WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the renewed interest in domestic nuclear fuel reprocessing, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is working on a new rule focused on the reprocessing of spent fuel, commissioners told a House panel last week.
During the House Energy and Commerce’s Energy Subcommittee’s April 22 budget hearing, Commissioner David Wright said NRC is able to license reprocessing facilities under its current framework. However, the agency is working on a more “comprehensive and structured approach that would enable the flexibility for an expeditious pathway to license that technology,” NRC Chair Ho Nieh told Rep. Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.).
The new rulemaking of a licensing pathway for a fuel reprocessing facility comes as a part of the series of rulemakings under Executive Order 14300, Nieh said. The action called for a wholesale revision of NRC’s structure and regulations.
When asked by Fedorchak what has been stopping the country from pursuing fuel reprocessing, Nieh said that it is feasible and policy does not prohibit it, but it is a commercial decision to make the investment to pursue the reprocessing technologies.
“So, if there is more demand for this fuel [reprocessing] and more development and building and production onsite, then this industry will follow,” Fedorchak said. “Is that your expectation?”
“That’s my understanding,” Nieh responded.
Regarding the licensing process timeframes for fuel recycling and reprocessing, Nieh told Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) that he expects NRC to license those facilities in a timely manner.
“As part of the overall rulemaking efforts under Executive Order 14300, there are active activities at the agency looking at being able to enable safe and secure use of these types of technologies,” Nieh said. “We’ll be ready.”
Peters and Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) introduced the Nuclear Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing (REFUEL) Act of 2025 in the House in June 2025 to create a clear pathway for domestic nuclear fuel recycling. Then in October 2025, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed the Senate version of the Nuclear REFUEL Act of 2025 in a 16-3 vote. Sens. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) sponsored it.