HF 2533

as introduced - 82nd Legislature (2001 - 2002) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to energy; authorizing the continued 
  1.3             operation of the Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear 
  1.4             generating plants; requiring a nuclear waste escrow 
  1.5             account; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, sections 
  1.6             116C.77; 116C.771; 116C.774; 116C.779; proposing 
  1.7             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116C.
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116C.77, is 
  1.10  amended to read: 
  1.11     116C.77 [LEGISLATIVE AUTHORIZATION FOR INDEPENDENT SPENT 
  1.12  FUEL STORAGE INSTALLATION AT CONTINUED OPERATION OF THE PRAIRIE 
  1.13  ISLAND AND MONTICELLO NUCLEAR GENERATING PLANTS.] 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [INDEPENDENT FUEL STORAGE INSTALLATION AT 
  1.15  PRAIRIE ISLAND.] The legislature recognizes that: 
  1.16     (1) the Minnesota environmental quality board on May 16, 
  1.17  1991, reviewed and found adequate a final environmental impact 
  1.18  statement ("EIS") on the proposal to construct and operate a dry 
  1.19  cask storage facility for the temporary storage of spent nuclear 
  1.20  fuel from the Prairie Island nuclear generating plant; 
  1.21     (2) the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
  1.22  reviewed and approved a safety analysis report on the facility 
  1.23  and on October 19, 1993, granted a license for the facility; and 
  1.24     (3) the public utilities commission in docket no. 
  1.25  E002/CN-91-91 reviewed the facility and approved a limited 
  1.26  certificate of need approving the use of casks. 
  2.1      The Minnesota legislature in compliance with section 
  2.2   116C.72, hereby ratifies and approves the EIS and the limited 
  2.3   certificate of need and authorizes the use of casks at Prairie 
  2.4   Island in accordance with the terms and conditions of the 
  2.5   certificate of need as modified by Laws 1994, chapter 641, and 
  2.6   without further environmental review under chapter 116D or 
  2.7   further administrative review under section 216B.243.  
  2.8      Subd. 2.  [RELICENSING.] Upon receipt of all federal 
  2.9   permits and approvals necessary to relicense the Prairie Island 
  2.10  and Monticello nuclear generating facilities, no additional 
  2.11  state approvals are needed to allow continued operation of these 
  2.12  facilities under the terms of their federal licenses.  No 
  2.13  environmental review under chapter 116D or administrative review 
  2.14  under section 216B.243 is needed for the federal relicensing of 
  2.15  the Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear generating plants.  In 
  2.16  addition, on-site dry cask storage of high-level spent nuclear 
  2.17  fuel from the Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear generating 
  2.18  plants in an amount sufficient to allow these plants to continue 
  2.19  operating until the end of their federal licenses is authorized, 
  2.20  to the extent on-site dry cask storage of high-level spent 
  2.21  nuclear fuel generated at these facilities is permitted by the 
  2.22  United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 
  2.23     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116C.771, is 
  2.24  amended to read: 
  2.25     116C.771 [ADDITIONAL CASK LIMITATIONS.] 
  2.26     (a) Five casks may be filled and used at Prairie Island on 
  2.27  May 11, 1994.  
  2.28     (b) An additional four casks may be filled and used at 
  2.29  Prairie Island if the environmental quality board determines 
  2.30  that, by December 31, 1996, the public utility operating the 
  2.31  Prairie Island plant has filed a license application with the 
  2.32  United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a spent nuclear 
  2.33  fuel storage facility off of Prairie Island in Goodhue county, 
  2.34  is continuing to make a good faith effort to implement the site, 
  2.35  and has constructed, contracted for construction and operation, 
  2.36  or purchased installed capacity of 100 megawatts of wind power 
  3.1   in addition to wind power under construction or contract on May 
  3.2   11, 1994. 
  3.3      (c)(1) An additional eight casks may be filled and placed 
  3.4   at Prairie Island if the legislature has not revoked the 
  3.5   authorization under clause (2) or the public utility has 
  3.6   satisfied the wind power and biomass mandate requirements in 
  3.7   sections 216B.2423, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (1), 
  3.8   and 216B.2424, subdivision 5, paragraph (a), clause (1), and the 
  3.9   alternative site in Goodhue county is operational or under 
  3.10  construction.  (2) If the site is not under construction or 
  3.11  operational or the wind mandates are not satisfied, the 
  3.12  legislature may revoke the authorization for the additional 
  3.13  eight casks by a law enacted prior to June 1, 1999. 
