Regulations, Guidance, and Communications for New Reactors
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) conducts its new reactor licensing activities through a combination of regulatory requirements and regulatory guidance. The applicable regulatory requirements are found in Chapter I of Title 10, "Energy," of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Chapter I is divided into Parts 1 through 199. Regulatory guidance is generally contained in regulatory guides, interim staff guidance, standard review plans, office instructions, and review standards. For detail, see the following topics on this page:
See also, information on all NRC Rules and Petitions.
The NRC welcomes Public Involvement in Rulemaking, and invites the public to comment on proposed rules and policies, licensing actions, and draft technical documents. We announce public comment opportunities in the Federal Register and on our Documents for Comment page.
Governing Regulations
Of the NRC's existing regulations, the following are most relevant to the design, siting, construction, and operation of new commercial nuclear power facilities:
- 10 CFR Part 51, "Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions"
- 10 CFR Part 52, "Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants"
Existing Guidance Documents
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Regulatory Guides (RGs), which the NRC issues in 10 broad divisions, provide guidance to licensees and applicants on implementing specific parts of the NRC's regulations, techniques used by the NRC staff in evaluating specific problems or postulated accidents, and data needed by the staff in its review of applications for permits or licenses. Of these guides, the following are most relevant to the design, siting, construction, and operation of new commercial nuclear power facilities:
The NRC's Interim Staff Guidance Associated with Combined License (COL), Design Certification (DC), and Early Site Permit (ESP) Applications for New Reactors also provides valuable insights for prospective applicants and other agency stakeholders.
The following guidance documents may also be useful to prospective applicants and other stakeholders:
- NUREG-0800, "Standard Review Plan for the Review of Safety Analysis Reports for Nuclear Power Plants"
- NUREG-1555, "Standard Review Plan for Environmental Reviews for Nuclear Power Plants"
- Office Instruction NRO-REG-100, "Acceptance Review Process for Early Site Permit, Design Certification, and Combined License Applications"
- Regulatory Guide 1.233, "Guidance for a Technology-Inclusive, Risk-Informed, and Performance-Based Methodology to Inform the Licensing Basis and Content of Applications for Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Non-Light-Water Reactors"
Ongoing Rulemaking and Regulatory Guidance Development
The NRC is proposing several changes to its regulations that are pertinent to new reactors. These and other proposed rule changes, as well as changes to associated NRC regulatory guides, are accessible through the Rulemaking page.
The Environmental Review Process and FAST-41
The NRC's regulations in Chapter 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51 "Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions" implement the agency's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. In accordance with 10 CFR Part 51, the NRC prepares an environmental impact statement (EIS) in support of certain licensing actions. These actions include the NRC's regulations in Chapter 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 51 "Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions" which implement the agency's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The NRC must prepare an EIS as part of its review for the following actions:
- Construction permit (CP) under 10 CFR Part 50, "Domestic Licensing of Production and Utilization Facilities,"
- An early site permit or combined license (COL) under 10 CFR Part 52 "Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants,"
- Certain front-end of the fuel cycle facilities licensing actions under 10 CFR Part 40 "Domestic Licensing of Source Material," and 10 CFR Part 70 "Domestic Licensing of Special Nuclear Material."
Currently, the NRC staff estimates that the environmental review process will take approximately 24-36 months. This includes scoping, issuance of the draft EIS, a comment period, and issuance of the final EIS. The NRC staff currently conducts its environmental considering using NUREG-1555, "Environmental Standard Review Plan" (ESRP) and NUREG-1748, "Environmental Review Guidance for Licensing Actions Associated with NMSS Programs".
As amended, the Fixing American's Surface Transportation Act was enacted on December 4, 2015. Title XLI (FAST-41) of this law applies to infrastructure projects, including certain energy production activities, being reviewed by the federal government. FAST-41 was established to increase efficiency, transparency and consultation in the Federal environmental review and authorization process. More information about FAST-41 and the NRC's environmental review process is available at NRC's Environmental Review Process.
New Reactor Lessons Learned
The NRC staff continues the practice of conducting lessons learned reviews of the experience implementing Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 52, "Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants." The staff has evaluated the initial licensing as well as post licensing construction. These reports are available in ADAMS and also consolidated here for ease of access:
Other Resources
For additional information, see the following related resources: