The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should improve its environmental justice strategy to better define its outreach to tribes, minority, low-income communities that bear the brunt of nuclear industry development, according to staff recommendations that the commission made public on Tuesday.
The commission, tasked with licensing and regulating safety at the country’s nuclear reactors, asked staff for a comprehensive review in April 2021.
NRC staff recommended an update to a 1995 environmental justice strategy and a 2004 policy statement, noting “confusion and inconsistency” in how the policy is applied. The policy statement, for example, contains conflicting guidance as to whether to prepare ...