White House reportedly drafts orders on NRC nuclear decisions

The Donald Trump administration is seeking a more direct role in speeding up new reactor development and, in the process, could curb the authority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through executive orders, the New York Times and  NPR reported over the weekend. 

Reportedly, there are four draft executive orders under consideration by the White House that would reduce the independence of the NRC. The drafts could also streamline federal safety regulations to expedite nuclear deployment, according to the media accounts.

According to reports by E&E News, the four draft orders are on overhauling the NRC, bolstering up the U.S. nuclear energy supply chain, nuclear research and demonstration projects and leveraging nuclear use for national security.

The orders emphasize the importance of producing more domestic energy. In the orders, the administration calls for quadrupling U.S. nuclear power production by 2050. The administration previously signed an executive order in January to “unleash” American energy.

One of the draft orders is said to require the NRC to send its new rules on nuclear reactor safety to the White House where the rules will be reviewed or possibly edited, as reported by the NPR.

“We have received OMB [Office of Management and Budget] guidance and are working on implementation of relevant Executive Orders, as part of our commitment to make NRC regulatory processes more efficient,” an NRC spokesperson said Monday in response to an Exchange Monitor inquiry. “We have no additional details at this time.”

Former NRC commissioner Stephen Burns criticized the draft executive orders, saying the administration’s “attack” on independent agencies “undermines the effectiveness and confidence in effective and appropriate regulation.” Burns made his remarks in a May 10 LinkedIn post.

Burns also said the White House is overlooking existing initiatives to speed NRC reactor reviews, including the ADVANCE Act. 

“The draft Executive Order bases itself on questionable assertions…and overlooks the existing initiatives begun by the NRC and further established under the bipartisan ADVANCE Act to support improved efficiencies in licensing and oversight by the NRC,” Burns said in the LinkedIn post.

Burns formerly served as a commissioner for the NRC from 2014 to 2019.

On April 9, the Trump Administration signed an executive order that directs certain agencies implement a sunset provision and to reexamine its regulations periodically to “ensure that the rules serve the public good”, as the order stated.

In an emailed statement to the Exchange Monitor, former NRC chair Allison Macfarlane called the draft orders “backwards thinking”, saying that her biggest concern with expediting the process is safety. 

Macfarlane said the NRC process is not slow, using the Kairos Power NRC license process as an example.

“It’s all about the quality of the application and the quality of the answers to questions the NRC poses about the application,” Macfarlane told Exchange Monitor. “And it always has been.”

Macfarlane served as the NRC chair from 2012 to 2014.