The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released guidance Thursday for how NRC staff can weigh in during safety reviews at the departments of Energy and Defense as the Trump administration streamlines licensing for new reactor designs.
The guidance document, signed on Dec. 11, enables staff to observe, ask questions, and submit input during the departments’ work. It follows a May executive order from President Donald Trump aiming to expedite pathways to commercially license nuclear power technology.
The order gave DOE and the Pentagon greater involvement in commercial nuclear licensing, a role historically reserved for the NRC. Supporters pointed out that DOE and DOD have long regulated their own nuclear reactors, but opponents worried it would prevent the NRC from double-checking those agencies’ conclusions.
“This guidance underscores that the NRC has its own statutory licensing process, and that’s not being displaced,” said Brooke Poole Clark, a partner at law firm Morgan Lewis and former NRC general counsel. “It’s a welcome window into how this process is working and provides a little bit of very welcome transparency as to how the agencies are working together.”
