No: 14-055 August 26, 2014

CONTACT: Dave McIntyre, 301-415-8200

NRC Approves Final Rule on Spent Fuel Storage and 

Ends Suspension of Final Licensing Actions for Nuclear Plants and Renewals

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday approved a final rule on the environmental 

effects of continued storage of spent nuclear fuel and will lift its suspension of final licensing actions on 

nuclear power plant licenses and renewals once the rule becomes effective.

The Commission’s action signals the end of a two-year effort to satisfy a remand by the U.S. 

Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court in June 2012 struck down the NRC’s 

2010 revision of its “waste confidence” rule, directing the agency to consider the possibility that a 

geologic repository for permanent disposal of spent fuel might never be built, and to do further analysis 

of spent fuel pool leaks and fires. The Commission responded in August 2012 by suspending final 

licensing decisions on new reactors, reactor license renewals and spent fuel storage facility renewals. It 

subsequently directed the staff to develop a new rule and a supporting Generic Environmental Impact 

Statement (GEIS) within 24 months. 

The continued storage rule adopts the findings of the GEIS regarding the environmental impacts 

of storing spent fuel at any reactor site after the reactor’s licensed period of operations. As a result, 

those generic impacts do not need to be re-analyzed in the environmental reviews for individual 

licenses. The GEIS analyzes the environmental impact of storing spent fuel beyond the licensed 

operating life of reactors over three timeframes: for 60 years (short-term), 100 years after the short-term 

scenario (long-term) and indefinitely. 

The GEIS analyzes impacts across a number of resource areas throughout each timeframe. 

Areas examined include land use, air and water quality, and historic and cultural resources. It also 

contains the NRC’s analysis of spent fuel pool leaks and fires in response to the Appeals Court remand. 

The rule does not authorize, license or otherwise permit nuclear power plant licensees to store 

spent fuel for any length of time. 

Tuesday’s action approved the final rule and GEIS, renamed from “waste confidence” to 

“continued storage of spent nuclear fuel.” The name was changed in response to near-unanimous public 

comment to more accurately reflect the nature and content of the rule. 

In a separate Order, the Commission approved lifting the suspensions and provided direction on 

the resolution of related contentions in 21 adjudications before the Commission and the Atomic Safety 
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and Licensing Boards. The Order authorizes the NRC staff to issue final licensing decisions as 

appropriate once the final rule becomes effective, 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

A proposed rule and draft GEIS were published in September 2013, with a public comment 

period of 98 days. The staff conducted 13 public meetings across the country during that period to 

present the proposed rule and draft GEIS and receive public comments, Appendix D of the final GEIS 

contains summaries of the comments received and the NRC responses. The Commission expects the 

final rule and GEIS to be published in September.

More information about the rule and GEIS is available on the NRC website. The 

Commissioners’ individual vote records and comments on the final rule and GEIS will be posted here

(reference SECY-14-0072), and the Memorandum and Order lifting the licensing suspensions and 

providing direction on the resolution of related adjudicatory contentions will be posted here.