The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently issued a final rule amending the licensing, inspection, special project, and annual fees for applicants and licensees for FY 2025, aligning with fee-related provisions in...more
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff recently submitted recommendations and planned actions to the Commission aimed at enhancing elements of the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) consistent with the Accelerating...more
As we have previously written, the rise in data center development has significantly increased predicted electricity demand. As a reliable, carbon-free source of base load power with an average capacity factor of 93% in the...more
The US president on May 23, 2025 signed four executive orders focused on promoting economic and national security by expanding and accelerating the development and use of nuclear energy in the United States to address rising...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
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 Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Annual Report for fiscal year 2023, summarizing its activities from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. According to the annual report, OI opened 82 new...more
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently published a memorandum from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) documenting planned changes to the NRR’s Safety Culture Inspection Program. The NRC expects to...more
The NRC published a draft interim staff guidance (ISG) on June 15, 2023, reemphasizing limitations on the use of funds previously reported to the NRC as providing radiological decommissioning funding assurance (DFA)....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
In response to reports from the NRC’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) and a tasking order from the NRC's executive director of operations (EDO) directing a review of NRC oversight of “counterfeit, fraudulent, and suspect...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
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NRC Commissioners Christopher Hanson, David Wright, and Jeff Baran recently voted 2-1 (Commissioner Baran dissenting) to implement SECY-21-0029, “Rulemaking Plan on Revision of Inservice Testing and Inservice Inspection...more
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved publication in the Federal Register of a proposed rule, “Regulatory Improvements for Production and Utilization Facilities Transitioning to Decommissioning” on November 3,...more
The NRC’s Commissioners approved an NRC Staff request on August 5 to withdraw two SECY memoranda related to improvements of the effectiveness and efficiency of the Reactor Oversight Process (ROP). These SECY papers were...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
The NRC recently issued its Allegation Program Annual Trends Report. The report analyzes regional, national, and site-specific allegation trends for calendar year 2020. The report’s top-line numbers show that the number of...more
The NRC recently approved a revision to its Policy Statement, “Enhancing Participation in NRC Public Meetings.” If you have attended an NRC public meeting in the past few decades, you may be familiar with the NRC’s triage of...more
Under the substantial weight of industry, state, and public pressure, the NRC yesterday published a notice in the Federal Register (85 FR 81960) announcing its withdrawal of its proposed highly controversial reinterpretation...more
The NRC Staff recently issued SECY-20-0098, which provides the Staff’s recommendation to consolidate two low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) disposal rulemakings. Specifically, the Staff supports combining the draft final rule...more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) published a final rule in the September 4 Federal Register updating IRS regulations under Internal Revenue Code (Code) Section 468A....more