U.S. Nuclear Regulator Advances SMR Permit and Proposes Review Overhaul

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff issued a safety evaluation recommending that the Tennessee Valley Authority receive a construction permit for a 300‑megawatt BWRX‑300 small modular reactor at the Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The recommendation moves the project closer to physical construction pending final NRC commissioner approval.

In parallel, the NRC announced a proposed rule to narrow the scope of environmental reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act for new and renewed reactor licences. The agency said it will limit reviews to impacts within its legal authority—excluding dust, noise, air, and non‑radiological water effects—and will expand categorical exclusions. Chairman Ho Nieh stated the agency had “done much more than required … and now we are bringing it back to what NEPA demands, nothing more, nothing less.” The agency estimates the change could save applicants and the NRC about $135 million.

A related proposal would replace the long‑standing ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle with fixed dose limits, allowing operators to forgo additional reductions for public exposures below 25 mrem per year while keeping the 100 mrem annual cap. Critics warn the shift could raise cancer risk for communities near nuclear plants.