropriate, the use of risk-informed, performance-based
procedures, expanded incorporation of information technologies, and
staff training.
(b) Stakeholder Input.--In developing the report under subsection
(a), the Commission shall, as appropriate, seek input from--
(1) the Secretary of Energy;
(2) the National Laboratories;
(3) the nuclear energy industry; and
(4) nongovernmental organizations that are related to
nuclear energy.
(c) Contents.--The report submitted under subsection (a) shall--
(1) assess specific elements of oversight and inspections
that may be modified by the use of technology, improved
planning, and continually updated risk-informed, performance-
based assessment, including--
(A) use of travel resources;
(B) planning and preparation for inspections,
including entrance and exit meetings with licensees and
consideration of whether inspection teams need to be
onsite;
(C) document collection and preparation, including
consideration of whether nuclear reactor data are
accessible without onsite visits or requests to the
licensee and that document requests are timely and
within the scope of inspections;
(D) the cross-cutting issues program; and
(E) the scope of event reporting required by
licensees to ensure decisions are risk-informed;
(2) identify and assess measures to improve oversight and
inspections, including--
(A) elimination of areas of duplicative or
otherwise unnecessary activities;
(B) increased use of templates in documenting
inspection results; and
(C) periodic training of Commission staff and
leadership on the application of risk-informed criteria
for--
(i) inspection planning and assessments;
(ii) agency decision making processes on
the application of regulations and guidance;
and
(iii) the application of the Commission's
standard of reasonable assurance of adequate
protection;
(3) assess measures to advance risk-informed procedures,
including--
(A) increased use of inspection approaches that
balance the level of resources commensurate with safety
significance;
(B) increased review of the use of inspection
program resources based on licensee performance;
(C) expansion of modern information technology,
including artificial intelligence and machine learning
to risk inform oversight and inspection decisions; and
(D) updating the Differing Professional Views or
Opinions process to include--
(i) safety significance as a threshold for
entering such process; and
(ii) guidance for issue resolution to
minimize the impact of such process on project
schedules;
(4) assess the ability of the Commission, consistent with
its obligations to provide reasonable assurance of adequate
protection of health and safety pursuant to the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954, to enable licensee innovations that may advance
nuclear reactor operational efficiency and safety, including
the criteria of the Commission for timely acceptance of
licensee adoption of advanced technologies, including digital
technologies;
(5) identify recommendations resulting from the assessments
described in paragraphs (1) through (4);
(6) identify specific actions that the Commission will take
to incorporate into the training, inspection, oversight, and
licensing activities, and regulations of the Commission,
without compromising the mission of the Commission, the
recommendations identified under paragraph (5); and
(7) describe when the actions identified under paragraph
(6) may be implemented.
SEC. 4. OFFICE AND FACILITY SPACE REVIEW.
(a) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall--
(1) review office and other facility space requirements of
the Commission; and
(2) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a
report, with recommendations, on the results of such review.
(b) Contents.--The report described in subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) an examination of--
(A) the costs associated with the headquarters,
regional offices, and technical training center of the
Commission, including examination of--
(i) costs that do not support the
Commission's mission, including rent subsidies
for other Federal agencies; and
(ii) opportunities to reduce future costs
through reduction in unnecessary office space,
consolidation of offices, use of advanced
information technology, or any other
appropriate means; and
(B) current and anticipated office and facility
requirements to efficiently accomplish the mission of
the Commission; and
(2) recommendations to Congress, the Commission, and the
General Services Administration for actions that may assist in
reducing office and facility costs to licensees and taxpayers.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term
``appropriate committees of Congress'' means the Committee on
Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate.
(2) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.
(3) Licensee.--The term ``licensee'' means a person that
holds a license issued under section 103 or section 104 of the
Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2133; 2134).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate and Grid Security.
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