The Department of Energy's Nuclear Powerplant Siting and Licensing Bill

At the present time, it takes from 10 to 12 years to plan, license, and build a nuclear powerplant. Four years of this time can be attributed to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's) licensing process, and plant construction accounts for more than 6 years. The Nuclear Siting and Licensing Act of 1978 seeks to improve the licensing process in three ways: expediting licensing through early site approval and preapproved standard powerplant designs, clearly delineating the respective roles of Federal and State regulators, and modifying public participation to reduce potential delays in the licensing process. The bill probably will not substantially reduce powerplant leadtimes beyond what can be accomplished through existing NRC procedures and authority. Currently, the NRC conducts two separate reviews and issues separate licenses to construct and operate nuclear powerplants. The act would permit NRC to conduct only one review and to issue a combined construction and operating license. The act would also allow States with Federally-approved programs to conduct all or part of the reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 while, currently, the 27 States performing some type of environmental review duplicate some of what is done by the NRC. There is concern, however, that in those cases where the States conduct the reviews, the NRC would still have the responsibility to assess radiological issues. There is also concern that the proposal would change and possibly limit public participation on environmental matters.