ML23213A226
| ML23213A226 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/01/2023 |
| From: | Stewart Schneider Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards |
| To: | |
| References | |
| RIN 3150-AL02, NRC-2023-0130 | |
| Download: ML23213A226 (2) | |
Text
Congressional Review Act Summary AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission TITLE OF ACTION: Increase in the Primary Nuclear Liability Insurance Premium TYPE OF ACTION Final Rule LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE: Non-Major AGENCY IDENTIFICATION: 3150 RIN AND/OR DOCKET ID: NRC-2023-0130 DATE OF ISSUANCE: December 2023 STATUTORY OR JUDICIAL DEADLINE: The Price Anderson Act of 1988 (Pub. L. 100-408);
Due December 31, 2023 DESCRIPTION OF ACTION:
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to amend its regulations that govern financial protection requirements and indemnity agreements to increase the primary financial protection from $450 million to $500 million for liability insurance coverage in the event of nuclear incidents at licensed, operating, commercial nuclear power plants with a rated capacity of 100,000 electrical kilowatts (kWs), or more. Section 140.11(a)(4) of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) specifies the amount of financial protection required of a licensee for a nuclear reactor that is licensed to operate, is designed for the production of electrical energy, and has a rated capacity of 100,000 electrical kWs or more.
Operators of nuclear power plants are first required to maintain primary financial protection equal to the maximum amount of liability insurance available from private sources at reasonable cost and on reasonable terms. Currently, all commercial nuclear power plant operators satisfy their primary financial protection requirement with insurance policies issued by American Nuclear Insurers1 (ANI). At present, those policies provide a liability limit of $450 million per site, for which the operators pays an undisclosed fraction of this amount in premiums.
As required by the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988, ANI, on a periodic basis, assesses current insurance levels to ensure that adequate financial protection is available, and adjusts insurance levels as required. The proposed amendment is occurring now because ANI has an additional $50 million dollars in their insurance pool to cover the liability due to an offsite nuclear incident. To maintain compliance with the ANI triggered adjustment, the Commission is revising 10 CFR 140.11(a)(4). The final rule is scheduled to be published by December 1, 2023, 1
ANI is a voluntary, unincorporated joint underwriting association of insurance companies that pool financial capacity to provide insurance for public liability, as defined in the Price-Anderson Act, relating to non-governmental nuclear facilities. ANI insures all currently operating commercial nuclear power reactors and commercial nuclear fuel fabricating facilities in the United States, shut down nuclear power reactors undergoing decommissioning and fully decommissioned nuclear power reactor sites where fuel remains stored onsite.
Last Updated: 08/31/2023
with the rule becoming effective 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. There are no NRC-imposed costs to licensees. Furthermore, it is not a major action that will result in:
(A) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; or (B) a major increase in cost or price for consumers, individual industries, or geographical regions; or (C) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or on the ability of United States-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises in domestic and export markets.
AGENCY CONTACT: Patricia Cline-Thomas Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards 301-415-3451 Email: Patricia.Cline-Thomas@nrc.gov Last Updated: 08/31/2023