Details: According to the June 1 letter, ANIA would direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue to modernize its regulatory review processes, which would help enable nuclear energy to deploy at a rapid enough scale to support decarbonization. In addition, preemptively reviewing Department of Energy sites for demonstration reactors could help companies partner with the national laboratories to test out innovative concepts, including advanced methods of manufacturing and construction.
Other provisions: The ANIA also includes empowering the NRC to engage with and help develop other countries’ regulatory agencies, which strengthens international safety and security standards. Furthermore, permitting investments by allied countries strengthens the United States by building long-term partnerships that could lead to deploying U.S. reactors in other international markets. Both provisions take a long-term view on the role the United States should play in the global nuclear industry, the letter states.
The ANIA also has provisions that would provide for a Superfund cleanup at abandoned mine sites, including sites on tribal land, and require health assessments for certain sites on tribal land.
They said it: “The innovative programs established in this bill support currently operating nuclear reactors and the next generation of reactor technologies,” the letter reads. “The American Nuclear Infrastructure Act is an important next step in modernizing our regulatory infrastructure and rebuilding our nuclear industrial capabilities.”
The coalition: In addition to ANS, the other signees were ARC Clean Energy, BWX Technologies, the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, the Clean Air Task Force, ClearPath Action, the Climate Coalition, the Edison Electric Institute, Energy Northwest, Framatome, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Generation Atomic, Holtec International, Kairos Power, the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Nucleation Capital, Orano USA, TerraPower, TerraPraxis, Third Way, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute, the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, and X-Energy.
