The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a proposed rule for comment, which would streamline Atomic Safety and Licensing Board adjudicatory hearings on most licence applications, including new reactors and reactor licence renewals.
This rule is part of broader reforms in line with the July 2024 Advance Act, which requires NRC to complete public licensing hearings within two years of docketing an application, and President Trump’s May 2025 Executive Order (EO) 14300, Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission aimed at increasing US nuclear capacity and re-establishing the US as the global leader in nuclear energy.
EO 14300 directs NRC to complete licensing actions within 12-18 months, or faster. NRC adjudications have generally extended well beyond these timeframes. NRC said this new rule “would enable the NRC to meet these deadlines for applications even when they are the subject of hearing requests by reforming its contested hearing process to accelerate timelines, simplify procedures, reduce burdens, while preserving due process.”
Specifically, the amendment would:
- Resolve evidentiary hearings in a few months;
- Start hearings as early as possible after a challenge is admitted for hearing; and ensure that later-filed challenges do not unnecessarily delay NRC licensing decisions;
- Reduce discovery burdens for all parties and accelerate appeals; and
- Ensure independent legal and technical judges would still preside over contested hearings, maintaining fairness for all parties and accurate decisions that protect public safety and security.
The rule would also reduce the volume of documents and evidence that parties are required to exchange before hearings begin, reflecting the “greater availability” of information through modern technology, and would revise procedures to accelerate appeals to the commission.
NRC said the proposed rule is considered a deregulatory action and would generate combined net savings of $51.7m over the five-year period from 2026 to 2030 for the public, industry and government.
Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until 2 April 2026, the NRC said.
