WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nuclear power’s expansion in the United States hinges upon a strong and independent regulator, witnesses told a House subcommittee hearing Wednesday morning.
Democratic lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy subcommittee expressed misgivings about nuclear safety and the independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) under President Donald Trump’s White House.
But during the hearing, lawmakers from both parties expressed interest in spent fuel reprocessing.
The witnesses from the nuclear industry and the Department of Energy expressed confidence NRC remains a strong independent regulator. Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) President and CEO Maria Korsnick said NRC has made notable regulatory improvements so far under the ADVANCE Act that passed by Congress in 2024.
During the questions and answers section of the hearing, Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-Ohio) said the success of the nuclear industry will require a robust workforce and collaboration between DOE and NRC.
Under questioning from Latta, the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Director John Wagner said DOE and NRC have collaborated well together. responsibilities.
The companies selected under DOE reactor pilot program have been working with the DOE under its authorization while NRC is engaging in that process to understand those reactor technologies when it comes to NRC for its respective review, Wagner said.
There was no NRC witness during the hearing.
Ranking Member Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) voiced apprehensions about whether Trump’s administration will follow through with its push on nuclear energy.
“Nuclear power requires continuity and certainty, which is actively being undermined by this administration’s reckless and illegal attacks on energy projects and the independence of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which oversees the safety of our nuclear plants,” Castor said in her opening remarks.
In addition to Korsnick and Wagner, other witnesses were Senior Vice President of Technical Services and External Affairs at Southern Company John Williams and Nuclear Innovation Alliance President and CEO Judi Greenwald.
Aside from the NRC issue, witnesses discussed fuel recycling and reprocessing during the hearing.
Greenwald and Wagner support including fuel recycling and reprocessing into the national waste management strategy.
Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), who represents a district near the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, asked Greenwald what Congress should do to help domestic fuel recycling. Greenwald told Peters that the DOE Loan Program Office, also known as the Office of Energy Dominance Financing, should be used to fund the development of fuel recycling technologies.
Wagner told the subcommittee that INL has been working with Curio and several other companies on reprocessing and recycling technologies.
Wagner told the subcommittee INL has been recycling nuclear materials from its experimental breeder reactor for years to further test fuel reprocessing.
While fuel reprocessing has a role in the back end of the fuel cycle, a geological repository is still needed, some witnesses said. The witnesses collectively agreed that Congress should modernize the Nuclear Waste Policy Act, which could include collaborative-based siting.
“Recycling is a part of an integrated storage solution but I would just say it’s not going to prevent the need of a deep geological repository,” Korsnick said in response to a question by Rep. Cliff Brentz (R-Ore.). “I think the Nuclear Waste Policy Act needs to be refreshed with a look at what’s really going on today.”