WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) directed its staff to publish a proposed rule and draft guidance to establish a licensing process for commercial nuclear power plants, also known as the Part 53 rulemaking:

“I am pleased to see the NRC heeded our call and made significant improvements to their draft proposed rule to better support the next generation of nuclear reactors. I am grateful for the years of work and public engagement that has gone into this rulemaking, and to know that the Commission is well ahead of schedule with today’s announcement.

“As Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, I'll keep working to bolster safe, clean, and American-made advanced nuclear energy — including by getting the ADVANCE Act to the President's desk.”

Background:

In 2019, the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA) was signed into law with Senator Carper’s support. NEIMA required the NRC to develop a regulatory framework for deploying advanced nuclear technologies.

In July of last year, following release of the draft proposed Part 53 rule in March, Chairman Carper and Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito along with U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.-05) and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.-06), Chair and Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led a group of their colleagues in the House and Senate in sending a letter to NRC Commissioners urging them to carefully review and modify the Part 53 draft licensing framework to better reflect Congressional intent.

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