Utah is pursuing authority to oversee some small nuclear technology and uranium enrichment — regulatory powers that under federal law rest exclusively with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
In a Nov. 10 letter to the NRC obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News, Tim Davis, executive director of Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality, requested that the commission consider expanding the state’s authority under the Atomic Energy Act to oversee uranium enrichment, microreactor licensing, fuel storage and reprocessing. The letter also petitioned the NRC to “consider establishing a pilot project to streamline state environmental permitting.”
States are allowed to handle some nuclear regulations as long as they still meet NRC requirements.
Building on momentum from the 2025 legislative session, Utah is actively forging new interstate alliances and technology partnerships to build a nuclear power industry in the Beehive State. Utah — alongside Texas, nuclear startup Last Energy, and others — wants to give states power over small advanced reactors through a joint lawsuit against the NRC. Such “small modular” and “micro” reactors have not yet been commercially built in North America.
