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Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors

Published April 24, 2026. Takes effect May 26, 2026, printed at 91 FR 22394, amending 10 CFR 51. 32,294 words.

In plain English

A license needs a study of what it does to nature. This changes how that is done.

Read it at the Federal Register →

What the Rule Says It Does

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."

This is the rule's own summary, as the Federal Register prints it.

The Order It Names

The rule names this order itself. What it does about it is a reading, and none is recorded here.

On the Face of the Rule

As filed

[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 79 (Friday, April 24, 2026)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 22394-22425] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2026-08015]

Vol. 91

Friday,

No. 79

April 24, 2026

Part III

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

10 CFR Part 51

Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors; Final Rule

NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION

10 CFR Part 51

[NRC-2020-0101] RIN 3150-AK55

Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors

AGENCY

Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

ACTION

Final rule.

DATES

This final rule is effective May 26, 2026.

ADDRESSES

Please refer to Docket ID NRC-2020-0101 when contacting the NRC about the availability of information for this action. You may obtain publicly available information related to this action by any of the following methods:

Federal Rulemaking Website: Go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID NRC-2020-0101. Address questions about NRC dockets to Helen Chang; telephone: 301-415-3228; email: [email protected]. For technical questions, contact the individuals listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document.

NRC's Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly available documents online in the ADAMS Public Documents collection at https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. To begin the search, select “ADAMS Public Search.” For problems with ADAMS, please contact the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR) reference staff at 1-800-397-4209, at 301-415-4737, or by email to [email protected]. For the convenience of the reader, the ADAMS accession numbers are provided in the “Availability of Documents” section of this document.

NRC's PDR: The PDR, where you may examine and order copies of publicly available documents, is open by appointment. To make an appointment to visit the PDR, please send an email to [email protected] or call 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

Technical Library: The Technical Library, which is located at Two White Flint North, 11545 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, is open by appointment only. Interested parties may make appointments to examine documents by contacting the NRC Technical Library by email at [email protected] between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

Soly I. Soto Lugo, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-7528, email: [email protected], Stacey Imboden, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-2462, email: [email protected], or Robert Hoffman, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, telephone: 301-415-1107, email: [email protected]. All are staff of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001.

The fields the Federal Register prints at the head of the rule, quoted as printed. Its summary is quoted above.

Why the Agency Says It Is Doing This

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Executive Summary

A. Purpose of the Regulatory Action

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has revised its regulations to codify the findings of NUREG-2249, “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors” (NR GEIS). The NR GEIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a new nuclear reactor. The NR GEIS is intended to improve the efficiency of the NRC environmental review of a new nuclear reactor application by identifying those potential environmental issues that are expected to be common, or generic, to the construction, operation, and decommissioning of many new nuclear reactors. The NRC may rely on the NR GEIS' generic findings when conducting a subsequent, project- specific environmental review for a new nuclear reactor if specific conditions are met. This final rule codifies these generic findings into the NRC's regulations in part 51 of title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR), “Environmental Protection Regulations for Domestic Licensing and Related Regulatory Functions,” thus making the NRC's licensing process for new nuclear reactors more efficient. Specifically, these findings are codified into subpart A of 10 CFR part 51, which sets forth the NRC's regulations to implement its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).\1\

\1\ 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1969).

This final rule is separate from NRC's ongoing review and reform of its regulations in accordance with Executive Order (E.O.) 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission” (90 FR 22587; May 29, 2025). The rulemakings associated with that effort will comprehensively reexamine NRC's NEPA implementing regulations in 10 CFR part 51 for conformance with E.O. 14300, the Fiscal Responsibility Act (Pub. L. 118-5, 137 Stat. 10) (FRA), and the United States Supreme Court's decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, 145 S. Ct. 1497 (2025). While there could be additional revisions to the NR GEIS as a result of these future rulemakings, the NRC is moving forward with publication at this time because it is a deregulatory action of high interest for new reactor applicants that was in progress before the issuance of E.O. 14300. This final rule will simplify the environmental compliance process for qualifying applicants and save the NRC and applicants significant resources, while subsequent revisions to 10 CFR part 51 are being considered.

The passage that opens the rule's preamble, where the agency sets out what it is doing and on what authority. Every heading that follows it is listed below.

What the Rule Contains

Every heading the Federal Register prints in this rule, in the order it prints them. 49 headings, 32,294 words in all.

