en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recently proposed a series of reactor licensing reforms covering construction, license applications, site preparation, and manufacturing license durations, aiming to establish a more flexible and predictable regulatory framework for the deployment of advanced reactors and the long-term operation of existing units.
In the construction phase, the NRC plans to revise the definition of "construction" in 10 CFR 50.10, allowing developers to conduct non-safety-related work, such as permanent materials for excavation areas or plant utilities, before obtaining a construction permit or combined license. The new rule will also establish a generic licensing pathway for the construction of important components, which can commence upon application filing to support rapid deployment. Additionally, the NRC proposes to amend 10 CFR 50.34, eliminating mandatory technical information requirements unchanged since 1968, allowing applicants to provide only the information necessary for the regulator to make required determinations, and replacing lengthy prescriptive provisions for non-light-water reactor designs.
Regarding site preparation, the NRC proposes to remove the fixed 20-year term for Early Site Permits (ESPs), making them valid indefinitely. However, the validity of time-sensitive safety and environmental information remains limited to 20 years, requiring permit holders to update such information as needed to support future license applications, rather than mandating renewal at a fixed date. For manufacturing licenses, to support factory-based mass production of microreactors and small modular reactors, the NRC extends the maximum validity from 15 to 40 years, aligning with the validity period of design certifications.
To improve the efficiency of operational program reviews, the NRC allows manufacturing license applicants to submit a substantially complete operational program concurrently with their application, without waiting for subsequent licensing reviews. This option applies to designs such as standardized microreactors seeking rapid, repeatable licensing models, aiming to enhance regulatory certainty without mandating early submission. In quality assurance, the NRC proposes adding a voluntary Appendix T to Part 50 as an alternative to Appendix B, which has been in effect since 1970. This appendix adopts a performance-based, risk-informed approach and introduces industry-standard terminology to support repeatable, batch construction models.
For the long-term operation of existing units, the NRC increases the maximum validity of renewed operating licenses from 20 to 40 years. The proposal also allows applicants to use risk-informed approaches in aging management reviews, eliminates the restriction of submitting renewal applications 20 years in advance, and streamlines certain recordkeeping requirements. In emergency planning, the NRC will expand the performance-based emergency preparedness framework to all reactor types, making emergency planning zones more scalable, while invoking the "benefits outweigh costs" principle to adjust certain mandatory requirements, achieving graded regulation.
In site selection reviews, the NRC proposes to revise 10 CFR Part 100 criteria, establishing a graded framework: Tier 1 power reactors with lower consequences will apply the revised, less stringent Subpart A, while Tier 2 reactors will continue to use Subpart B, designed for large light-water reactors. The agency also allows siting in more densely populated areas after a social risk and benefit assessment. In the fuel sector, the NRC will amend multiple regulations to support licensing of light-water reactor fuels with enrichments exceeding 5%, up to approximately 10%, including accident-tolerant fuels. Areas covered include criticality accident requirements, fuel cycle environmental tables, transportation, fissile material packaging, acceptance criteria for emergency core cooling systems, and fuel fragmentation, relocation, and dispersal issues.
Regarding decommissioning funding, the NRC will allow new reactor applicants to use design-specific decommissioning cost estimates instead of the existing minimum funding formula primarily based on large light-water reactors. Such design estimates must be approved by the NRC and escalated annually, transitioning to site-specific estimates when the plant approaches permanent shutdown. To clean up operational practices, the NRC will also delete an outdated footnote in 10 CFR 50.49 and expand the scope of 10 CFR 50.55a(z), allowing applicants to propose alternatives to any regulatory requirement, provided they can demonstrate that acceptable safety and quality levels are maintained, or that hardship or unusual circumstances exist without improvement.
