Charleston Leader

U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Sheldon Whitehouse, Cynthia Lummis, and Mark Kelly have collectively addressed a letter to David Wright, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The letter urges the NRC to prioritize voting on implementing amendments from the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 related to the National Environmental Policy Act. The senators emphasized aligning this implementation with the congressional intent outlined in the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act.

The senators highlighted that "the NRC’s current environmental review process was established to review legacy nuclear reactor designs and needs to be modernized." They argued that modernization is necessary for efficient licensing duties to meet urgent energy and environmental needs today. According to them, the existing process results in delays and additional costs for both the agency and applicants.

They further encouraged supporting an ambitious schedule for completing rulemaking associated with updating NRC regulations. The letter stated that “the NRC staff’s recommended actions in the SECY are predominantly productive regulatory updates” which would improve predictability and efficiency in licensing nuclear power.

The letter also referenced Section 506 of the ADVANCE Act, which requires reporting on efforts to facilitate efficient reviews of power reactor applications under section 103 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. This includes expanded use of categorical exclusions and generic environmental impact statements. The report submitted by the Commission on January 6, 2025, noted pending actions awaiting approval as part of SECY-24-0046.

In addition to voting on SECY-24-0046, they supported further actions for improving NRC's environmental review requirements. They mentioned a recently published “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors” (New Reactor GEIS), which aims at streamlining reviews by focusing on significant site-specific issues.

The public comment period for this proposal concluded on December 18, 2024. Senators urged prioritizing updates based on these comments before sending it for final approval. They expressed hope that expectations aligned with congressional intent would be considered during this vote and future regulatory decisions.

"We thank you for your consideration of our request," concluded their letter while expressing eagerness to continue working towards safe nuclear power usage.