Getting Ready for a Spring of Rulemaking

Before Everstar, I spent 21 years at the NRC—including leading the agencywide rulemaking organization for three years—and I've never seen anything like what's happening right now.

The NRC posted on LinkedIn yesterday that they're "rising to the moment by designing the future of nuclear safety regulation" in response to the ADVANCE Act and Executive Order 14300, with all final rules by November 2026.

They are 100% rising to that moment, but it’s a lot to handle. We're talking about roughly 40 active rulemakings, with the bulk of proposed rules hitting the Federal Register between March and May 2026. This is our time to read carefully, think critically, and make comments that will help shape the outcome. We’re all in this together.

And this isn't just the NRC. We’re seeing a government-wide shift in how we regulate nuclear technology. DOE published a categorical exclusion for environmental reviews of advanced nuclear reactors yesterday, too. DOE also reportedly eliminated ALARA from its regulations, though as Kevin Kong explains, that is only one step toward alignment across multiple agencies.

What's Actually Happening

Executive Order 14300 is driving a wholesale review and consolidation of the NRC's regulatory framework. Rules that have been in development for years—some for a decade or more—are being folded into broader modernization efforts. The non-emergency event reporting rulemaking? It's now part of "Regulatory Enhancements for Reactor Licensing, Decommissioning, and Operational Oversight." The decommissioning financial assurance rule? Subsumed into "Modernizing NRC Regulations for Byproduct Material Use."

What you thought you knew about these rulemakings may not be what shows up in the proposed rule. Below, I’m highlighting just a few of the dozens to especially look out for.

The Controversial Ones

Two categories are going to generate serious debate: radiation protection changes and process streamlining.

First, "Reforming and Modernizing the NRC's Radiation Protection Framework" (out by April 30) is walking gingerly along a third rail. Across the government, as noted above for DOE, the concept of “as low as is reasonably achievable” as a regulatory requirement is being reconsidered. Many view the current requirements as an operational burden, while others argue a loose definition of “reasonable” provides essential flexibility, and some are worried about dose creeping up if the rules are loosened. I’m not one of the worriers—safety is baked into every fundamental of nuclear—but I’m curious to see where the details land.

There are other related rules that we’ll need to fit together. The “dollar-per-person-rem” criterion is on the table in "Cost-Benefit Analysis for Power Reactor Radwaste Systems" (out by May 21). “Exemptions from Materials Licensing” (out by July 2 as a presumably low-controversy direct final rule) could change the quantities of radioactive materials that are deemed small enough and safe enough that they don’t need licenses.

Second, process changes, especially those related to environmental reviews, may be equally contentious. "National Environmental Policy Act Requirements" (out by April 9) aims to streamline environmental reviews. At a minimum, the rule will explore eliminating automatic environmental impact statement (EIS) requirements for certain actions, providing greater flexibility for streamlined approaches and eliminating the need for exemptions. At the other end of the spectrum, categorical exclusions for reactors may be coming like DOE just proposed. These are likely going to be reasonable revisions that account for decades of safe operation—but I can predict a bunch of spin distracting folks from the objective.

We’ll have to see how this larger rule fits together with the categorical exclusions final rule (due out March 30) and the new reactor generic EIS final rule (due out June 1). Will both be overcome by events? In addition, I’m intrigued by the “Streamlined Reviews of Proven Reactor Designs,” which is the one that people breathlessly worry will be a rubber stamp. It looks like they’re only editing 10 CFR 50.43, where previously prototyped reactors are already referenced, so I’m expecting something quite sensible. There are a couple of hearing-related rules too (one looking more boring than the other) that could catch attention.

Advanced Reactors and New Technologies

If you’re interested in how the NRC will enable the deployment of new technologies, keep an eye out for:

• Approval of new codes and standards, like the 2023 Edition of the ASME Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code (to be proposed February 10) and the 2018 edition of IEEE 603 (already proposed; to be final by October)
• Creation of a licensing framework for fusion machines under a radioactive materials framework (to be proposed February 27) — this used to be my baby at the NRC so I can’t wait to see it go through
• Finalization of technology-inclusive advanced-reactor requirements in the long-awaited “Part 53” (to be final March 27)
• Creation of new licensing requirements for microreactors (to be proposed March 30), which interestingly now includes “low consequence” reactors in the title, so could get wider adoption
• Adoption of increased enrichment and accident-tolerant fuel, now rolled into the “Modernizing Reactor Licensing, Safety Oversight, and Siting Practices” rulemaking (to be proposed April 20) – this was my other baby right before I left the NRC (and no, I don’t have a favorite baby) — but who knows what else is in the rule with such a title!

Security

If security is on your mind, keep an eye out for:

• “Modernizing Requirements for Physical Protection of Category 1 and Category 2 Materials” (to be proposed March 16) — this could just be taking care of the things addressed in a recent interim enforcement policy, or it could go further
• “Modernizing Package Certification Requirements” (to be proposed May 13), which sounds boring but has microreactor transportation within its scope
• “Modernizing Security Requirements” (to be proposed May 18) – ****lots of fodder here for change, as security has been a main complaint (and budget line item) of the industry for years
• “Alternative Physical Security Requirements for Advanced Reactors” — which may be overcome by events, too, as it was proposed in 2024 and isn’t shown as going final till 2027

Materials and Medical Applications

I spent years working on radioactive materials licensing, which is some of the most interesting work done by the NRC and 40 Agreement States (soon to be more), impacting real people’s daily lives for medical and industrial uses. I’ll keep a close eye on:

• “Modernizing Materials Licensing” (to be proposed March 31) – No idea what this will be, but the NRC’s page oddly mentions "modernizing the power grid"
• “Modernizing NRC Regulations for Byproduct Material Use” (to be proposed April 1) – This is where the decommissioning financial assurance rulemaking ended up, but could be lots more
• “Reducing Barriers to Medical Use Licensing” (to be proposed April 27) – Consolidates the emerging medical technologies rulemaking into a broader rule, and may include the controversial (but likely to be very reasonable) extravasations rule

It’s important to note that these changes would need to be adopted by the relevant Agreement States, which can take 3 years on average, so don’t expect immediate impacts in your neighborhood if you live outside the 10 NRC states.

What This Means for You

Spring 2026—March through May—is when most of these proposed rules hit. If you aren’t already working on a strategy for reviewing them (e.g., in the coordinated effort undertaken by NEI), you may want to set some calendar reminders and think about getting AI tools that will help you navigate (I happen to know a nuclear-smart platform that’s ready to help you…).

If you care about the details and the impacts, you’re going to have to read carefully and FAST. Rules you've been tracking for years may emerge looking different than you expected. The consolidation means broader scope, different tradeoffs, new stakeholders at the table. A rule you thought was about event reporting is now part of a package that includes decommissioning and operational oversight. A radiation protection change you expected to be narrow is now part of wholesale framework reform.

I expect a LOT of good to be done, overall, and I’m really NOT worried about the baby being thrown out with the bathwater. The NRC staff working on these rules are a great team that I’ve worked with for many years. My main worry is that they are going to be exhausted from pushing the paperwork through. To help them, I hope commenters will be timely, concise, thoughtful, and action-oriented. Those types of comments are the ones most likely to be considered, in my experience.

Want my spreadsheet of what’s coming when, or a demo of that excellent AI platform? Reach out to me—theresa@everstar.ai.