HF 1820

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 05/02/2013 09:08am

A bill for an act
relating to energy; nuclear energy; specifying recoverable costs; requiring
installation of equipment; prohibiting issuance of a certificate of need for waste
storage for facilities operating for more than 60 years; requiring a report;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b; proposing
coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216B.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [216B.1696] NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; COST RECOVERY.
new text end

new text begin (a) The commission may not allow any of the following costs attributable to the
construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to
be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers until the plant begins operating at a monthly
load capacity factor of at least 85 percent:
new text end

new text begin (1) planning, design, safety, environmental, or engineering studies undertaken prior
to construction; or
new text end

new text begin (2) the costs of obtaining regulatory approval, including permits, licenses, and any
other approval required prior to construction from federal, state, and local authorities.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commission may not allow any of the following costs attributable to the
construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to
be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers:
new text end

new text begin (1) any construction costs exceeding the projected construction cost of the generating
plant and any ancillary facility constructed by the utility to temporarily or permanently
store nuclear waste generated by the plant, as identified in the utility's certificate of need
application submitted under section 216B.243;
new text end

new text begin (2) the costs of insuring the plant against accidents that exceed the cost of insurance
for a fossil fuel plant of equivalent capacity; or
new text end

new text begin (3) contributions from the plant to provide and maintain local fire protection and
emergency services to the plant in case of an accident.
new text end

new text begin (c) Except for regulatory costs of state agencies, no revenues from taxes or fees
imposed by the state of Minnesota may be used to pay for any portion of the preconstruction,
construction, maintenance, or operating costs of a nuclear-powered electric generating
plant, or to assume any financial risk associated with an accidental release of radioactivity
from the generating plant or an ancillary facility constructed by the utility that owns the
generating plant to temporarily or permanently store nuclear waste generated by the plant.
new text end

new text begin (d) A utility may recover from ratepayers costs incurred to research the following
issues regarding future construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant:
new text end

new text begin (1) innovative plant designs and nuclear technologies;
new text end

new text begin (2) improved safety and integrity of back-up fuel systems to operate a plant in the
event that routine electrical service is interrupted;
new text end

new text begin (3) construction and plant design methods to protect a plant against weather-related
or other natural phenomena, including earthquakes, tornadoes and floods;
new text end

new text begin (4) construction and plant design methods and internal security measures to protect a
plant against incidents of terrorism;
new text end

new text begin (5) innovative technologies that reduce the amount or toxicity of radioactive waste
produced by a plant;
new text end

new text begin (6) innovative technologies for storing nuclear waste on site that reduce the risk
of environmental exposure to radiation;
new text end

new text begin (7) improved systems to monitor the release of radioactivity outside the plant;
new text end

new text begin (8) improved emergency preparedness planning to evacuate plant workers and
residents of communities surrounding a plant in the event of an accident;
new text end

new text begin (9) the impacts of financing, constructing, and operating a plant on ratepayers and
the utility; and
new text end

new text begin (10) innovative financing mechanisms that minimize financial risks to ratepayers
and taxpayers.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b, is amended to read:

Subd. 3b.

Nuclear power plant; new construction prohibited; relicensing.

(a) The commission may not issue a certificate of need for the construction of a new
nuclear-powered electric generating plant.

(b) new text begin The commission may not issue a certificate of need for additional storage of
spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear-powered electric generating plant that has operated for
60 years and receives a license extension authorizing it to continue operating.
new text end

new text begin (c) new text end Any certificate of need for additional storage of spent nuclear fuel for a facility
seeking a license extension shall address the impacts of continued operations over the
period for which approval is sought.

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [216B.2442] NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; FILTERED VENTING
SYSTEM.
new text end

new text begin The public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric generating plant in this
state must, by December 31, 2014, install commercially available engineered filtered
containment venting systems at each nuclear-powered electric generating unit in this
state with Mark I or Mark II containments.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin REPORT.
new text end

new text begin (a) By January 1, 2014, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency
Management in the Department of Public Safety shall submit a report to the chairs and
ranking minority members of the senate and house committees with primary jurisdiction
over energy policy and the commissioner of public safety on nuclear emergency planning
that:
new text end

new text begin (1) obtains information from households located outside the ten-mile emergency
planning zone but within a 25-mile or greater radius of a nuclear-powered electric
generating plant as to the level of public awareness regarding the location of evacuation
routes and relocation centers in the event of a nuclear accident, the proportion of this
population likely to evacuate in the event of a nuclear accident, and the routes evacuees
would take;
new text end

new text begin (2) analyzes how the information obtained in clause (1) would affect evacuation
routes and times from the emergency planning zone; and
new text end

new text begin (3) outlines a process to share this information with state and local agencies managing
nuclear emergency preparedness efforts and to ensure that those agencies incorporate this
information into state and local emergency preparedness plans and revise them accordingly.
new text end

new text begin (b) The costs of the report required under this section shall be assessed by the
Department of Public Safety to the public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric
generating plant in this state.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end