text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 
  2011''.
  
  SEC. 2. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT SAFETY.
  
      (a) Amendment.--Chapter 14 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 
  U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
  section:
      ``Sec. 170J. Revision of Nuclear Power Plant Safety Regulations.--
      ``a. Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of the 
  Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011, the Commission shall initiate a 
  rulemaking proceeding, including notice and opportunity for public 
  comment, to be completed not later than 18 months after such date of 
  enactment, to revise its regulations to ensure that each utilization 
  facility licensed under this Act can withstand and adequately respond 
  to--
              ``(1) an earthquake, tsunami (for a facility located in a 
          coastal area), strong storm, or other event that threatens a 
          major impact to the facility;
              ``(2) a loss of the primary operating power source for at 
          least 14 days; and
              ``(3) a loss of the primary backup operating power source 
          for at least 72 hours.
      ``b. The revision of regulations under this section shall provide 
  for--
              ``(1) a requirement that each licensed utilization 
          facility, including any onsite spent nuclear fuel facilities, 
          be equipped with resilient containment, safety, and diagnostic 
          systems sufficient to withstand the circumstances described in 
          subsection a., including requirements to ensure that the 
          reactor core remains cooled, that the containment remains 
          intact, and that the spent fuel cooling and spent fuel pool 
          integrity are maintained;
              ``(2) a requirement that licensees have at least 14 days 
          worth of emergency power system fuel onsite with which to power 
          the licensed facility in the event of a loss of the primary 
          operating power source;
              ``(3) a requirement that licensees have sufficient 
          secondary emergency power to power the licensed facility in the 
          event of a loss of both the primary operating power source and 
          the emergency power system described in paragraph (2) for at 
          least 72 hours;
              ``(4) a requirement that licensees develop, and obtain 
          approval from the Commission for, a plan to obtain sufficient 
          additional fuel or batteries in the event of a long duration 
          loss of operating power or total station blackout;
              ``(5) a requirement that licensees amend, and obtain 
          approval from the Commission for, any guidance and strategies 
          developed by the licensees that are intended to maintain or 
          restore core cooling, containment, and spent fuel pool cooling 
          capabilities under the circumstances associated with loss of 
          large areas of the plant due to explosions or fire, in order to 
          incorporate lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear power 
          plant meltdown into such guidance and strategies;
              ``(6) a requirement that spent nuclear fuel rods be moved 
          from storage pools to certified dry cask storage within one 
          year of the nuclear fuel rods being qualified to be placed in 
          the certified dry casks;
              ``(7) a requirement to configure spent nuclear fuel rods in 
          spent nuclear fuel pools in a manner that would minimize the 
          chance of a fire in the event of the loss of the water in the 
          spent nuclear fuel pool;
              ``(8) a requirement that emergency response exercises 
          include scenarios that are based on the near-simultaneous 
          occurrence of circumstances described in subsection a. such as 
          the near-simultaneous earthquake, tsunami, and total station 
          blackout that occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in 
          2011; and
              ``(9) appropriate requirements for periodic verification of 
          compliance with the regulations issued under this section.
      ``c. The Commission shall not issue an approval for any 
  construction permit, operating license, license extension, design 
  certification, combined license, design approval, or manufacturing 
  license until the revisions of regulations under this section take 
  effect.''.
      (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of the Atomic 
  Energy Act of 1954 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
  section 170I the following new item:
  
  ``Sec. 170J. Revision of nuclear power plant safety regulations.''.
  
  SEC. 3. LOAN GUARANTEES.
  
      Section 1702(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 
  16512(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
  ``In the case of a guarantee for advanced nuclear energy facilities, 
  the Secretary shall ensure that the cost of the obligation is 
  calculated using a consideration of the Tohoku earthquake of 2011 to 
  estimate the risk characteristics of the project.''.
target: Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to revise nuclear power plant safety regulations to ensure that each licensed utilization facility can withstand and adequately respond to: (1) an earthquake, tsunami (for a facility located in a coastal area), strong storm, or other event that threatens a major impact to the facility; (2) a loss of the primary operating power source for at least 14 days; and (3) a loss of the primary backup operating power source for at least 72 hours.
  
  Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005, in connection with loan guarantees, to require the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to ensure, in the case of a guarantee for advanced nuclear energy facilities, that the cost of the obligation is calculated using a consideration of the Tohoku earthquake of 2011 to estimate the risk characteristics of the project.
feat_title: To ensure that nuclear power plants can withstand and adequately respond to earthquakes, tsunamis, strong storms, or other events that threaten a major impact.