The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was established by Congress to ensure the safe and secure use of radioactive materials for beneficial civilian purposes.

The NRC regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other uses of nuclear materials, such as nuclear medicine, through licensing, inspection, and enforcement of NRC requirements.   The NRC’s mission is to license and regulate the Nation’s civilian use of radioactive materials to provide reasonable assurance of adequate protection of public health and safety and to promote the common defense and security and to protect the environment.

Recent federal law directs the NRC to develop regulatory infrastructure to support the development and commercialization of advanced nuclear reactors.  As part of this mandate, the NRC staff has engaged HNMCP to review its existing hearing process for licensing nuclear reactors and develop proposals for a new hearing process that is tailored to efficiently meet the needs of the public, advanced reactor applicants, and other stakeholders.