Nuclear Regulatory Commission, permitting to change via Trump order
According to a senior White House official, the four executive orders aim to expedite reactor research & development, streamline regulations to allow the Pentagon and other agencies to build reactors on federally owned land, change the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and sets new timelines for its consideration of construction permits, and expand domestic uranium production and enrichment capabilities.
The NRC has overseen commercial nuclear reactors for 50 years since its creation in 1975. Amid concerns over overregulation, the U.S. has only two operational commercial reactors whose construction was approved since 1978.
Joe Dominguez, the CEO of Constellation Energy, an electric utility company, said at the ceremony that "some of the largest companies in the world ... who need this energy for AI ... are now working with us to fund the development and construction of the next generation (of) nuclear." Dominguez, whose company operates the country's largest fleet of nuclear power plants, argued nuclear energy is best-suited to support AI data center needs due to its consistent, around-the-clock nature.
Former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who today heads the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Energy Futures Initiative - organizations that work to reduce the risk of nuclear catastrophe - said the moves could increase safety or security risks.
"Reorganizing and reducing the independence of the NRC could lead to the hasty deployment of advanced reactors with safety and security flaws," Moniz, a nuclear physicist who served under President Barack Obama, said.
In a May 23 statement anticipating the executive orders, Moniz described "scaling safe and secure nuclear energy" as a "welcome contribution," but cautioned that doing so recklessly could "set back nuclear energy for a long time."
If you have news tips related to nuclear threats and national security, please contact Davis Winkie via email at dwinkie@usatoday.com or via the Signal encrypted messaging app at 770-539-3257. Davis Winkie's role covering nuclear threats and national security at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Outrider Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
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