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Prohibits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from issuing licenses that would allow interim storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste except at the civilian reactor site where the material was generated or at a federally owned interim storage facility, and bars long-term storage or permanent disposal except at a federally owned repository under existing law. Any NRC license authorizing such off-site interim or nonfederal long-term storage that is in effect on the date of enactment is voided. The bill also includes congressional findings and a nonbinding Sense of Congress that the NRC lacks statutory authority to issue the prohibited licenses, and adopts definitions from the Nuclear Waste Policy Act for key terms. The restriction takes effect on the date the law is enacted and applies directly to NRC licensing actions and currently effective licenses described above.
The bill centralizes federal control over long‑term nuclear waste storage and aims to reduce certain regulatory disputes, but it does so by voiding private licenses and pathways—creating substantial financial losses, legal challenges, potential taxpayer costs, and risks of prolonged on‑site storage for reactor communities.
Residents and local governments near federally owned repository sites would get a single, centralized long‑term storage system under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, reducing local uncertainty about where high‑level waste will be stored.
Communities with operating reactors would not see new away‑from‑reactor private interim storage facilities sited nearby because on‑site storage limits are preserved, maintaining the current pattern of spent fuel management.
Congressional direction to prevent the NRC from issuing disputed licenses aims to resolve legal uncertainty and could reduce some litigation and regulatory confusion over consolidated interim storage.
Owners of private consolidated interim storage facilities and utilities would immediately lose existing licenses and investments, creating large financial losses and likely triggering lawsuits that could impose legal costs and delay overall waste management efforts.
Removing the regulatory path for private interim storage risks delaying removal of spent fuel from reactor sites, which would prolong on‑site storage and associated local safety and environmental concerns for reactor communities and nearby residents.
Prohibiting NRC licenses regardless of ongoing processes could shift costs to taxpayers if the federal government must accelerate funding, build federally owned facilities, or otherwise assume responsibilities previously expected to be borne by private actors or utilities.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Troy E. Nehls · Last progress December 11, 2025