  3.14     (d) Except as provided under paragraph (e), Dry cask 
  3.15  storage capacity for high-level nuclear waste within the 
  3.16  state may not be increased is permitted beyond the casks 
  3.17  authorized by section 116C.77 paragraphs (a) to (c) or their 
  3.18  equivalent storage capacity in an amount sufficient to allow the 
  3.19  Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear generating plants to 
  3.20  continue operating until the end of their federal licenses to 
  3.21  the extent on-site dry cask storage of high-level spent nuclear 
  3.22  fuel generated at these facilities is permitted by the United 
  3.23  States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 
  3.24     (e) This section does not prohibit a public utility from 
  3.25  applying for or the public utilities commission from granting a 
  3.26  certificate of need for dry cask storage to accommodate the 
  3.27  decommissioning of a nuclear power plant within this state. 
  3.28     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116C.774, is 
  3.29  amended to read: 
  3.30     116C.774 [AUTHORIZATION.] 
  3.31     To the extent that the Radioactive Waste Management Act, 
  3.32  section 116C.72, requires legislative authorization of the 
  3.33  operation of certain facilities, this section expressly 
  3.34  authorizes, without further administrative review, the continued 
  3.35  operation of the Monticello nuclear generating plant and its 
  3.36  spent nuclear fuel pool storage facility and the Prairie Island 
  4.1   nuclear generating plant and its spent nuclear fuel pool and dry 
  4.2   cask storage facility facilities in the event the Monticello and 
  4.3   Prairie Island facilities are relicensed by the United States 
  4.4   Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 
  4.5      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 116C.779, is 
  4.6   amended to read: 
  4.7      116C.779 [FUNDING FOR RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT.] 
  4.8      (a) Subdivision 1.  [APPLICABILITY.] This section applies 
  4.9   only to the first 17 casks filled and placed at the Prairie 
  4.10  Island independent spent fuel storage installation.  
  4.11     Subd. 2.  [RENEWABLE DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT.] The public 
  4.12  utility that operates the Prairie Island nuclear generating 
  4.13  plant must transfer to a renewable development account $500,000 
  4.14  each year for each dry cask containing spent fuel that is 
  4.15  located at the independent spent fuel storage installation at 
  4.16  Prairie Island after January 1, 1999.  The fund transfer must be 
  4.17  made if waste is stored in a cask for any part of a year.  Funds 
  4.18  in the account may be expended only for development of renewable 
  4.19  energy sources.  Preference must be given to development of 
  4.20  renewable energy source projects located within the state. 
  4.21     (b) Expenditures from the account may only be made after 
  4.22  approval by order of the public utilities commission upon a 
  4.23  petition by the public utility. 
  4.24     Sec. 5.  [116C.815] [NUCLEAR WASTE ESCROW ACCOUNT.] 
  4.25     (a) The public utilities commission shall direct persons in 
  4.26  Minnesota that are generating or holding title to high-level 
  4.27  radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel and that are subject to 
  4.28  the fee specified under United States Code, title 42, section 
  4.29  10222, to remit the proceeds of that fee to the commissioner of 
  4.30  commerce.  The commissioner shall place all revenues collected 
  4.31  from this fee into an interest-bearing escrow account.  The 
  4.32  commissioner shall release the funds in the escrow account to 
  4.33  the secretary of the federal Department of Energy upon direction 
  4.34  by a court of competent jurisdiction or upon a showing by the 
  4.35  secretary that a facility for centralized long-term storage or a 
  4.36  federal repository for the permanent disposal of spent nuclear 
  5.1   fuel is operating and currently accepting such material.  The 
  5.2   funds shall only be used to provide centralized long-term 
  5.3   storage, permanent disposal, or transportation to a storage or 
  5.4   disposal facility, including transportation materials and 
  5.5   equipment and related loading, off-loading, and handling 
  5.6   facilities. 
  5.7      (b) Each electric bill submitted to customers of the 
  5.8   persons described in paragraph (a) must contain specific 
  5.9   identification of the portion of the bill used to pay the fee 
  5.10  described in paragraph (a). 
  5.11     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.12     Sections 1 to 4 are effective the day following final 
  5.13  enactment.  Section 5 is effective 90 days after final enactment 
  5.14  to allow persons referenced in section 5, paragraph (a), to 
  5.15  obtain a declaratory judgment from a court of competent 
  5.16  jurisdiction as to their obligations under that section.