Bill Text: MN HF1820 | 2013-2014 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Nuclear energy recoverable costs specified, equipment installation required, and certificate of need for waste issuance storage for facilities operating for more than 60 years prohibited.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-05-13 - Author added Slocum [HF1820 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2013-HF1820-Introduced.html
1.2relating to energy; nuclear energy; specifying recoverable costs; requiring
1.3installation of equipment; prohibiting issuance of a certificate of need for waste
1.4storage for facilities operating for more than 60 years; requiring a report;
1.5amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b; proposing
1.6coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216B.
1.7BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.8 Section 1. [216B.1696] NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; COST RECOVERY.
1.9(a) The commission may not allow any of the following costs attributable to the
1.10construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to
1.11be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers until the plant begins operating at a monthly
1.12load capacity factor of at least 85 percent:
1.13(1) planning, design, safety, environmental, or engineering studies undertaken prior
1.14to construction; or
1.15(2) the costs of obtaining regulatory approval, including permits, licenses, and any
1.16other approval required prior to construction from federal, state, and local authorities.
1.17(b) The commission may not allow any of the following costs attributable to the
1.18construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to
1.19be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers:
1.20(1) any construction costs exceeding the projected construction cost of the generating
1.21plant and any ancillary facility constructed by the utility to temporarily or permanently
1.22store nuclear waste generated by the plant, as identified in the utility's certificate of need
1.23application submitted under section 216B.243;
1.24(2) the costs of insuring the plant against accidents that exceed the cost of insurance
1.25for a fossil fuel plant of equivalent capacity; or
2.1(3) contributions from the plant to provide and maintain local fire protection and
2.2emergency services to the plant in case of an accident.
2.3(c) Except for regulatory costs of state agencies, no revenues from taxes or fees
2.4imposed by the state of Minnesota may be used to pay for any portion of the preconstruction,
2.5construction, maintenance, or operating costs of a nuclear-powered electric generating
2.6plant, or to assume any financial risk associated with an accidental release of radioactivity
2.7from the generating plant or an ancillary facility constructed by the utility that owns the
2.8generating plant to temporarily or permanently store nuclear waste generated by the plant.
2.9(d) A utility may recover from ratepayers costs incurred to research the following
2.10issues regarding future construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant:
2.11(1) innovative plant designs and nuclear technologies;
2.12(2) improved safety and integrity of back-up fuel systems to operate a plant in the
2.13event that routine electrical service is interrupted;
2.14(3) construction and plant design methods to protect a plant against weather-related
2.15or other natural phenomena, including earthquakes, tornadoes and floods;
2.16(4) construction and plant design methods and internal security measures to protect a
2.17plant against incidents of terrorism;
2.18(5) innovative technologies that reduce the amount or toxicity of radioactive waste
2.19produced by a plant;
2.20(6) innovative technologies for storing nuclear waste on site that reduce the risk
2.21of environmental exposure to radiation;
2.22(7) improved systems to monitor the release of radioactivity outside the plant;
2.23(8) improved emergency preparedness planning to evacuate plant workers and
2.24residents of communities surrounding a plant in the event of an accident;
2.25(9) the impacts of financing, constructing, and operating a plant on ratepayers and
2.26the utility; and
2.27(10) innovative financing mechanisms that minimize financial risks to ratepayers
2.28and taxpayers.
2.29EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
2.30 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b, is amended to read:
2.31 Subd. 3b. Nuclear power plant; new construction prohibited; relicensing.
2.32(a) The commission may not issue a certificate of need for the construction of a new
2.33nuclear-powered electric generating plant.
3.1(b) The commission may not issue a certificate of need for additional storage of
3.2spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear-powered electric generating plant that has operated for
3.360 years and receives a license extension authorizing it to continue operating.
3.4(c) Any certificate of need for additional storage of spent nuclear fuel for a facility
3.5seeking a license extension shall address the impacts of continued operations over the
3.6period for which approval is sought.
3.7EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
3.8 Sec. 3. [216B.2442] NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; FILTERED VENTING
3.9SYSTEM.
3.10The public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric generating plant in this
3.11state must, by December 31, 2014, install commercially available engineered filtered
3.12containment venting systems at each nuclear-powered electric generating unit in this
3.13state with Mark I or Mark II containments.
3.14EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
3.15 Sec. 4. REPORT.
3.16(a) By January 1, 2014, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
3.17Management in the Department of Public Safety shall submit a report to the chairs and
3.18ranking minority members of the senate and house committees with primary jurisdiction
3.19over energy policy and the commissioner of public safety on nuclear emergency planning
3.20that:
3.21(1) obtains information from households located outside the ten-mile emergency
3.22planning zone but within a 25-mile or greater radius of a nuclear-powered electric
3.23generating plant as to the level of public awareness regarding the location of evacuation
3.24routes and relocation centers in the event of a nuclear accident, the proportion of this
3.25population likely to evacuate in the event of a nuclear accident, and the routes evacuees
3.26would take;
3.27(2) analyzes how the information obtained in clause (1) would affect evacuation
3.28routes and times from the emergency planning zone; and
3.29(3) outlines a process to share this information with state and local agencies managing
3.30nuclear emergency preparedness efforts and to ensure that those agencies incorporate this
3.31information into state and local emergency preparedness plans and revise them accordingly.
