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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly 2
Regular Session, 2025 HCR 1009 3
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By: Representative Ladyman 5
By: Senator C. Penzo 6
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HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8
TO ADVANCE THE STUDY OF NUCLEAR FUEL RECYCLING AND 9
COMPLY WITH ARKANSAS ACTS 2023, NO. 259; TO REQUEST 10
FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE NEXT STUDY PHASE; AND TO 11
PETITION THE ARKANSAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO 12
INTRODUCE FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO RECTIFY MANY ENERGY 13
ISSUES FOR THE STATE OF ARKANSAS AND THE UNITED 14
STATES. 15
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Subtitle 18
TO COMPLY WITH ARKANSAS ACTS 2023, NO. 19
259; TO REQUEST FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE 20
NEXT STUDY PHASE; AND TO PETITION THE 21
ARKANSAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO 22
INTRODUCE FEDERAL LEGISLATION TO RECTIFY 23
CERTAIN ENERGY ISSUES. 24
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WHEREAS, in August 2016, the Argonne National Laboratory hosted a 26
delegation from Arkansas, including staff from the Arkansas Economic 27
Development Commission; and 28
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WHEREAS, in January 2017, the Arkansas Alternative Energy Commission 30
issued a recommendation to the Governor to support an institution of higher 31
education in this state and the United States Department of Energy national 32
laboratories to prepare and make recommendations and to offer options on 33
using existing technology to convert spent nuclear fuel rods into new nuclear 34
fuel; and 35
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WHEREAS, in August 2017, the Joint Committee on Energy held hearings on 1
advanced nuclear technology to reprocess spent nuclear fuel rods and 2
unanimously approved an interim study resolution on the matter; and 3
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WHEREAS, in November 2018, the Joint Committee on Energy held a meeting 5
at Arkansas Nuclear One and further discussed the ongoing issues raised in 6
2016 and 2017 concerning conversion of spent nuclear fuel rods into new 7
nuclear fuel and advanced nuclear technology to reprocess spent nuclear fuel 8
rods, including without limitation that: 9
(1) An institution of higher education in this state, in 10
conjunction with other institutions of higher education in this state, can 11
and is willing to provide a detailed analysis examining the benefits of "New 12
Nuclear" compared to the risks of continued storage of spent fuel at Arkansas 13
Nuclear One; 14
(2) The fast reactor technology and electrochemical spent fuel 15
reprocessing or recycling are ready for commercial development; and 16
(3) The Department of Health and the Department of Energy and 17
Environment support the application for federal funding for the establishment 18
of an education, risk analysis, and optimization design program; and 19
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WHEREAS, Acts 2021, No. 1092, required the House Committee on Public 21
Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, 22
Welfare, and Labor to jointly conduct a study on the commercial application 23
of existing technology to reclaim and repurpose spent nuclear fuel rods; and 24
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WHEREAS, it is appropriate to build upon the study conducted under Acts 26
2021, No. 1092, and to study the technical and economic feasibility and 27
commercial viability of the interim storage and recycling of spent nuclear 28
fuel at locations in Arkansas; and 29
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WHEREAS, on November 7, 2022, the Senate Committee on Public Health, 31
Welfare, and Labor and the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and 32
Labor received the “Report of a Study on the Commercial Application of 33
Existing Technology to Reclaim and Repurpose Spent Nuclear Fuel Rods required 34
in Act 1092 of 2021” by Michael Grappe, Director of Special Projects, Office 35
of Chief Counsel, Department of Energy and Environment; and 36 HCR1009
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1
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2023, HB1142 was signed by the Honorable Sarah 2
