US Nuclear Regulator Finalizes Review Rule for New Reactors

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued two final rules to streamline environmental reviews, including one specifically focused on new reactors.

One rule announced Monday finalizes the new reactor generic environmental impact statement (GEIS), which is used to identify issues that are common, or generic, “to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors.” A second rule finalized March 30 updates the commission’s list of categorical exclusions, which allow agencies to skip full environmental review when a certain action ...