Click here or the image above to
watch Ranking Member Capito’s questions for witnesses.WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works
(EPW) Committee held a hearing to
examine the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2021—which Ranking Member Capito reintroduced in July
2021—and the STRANDED Act of 2021.
Last week, Ranking Member
Capito joined Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) in writing a letter to
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to initiate an assessment of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)’s preparedness to review and approve advanced
nuclear reactor applications.
Yesterday, West Virginia
Governor Jim Justice signed legislation into law that would lift state
restrictions on nuclear power plant construction. More details can be found here.
HIGHLIGHTS:
NUCLEAR’S FUTURE IN WEST VIRGINIA: “My first question will focus on using former coal-fired power plants.
Obviously this is an important question for me. One of the reasons West
Virginia changed their law was to remove the barriers to nuclear energy but
also couple those two initiatives together. I believe in Wyoming this is
already moving forward. Ms. Korsnick, what can we do—either Congress or at the
NRC—to facilitate the creation of nuclear jobs in former coal communities?”
ADDRESSING COSTLY NUCLEAR LICENSING FEES: “Mr. Harrell, you mentioned an application that cost
half a billion dollars and I can’t remember how long it took. Obviously this
has got to be a sticking point of the initial application but also the
innovation that’s going to be required. What kind of ideas would you have in
terms of being able to afford to actually move in this direction?”
THE FUTURE OF HYDROGEN AND NUCLEAR ENERGY: “I would like to ask both of you if you have anything
to add on the innovators that are developing designs to generate
high-temperature heat to be used for manufacturing and industrial purposes.
We’re requiring the NRC to identify and address potential regulatory barriers
to deploying this for other technologies. Where is the nexus here between
creating a hydrogen economy and having nuclear power at the same time?”
OPPORTUNITIES TO APPLY COVID “LESSONS LEARNED”: “During COVID, there were lessons learned all around
the horn, but certainly some lessons learned [at] the NRC and how they did some
inspections by greater remote access to plant data. I’m wonder if you have any
examples of how these plants have improved their operations because of lessons
learned during the COVID pandemic?"
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