Executive Order No. 14300. Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

• Citation: 90 FR 22587
• Executive Order No.: 14300
• Published date: 29 May 2025
• Date: 23 May 2025
• FR Document: 2025-09798
• Pages: 22587-22590
• Issuer: Executive Office of the President
• Section: Presidential Documents

Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 102 (Thursday, May 29, 2025)

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 102 (Thursday, May 29, 2025)]
                [Presidential Documents]
                [Pages 22587-22590]
                From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
                [FR Doc No: 2025-09798] Presidential Documents
                Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 102 / Thursday, May 29, 2025 /
                Presidential Documents
                [[Page 22587]]
                 Executive Order 14300 of May 23, 2025
                
                Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory
                 Commission
                 By the authority vested in me as President by the
                 Constitution and the laws of the United States of
                 America, it is hereby ordered:
                 Section 1. Purpose. Abundant energy is a vital
                 national- and economic-security interest. In
                 conjunction with domestic fossil fuel production,
                 nuclear energy can liberate America from dependence on
                 geopolitical rivals. It can power not only traditional
                 manufacturing industries but also cutting-edge, energy-
                 intensive industries such as artificial intelligence
                 and quantum computing.
                 Between 1954 and 1978, the United States authorized the
                 construction of 133 since-completed civilian nuclear
                 reactors at 81 power plants. Since 1978, the Nuclear
                 Regulatory Commission (NRC) has authorized only a
                 fraction of that number; of these, only two reactors
                 have entered into commercial operation. The NRC charges
                 applicants by the hour to process license applications,
                 with prolonged timelines that maximize fees while
                 throttling nuclear power development. The NRC has
                 failed to license new reactors even as technological
                 advances promise to make nuclear power safer, cheaper,
                 more adaptable, and more abundant than ever.
                 This failure stems from a fundamental error: Instead of
                 efficiently promoting safe, abundant nuclear energy,
                 the NRC has instead tried to insulate Americans from
                 the most remote risks without appropriate regard for
                 the severe domestic and geopolitical costs of such risk
                 aversion. The NRC utilizes safety models that posit
                 there is no safe threshold of radiation exposure and
                 that harm is directly proportional to the amount of
                 exposure. Those models lack sound scientific basis and
                 produce irrational results, such as requiring that
                 nuclear plants protect against radiation below
                 naturally occurring levels. A myopic policy of
                 minimizing even trivial risks ignores the reality that
                 substitute forms of energy production also carry risk,
                 such as pollution with potentially deleterious health
                 effects.
                 Recent events in Europe, such as the nationwide
                 blackouts in Spain and Portugal, underscore the
                 importance of my Administration's focus on dispatchable
                 power generation--including nuclear power--over
                 intermittent power. Beginning today, my Administration
                 will reform the NRC, including its structure,
                 personnel, regulations, and basic operations. In so
                 doing, we will produce lasting American dominance in
                 the global nuclear energy market, create tens of
                 thousands of high-paying jobs, and generate American-
                 led prosperity and resilience.
                 Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
                 to:
                 (a) Reestablish the United States as the global
                 leader in nuclear energy;
                 (b) Facilitate increased deployment of new nuclear
                 reactor technologies, such as Generation III+ and IV
                 reactors, modular reactors, and microreactors,
                 including by lowering regulatory and cost barriers to
                 entry;
                 (c) Facilitate the expansion of American nuclear
                 energy capacity from approximately 100 GW in 2024 to
                 400 GW by 2050;
                 (d) Employ emerging technologies to safely
                 accelerate the modeling, simulation, testing, and
                 approval of new reactor designs;
                [[Page 22588]]
                 (e) Support the continued operation of, and
                 facilitate appropriate operational extensions for, the
                 current nuclear fleet, as well as the reactivation of
                 prematurely shuttered or partially completed nuclear
                 facilities; and
                 (f) Maintain the United States' leading reputation
                 for nuclear safety.
                 Sec. 3. Reforming the NRC's Culture. The Congress has
                 mandated that the NRC's ``licensing and regulation of
                 the civilian use of radioactive materials and nuclear
                 energy be conducted in a manner that is efficient and
                 does not unnecessarily limit--(1) the civilian use of
                 radioactive materials and deployment of nuclear energy;
                 or (2) the benefits of civilian use of radioactive
                 materials and nuclear energy technology to society.''
                 Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear
                 for Clean Energy Act of 2024, Public Law 118-67, sec.
                 501(a). Just as the Congress directed, the NRC's
                 mission shall include facilitating nuclear power while
                 ensuring reactor safety. When carrying out its
                 licensing and related regulatory functions, the NRC
                 shall consider the benefits of increased availability
                 of, and innovation in, nuclear power to our economic
                 and national security in addition to safety, health,
                 and environmental considerations.
                 Sec. 4. Reforming the NRC's Structure. (a) The current
                 structure and staffing of the NRC are misaligned with
                 the Congress's directive that the NRC shall not unduly
                 restrict the benefits of nuclear power. The NRC shall,
                 in consultation with the NRC's DOGE Team (as defined in
                 Executive Order 14158 of January 20, 2025 (Establishing
                 and Implementing the President's ``Department of
                 Government Efficiency'')), and consistent with its
                 governing statutes, reorganize the NRC to promote the
                 expeditious processing of license applications and the
                 adoption of innovative technology. The NRC shall
                 undertake reductions in force in conjunction with this
                 reorganization, though certain functions may increase