4.1(b) The costs of the report required under this section shall be assessed by the
4.2Department of Public Safety to the public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric
4.3generating plant in this state.
4.4EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
1.3installation of equipment; prohibiting issuance of a certificate of need for waste
1.4storage for facilities operating for more than 60 years; requiring a report;
1.5amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b; proposing
1.6coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216B.
1.7BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.8 Section 1. [216B.1696] NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; COST RECOVERY.
1.9(a) The commission may not allow any of the following costs attributable to the
1.10construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to
1.11be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers until the plant begins operating at a monthly
1.12load capacity factor of at least 85 percent:
1.13(1) planning, design, safety, environmental, or engineering studies undertaken prior
1.14to construction; or
1.15(2) the costs of obtaining regulatory approval, including permits, licenses, and any
1.16other approval required prior to construction from federal, state, and local authorities.
1.17(b) The commission may not allow any of the following costs attributable to the
1.18construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to
1.19be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers:
1.20(1) any construction costs exceeding the projected construction cost of the generating
1.21plant and any ancillary facility constructed by the utility to temporarily or permanently
1.22store nuclear waste generated by the plant, as identified in the utility's certificate of need
1.23application submitted under section 216B.243;
1.24(2) the costs of insuring the plant against accidents that exceed the cost of insurance
1.25for a fossil fuel plant of equivalent capacity; or
2.1(3) contributions from the plant to provide and maintain local fire protection and
2.2emergency services to the plant in case of an accident.
2.3(c) Except for regulatory costs of state agencies, no revenues from taxes or fees
2.4imposed by the state of Minnesota may be used to pay for any portion of the preconstruction,
2.5construction, maintenance, or operating costs of a nuclear-powered electric generating
2.6plant, or to assume any financial risk associated with an accidental release of radioactivity
2.7from the generating plant or an ancillary facility constructed by the utility that owns the
2.8generating plant to temporarily or permanently store nuclear waste generated by the plant.
2.9(d) A utility may recover from ratepayers costs incurred to research the following
2.10issues regarding future construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant:
2.11(1) innovative plant designs and nuclear technologies;
2.12(2) improved safety and integrity of back-up fuel systems to operate a plant in the
2.13event that routine electrical service is interrupted;
2.14(3) construction and plant design methods to protect a plant against weather-related
2.15or other natural phenomena, including earthquakes, tornadoes and floods;
2.16(4) construction and plant design methods and internal security measures to protect a
2.17plant against incidents of terrorism;
2.18(5) innovative technologies that reduce the amount or toxicity of radioactive waste
2.19produced by a plant;
2.20(6) innovative technologies for storing nuclear waste on site that reduce the risk
2.21of environmental exposure to radiation;
2.22(7) improved systems to monitor the release of radioactivity outside the plant;
2.23(8) improved emergency preparedness planning to evacuate plant workers and
2.24residents of communities surrounding a plant in the event of an accident;
2.25(9) the impacts of financing, constructing, and operating a plant on ratepayers and
2.26the utility; and
2.27(10) innovative financing mechanisms that minimize financial risks to ratepayers
2.28and taxpayers.
2.29EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
2.30 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b, is amended to read:
2.31 Subd. 3b. Nuclear power plant; new construction prohibited; relicensing.
2.32(a) The commission may not issue a certificate of need for the construction of a new
2.33nuclear-powered electric generating plant.
3.1(b) The commission may not issue a certificate of need for additional storage of
3.2spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear-powered electric generating plant that has operated for
3.360 years and receives a license extension authorizing it to continue operating.
3.4(c) Any certificate of need for additional storage of spent nuclear fuel for a facility
3.5seeking a license extension shall address the impacts of continued operations over the
3.6period for which approval is sought.
3.7EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
3.8 Sec. 3. [216B.2442] NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; FILTERED VENTING
3.9SYSTEM.
3.10The public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric generating plant in this
3.11state must, by December 31, 2014, install commercially available engineered filtered
3.12containment venting systems at each nuclear-powered electric generating unit in this
3.13state with Mark I or Mark II containments.
3.14EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
3.15 Sec. 4. REPORT.
3.16(a) By January 1, 2014, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
3.17Management in the Department of Public Safety shall submit a report to the chairs and
3.18ranking minority members of the senate and house committees with primary jurisdiction
3.19over energy policy and the commissioner of public safety on nuclear emergency planning
3.20that:
3.21(1) obtains information from households located outside the ten-mile emergency
3.22planning zone but within a 25-mile or greater radius of a nuclear-powered electric
3.23generating plant as to the level of public awareness regarding the location of evacuation
3.24routes and relocation centers in the event of a nuclear accident, the proportion of this
3.25population likely to evacuate in the event of a nuclear accident, and the routes evacuees
3.26would take;
3.27(2) analyzes how the information obtained in clause (1) would affect evacuation
3.28routes and times from the emergency planning zone; and
3.29(3) outlines a process to share this information with state and local agencies managing
3.30nuclear emergency preparedness efforts and to ensure that those agencies incorporate this
3.31information into state and local emergency preparedness plans and revise them accordingly.
4.1(b) The costs of the report required under this section shall be assessed by the
4.2Department of Public Safety to the public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric
4.3generating plant in this state.
4.4EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.
