Forging a clear path for advanced reactor licensing in the United States: Approaches to streamlining the NRC environmental review process

This article consists of five parts. Part 1 briefly discusses the status of the current US operating nuclear reactor fleet as well as the various social, economic and political factors that are driving the surging interest in advanced nuclear reactor technologies in the United States. Part 2 provides an overview of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)'s requirements, as implemented through the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) recently-updated regulations; the NRC's NEPA regulations in Part 51; and the US nuclear industry's experience with the NRC's environmental review process. Part 3 explores recent government-wide, industry and agency efforts to improve the timeliness and efficiency of the NRC's environmental process under NEPA and Part 51. It also includes some related observations and recommendations. Part 4 discusses the need for the NRC to simplify its contested hearing process for environmental issues to align it with current statutory requirements, federal agency norms and congressional expectations. Finally, Part 5 summarises key issues and conclusions discussed in this article