Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors

Document 2026-08015 is a Final Rule published by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the Federal Register on April 24, 2026, with an effective date of May 26, 2026. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations that govern the NRC's environmental reviews of new nuclear reactor applications under the National Environmental Policy Act. The rulemaking codifies the generic findings of the NRC's Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors. The Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors uses a technology-neutral framework and a set of plant and site parameters to determine which potential environmental impacts would be common to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors, and thus appropriate for a generic analysis, and which potential environmental impacts would be unique, and thus require a project-specific analysis. The NRC is also issuing revision 4 to regulatory guide 4.2, "Preparation of Environmental Reports for Nuclear Power Stations," and COL-ISG-030, "Environmental Considerations Associated with New Nuclear Reactor Applications that Reference the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (NUREG-2249)." This rulemaking is separate from NRC's comprehensive review and reform of its regulations, including those governing environmental review, in accordance with Executive Order (E.O.) 14300, "Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission." View the original at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/24/2026-08015/generic-environmental-impact-statement-for-licensing-of-new-nuclear-reactors.

No. Document 2026-08015 is not classified as economically significant under Executive Order 12866. Economically significant rules require OIRA review and are estimated to have impacts of $100 million or more per year.