The US Supreme Court continues to reshape administrative law. In its recent decision, Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, the Court unanimously (8-0) instructed federal courts to defer to...more
2024 was marked by significant developments in the nuclear energy sector, shaped by evolving regulatory frameworks, legislative action, and growing global interest in nuclear power. In the United States the Accelerating...more
The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2024, summarizing its activities from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024. According to the annual report, OI opened 82 new...more
The United States and Thailand signed an agreement on January 14, 2025, which outlines peaceful nuclear cooperation between the two countries. The agreement is authorized by Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as...more
The NRC recently issued Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2025-02, which asks reactor licensees to voluntarily provide information about their plans for power-uprate licensing submittals. The NRC will use this information to set...more
2/21/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Electricity ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Infrastructure ,
Nuclear Power ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewable Energy
A recent decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated claims seeking indemnification under the Price-Anderson Act. In reversing a decision by the US Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit...more
The US Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright decision overturned its 1984 Chevron decision, which, over the last 40 years, had become a fundamental doctrine in administrative law. That doctrine, known as the “Chevron...more
Congress recently passed legislation to ban imports of Russian uranium products into the United States. The Prohibiting Russian Uranium Imports Act (HR 1042) (the Act) was approved by the House of Representatives on December...more
The NRC’s Acting Executive Director for Operations recently issued the results from the NRC staff’s annual Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) self-assessment for calendar year 2023. Out of the 17 metrics it evaluated, the NRC...more
The Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) recently endorsed the NRC Staff’s proposed alternative option for licensing microreactors in a letter submitted to NRC Chairman Christopher Hanson. In brief, the licensing...more
As fiscal year 2024 approaches, a partial government shutdown looms on the horizon once more. This would be the first partial government shutdown since the 36-day shutdown that began in late December 2018 and ended on January...more
The NRC’s Office of Enforcement (OE) recently published its Enforcement Program Annual Report for Calendar Year 2022. In 2022, the NRC issued 73 escalated enforcement actions to licensees, non-licensees, and individuals. This...more
The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Annual Report Fiscal Year 2022 summarizing its activities from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. According to the annual report, OI opened 70 new cases...more
The NRC commissioners unanimously approved on January 23, 2023 the publication of a proposed rule to update the NRC’s environmental regulations in Part 51 and issue a draft update to the NRC’s Generic Environmental Impact...more
The NRC recently issued its Allegation Program Annual Trends Report, analyzing regional, national, and site-specific allegation trends for calendar year 2021. The report’s top-line numbers show that allegations increased...more
The NRC staff recently provided the Commission with their annual Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) Self-Assessment for Calendar Year 2021 (SECY-22-0029). These annual self-assessments have been part of the ROP since the ROP was...more
The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced on April 19 that it is now accepting sealed bids from reactor owners and operators to receive initial credits under the Civil Nuclear Credit Program (CNCP). Concurrent with this...more
A group of four US senators introduced a bill on March 16 to ban imports of uranium products from the Russian Federation. If enacted, such a ban could complicate the refueling of existing commercial reactors in the United...more
The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Office of Investigations Annual Report FY 2021 summarizing its activities during the past fiscal year. Overall, OI saw a drop in caseload, likely due—at least in...more
The NRC staff recently issued findings from their review of the 2021 decommissioning funding status (DFS) reports submitted by power reactor licensees and licensees of power reactors in decommissioning. These reports are...more
Despite the global attention being paid to combatting climate change, nuclear energy is often ignored in the discussion about how to reduce carbon emissions, but as a reliable, low-carbon energy source, nuclear power is...more
President Joseph Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (the Act) on November 15, 2021, which allocates $550 billion in new spending over the next five years to improve US infrastructure,...more
11/16/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Charging Stations ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Cybersecurity ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Energy Sector ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Nuclear Power ,
Popular ,
Power Grid ,
Renewable Energy
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking public comment on the need to continue or modify the portion of the Price-Anderson Act that it administers, as it prepares a report to Congress. The Price-Anderson Amendments Act...more
In a recently issued NRC adjudicatory decision, the Commission reaffirmed its regulatory interpretation allowing power reactor licensees applying for subsequent license renewal (SLR), and the NRC Staff reviewing these...more
The NRC Office of Enforcement (OE) recently published its Enforcement Program Annual Report for calendar year 2020. The report shows that the number of escalated enforcement actions increased 7% over 2019, but remained below...more