1 Staff Requirements Memorandum, “Affirmation Session, 3:30 P.M., Wednesday, March 25, 2026, Via Teleconference (Open to Public Attendance)” (Mar. 25, 2026), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2608/ML26084A479.html (SRM). The final rule also includes revisions for parts 26, 50, and 73 and conforming changes throughout 10 C.F.R. chapter I.
2 Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors; Final rule, 91 Fed. Reg. 15696 (Mar. 30, 2026).
3 Executive Order 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission” (May 23, 2025); 90 Fed. Reg. 22587 (May 29, 2025) (EO 14300).
4 See EO 14300 § 5(b).
5 See e.g., NRC Response to Public Comments, Volume 1, at 61 (Mar. 2026), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2604/ML26042A229.pdf.
6 NRC Response to Public Comments, Volume 1, at 61, 69, 227 (Mar. 2026), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2604/ML26042A229.pdf. The Commission directed the NRC staff to revise the discussion of the removal of specific references to ALARA in the comment response document associated with the final rule to rely on the “more direct and current reference to Part 20 as sufficient for this purpose.” SRM at 2 (unnumbered).
7 91 Fed. Reg. at 15703.
8 See 10 C.F.R. § 50.160 (providing alternative emergency preparedness requirements that are performance-based, technology-inclusive, risk-informed, and consequence oriented for small modular reactors and other new technologies); see also Emergency Preparedness for Small Modular Reactors and Other New Technologies, 88 Fed. Reg. 80050 (Nov. 16, 2023).
9 See SECY-18-0026, “Proposed Rule: Financial Qualifications Requirements for Reactor Licensing” (Feb. 26, 2018), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1717/ML17172A536.html.
10 See Staff Requirements Memorandum, “Staff Requirements – SECY-18-0026 – Proposed Rule: Financial Qualification Requirements for Reactor Licensing (RIN 3150-AJ43)” (July 14, 2022), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2219/ML22195A097.pdf; Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Discontinuation of rulemaking activity, 87 Fed. Reg. 58459 (Sept. 7, 2022).
11 See Risk-Informed, Technology-Inclusive Regulatory Framework for Advanced Reactors; Proposed rule, 89 Fed. Reg. 86918 (Oct. 31, 2024).
12 See NRC Response to Public Comments, Volume 1, at 229-30 (Mar. 2026), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2604/ML26042A229.pdf.
13 Id. at 230.
14 Utility applicants are exempt from financial qualification reviews because they are presumed to be financially qualified. See 10 C.F.R. §§ 53.1670, 50.33(f), and 52.77 (referencing § 50.33).
15 Similar provisions are provided for standard design approval finality in 10 C.F.R. § 53.1221, which is largely consistent with § 52.145. Under 10 C.F.R. § 53.1221, an approved standard design that is incorporated into a design certification application or individual facility license application is binding on the NRC staff and ACRS, “unless there exists significant new information that substantially affects the earlier determination or other good cause.”
16 See e.g., Vistra Operations Company, LLC; Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Unit No. 1; Exemption, 90 Fed. Reg. 34016 (July 18, 2025).
17 See EO 14300 § 4(b).
18 See ACRS Guidelines and Best Practices (June 2025), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2419/ML24199A160.pdf.
19 See e.g., SECY-11-0098, “Operator Staffing for Small or Multi-Module Nuclear Power Plant Facilities” (July 22, 2011), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1118/ML111870574.pdf.
20 See 10 C.F.R. § 53.730.
21 See 10 C.F.R. §§ 53.805-53.820.
22 10 C.F.R. § 53.725(c).
23 91 Fed. Reg. at 15715.
24 See 10 C.F.R. § 53.740(f).
25 NRC, “Licensing Considerations Relating to Use of Nuclear Energy for Nonelectric Applications,” at 4 (Apr. 2025), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2505/ML25055A251.pdf.
26 See 10 C.F.R. § 53.620(d).
27 Compare 10 C.F.R. § 53.1288(b) with 10 C.F.R. § 52.171(b)(2).
28 Compare 10 C.F.R. § 53.1295(a)(3) with 10 C.F.R. § 52.177(c).
29 NRC, “NRC Reviews of Reactor Designs Previously Authorized by U.S. Department of Energy or Department of War,” 91 Fed. Reg. 16584 (Apr. 2, 2026).
30 See Memorandum from J. Groom (NRC) to J. Grieves and M. Sampson (NRC), “Expectations for NRC Staff Involvement with Prospective NRC License Applicants Planning to Refer to DOE and DOW Authorization Processes” (Dec. 11, 2025), https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2532/ML25322A208.pdf. (While the NRC noted in its proposed rulemaking that it plans to provide guidance in the future applicable to the review of applications that reference a DOE or DOW authorization, it previously released its expectations for NRC staff involvement with prospective applicants planning to refer to DOE or DOW authorizations. In this document, the NRC encourages early engagement with the NRC staff and outlines the benefits of NRC staff observation activities).
31 91 Fed. Reg. at 16586.
32 See NRC, “Principles of Good Regulation,” https://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/values#principles (last reviewed/updated Mar. 4, 2026) (stating in part, “independence does not imply isolation”); see also Ho Nieh, “The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Defining Moment,” https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2026/03/10/the_nuclear_regulatory_commissions_defining_moment_1169442.html (Mar. 10, 2026) (stating “NRC’s independence does not mean isolation.”).
