“Categorical exclusions mean that no National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental impact statement or environmental assessment is required before a project may be approved. This saves a lot of time and bureaucratic effort since compiling an environmental impact statement takes nearly three years on average to complete.
The May executive order adopts many of the recommendations on how to improve nuclear power licensing outlined in an April 2025 report by researchers associated with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Among other items, the report suggests clarifying that the DOE does not need Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval to “authorize any non-commercial demonstration nuclear reactor projects with no exceptions.”
Now, the DOE is issuing a notice for a new categorical exclusion that would apply to new advanced nuclear reactors sited on federal facilities and land. In support of this determination, the DOE finds that “advanced nuclear reactors have key attributes such as safety features, fuel type, and fission product inventory that limit adverse consequences from releases of radioactive or hazardous material from construction, operation, and decommissioning.””