Last year, the President signed several Executive Orders to support the deployment of new nuclear generation in the United States. One of those orders specifically called upon the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to reform the regulatory framework. We are starting to see what that means.
The NRC journey to modernize its processes began in earnest with passage of the bipartisan ADVANCE Act. The Executive Orders have accelerated that journey.
Recently, the NRC issued a proposed rule for public comment addressing changes to the adjudicatory hearing process. This rulemaking provides initial insight into the NRC’s modernization efforts and based on NEI’s initial review, is indicative of the agency’s continued focus on safety, efficiency and timeliness, while ensuring sufficient stakeholder participation in the regulatory process.
Public engagement in the permitting of nuclear reactors is essential. The industry fully supports the public having the opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns to the NRC. Unfortunately, the historical experience has been that the NRC’s processes were laborious and inefficient with little to no improvement of the agency’s decision on safety, security, or environmental issues. With more than five decades of experience with the adjudicatory hearing process, the NRC is well positioned to consider ways to make the process less complex, easier to follow and more efficient. Hearings can be conducted with less resources and still allow for a full airing of the issues.
The proposed rule on the hearing process is one of many expected this year. The NRC is 50 years old, and fifty years of regulatory experience and outstanding performance of the existing fleet is reason enough to review decades old regulations. New reactor technologies also require the regulator to modernize its framework.
Many of the changes under consideration are things that the nuclear industry has been advocating for decades. These reforms have been carefully evaluated for many years and will support the safe deployment of reliable, clean energy to meet rising demand.
The NRC should be commended for being innovative and balanced in the proposed adjudicatory hearing rule. It also continues to ensure that the public has a voice and the ability to bring legitimate issues to the attention of the Commission. This is being done in a transparent framework that targets resolution of the matter in a timely and efficient manner. With that said, industry and other stakeholders will no doubt have comments and recommendations on the proposed rule. The bottom line is that this rulemaking demonstrates that the NRC will not only continue to ensure that affected members of the public have a say in agency licensing decisions but also make efficiency and timeliness a priority, something the industry has been requesting for years.
This rulemaking, in combination with other process and rule changes implemented by the NRC to date, reflects the proper focus on public health and safety while enabling a more predictable and timelier pathway to addressing our nation’s energy security and reliability needs.
