NRC Licensing Process Overview.pdf

NRC Licensing Process Overview October 13, 2022

Division of Advanced Reactors

Mission

The NRC licenses and regulates the Nation's civilian use of radioactive materials to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety and to promote the common defense and security and to protect the environment.

Protecting People and the Environment

Principle Legislation, Regulations, and Outcome

• National Environmental Policy Act - NEPA (1969)

• 10 CFR Part 51

• Impacts ON the environment

FROM licensed activities

• Impact-focused

• Disclosure document (CatEx, EA/FONSI, EIS/ROD)

• Atomic Energy Act - AEA (1954)

• Energy Reorganization Act (1974)

• 10 CFR Parts 20, 40, 50, 52, 70

• Impacts ON the facility FROM the environment

• Risk Informed

• Reasonable assurance of adequate protection (SER)

Other Important Statutes

• National Waste Policy Act of 1982

• Energy Policy Act of 2005

• Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (2019)

• Title 41 of Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) 3

Commission Decision on Application

Optional Preapplication

Interaction

Does not include ASLBP (Contested Hearing) Review

Acceptance Review

License Application

Draft EIS

FRN (NOI and Opportunity for Hearing)

Scoping Activity and Public Outreach Meeting

Public Outreach Meeting and

Comments on Draft EIS

Safety Evaluation

Report (SER)

Final EIS with Comment Responses

Mandatory Hearing

Safety Review and Request Information

Environmental Review and

Request Information

Safety Review

Environmental Review

Documents Available to Public

Opportunity for Public Involvement

NRC Interaction With Applicant

ACRS

Review

Preapplication Interactions

Preapplication Interactions

Two Parallel Reviews – Safety & Environmental

EIS Review Process

N R

C ’s

N

EP

A Pr oc es s fo r E

IS

s Notice of Intent to Conduct Scoping and

Prepare EIS

Scoping Process

Draft EIS Published

Comments on Draft

Final EIS and ROD Published

Information Gathering

Publish Federal Register notice

Public scoping period with advertised and facilitated meetings held in plant vicinity

Staff performs review

Publish Federal Register notice

Public comment period on Draft EIS for 45 to 75 days with advertised and facilitated public meetings held in plant vicinity

Staff responds to comments and publishes Federal Register notice

Resource Areas Addressed in NRC’s NEPA Reviews

Analyst will describe the “affected environment” (baseline conditions) for each resource area and then describe the consequences of the action (impact level) and compare those to the reasonable alternatives.

Analyst will also describe “cumulative impacts” from any known past, present, or reasonably foreseeable future actions.

Coordination with Federal, State, local, and Tribal Government Agencies

Contact Information

• www.nrc.gov

• New Reactors

• Ben Beasley, Senior Project Manager, Advanced Reactor Licensing Branch 1 Email: benjamin.beasley@nrc.gov

• Ken Erwin, Branch Chief, Environmental Review New Reactors Branch Email: kenneth.erwin@nrc.gov http://www.nrc.gov/ https://www.nrc.gov/reactors/new-reactors.html

Acronym Key

• Categorical Exclusion (CatEx)

• Environmental Assessment (EA)

• Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)

• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

• Record of Decision (ROD)

• Safety Evaluation Report (SER)

• Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP)

• Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS)