NRC proposes sweeping rewrite of reactor licensing, decommissioning and oversight rules

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed on September 24, 2026 a wholesale rewrite of its reactor rules across nine parts of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations, projecting $311 million to $411 million in net averted costs over 30 years. The proposal, published in the Federal Register (Vol. 91, No. 184, p. 60702) under RIN 3150-AL45 and docket NRC-2025-1138, carries the petition references PRM-50-110 and PRM-50-116. Comments are due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on November 9, 2026.

The rule implements Executive Order 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” signed by President Donald J. Trump on May 23, 2025. Section 5 of that order requires the NRC to undertake a review and wholesale revision of its regulations and guidance documents, and the agency identified potential changes across 10 CFR parts 20, 21, 50, 52, 53, 55, 70, 72 and 75. The NRC states the changes would yield significant efficiencies and reduce regulatory burden while continuing to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety and the common defense and security.

The proposal is one of several NRC efforts under the order; the agency recently issued a final rule establishing 10 CFR part 53, the risk-informed, technology-inclusive framework for commercial nuclear power plants (91 FR 15696, March 30, 2026). The rulemaking contact is Aaron Kwok of the Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards.

Fifteen areas of change

Major provisions, supported by accompanying draft guidance, include:

• Part 21 clarifications (parts 21, 50 and 53)
• Reporting requirements for nonemergency events at nuclear power plants (part 50)
• Decommissioning licensing enhancements (parts 20, 50, 52 and 53)
• Financial qualifications and decommissioning trust fund use (parts 50, 52 and 53)
• Risk-informed seismic design (part 50)
• Probabilistic risk assessment requirements (part 50)
• Backfitting and issue finality provisions (parts 50, 52, 53, 70 and 72)
• Notification of initial fuel load (parts 52 and 53)
• Evaluation of generic issues and operating experience (part 52)
• Standard design approvals (parts 50, 52 and 53)
• Environmental reviews of early site permits (parts 52 and 53)
• Post-TMI requirements (part 50)
• Updates to the operator licensing programs (parts 50, 53 and 55)
• IAEA notifications (part 75)
• Recordkeeping and reporting requirements (parts 50, 52, 53, 70 and 72)

Decommissioning and trust funds

The NRC would let licensees submit a license termination plan within two years of permanent cessation of operations — an “upfront LTP” — in place of the post-shutdown decommissioning activities report, and would shorten the waiting period before major decommissioning activities may begin from 90 days to 30 days after receipt of the PSDAR. It would also establish a 60-working-day notice and negative-consent process for withdrawing decommissioning trust funds during operations to dispose of major radioactive components, up from the current 30 working days and replacing an exemption route that averages nine months of review.

Financial qualification requirements in §§ 50.33(f) and 52.77 would be conformed to the less restrictive part 53 standard, “appears to be financially qualified,” with proposed license conditions where available funding at the time of application is 50 percent or less.

Operator licensing and guidance

Operator licensing changes would let facility licensees determine the minimum number of control manipulations under a Commission-approved training program instead of the current five, allow alternative examination standards in place of NUREG-1021 and NUREG-1478, permit licensees to proctor and grade operating tests, eliminate waiting times between re-applications, and drop the expiration date and renewal requirement for operator licenses. The NRC is issuing for comment eight revised draft guidance documents, including four draft regulatory guides — DG-1469 (draft RG 1.134, Revision 5), DG-1470 (draft RG 1.149, Revision 5), DG-1471 (draft RG 1.208, Revision 2) and DG-1476 (draft RG 1.159, Revision 4) — plus revisions to NUREG-1021, NUREG-1022, NUREG-1409 and NUREG-1478.

Costs, benefits and process

The draft regulatory analysis projects net averted costs of $311 million at a 7-percent discount rate and $411 million at 3 percent over 30 years: $305 million and $398 million for industry, and $5.50 million and $13.9 million for the NRC. Annualized, that is about $22.2 million per year at 7 percent and $15.1 million at 3 percent. The rule is a significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866 and a deregulatory action under Executive Order 14192; the NRC also cites Executive Order 14154, Executive Order 14267 and Executive Order 14270. The agency proposes an effective date 30 days after publication of a final rule, and is taking comment on the draft analysis and on the information collections under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 until October 26, 2026.

The proposal would reach every U.S. nuclear operator, from the existing light-water fleet to advanced and non-water-cooled designs, by rewriting the licensing, decommissioning and oversight framework in a single rulemaking. Its outcome will determine how quickly plants can be built, how soon they can be dismantled and how far decommissioning trust funds can be tapped during operation — with the NRC’s own estimate of the savings now open to public challenge until November 9.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 184, September 24, 2026, Proposed Rules, p. 60702 (official reference: 2026-19568).