The Secretary shall establish and carry out, through the Office of Nuclear Energy, a program to support the availability of HA–LEU for civilian domestic research, development, demonstration, and commercial use.
The requirements of section 3112 of the USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h–10), except for the requirements of subparagraph (A) of section 3112(d)(2), shall not apply to the provision of enrichment services, or the sale or transfer of HA–LEU for commercial use by the Secretary to a member of the consortium under this subsection.
HA–LEU made available to members of the consortium established pursuant to paragraph (2)(F) for demonstration projects shall remain the property of and title will remain with the Department, which shall be responsible for the storage, use, and disposition of all radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel created by the irradiation, processing, or purification of such uranium, and shall not be subject to the requirements of a sale or transfer of uranium under sections 3112, except for the requirements of subparagraph (A) of section 3112, and 3113 of the USEC Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h–10; 42 U.S.C. 2297h–11).
The Secretary shall only make available to a member of the consortium under this section for commercial or demonstration project use material that the President has determined is not necessary for national security needs, provided that this available material shall not include any material that the Secretary may determine to be necessary for the National Nuclear Security Administration or other critical Departmental missions.
Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes actions proposed to be carried out by the Secretary under the program described in subsection (a)(1).
The report under this paragraph shall include estimated costs, budgets, and timeframes for all activities carried out under this section.
Not later than 180 days after December 27, 2020, the Secretary shall, after consulting with relevant entities, including National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, and technology developers, submit to Congress a report identifying any and all options for providing nuclear material, containing isotopes other than the uranium-235 isotope, such as uranium-233 and thorium-232 to be used as fuel for advanced nuclear reactor research, development, demonstration, or commercial application purposes.
The term “demonstration project” has the meaning given such term in section 16279a of this title.
The term “high-assay low-enriched uranium” means uranium having an assay greater than 5.0 weight percent and less than 20.0 weight percent of the uranium-235 isotope.