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US Nuclear Regulator Proposes Streamlining Environmental Aspects of Licensing Requests

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The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has proposed streamlining licensing for new nuclear projects and to narrow the scope of environmental reviews solely to the impacts within its statutory authority, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

The proposed changes would also expand the number of 'categorical exclusions' meaning the NRC can rely on 'generic environmental findings' for some new reactor projects that do not 'normally' cause significant environmental impacts, it said.

"This proposal focuses our environmental reviews on what matters most," said NRC Chairman Ho K. Nieh said. "By concentrating on impacts the NRC can address, we'll strengthen environmental protection while making licensing reviews more timely and predictable."

The NRC said this would create "a more focused, efficient and predictable framework for reviewing future nuclear projects" while preserving compliance with environmental legislation.

The commission said a window for the public to provide feedback is open until Aug. 21 with a public meeting on the changes to be held at some time before that.

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