Sponsors (4)
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Creates new federal rules and processes for how nuclear power plants are decommissioned, strengthens state, Tribal, and public consultation, and sets deadlines for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) review and decisions. It also creates grant programs and dedicated funds to help host communities, supports community advisory boards, funds local governments that contain stranded spent fuel, and requires licensees to set aside host community recovery accounts funded from decommissioning trust balances. Imposes new consultation, disclosure, and certification requirements on licensees and transferees, directs NRC and DOE to stand up grant programs with specific timelines and funding authorities, and changes trust-account rules to reserve a portion of decommissioning funds for local economic recovery and community assistance.
The bill greatly increases local transparency, state influence, and federal support for communities affected by nuclear decommissioning—providing advisory boards, grants, and payments—at the cost of higher federal and private-sector expenditures, new regulatory burdens and delays, potential uneven distributions, and some governance and security trade-offs.
Residents in host and nearby States (including local governments, homeowners, and tribal communities) gain stronger transparency and formal opportunities for public input because the NRC must post PSDARs, solicit at least 90 days of comments, and hold public meetings, and must formally consider host State positions.
State governments and nearby residents can obtain stronger local environmental and health protections because host States may impose more protective air, water, soil, or radiological standards that the NRC must consider.
Small, rural, and disadvantaged host communities (including indigenous communities) will get funded Community Advisory Boards with a dedicated fund and near-term appropriations so communities can hire experts, improve technical oversight, and better understand decommissioning risks.
Residents, taxpayers, and licensees could face years-long delays in decommissioning because new consultations, assessments, revision cycles, and potential legal challenges add procedural steps that slow PSDAR approval and project start times.
Licensees and ultimately electricity customers and taxpayers may face higher costs because the bill mandates new fees/payments (e.g., $500,000 per plant), requires diversion of at least 2% of decommissioning trusts into new accounts, and increases compliance costs from stronger State standards.
Federal taxpayers will bear substantial new spending (100% grants, recurring $15/kg payments, multi-year authorizations, and a funded advisory board program), increasing federal outlays over multiple fiscal years.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Peter Welch · Last progress December 11, 2025