Sanders, Governor of the State of Arkansas, to be named Acts 2023, No. 259, 3
Entitled: “An Act to create the Arkansas nuclear recycling program; To 4
develop a fiscal model for commercial application; To develop a interim and 5
long-term storage plan for residual material; To develop a fiscal model for 6
the current and future market demand; To develop engineering documents for 7
the recycling process; To perform site analysis for prospective recycling 8
facility locations and development construction costs and schedule reports; 9
To establish Arkansas as the only state to declare itself interested in 10
pursuing a final solution for spent nuclear fuel through recycling; and for 11
other purposes.”; and 12
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NOW THEREFORE, 14
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY -FIFTH GENERAL 15
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN: 16
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THAT the General Assembly respectfully request that the members of the 18
Arkansas congressional delegation introduce federal legislation to: 19
(a)(1) Require the United States Office of Management and Budget to 20
report to the United States Congress to assess whether the application of 21
budget rules to the Nuclear Waste Fund, 42 U.S.C. § 10222(c), complies with 22
42 U.S.C. § 10222(d), as it existed on January 1, 2025. 23
(2) The Nuclear Waste Fund, 42 U.S.C. § 10222, as it existed on 24
January 1, 2025, differs from all other federal trust funds because it was 25
established under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, 42 U.S.C. § 10101 et 26
seq., as it existed on January 1, 2025, as a fee paid to the United States 27
Department of Energy for a specific service of disposing of nuclear waste. 28
(3) Waste generators were required to execute contracts, making 29
this arrangement unique compared to other federal trust funds. 30
(4) The United States Office of Management and Budget report to 31
the United States Congress that is requested under this resolution shall: 32
(A) Verify that receipts from nuclear utility fee 33
collections were deposited into the United States Treasury in the fiscal year 34
they were collected and credited to the Nuclear Waste Fund, 42 U.S.C. § 35
10222, as it existed on January 1, 2025, as assets available for 36 HCR1009
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discretionary appropriations; 1
(B) Confirm that this revenue was accounted for as a 2
negative direct spending item, thereby reducing total federal direct spending 3
in the fiscal year of collection; 4
(C) Address concerns that this accounting method 5
inappropriately uses contract fee income, which is statutorily designated 6
exclusively for the purposes of radioactive waste disposal activities under 7
42 U.S.C. § 10222(d), as it existed on January 1, 2025, as a means of 8
reducing discretionary spending caps; and 9
(D) Provide recommendations to rectify any deficiencies 10
identified in the current budgeting treatment of the Nuclear Waste Fund, 42 11
U.S.C. § 10222, as it existed on January 1, 2025; 12
(b) Appropriate ten million dollars ($10,000,000) from the Nuclear 13
Waste Fund, 42 U.S.C. § 10222, as it existed on January 1, 2025, for an 14
updated fee assessment. 15
(c) Allocate the amount under subsection (b) of this resolution from 16
the Nuclear Waste Fund, 42 U.S.C. § 10222, as it existed on January 1, 2025, 17
to the United States Department of Energy for a contract with an institution 18
of higher education in this state to conduct an updated fee assessment as 19
required by 42 U.S.C. § 10222(a)(4), as it existed on January 1, 2025. 20
(d) The updated fee assessment under subsection (c) of this resolution 21
shall evaluate the cost implications of three (3) distinct spent nuclear fuel 22
disposal plans, including: 23
(1)(A)(i) The "Kicking the Can Down the Road" for continued on -24
site storage. 25
(ii) The "Kicking the Can Down the Road" scenario 26
assumes that nuclear waste remains stored at reactor sites indefinitely. 27
(iii) The United States Department of Energy 28
annually updates its estimated liability for failing to dispose of the 29
nuclear waste, which as of November 2024, ranged between thirty seven billion 30
six hundred million dollars ($37,600,000,000) and forty -four billion five 31
hundred million dollars ($44,500,000,000). 32
(iv) However, the liability estimate under 33
