U.S. Department of Energy Fast-Tracks Advanced Nuclear Reactors
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) just removed a significant barrier to new nuclear power by announcing a new categorical exclusion for advanced nuclear reactors in its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementing procedures.
The NEPA process requires federal agencies to assess the environmental impacts of their proposed actions – including permits they issue to authorize private projects and developments. For most major actions, NEPA requires the agency to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement or Environmental Assessment and give the public an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed action before making a final decision. This process, which can take months or years, has been extensively litigated since NEPA was first enacted in 1969, including through last year’s landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, which greatly limited the scope of environmental impacts that agencies must evaluate.
Federal agencies like the DOE establish categorical exclusions to NEPA requirements for activities that normally do not significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The new exclusion for advanced nuclear reactors allows developers to obtain authorizations for these projects without undergoing the usual NEPA review process.
The DOE may now take action to authorize, site, construct, operate, reauthorize or decommission advanced nuclear reactors without evaluating whether these projects will significantly impact environmentally sensitive resources, including historic properties, threatened and endangered species and habitats, floodplains, wetlands and more.
“Advanced” reactors are modern alternatives to traditional water-cooled nuclear reactors that incorporate innovate technologies such as passive safety features, alternative fuel or coolant types, or smaller reactor sizes, such as non-light water reactor (non-LWR) designs and small modular light water reactors (SMRs).
To justify this new exclusion, the DOE has explained that nuclear projects in this category typically employ “inherent safety features and passive safety systems,” in addition to “well-established fuel, coolant, and structural materials that support their associated DOE safety design basis.” The department believes that performance of these fuels, systems and materials will sufficiently ensure that the public and the environment are adequately protected from the impacts of such projects. A full written record explaining the basis for the exclusion is available through the DOE’s NEPA page.
The DOE’s announcement follows a string of executive orders addressing nuclear project development issued by the Trump Administration in the past year, including:
- E.O. 14299, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security
- E.O. 14301, Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy
- E.O. 14301, Reforming Nuclear Reactor Testing at the Department of Energy and
- E.O. 14302, Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base.
The White House has also emphasized its support of nuclear power, infrastructure and nuclear fuel supply chains with significant grants, loans and investments in domestic enrichment, small modular reactor deployment, and new power plant construction projects nationwide.
This exclusion could offer benefits to states at the center of the emerging nuclear energy sector such as Louisiana, where Governor Jeff Landry recently launched the state’s first Nuclear Strategic Framework, renewing $45 million in federal funding for the Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL) initiative.
Among other projects previewed during a nuclear industry summit hosted in New Orleans recently, leading industrial contractor Turner Industries announced two new nuclear fabrication facilities in Louisiana, which will produce high-precision modules and nuclear-grade piping for state-of-the-art nuclear reactors and advanced modular power plants nationwide.
The final DOE rule, which can be viewed through the Federal Register docket, took effect on April 29.
Stakeholders in advanced reactor projects and DOE-authorized deployments should make sure to stay informed about this and other pending developments in the nuclear industry, and reach out to David Topping, Sophie Gray or any member of Phelps’ Environmental team with any questions.
