Up & Atom

The United States and Thailand signed an agreement on January 14, 2025, which outlines peaceful nuclear cooperation between the two countries. The agreement is authorized by Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 USC § 2153) (AEA), and is known as a “123 Agreement.” That same day, former President Biden transmitted that 123 Agreement and a Nuclear Proliferation Assessment Statement (NPAS) to Congress for their review. Congress has 90 days of being in session to either disapprove or passively allow the Agreement to take effect.

A recent decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated claims seeking indemnification under the Price-Anderson Act. In reversing a decision by the US Court of Federal Claims, the Federal Circuit affirmed the broad scope of the Price-Anderson Act’s contractual indemnity provision. In particular, the Federal Circuit found that the Price-Anderson Act requires the government to indemnify more entities than just those that directly contracted with the government. Instead, the statutory language contemplates indemnity to “any other person who may be liable for public liability.”

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) requires federal agencies, including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions. That statute also established the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), which was tasked with issuing NEPA implementation guidelines.

The demand for energy is anticipated to rise significantly due to the increased deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, which are highly energy intensive. As we discussed in a recent thought leadership piece, there is a strong intersection between nuclear power and AI. Not only is nuclear power generation well-positioned to address the growing need for powering AI, but the nuclear power industry and its primary regulator, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are looking to leverage AI to increase efficiency and strategic decision-making.

The US Supreme Court’s recent Loper Bright decision overturned its 1984 Chevron decision, which, over the last 40 years, had become a fundamental doctrine in administrative law. That doctrine, known as the “Chevron deference,” instructed reviewing courts to defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutory provisions if a permissible construction of the statute. While many agencies relied on Chevron deference to defend challenges to their rulemakings and other regulatory actions, the NRC has rarely needed to do so.

The NRC’s Acting Executive Director for Operations recently issued the results from the NRC staff’s annual Reactor Oversight Process (ROP) self-assessment for calendar year 2023. Out of the 17 metrics it evaluated, the NRC staff found that two did not meet or exceed expected performance, resulting in “yellow” findings. This is an overall improvement from the 2022 self-assessment, which had two “yellow” and two “red” findings due, in part, to continuing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the staff concluded that the “ROP remained effective in achieving its goals of being objective, risk-informed, understandable, and predictable, as well as in supporting the agency’s strategic goals.”

Leaders from 34 countries met in Brussels, Belgium on March 21 for the first Nuclear Energy Summit. The purpose of the summit was to provide participating governments the opportunity to share their vision and plans for using nuclear power to achieve net-zero emissions and promote sustainable development.

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) program published for public comment a draft protocol for reassessing the noncancer health effects of natural and depleted uranium via oral ingestion on February 14, 2024. The reassessment will examine whether newly available literature review or scientific analysis data could be considered for updating current hazards or whether there are additional health hazards related to uranium exposure.

The Commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) conducted a biennial joint meeting on January 25, 2024. The biennial meetings allow the Commissioners to hear presentations from industry experts, learn about the challenges facing the energy industry, and determine how the commissions can assist each other based on their respective regulatory authorities.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) and request for comments in the Federal Register proposing a comprehensive revision of the Department of Energy Acquisition Regulation (DEAR). DOE’s proposal strives to update and streamline the DEAR’s policies, procedures, provisions, and clauses. DOE invites the public to submit written comments regarding this NOPR through the Federal eRulemaking Portal by no later than December 26, 2023.