subdivision (d)(1)(A)(iii) of this resolution is not a fee assessment but 34
rather the net present value of annual payments due to contract default. 35
(B) The fee assessment for this plan shall include a 36 HCR1009
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special calculation for new waste generators that have not contributed to the 1
Nuclear Waste Fund, similar to 42 U.S.C. § 10222(a)(3), as it existed on 2
January 1, 2025. 3
(C) For reference, Arkansas Nuclear One has a credit 4
balance of approximately one billion dollars ($1,000,000,000), generating 5
thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) annually in interest income. 6
(D) With an average waste output of thirty metric tons (30 7
mt) per year, the estimated cost is one million dollars ($1,000,000) per 8
metric tons per year. 9
(E)(i) Reactors that came online after the District of 10
Columbia Circuit Court's ruling in Nat'l Ass'n of Regulatory Util. Comm'rs v. 11
U.S. Dep't of Energy, 736 F.3d 517 (D.C. Cir. 2013), set the United States 12
Department of Energy's fee to zero (0) include: 13
(a) Watts Bar Unit 2 (1,167 MW), completed in 14
2015; 15
(b) Vogtle Unit 3 (1,250 MW), completed in 16
July 2023; and 17
(c) Vogtle Unit 4 (1,250 MW), completed in 18
April 2024. 19
(ii)(a) These reactors generate nuclear waste yet 20
have not contributed to the Nuclear Waste Fund. 21
(b) The fee assessment shall establish parity 22
with existing reactors and account for disposal cost variations for different 23
waste types, including: 24
(1) Uranium oxide used fuel; 25
(2) MOX fuel; 26
(3) Molten salt reactor fuel; 27
(4) TRISO fuel (Tri -structural Isotropic 28
particle fuel); and 29
(5) Uranium metal fuel. 30
(2)(A) Refunding the Yucca Mountain Project; 31
(B) Despite political opposition, current law designates 32
the Yucca Mountain Project as the sole federal nuclear waste repository. 33
(C) The Yucca Mountain Project site has undergone 34
extensive study and remains legally authorized with a statutory disposal 35
limit of seventy-seven thousand metric tons (77,000 mt). 36 HCR1009
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(D) Nevada does not have legal standing to halt the Yucca 1
Mountain Project. 2
(E) The disposal plan requires only an updated budget for 3
the Yucca Mountain Project and a United States Department of Energy 4
recommendation for a second site, along with an associated budget. 5
(F) If the Yucca Mountain Project is abandoned, nuclear 6
waste generators could demand a refund with interest, as 42 U.S.C. § 10222(d) 7
explicitly states that disposal fees may only be used for the purpose of 8
radioactive waste disposal activities; and 9
(3) The recycling nuclear fuel or the "Arkansas Plan" proposes 10
recycling spent nuclear fuel using fast reactor technology, as detailed in 11
the General Assembly’s official report considering the following: 12
(A) Arkansas Fuel Rod Report that is based on: 13
(i) The Experimental Breeder Reactor II program; 14
(ii) Recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission 15
on America’s Nuclear Future; and 16
(iii) France’s unified reactor development policy; 17
and 18
(B) Notably, in a June 27, 1994, letter to the United 19
States Senate, then-Secretary of Energy Hazel O’Leary stated: 20
“No further testing of the Integral Fast Reactor concept is required to prove 21
the technical feasibility of actinide recycling and burning in a fast 22
reactor, such as the experimental breeder reactor in Idaho. The basic physics 23
and chemistry of this technology are well -established.” 24
(e)(1) The State of Arkansas’ Expression of Interest is needed for 25
congressional funding for the United States Department of Energy and 26
institution of higher education in this state contract and the General 27
Assembly’s approval of this resolution shall constitute the State of 28
Arkansas’ "Expression of Interest" under the United States Department of 29
Energy’s Consent-Based Siting Program. 30
(2) Importantly, this Expression of Interest does not commit the 31
State of Arkansas or an institution of higher education to any action beyond 32
conducting the fee assessment. 33
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT upon its adoption, a copy of this resolution be 35
transmitted to the Arkansas congressional delegation by the Chief Clerk of 36 HCR1009
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the House of Representatives. 1
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