On July 18, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”) approved a new process to help streamline the agency’s mandatory hearings. The new process will go into effect immediately and should dramatically shorten the time...more
The US Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright decision overturned its 1984 Chevron decision, which, over the last 40 years, had become a fundamental doctrine in administrative law. That doctrine, known as the “Chevron...more
The landmark nuclear legislation will help drive development, innovation, investment and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies. The ADVANCE Act takes substantial steps to help expedite the development and deployment...more
On June 18, 2024, the U.S. Senate passed the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act by a vote of 88-2. The Act was signed into law by President Biden on July 9, 2024. The ADVANCE...more
On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, President Biden signed into law the most comprehensive energy-related bill since the Inflation Reduction Act—and it’s all about nuclear energy. This new law will support the deployment of nuclear...more
On February 28, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill containing a package of nuclear licensing reforms aimed at speeding the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors. The bill, which had strong bipartisan...more
The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Annual Report for fiscal year 2023, summarizing its activities from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. According to the annual report, OI opened 82 new...more
In a Federal Register Notice published September 5, 2023, the NRC amended its regulations to be effective October 5, 2023, to adjust for inflation the maximum total and annual deferred premium amounts for the “secondary...more
The US Department of Energy (DOE) published on January 31 two secretarial determinations in the Federal Register that change the countries that are eligible for general authorizations under 10 CFR Part 810 (Part 810). The...more
The U.S. Department of Energy issued a final rule regarding procedures for imposing civil penalties for violations of DOE’s 10 CFR Part 810 regulations governing civil nuclear technology export controls. The language 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
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently issued SRM-SECY-21-0107, in which it approved the NRC Staff’s recommendation to delegate authority to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) Panel—the independent trial-level...more
The NRC’s Office of Investigations (OI) recently published its Office of Investigations Annual Report FY 2021 summarizing its activities during the past fiscal year. Overall, OI saw a drop in caseload, likely due—at least in...more
Commissioner Annie Caputo has announced her plans to leave the NRC when her term expires next week, on June 30, 2021. This will leave the Commission with the bare minimum number of commissioners needed to conduct business....more
With advances in technology, the long sought-after development of fusion power, which promises a limitless, carbon-free source of energy for the future, finally appears within reach. Over two-dozen private companies are...more
As we reported in 2019, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, which occurred on January 31, 2020, included the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). Exports of nuclear...more
Fusion, the process that powers the Sun, has long been seen as the “holy grail” of energy production. In contrast with fission, which splits apart atoms in a nuclear reactor, fusion literally fuses hydrogen atoms together,...more
The US Supreme Court issued its decision on June 17 in the case of Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren. The Court affirmed the decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which held that the Atomic Energy Act...more
On June 17, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren, concluding that Virginia may ban uranium mining within its borders because the federal Atomic Energy Act (AEA) does not preempt State mining...more
A bipartisan group of four senators has introduced a bill that would amend the Atomic Energy Act to require the US Department of Energy (DOE) to submit to Congress quarterly reports providing information about industry’s and...more
This is the seventh issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the course of 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector....more
The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany (FCC) on December 6 ruled that while the phase-out of nuclear energy (enacted in 2011) is in compliance with the constitution, Germany’s energy suppliers which operate nuclear power...more
In the first comprehensive rewrite of the U.S. controls on exports of unclassified nuclear technology and assistance in nearly 30 years, the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has...more
The revised rules (10 C.F.R. Part 810) that govern “Assistance to Foreign Atomic Energy Activities” will take effect on March 25. After almost three and a half years, the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) new Part 810...more
Last week, in Entergy v. Shumlin, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals largely struck down Vermont’s efforts to close Vermont Yankee. Although three separate Vermont statutes were at issue, and Entergy made both preemption and...more