1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to energy; nuclear energy; specifying recoverable costs; requiring 
1.3 	installation of equipment; prohibiting issuance of a certificate of need for waste 
1.4 	storage for facilities operating for more than 60 years; requiring a report;
1.5 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 216B.243, subdivision 3b; proposing 
1.6 	coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 216B.
1.7 	BE 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 
1.10 	construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to 
1.11 	be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers until the plant begins operating at a monthly 
1.12 	load capacity factor of at least 85 percent:
1.13 	(1) planning, design, safety, environmental, or engineering studies undertaken prior 
1.14 	to construction; or
1.15 	(2) the costs of obtaining regulatory approval, including permits, licenses, and any 
1.16 	other 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 
1.18 	construction of a nuclear-powered electric generating plant begun after July 1, 2010, to 
1.19 	be recovered from Minnesota ratepayers:
1.20 	(1) any construction costs exceeding the projected construction cost of the generating 
1.21 	plant and any ancillary facility constructed by the utility to temporarily or permanently 
1.22 	store nuclear waste generated by the plant, as identified in the utility's certificate of need 
1.23 	application submitted under section 216B.243;
1.24 	(2) the costs of insuring the plant against accidents that exceed the cost of insurance 
1.25 	for a fossil fuel plant of equivalent capacity; or
2.1 	(3) contributions from the plant to provide and maintain local fire protection and 
2.2 	emergency 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 
2.4 	imposed by the state of Minnesota may be used to pay for any portion of the preconstruction, 
2.5 	construction, maintenance, or operating costs of a nuclear-powered electric generating 
2.6 	plant, or to assume any financial risk associated with an accidental release of radioactivity 
2.7 	from the generating plant or an ancillary facility constructed by the utility that owns the 
2.8 	generating 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 
2.10 	issues 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 
2.13 	event that routine electrical service is interrupted;
2.14 	(3) construction and plant design methods to protect a plant against weather-related 
2.15 	or other natural phenomena, including earthquakes, tornadoes and floods;
2.16 	(4) construction and plant design methods and internal security measures to protect a 
2.17 	plant against incidents of terrorism;
2.18 	(5) innovative technologies that reduce the amount or toxicity of radioactive waste 
2.19 	produced by a plant;
2.20 	(6) innovative technologies for storing nuclear waste on site that reduce the risk 
2.21 	of 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 
2.24 	residents 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 
2.26 	the utility; and
2.27 	(10) innovative financing mechanisms that minimize financial risks to ratepayers 
2.28 	and taxpayers.

2.29 	EFFECTIVE 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 
2.33 	nuclear-powered electric generating plant.
3.1 	(b) The commission may not issue a certificate of need for additional storage of 
3.2 	spent nuclear fuel from a nuclear-powered electric generating plant that has operated for 
3.3 	60 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 
3.5 	seeking a license extension shall address the impacts of continued operations over the 
3.6 	period for which approval is sought.

3.7 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

3.8 	Sec. 3. [216B.2442] NUCLEAR POWER PLANT; FILTERED VENTING 
3.9 	SYSTEM.
3.10 	The public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric generating plant in this 
3.11 	state must, by December 31, 2014, install commercially available engineered filtered 
3.12 	containment venting systems at each nuclear-powered electric generating unit in this 
3.13 	state with Mark I or Mark II containments.

3.14 	EFFECTIVE 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 
3.17 	Management in the Department of Public Safety shall submit a report to the chairs and 
3.18 	ranking minority members of the senate and house committees with primary jurisdiction 
3.19 	over energy policy and the commissioner of public safety on nuclear emergency planning 
3.20 	that:
3.21 	(1) obtains information from households located outside the ten-mile emergency 
3.22 	planning zone but within a 25-mile or greater radius of a nuclear-powered electric 
3.23 	generating plant as to the level of public awareness regarding the location of evacuation 
3.24 	routes and relocation centers in the event of a nuclear accident, the proportion of this 
3.25 	population likely to evacuate in the event of a nuclear accident, and the routes evacuees 
3.26 	would take;
3.27 	(2) analyzes how the information obtained in clause (1) would affect evacuation 
3.28 	routes and times from the emergency planning zone; and
3.29 	(3) outlines a process to share this information with state and local agencies managing 
3.30 	nuclear emergency preparedness efforts and to ensure that those agencies incorporate this 
3.31 	information 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 
4.2 	Department of Public Safety to the public utility that owns a nuclear-powered electric 
4.3 	generating plant in this state.

4.4 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.