"The Department of Energy announced the change Monday in a notice in the Federal Register. It said the department would begin excluding advanced nuclear reactors from the National Environmental Policy Act. The act requires federal agencies to consider the environment when undertaking new projects and programs. The law also requires extensive reporting on how proposed programs might impact local ecosystems."
"In its notice, the Energy Department cited the inherent safety of the advanced reactor designs as the reason they should be excluded from environmental reviews. "Advanced reactor projects in this category typically employ inherent safety features and passive safety systems," it said. The exemption had been expected, according to Adam Stein, the director of nuclear energy innovation at the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental think tank that studies nuclear power and the tech sector."
"The act requires federal agencies to consider the environment when undertaking new projects and programs. The law also requires extensive reporting on how proposed programs might impact local ecosystems. That documentation, known as an Environmental Impact Statement, and a second lesser type of analysis, known as an Environmental Assessment, provide an opportunity for the public to review and comment on potential projects in their community."
The Department of Energy announced it will exclude advanced nuclear reactors from the National Environmental Policy Act in a Federal Register notice. NEPA normally requires Environmental Impact Statements or Environmental Assessments and public review of potential environmental and accident consequences. The Energy Department cited inherent safety features and passive safety systems in advanced reactor designs as the reason for the exclusion. The change follows reporting that DOE officials had secretly rewritten environmental, safety, and security rules to ease reactor construction. President Trump required the exemption in a previous executive order on nuclear power. Adam Stein said he thinks the exclusion "is appropriate" for some reactors.
Read at www.npr.org
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