§ 17373. Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage contingent cost allocation

section 2210 of this title (commonly known as the “Price-Anderson Act”)—

the Price-Anderson Act, in effect, provides operators of nuclear powerplants with insurance for damage arising out of a nuclear incident and funds the insurance primarily through the assessment of a retrospective premium from each operator after the occurrence of a nuclear incident;

the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage, done at Vienna on

the Convention benefits United States nuclear suppliers that face potentially unlimited liability for nuclear incidents that are not covered by the Price-Anderson Act by replacing a potentially open-ended liability with a predictable liability regime that, in effect, provides nuclear suppliers with insurance for damage arising out of such an incident;

the Convention also benefits United States nuclear facility operators that may be publicly liable for a Price-Anderson incident by providing an additional early source of funds to compensate damage arising out of the Price-Anderson incident;

the combined operation of the Convention, the Price-Anderson Act, and this section will augment the quantity of assured funds available for victims in a wider variety of nuclear incidents while reducing the potential liability of United States suppliers without increasing potential costs to United States operators;

the cost of those benefits is the obligation of the United States to contribute to the supplementary compensation fund established by the Convention;

any such contribution should be funded in a manner that does not—

with respect to a Price-Anderson incident, funds already available under the Price-Anderson Act should be used; and

with respect to a nuclear incident outside the United States not covered by the Price-Anderson Act, a retrospective premium should be prorated among nuclear suppliers relieved from potential liability for which insurance is not available.

with respect to a Price-Anderson incident, by using funds made available under section 2210 of this title to cover the contingent costs in a manner that neither increases the burdens nor decreases the benefits under section 2210 of this title; and

with respect to a covered incident outside the United States that is not a Price-Anderson incident, by allocating the contingent costs equitably, on the basis of risk, among the class of nuclear suppliers relieved by the Convention from the risk of potential liability resulting from any covered incident outside the United States.

supplies facilities, equipment, fuel, services, or technology pertaining to the design, construction, operation, or decommissioning of a covered installation; or

transports nuclear materials that could result in a covered incident.

any individual who is a resident, national, or citizen of the United States (other than an individual residing outside of the United States and employed by a person who is not a United States person); and

any corporation, partnership, association, joint stock company, business trust, unincorporated organization, or sole proprietorship that is organized under the laws of the United States.

the amount of funds made available for the Price-Anderson incident under Article VII of the Convention; and

the amount of funds used under subsection (c) to cover the contingent cost resulting from the Price-Anderson incident.

the amount of the payment due from the nuclear supplier;

any applicable interest on the payment; and

a penalty of not more than twice the amount of the deferred payment due from the nuclear supplier.

the implementation of section 2210 of this title and this section is consistent and equitable; and

the financial and operational burden on a Commission licensee in complying with section 2210 of this title is not greater as a result of the enactment of this section.