Capito supports NRC’s work on nuclear reactor rulemaking

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) commended the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for directing its staff to publish a proposed rule and draft guidance that will create Part 53, a much-anticipated risk-informed and technology-inclusive licensing framework geared toward advanced technologies.

“I applaud the NRC commissioners for addressing major shortcomings in the draft proposed rule,” said Sen. Capito, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Establishing a usable regulatory framework is vital to enable the licensing and deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, and the commission’s direction to fix the flawed Part 53 rulemaking is a step toward finalizing the rules to increase clean, reliable nuclear energy.”

To help enable efficient licensing of advanced nuclear reactor technologies, Congress in 2018 passed the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act directing the NRC to complete a rulemaking to establish this regulatory framework for optional use by commercial advanced nuclear reactor applicants for new reactor license applications. 

In March 2023, NRC staff sent the commission the draft proposed rule, titled “Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors,” also known as the Part 53 rulemaking.

Sen. Capito in July 2023 led a bipartisan, bicameral letter signed by 20 senators and 44 House members urging the NRC to establish an effective and usable Part 53 framework.

In the commission’s March 4 memo, it approved, in part, the draft proposed rule that would amend regulations in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations to establish the voluntary risk-informed, performance-based, and technology-inclusive regulatory framework for commercial nuclear plants as proposed by the staff.

“I will continue working to enact policies to help expand our nation’s use of these advanced nuclear technologies,” said Sen. Capito.

This would include, she said, getting the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023, S. 1111, signed into law. 

Sen. Capito in March 2023 sponsored the bipartisan S. 1111 alongside nine original cosponsors to set forth provisions to develop and deploy advanced nuclear fuel for the United States and certain allied countries, restrict the possession or ownership of enriched uranium from Russia or China, clean up hazardous land, and establish related requirements, according to the bill’s congressional record summary.

S. 1111 since July 2023 has been on the U.S. Senate legislative calendar awaiting action.