Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) recently laced into the Department of Energy over a recent categorical exclusion to bypass certain safety requirements for certain advanced reactors.
On Feb. 2, DOE established a categorical exclusion from certain National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedures. The new exclusion could effectively allow certain advanced reactors to be approved without first preparing an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement.
Whitehouse, ranking Democratic lawmaker of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, criticized DOE’s exclusion in a letter he filed to Energy Secretary Chris Wright on March 10.
DOE did not immediately respond Friday morning to Exchange Monitor’s inquiry about Whitehouse’s letter.
Advanced reactors, such as Generation IV and III+ and small modular reactors, are designed to be safer than previous iterations of reactors, DOE said in its justification for the exclusion.
Whitehouse blasted DOE’s notion, saying advanced reactors’ “performance should be assured – not assumed.”
With DOE evaluating various first-of-a-kind reactor technology under its reactor pilot program, Whitehouse said environmental assessments are necessary. The new reactor designs, which include non-light water technology, are “too diverse and nascent to be covered under such a general CE [categorical exclusion],” Whitehouse said.
“DOE’s CE [categorical exclusion] for advanced reactors and weakening of its nuclear energy directives risk undermining that trust, exposing the American public and environment to avoidable hazards, and threatening confidence in the industry at large,” Whitehouse said.
According to Whitehouse, this broad exclusion for advanced reactors is the first one issued by DOE for a nuclear fission facility. However, unlike other existing categorical exclusions, Whitehouse said this one has no restrictions on project duration or size and covers the full lifecycle capabilities, such as operation and decommissioning. It can also allow for multiple reactors at one site to be under a single exclusion, he added.
Whitehouse urged DOE to revise its approach to its exclusions, along with other internal policies that have been changed.
“To fully realize this opportunity, each novel design should be sufficiently assessed to ensure delivery of promised safety enhancements as well as environmental and public health protections,” Whitehouse said. “Cutting corners in the near term for a small handful of nascent technologies will not help the nuclear industry succeed in the long term.”