Questions on the Reactor Oversight Process

In light of the fact that a number of companies are preparing applications to build new nuclear plants, NRC Chairman Nils Diaz thinks there are limits to the amount of work his agency can perform:

The number of companies that want to build nuclear reactors is increasing faster than expected, threatening to rise beyond regulators' capacity to process applications, the top U.S. nuclear regulator said.

"The number of applications, the number of players, keeps changing," Nils Diaz, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said at a news conference in Washington on Friday. "There's a time in which we cannot do more. We are approaching that level."

The commission, known as NRC, is preparing to accept the first applications to build new nuclear reactors since the 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania. Utilities including Dominion Resources Inc., Southern Co. and Duke Energy Corp. have told regulators they expect to begin submitting applications next year.

Diaz estimated the commission can handle 15 to 16 applications for new nuclear plants at one time. The applications will take about 30 months to review, he said. That time frame could drop to 24 months as the commission and the industry gain experience with the process.

This afternoon at 4:00 p.m. U.S. EDT, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on NRC's reactor oversight process. Follow that link 10 minutes prior for information on a Webcast of the meeting.

And later this week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on the regulatory process for new and existing nuclear plants.

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