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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 15, 2015
Nuclear Plant Decommissioning Act of 2015
Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to require a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensee, after consulting affected state and local governments, to submit to the NRC a post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) regarding the licensee's shutdown facilities for which a PSDAR is required.
Conditions public availability of the PSDAR upon NRC discretion to redact information necessary to protect the national security.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires the NRC to: (1) solicit public comments on the proposed PSDAR; (2) conduct at least two public hearings within the facility's host state; and (3) invite the host state to file a statement of either support, nonsupport, or of conditional support, including specific recommendations for changes.
Directs the NRC, upon receipt of the state's response, to determine, based upon specified considerations, the adequacy or inadequacy of the proposed PSDAR and to issue a decision accordingly.
Prescribes criteria for determining whether a proposed PSDAR is permissible if the host state files a statement of conditional support.
Requires a licensee to submit a new proposed PSDAR if the first one is rejected.
Conditions NRC approval of a proposed PSDAR upon inclusion in the document of a requirement that the licensee comply with applicable state law relating to air, water, or soil quality or radiological standards if that law is more restrictive than its federal counterpart.
Requires the NRC, in the case of existing decommissioning activities, to notify: (1) each licensee of the opportunity to develop a revised PSDAR for any facility for which a PSDAR has been submitted but for which decontamination and dismantlement activities have either not been commenced, or have been commenced for less than one year; and (2) each state within 50 miles of the facility of the opportunity to consult with the licensee.
People & committees
Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · I–VT
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Sep 8, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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