U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Moves Forward With NEPA Overhaul

Highlights

• The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) directed its staff to issue a proposed rulemaking to implement changes to the agency's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.
• The memorandum also directs staff to consider the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, which grants agencies authority to limit the scope of indirect environmental effects considered in NEPA reviews.
• This rulemaking comes against a backdrop of significant change to NEPA across the federal government and a series of executive orders aimed at streamlining procedures across the NRC.