In April 2023, Idaho National Laboratory (“INL”), a U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) National Laboratory, published a report entitled “Recommendations to Improve the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Reactor Licensing and...more
As world leaders gather in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, commonly referred to as COP27, supporting clean energy transitions remain central to discussions on resolving issues of...more
On September 14, the NRC staff publicly released its preliminary White Paper on “Licensing and Regulating Fusion Energy Systems” to support upcoming meetings with the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards on options for...more
On August 18, 2022, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works (EPW), and Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member of the EPW, sent a letter to the Chairman of the...more
First, the Commission voted to not conduct a formal rulemaking on the NRC’s current environmental review process under 10 CFR Part 51. Separately, the staff proposed alternative timelines for a rulemaking to revise the...more
On April 12, 2022, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) staff completed its systematic assessment of how the NRC approaches environmental justice in its programs, policies and activities, by submitting to the...more
On February 24, 2022, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued three unusual decisions pertaining to the agency’s review of subsequent license renewal (SLR) applications. The Commission orders reversed a previous...more
Energy experts and leaders gathered at the White House on March 17, 2022 for a summit on the commercialization of clean fusion energy. The summit, titled “Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Commercial Fusion Energy,” was...more
On February 24, 2022, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued three unusual decisions pertaining to the agency’s review of subsequent license renewal (SLR) applications. The Commission orders reversed a previous...more
In early 2022, blog author Amy Roma spoke with a Bloomberg Law reporter about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Part 53 rulemaking efforts to support advanced reactor licensing. Amy’s position is that the NRC...more
On Friday, November 19, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the President’s roughly $2 trillion budget reconciliation package, voting 220 to 213 in favor of H.R. 5376 the Build Back Better Act (“Reconciliation...more
To demonstrate its clean energy commitments ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, the United Kingdom (UK) recently published its national strategy on fusion energy (Fusion Strategy) alongside a paper...more
On September 27, the NRC held a public meeting where it invited speakers to present on their experience with environmental justice (EJ) issues and also to hear recommendations on the agency’s approach when reevaluating how to...more
The bad news. Right now, gigantic wildfires are burning across Siberia and the Artic Circle that are larger than all the other record-setting fires raging around the world this summer combined. The massive blazes in Russia...more
The White House demonstrates its continued support for fossil fuel communities during the current clean energy transition by standing up the Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communicatees and Economic...more
4/30/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Summit ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Job Creation ,
Nuclear Power ,
Power Plants ,
Renewable Energy ,
Solar Energy ,
Wind Power
On April 22 and 23, President Biden hosted forty world leaders virtually at the Leaders Summit on Climate (“Climate Summit”) to employ a “whole of government” approach in the fight against climate change. ...more
4/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy & Climate Debates ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Summit ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Nuclear Power ,
Power Plants ,
Renewable Energy
Today, we issued a Client Alert summarizing the White House Climate Change Summit from last week. We are replicating it below for the benefit of our blog readers. President Biden hosted the Leaders Summit on Climate (Climate...more
4/28/2021
/ Agribusiness ,
Biden Administration ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Financing ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Investment ,
Paris Agreement ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Zero Tolerance Policies ,
Zero-Emission Vehicles
On Friday, February 26, the Biden Administration’s newly-resurrected Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG) announced new values for three specific metrics that seek to monetize the environmental...more
On Friday, February 26, the Biden Administration’s newly-resurrected Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (IWG) announced new values for three specific metrics that seek to monetize the environmental...more
On September 21, 2020, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted to develop and codify a Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) for the construction and operation of advanced nuclear reactors through a...more
Draft legislation American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 set to provide further support for advanced reactors -
On July 29th, Senator Barrasso (R-WY) introduced a draft bill, the American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of...more
8/6/2020
/ Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
NASA ,
Nuclear Power ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
Outer Space
The Council on Environmental Quality is proposing major changes to its regulations concerning the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), that if implemented could have impacts on advanced reactor licensing. ...more
1/17/2020
/ CEQ ,
Comment Period ,
Deregulation ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
Infrastructure ,
NEPA ,
Nuclear Power ,
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
The White House released its long-awaited infrastructure plan outline last week. Leaving aside the funding proposals, the plan sets forth a number of potential revisions to the environmental permitting process for new...more