Forging a clear path for advanced reactor licensing in the United States: Approaches to streamlining the NRC environmental review process

The agency expects to receive a number of complex applications for advanced reactor designs in the near future. Congress recently passed legislation seeking to streamline our safety review for such applications, suggesting that the efficient and effective review of these applications is a national priority. However, commenters remain concerned that without similar efforts to seek efficiency in our NEPA process, these efforts will prove ineffective. They note that the length and cost of our existing NEPA process pose a steep and potentially insurmountable obstacle to advanced reactors.”