House subcommittee OKs six nuclear permitting reform bills

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Energy introduced six nuclear permitting reform bills back in June. The mostly bipartisan bills returned to the subcommittee on Tuesday for markups-and with strong backing from both sides of the aisle.

Despite some lingering concerns in areas like federal transparency, the role of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS), and staff attrition in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the subcommittee advanced all six pieces of legislation to the full committee with bipartisan support.

"We can't let the licensing process itself be a major impediment to the maintaining of our edge" in global nuclear energy, said Rep. Brett Guthrie (R., Ky.).

About the legislation: The proposed Nuclear Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing (REFUEL) Act amends the Atomic Energy Act and clarifies that certain nuclear fuel recycling facilities can be licensed under regulatory frameworks used in other types of fuel facilities, instead of as production facilities. Lawmakers argue this would expedite the licensing process for these facilities. The subcommittee advanced this bill as well as an amendment that clarifies that the bill would apply to recycling facilities that do not isolate plutonium, and that the proposed changes do not alter existing export requirements.

The subcommittee also moved ahead with the American Enrichment Deployment Act, which was introduced as a draft last month. This legislation further amends the Atomic Energy Act by updating the licensing procedures for uranium enrichment facilities. The intent here is to align the licensing of enrichment facilities with other fuel cycle facilities and allow the construction of these facilities to begin prior to licensing. Bill sponsors Rep. Russell Fry (R., S.C.) and Kim Schrier (D., Wash.) said streamlining this licensing process is needed as the U.S. seeks to expand domestic enrichment and move away from Russian uranium imports.

Lawmakers also advanced the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, which would make uncontested hearings the NRC conducts in its licensing reviews optional instead of mandatory. Current law requires applications for construction permits, early site permits, and combined licenses to include a hearing even if no party requested one.

Perhaps the most contested bill of the six is the Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act, which would update the role of the NRC's ACRS in licensing and oversight and codify the directive in Executive Order 14300 for the independent technical group to function at a statutory minimum and that its permitting and licensing reviews "shall focus on issues that are truly novel and noteworthy."

While the bill did get the OK from the subcommittee, some members said the bill as written would restrict the ACRS's role and further limit its ability to independently check reviews and identify any issues the NRC may have missed.

"I don't think that we should be shifting to a model where the ACRS only has an ability to say something if the NRC asks them to," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.).

Bill sponsor Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R., Tenn.), said she would work together with subcommittee members who have expressed concerns on potential changes agreed on by both sides ahead of the bill moving to the full committee.

Next up was the proposed NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act, which would seek to better compensate NRC staff and give the federal agency a better chance to compete against the private nuclear industry sector for workers, such as by increasing pay for senior executive service positions.

Finally, the subcommittee advanced the Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act, which would require greater transparency from the DOE in its authorization of nuclear reactors.

"If we want modern nuclear energy to succeed in the United States, we must maintain the public trust in the industry. Congress and the American people should have full transparency into what the Department of Energy is doing," said bill sponsor Rep. Kathy Castor (D., Fla.).

The subcommittee added an amendment to the Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act that would add and protect classified and security-sensitive information from disclosure under Freedom of Information Act exemptions, as well as adjust public reporting timelines.