§9701 Congressional Findings and Declaration of Policy

Summary

Establishes a federal research, development, and demonstration program to make nuclear powerplant safety better over the next five years, starting in fiscal year 1981. It says nuclear energy is one of the two main U.S. electricity sources for the rest of the 1900s, that continued use depends on very high safety and public trust, and that utilities are responsible for designing and running plants safely. The federal role includes doing research to support safe design and operation. The program’s goals are to cut how likely and how bad serious plant accidents could be, and to lower the chance that accidents would force people near plants to be disrupted. The Secretary may do extra projects that further these goals, but may not take over the management, cleanup, or repair of any commercial nuclear plant, and this chapter does not limit other legal authority the Secretary has.