Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (TX-14) introduced H.R. 6252, the Modernize Nuclear Reactor Environmental Reviews Act, to direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to submit a report and conduct a rulemaking on facilitating efficient, timely environmental review process for nuclear reactor applications.

"Nuclear energy is clean, safe, and reliable. Going forward it must be a significant component of America's energy profile, and to make that happen, we need to cut the red tape at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expediting environmental reviews for nuclear reactors," said Rep. Weber. "By expanding the use of categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and generic environmental impact statements, we're simplifying the process, which is a win-win. It's time to empower our nuclear reactor fleet, a clean and reliable energy source that's vital for our grid. I am proud to introduce a bill to make our review process more efficient."

Click here to watch Rep. Weber's remarks supporting the Modernize Nuclear Reactor Environmental Reviews Act at the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee Markup. H.R. 6252 passed the subcommittee unanimously and will be considered in the full committee.

Background on the Modernize Nuclear Reactor Environmental Reviews Act:

This legislation would direct the NRC to submit a report to Congress on:

• Expanding the use of categorical exclusions to significantly reduce time, money, and paperwork,
• Expanding the use of environmental assessments, which are far quicker to compile than environmental impact statements,
• Expanding the use of generic environmental impact statements,
• Increasing coordination between other federal agencies that are involved in the process,
• Modernizing the systems to create online portals to allow applicants to work in real-time with NRC and cooperating agencies.