NRC caps contested licensing hearings at 6 to 18 months
A final rule sets deadlines for contested reactor licensing hearings for the first time.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has finalised a rule that puts each contested hearing into one of three tracks: standard (18 months), focused (12 months) or expedited (6 months), depending on how complex the application is.
Hearings can start within weeks of a challenge being admitted. The aim is for them to finish no later than the staff’s technical review. Safety standards and the bar for admitting challenges stay the same, and the NRC dropped a plan to stop non-lawyers representing themselves.
The rule takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
Source: Nuclear Newswire (ANS)