The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week announced a proposed rule for microreactor approval under 10 CFR Part 57.
The regulatory framework under Part 57 aims to enable rapid deployment of microreactors and other reactor technologies with similar risk profiles, according to NRC’s April 24 press release.
Under the proposed Part 57 rule, it allows for requesting approval of fleets of identical reactors, streamlining environmental reviews for projects with demonstrated minimal impacts and creating a path for limited construction before receiving an NRC permit.
NRC expects accelerated licensing and deployment timelines of possibly 6–12 months for construction permits and operating licenses. In a April 24 media availability call, NRC Chair Ho Nieh said that the simplification of the microreactor safety designs allows for these reactors to have a shorter licensing process.
“We’re looking at designs here that have very simple safety cases,” Nieh said. “There’s not a lot of complex safety equipment that needs to be activated during an event that would occur at a facility so this is really geared toward very very simple machines, very simple safety systems that have a safety case that’s really suited for high volume licensing.”
This change is expected to save $3.76–$11.84 billion, depending on the discount rate, through reducing exemption requests and streamlining reviews, according to the release.
The proposed rule’s Federal Register is scheduled to be published on May 6, but is subject to change, NRC said. This rule announcement comes weeks after the Part 53 rule was finalized. Part 53 is designed to take a risk-informed, technology-inclusive approach to provide an accelerated and cost-effective review for advanced reactors.
During the media call, Nieh said that Part 53 and Part 57 gives applicants options in their regulatory choices, but Part 57 leans more to smaller reactors and microreactor types.
“Part 57, to be very clear, is focused on microreactors and reactors of comparable risk profiles,” Nieh said. “So these are typically small simple machines…think of a reactor that has a low fuel inventory and we’ll have a framework in this rule that will have an applicant assess what consequences might occur during an event and if the reactor is below a certain threshold, then it would meet the entry criteria. So that’s probably the main filter.”
Mario Fernandez, director of nuclear security and compliance at InfraShield, told Exchange Monitor in an emailed statement that NRC’s newest framework is a shift toward a risk-informed approach that “represents the most significant decoupling of nuclear regulation from its 1970s roots.”
By moving away from the rigid and prescriptive approach, NRC is practically handing reactor companies a compass instead of a map, Fernandez said. The “choose your own adventure” landscape permits for a customized licensing pathway where safety requirements are scaled to the technology’s actual risk, he added.
While Fernandez said the proposed Part 57 rule would bring industry an additional path to commercial viability, he said it will also push NRC to trade its standard license review methods for a more complex and analytical style of oversight.
“The NRC’s challenge is to quickly develop a group of subject matter experts with deep expertise across multiple frameworks to assess very different implementations,” Fernandez said. “That is a high bar, and it deserves equal attention as we modernize the rules.”
Prior to Fernandez’s time with InfraShield, he served as the chief of the cybersecurity branch at NRC.