Jeffrey Merrifield Presses NRC for Faster, More Efficient Advanced Reactor Licensing Process

Merrifield, in his capacity as Chair of the NIC’s Advanced Reactor Task Force, began his remarks by recounting the myriad environmental, energy security and competitiveness considerations that require the acceleration of Advanced Nuclear Reactor development. He then cited the NRC’s licensing process as one of the primary obstacles impeding the technology’s continued progression.

“The current framework of U.S. government policy, legislation, regulation and requirements, research and development support, and fee-based licensing is more aligned with past development efforts than what is needed for the future to commercialize a new generation of Advanced Reactors," he said. “This is particularly true of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing process, which presents one of the largest risk factors confronting private developers of Advanced Reactors as it does not accommodate a staged investment approach as the technology development and licensing risks are addressed and resolved.”

To remedy this, Merrifield and the NIC suggest a number of reforms to the current licensing process. Proposed changes include:

• A mandate for a 36-month Advanced Reactor licensing review by the NRC;
• General revenue funding to allow the NRC to waive the fees for the review of Advanced Reactors through their final design approval and for regulatory infrastructure and staffing to review and approve Advanced Reactor technology designs;
• Establishment of a phased design review and licensing process that would provide intermediate milestones toward a design certification that would include an early determination of licensability to enable continued development of designs without requiring a complete design to be submitted upfront;
• Development of a risk-informed licensing process for Advanced Reactors that recognizes their reduced source term risk and avoids the unnecessary implementation of regulatory requirements that are more appropriate for large light water reactor technologies; and
• Resolution of generic policy issues pertinent to Advanced Reactors within two years.

The NIC’s full Issue Brief can be found here.

Merrifield is a partner in Pillsbury’s Energy practice and is based in Washington, DC. He focuses his practice on providing nuclear energy providers with guidance on management, market analysis, policy, waste disposal, safety and regulatory, and public and government engagement strategies. Prior to joining the firm, he served two terms as a commissioner on the five-member NRC (1998-2007), which sets all policies and rules that govern the safe and secure use of nuclear materials at all U.S. nuclear power plants.