U.S. NRC to Debut Modernized Hearing Process in Advanced Reactor Licensing Review for the First Time

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) will hold a public hearing on August 13 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to consider the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) application to build a small modular reactor at the Clinch River site. This will mark the first time the NRC applies its modernized mandatory hearing framework in an advanced reactor licensing review.

According to the NRC, the new hearing process is designed to give the public earlier insight into the agency's review of the project's safety and environmental impacts, while improving the transparency, predictability, and efficiency of licensing reviews. As part of its licensing modernization efforts, the NRC currently aims to complete construction permit-related decisions within 18 months.

TVA plans to build a BWRX-300 small modular reactor at the Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tennessee. With an installed capacity of approximately 300 megawatts, the reactor will provide carbon-free electricity and is one of the major advanced reactor projects currently under review in the United States. The NRC expects to complete its review of the construction permit for the project later this year.

Jeremy Bowen, director of the NRC's Office of Advanced Reactors, said the new process facilitates earlier public participation in the licensing process, enhances the transparency of safety reviews, and supports timely, predictable decisions for next-generation nuclear plants.

The hearing will be held at 5:00 p.m. local time on August 13 at the Pollard Center in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The session will include a brief presentation on the NRC's safety evaluation and supplemental environmental impact statement for the project, followed by an extended question-and-answer period.

The mandatory hearing is a required step in the NRC's new reactor licensing process and is separate from the "contentious" hearing process that allows formal legal challenges. The NRC published opportunities to challenge the Clinch River project application in July 2025. Even if the NRC ultimately issues a construction permit, TVA must still submit a separate operating license application, and the reactor may begin generating electricity only after that license is approved.