                 in size consistent with the policies in this order,
                 including those devoted to new reactor licensing. The
                 NRC shall also create a dedicated team of at least 20
                 officials to draft the new regulations directed by
                 section 5 of this order.
                 (b) The personnel and functions of the Advisory
                 Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) shall be reduced
                 to the minimum necessary to fulfill ACRS's statutory
                 obligations. Review by ACRS of permitting and licensing
                 issues shall focus on issues that are truly novel or
                 noteworthy.
                 Sec. 5. Reforming and Modernizing the NRC's
                 Regulations. The NRC, working with its DOGE Team, the
                 Office of Management and Budget, and other executive
                 departments and agencies as appropriate, shall
                 undertake a review and wholesale revision of its
                 regulations and guidance documents, and issue notice(s)
                 of proposed rulemaking effecting this revision within 9
                 months of the date of this order. The NRC shall issue
                 final rules and guidance to conclude this revision
                 process within 18 months of the date of this order. In
                 conducting this wholesale revision, the NRC shall be
                 guided by the policies set forth in section 2 of this
                 order and shall in particular:
                 (a) Establish fixed deadlines for its evaluation
                 and approval of licenses, license amendments, license
                 renewals, certificates of compliance, power uprates,
                 license transfers, and any other activity requested by
                 a licensee or potential licensee, as directed under the
                 Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, rather
                 than the nonbinding ``generic milestone schedules''
                 guidelines the NRC has already adopted. Those deadlines
                 shall be enforced by fixed caps on the NRC's recovery
                 of hourly fees. The deadlines shall include: (1) a
                 deadline of no more than 18 months for final decision
                 on an application to construct and operate a new
                 reactor of any type, commencing with the first required
                 step in the regulatory process, and (2) a deadline of
                 no more than 1 year for final decision on an
                 application to continue operating an existing reactor
                 of any type, commencing with the first required step in
                 the regulatory process. The regulations should not
                 provide for tolling those deadlines except in instances
                 of applicant failure, and must allow a reasonably
                 diligent applicant to navigate the licensing process
                 successfully in the time allotted. Moreover, these are
                 maximum time periods; the NRC shall adopt shorter
                 deadlines tailored to particular reactor types or
                 licensing pathways as appropriate.
                [[Page 22589]]
                 (b) Adopt science-based radiation limits. In
                 particular, the NRC shall reconsider reliance on the
                 linear no-threshold (LNT) model for radiation exposure
                 and the ``as low as reasonably achievable'' standard,
                 which is predicated on LNT. Those models are flawed, as
                 discussed in section 1 of this order. In reconsidering
                 those limits, the NRC shall specifically consider
                 adopting determinate radiation limits, and in doing so
                 shall consult with the Department of Defense (DOD), the
                 Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental
                 Protection Agency.
                 (c) Revise, in consultation with the Council on
                 Environmental Quality, NRC regulations governing NRC's
                 compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
                 to reflect the Congress's 2023 amendments to that
                 statute and the policies articulated in sections 2 and
                 5 of Executive Order 14154 of January 20, 2025
                 (Unleashing American Energy).
                 (d) Establish an expedited pathway to approve
                 reactor designs that the DOD or the DOE have tested and
                 that have demonstrated the ability to function safely.
                 NRC review of such designs shall focus solely on risks
                 that may arise from new applications permitted by NRC
                 licensure, rather than revisiting risks that have
                 already been addressed in the DOE or DOD processes.
                 (e) Establish a process for high-volume licensing
                 of microreactors and modular reactors, including by
                 allowing for standardized applications and approvals
                 and by considering to what extent such reactors or
                 components thereof should be regulated through general
                 licenses.
                 (f) Establish stringent thresholds for
                 circumstances in which the NRC may demand changes to
                 reactor design once construction is underway.
                 (g) Revise the Reactor Oversight Process and
                 reactor security rules and requirements to reduce
                 unnecessary burdens and be responsive to credible
                 risks.
                 (h) Adopt revised and, where feasible, determinate
                 and data-backed thresholds to ensure that reactor
                 safety assessments focus on credible, realistic risks.
                 (i) Reconsider the regulations governing the time
                 period for which a renewed license remains effective,
                 and extend that period as appropriate based on
                 available technological and safety data.
                 (j) Streamline the public hearings process.
                 Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
                 shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
                (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
                the head thereof; or
                (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
                relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
                 (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
                 applicable law and subject to the availability of
                 appropriations.
                 (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
                 create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
                 enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
                 the United States, its departments, agencies, or
                 entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
                 other person.
                [[Page 22590]]
                 (d) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission shall provide
                 funding for publication of this order in the Federal
                 Register.
                
                
                 (Presidential Sig.)
                 THE WHITE HOUSE,
                 May 23, 2025.
                [FR Doc. 2025-09798
                Filed 5-28-25; 8:45 am]
                Billing code 7590-01-P