Environmental review reform at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is needed to accelerate deployment of new nuclear reactors and increase the role of nuclear energy to meet U.S. energy needs. This paper provides background on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and its requirements to perform Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), summarizes current NRC environmental review practices, assesses the need for a categorical exclusion from NEPA EIS requirements for microreactors, and identifies necessary procedures to establish and implement a categorical exclusion.
Establishing a categorical exclusion for microreactors would accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear energy while ensuring sufficient regulatory oversight. This approach would conserve agency and applicant resources, reduce unnecessary delays, and enable microreactors to provide clean, reliable, and abundant energy to support energy security and climate goals.