U.S. Energy Law: Nuclear
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About the NRC
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent regulatory agency created by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974. It regulates U.S. civilian commercial, industrial, academic, and medical uses of nuclear materials.
The Commission is comprised of 5 members. Each member serves a 5 year term. Terms are staggered so that one Commissioner's term expires each year on June 30. Members of the Commission are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. No more that three members can belong to the same political party. The President designates one member to serve as Chairman.
NRC headquarters is located in Rockville, MD. Four regional offices are located in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Illinois, and Texas.
ADAMS Database
The NRC's Agency-wide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) is a database of publicly available regulatory guides, NUREG-series reports, inspection reports, Commission documents, correspondence, and other regulatory and technical documents written by NRC staff, contractors, and licensees. It is updated daily as new documents are released throughout the day. Full text searching is available and documents are in PDF format. ADAMS does not contain proprietary information, attorney-client privilege information, or security-related information.
- ADAMS Database
- NRC Document Collections by Type
- ADAMS Help and References: Lists of Licenses and Docket Numbers
Selected NRC Documents
- Decisions & Orders
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Addresses appeals or motions before the Commission in such matters as license transfers, license renewals, amendments to nuclear facility licenses, and enforcement matters. Orders may be issued for violations, or in the absence of a violation, because of a public health or safety issue. Documents are identified by "CLI" followed by a year and sequential number, for example, CLI-20-1. - Nuclear Regulatory Commission Issuances (NUREG-0750)
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Since November 1999, this document includes all of the legal precedents for the NRC: issuances of the Commission, its Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards, Administrative Law Judges, and Office Directors. Issuances are referred to as follows: Commission (CLI), Atomic Safety and Licensing Boards (LBP), Administrative Law Judges (ALJ), Directors' Decisions (DD), and Decisions on Petitions for Rulemaking (DPRM). - Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) Letter Reports
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Statutorily mandated by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, the ACRS reviews and reports on safety studies, reactor facility license and license renewal applications, and advises the NRC on the hazards of proposed and existing production and utilization facilities. - Commission Papers (SECY)
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The NRC's primary decision making tool is a written issue paper (SECY Paper) submitted by the NRC staff to the Commission on policy, security, rulemaking, adjudicatory matters, and general information. - Director's Decisions (DD)
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The public can ask the NRC to take an enforcement action through 10 C.F.R. §2.206, “Requests for action under this subpart.” This “2.206 petition” process covers NRC licensees and licensed activities. The NRC’s written decision, signed by the director of the relevant agency office, addresses a 2.206 petition’s concerns. Documents are identified by "DD" followed by a year and sequential number, for example, DD-19-1. - Early Site Permits (ESP)
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By issuing an early site permit (ESP), the NRC approves one or more sites for a nuclear power facility, independent of an application for a construction permit or combined license. An ESP is valid for 10 to 20 years, but can be renewed for an additional 10 to 20 years. - Inspection Reports
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Inspection findings issued periodically. These may cover a specific time period for the baseline inspection or a particular event or problem examined in a reactive inspection. - Interim Staff Guidance
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Documents, identified by "ISG" preceded by a division acronym, are issued to clarify or to address issues not discussed in a Standard Review Plan (SRP). An example of an Interim Staff Guidance for High-Level Waste Repository Safety (HLWRS) is HLWRS-ISG-04. - Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)
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Agreements between the NRC and other organizations or federal agencies. - Memoranda of Understanding Between NRC and Other Agencies Regarding Enforcement
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Agreements between the NRC and another federal agency which facilitate coordination and cooperation. - Office of Inspector General (OIG) Reports
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The OIG keeps the Chairman and the Congress informed about problems, recommends corrective actions, and monitors NRC's progress in implementing such actions. - Reports to Congress
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Status Reports to Congress Regarding the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act and Agency Licensing and Regulatory Duties. - Significant Enforcement Actions
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Significant (escalated) enforcement actions issued to licensees, individuals, and non-licensees for failure to comply with agency regulations. - Standard Review Plan (SRP)
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Provides guidance to the staff for reviewing an application to obtain an NRC license to construct or operate a nuclear facility or to possess or use nuclear materials. Current and previous versions of SRPs are available through the NRC's ADAMS database. - State Agreements
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An agreement between a State and the NRC authorizing the State to regulate certain uses of radioactive materials within the State.
Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP)
The Atomic Energy Act established an adjudicatory process through which hearings can be held on a variety of civilian nuclear matters. Administrative Law Judges on the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel (ASLBP) hear and address concerns of individuals or entities that are affected by any licensing or enforcement action involving a facility that produces or uses nuclear materials.
Each decision is identified by an alphanumeric number: "LBP" (Licensing Board Panel), followed by the year and the number of the decision for that year, for example: LBP-20-02.
The Commission may also choose to conduct a hearing or to review an initial decision of the LBP judges. A party to a hearing also may appeal to the Commission to review an initial hearing decision.
The Commission's Rules of Practice for Domestic Licensing Proceedings and Issuance of Orders are found in 10 CFR Part 2.
- ASLBP Decisions & Orders
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Yucca Mountain
Legislation:
- Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA), Pub. L. 97-425, 96 Stat. 2201 (1982), 42 U.S.C. §§10101 et seq.
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Designated Yucca Mountain, NV as the country's sole potential site for a permanent high-level nuclear waste repository.
Regulations:
- 10 CFR Part 2 – Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, Subpart J
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Deals with procedures applicable to proceedings for the issuance of licenses for the receipt of high-level waste at a geologic repository. - 10 CFR Part 2 – Agency Rules of Practice and Procedure, Appendix D
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Deals with the schedule for the proceeding on considering construction authorization for a repository. - 10 CFR Part 51
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Deals with environmental protection regulations for domestic licensing and related regulatory functions. - 10 C.F.R. Part 63
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Deals with the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in the geological repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. - 40 C.F.R. Part 197
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Deals with the public health and environmental radiation protection standards for Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
Documents:
The NRC's Licensing Support Network Library (LSN) provides documents related to the hearings conducted on the Department of Energy’s application for authorization to construct a high-level nuclear waste geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
Selected Publications:
- Draft Consent-Based Siting Process for Consolidated Storage and Disposal Facilities for Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste (2017)
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(U.S. Dept. of Energy) - Six Overarching Recommendations for How to Move the Nation's Nuclear Waste Management Program Forward (2021)
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(U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board) - Strategy for the Management and Disposal of Used Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste (2013)
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(U.S. Dept. of Energy) - Yucca Mountain Review Plan: Final Report (2003)
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(U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, NUREG-1804, Revision 2)
Websites:
- Backgrounder on Licensing Yucca Mountain
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(U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) - DOE's License Application for a High-Level Waste Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain
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(U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) - Geological Disposal
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(U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board) - High-Level Waste Disposal > NRC's Yucca Mountain Licensing Activities
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(U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission) - What is the Yucca Mountain repository?
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(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) - Yucca Mountain Archival Documents
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(U.S. Dept. of Energy)