  1. AGENCYOn its face · 4 words
  2. ACTIONOn its face · 3 words
  3. SUMMARYOn its face · 181 words
  4. DATESOn its face · 9 words
  5. ADDRESSESOn its face · 263 words
  6. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACTOn its face · 61 words
  7. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATIONPreamble · 2 words
  8. Executive SummaryPreamble · 2 words
  9. A. Purpose of the Regulatory ActionPreamble · 380 words
  10. B. Major ProvisionsPreamble · 300 words
  11. C. Costs and BenefitsPreamble · 269 words
  12. Table of ContentsPreamble · 3 words
  13. I. BackgroundPreamble · 97 words
  14. I. BackgroundPreamble · 217 words
  15. A. New Reactor Licensing Processes--10 CFR Part 50 and 10 CFR Part 52Preamble · 355 words
  16. B. Environmental Review--Current 10 CFR Part 51 RegulationsPreamble · 1,684 words
  17. C. Use of Rulemaking and Generic Environmental Impact StatementsPreamble · 1,592 words
  18. D. Advanced Nuclear ReactorsPreamble · 217 words
  19. II. DiscussionPreamble · 2 words
  20. A. AmendmentsPreamble · 1,008 words
  21. B. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 and the ADVANCE Act of 2024Preamble · 268 words
  22. C. Environmental Impacts ReviewPreamble · 696 words
  23. D. Generic Environmental Impact StatementPreamble · 1,169 words
  24. E. Summary of Issues Analyzed in the NR GEISPreamble · 408 words
  25. 6. Aquatic EcologyPreamble · 1,322 words
  26. F. Public Comments on Notice of Exploratory Process and Notice of Intent To Prepare a Generic Environmental Impact StatementPreamble · 582 words
  27. G. Clarifying Amendment for Postoperating LicensesPreamble · 45 words
  28. H. Revisions to the Rule Due to Policy ChangesPreamble · 279 words
  29. III. Opportunities for Public ParticipationPreamble · 145 words
  30. IV. Public Comment AnalysisPreamble · 4 words
  31. A. OverviewPreamble · 170 words
  32. B. Specific Requests for CommentPreamble · 1,397 words
  33. C. Summary of Comments Resulting in Substantive Changes to the Proposed RulePreamble · 1,048 words
  34. D. Summary of Other Public CommentsPreamble · 876 words
  35. V. Regulatory Flexibility CertificationPreamble · 276 words
  36. Number of Small Entities AffectedPreamble · 93 words
  37. Economic Impact on Small EntitiesPreamble · 255 words
  38. VI. Regulatory AnalysisPreamble · 44 words
  39. VII. Backfitting and Issue FinalityPreamble · 405 words
  40. VIII. Cumulative Effects of RegulationPreamble · 200 words
  41. IX. Plain WritingPreamble · 57 words
  42. X. National Environmental Policy ActPreamble · 105 words
  43. XI. Paperwork Reduction ActPreamble · 435 words
  44. XII. Regulatory Planning and ReviewPreamble · 153 words
  45. XIII. Congressional Review ActPreamble · 40 words
  46. XIV. Voluntary Consensus StandardsPreamble · 78 words
  47. XV. Availability of GuidancePreamble · 540 words
  48. XVI. Availability of DocumentsPreamble · 875 words
  49. List of Subjects in 10 CFR Part 51Regulatory text · 13,601 words

The Rest of the Text

This rule runs to 32,294 words. The rest of it is set out over 2 pages, split at the rule's own headings so that no heading is parted from the words printed under it.

How to cite this
  1. The rule itself

    Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors,” 91 FR 22394 (April 24, 2026). Effective May 26, 2026.
    https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/24/2026-08015/generic-environmental-impact-statement-for-licensing-of-new-nuclear-reactors

  2. This page

    “Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors,” a final rule naming an order indexed here. Read the Mandate, https://readthemandate.org/rules/rule-2026-08015/ (retrieved October 10, 2026).

Cite the document when the claim is about what the document says. Cite this page when the indexing, the wording or the record of what has happened is what is being relied on.

How This Rule Is Set Out

Federal Register documents are United States government works and are not under copyright, so the rule is here whole rather than cut to an excerpt. It is split at the headings the Register itself prints: the line it is filed under, the captioned fields on its face, the preamble where the agency says what it is doing and why, and the amendments to the Code of Federal Regulations. No passage is shortened. This rule is long enough that its text is set out over 2 pages rather than one.

Two things the Register prints are not reproduced: the running head it repeats at every page break, and the tables it sets as pictures rather than as words. Its own marker for one of those tables, [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED], is left standing where the table was, so a reader can see that something is there and follow the link to the page it is on.

A heading with nothing quoted under it is one the rule prints on its own, with the words that follow it set under the headings beneath.