Modernization of Nuclear Regulations

Efforts have been underway for some time to modernize U.S. reactor regulations. A chronology is helpful.

1. About 7 years ago, efforts emerged within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to modernize new reactor regulations in response to pending Congressional legislation. Efforts settled on issuance of a new part to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 10CFR53. As draft sections appeared, many in industry noted that numerous new requirements were materializing.
2. The Nuclear Modernization Act was signed into law in 2019. The Act’s 10CFR53 related requirements included risk-informed regulations and the use of consensus industry codes/standards.
3. Through the spring of 2022, various 10CFR53 elements were issued for public comment. Hundreds of pages of public/stakeholder comments emerged. The proposed 10CFR53 was significantly larger than the parent 10CFR50/52. A modified 10CFR53 was forwarded to the NRC Commissioners in March 2023.
4. In March 2024, the Commissioners returned 10CFR53, with instructions to effect major changes.
5. In late October 2024, the NRC staff issued a revised 10CFR53, with public/stake-holder comments due by the end of the year. The regulation and supporting documentation involved hundreds of pages.  The proposed 10CFR53 remained significantly larger than the parent 10CFR50/52, with numerous new requirements present. The public comment period was extended to the end of February 2025. Hundreds of pages of public and stakeholder comments emerged.
6. The NRC staff expects that a modified 10CFR53 will be forwarded to the Commissioners in May 2026, with the final rule issued by the end of 2027 (NRC website).
7. Net taxpayer funded costs associated with the +7 year 10CFR53 campaign are not publically available.

From the inception of the modernization effort, many in industry advised that incremental improvement of the parent regulations offered the most expeditious and cost effective route. That advice was ignored.

   Historically, NRC regulations have been highly prescriptive. Depressingly, the proposed 10CFR53 continues that tradition. While various motives can be theorized, “bureaucracy” readily springs to mind.

   Undue and inefficient regulatory licensing costs (recently NUSCALE at ~½ billion dollars) are dwarfed by similar excesses involving the design, manufacture, construction, and operation of new nuclear plants. Energy costs for such plants are estimated at about 2-1/2 times those associated with similarly sized conventional power plants, in large measure due to extensive NRC overregulation. Absent the NRC taking a more reasonable path, the demise of the U.S. nuclear industry is inevitable. The loss of nuclear power is strategically troubling. Fortunately the U.S. is blessed with abundant natural gas reserves utilized by efficient and low-cost power plants.

   In passing, major policy objectives of the new Administration include reducing and simplifying regulations, right-sizing government agencies, and U.S. energy dominance. The NRC is subject to Executive Branch efficiency reviews. Also, issues involving regulatory compliance with Congressional law are now subject to legal challenges as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Chevron doctrine decision.

   The bureaucratic approach to nuclear regulation modernization has been dismally unsuccessful. NRC executives have been asked to precipitate formation of a special NRC task force with marching orders to efficiently and expeditiously simplify 10CFR53, while embracing the incremental improvement approach routinely and very successfully employed by private industry. However, the historical pattern suggests that this simple approach is unlikely to be embraced. China will remain the world’s leader in nuclear energy.