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NEIMA Milestone Schedules of Requested Activities of the Commission

As an interim step to implement Section 5(a) of Executive Order (EO) 14300, "Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission," the NRC has updated the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA) milestones to align with the 12- and 18-month periods cited in the EO, as indicated in the table below. Because Section 5(a) of EO 14300 refers to the time to make a “final decision on an application” rather than the time to issue a “final safety evaluation,” further changes will be needed to the NEIMA milestones in the future once rulemaking efforts related to EO 14300 are completed, including efforts to streamline the public hearing process in accordance with Section 5(j) of the EO. Descriptions and exclusions are provided in footnotes to the table where applicable.

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NEIMA Milestone Schedules for Requested Activities of the Commission that Involve the Issuance of a Final Safety Evaluation to be Tracked and Reported According to the NEIMA Requirements

Activity Type NEIMA Milestone Schedules for Issuance of the Final Safety Evaluation1
Design Certifications and Standard Design Approvals 2 All Reactors – Part 52 18 months
Licenses 2 All Reactors, Uranium Recovery, and Fuel Cycle Facilities – Parts 40, 50, 52, and 70 18 months
Construction Permits, Early Site Permits, and Limited Work Authorizations 2 All Reactors – Parts 50 and 52 18 months
License Amendments
(including power uprates)
Decommissioning – Parts 30, 40, 50 and 70 12 months
Uranium Recovery – Part 40 Expansions (e.g., new site) 12 months
All Others 11 months
Fuel Cycle Facilities – Parts 40 and 70 12 months
Fuel Cycle Facilities – Parts 40 and 70 12 months
Operating – Parts 50 and 52 Adopting a Technical Specifications Task Force (TSTF) using the Consolidated Line-Item Improvement Process 7 months
All Other TSTFs 12 months
Measurement Uncertainty Recapture Uprate (MUR) 6 months
Stretch Power Uprate (SPU) 9 months
Extended Power Uprate (EPU) 12 months
Emergency and Exigent 1 month
All Others 12 months
Early Site Permit – Part 52 12 months
Design Certification – Part 52 12 months
Combined 3 (under construction) – Part 52 9 months
Combined 3 (operating or not under construction) – Part 52 12 months
Restart Activities 4 All Reactors – Part 50 18 months
License Renewals All Reactors, Uranium Recovery, and Fuel Cycle Facilities – Parts 40, 50, 52, 54, and 70 12 months
Certificates of Compliance (CoC) Transportation and Storage – Parts 71 and 72 New 18 months
Amendment or Renewal 12 months
Topical Reports5 (not incorporated or referenced in an application) All Reactors – Parts 50 and 52 18 months
     
Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) Storage – Parts 50, 52 and 72 New 18 months
Amendment or Renewal 12 months
Exemptions All Parts of 10 CFR 12 months
Code Reliefs6 Combined3 (under construction) – Part 52 9 months
All Other Reactors – Parts 50 and 52 12 months
License Transfers Operating (LWR) – Parts 50 and 52 8 months
All Other Reactors – Parts 50 and 52 12 months
Decommissioning – Parts 30, 40, 50,7 and 70 12 months

1 Time it takes to issue a final safety evaluation for each activity after the acceptance review is completed. When a requested activity includes or requires two or more activity categories in the table, and all activities are issued simultaneously as a bundle, the time it takes to issue all the final safety evaluations is the longest of the applicable milestone schedules.

2 These milestone schedules include review of topical reports that are incorporated or referenced in these applications.

3 Combined means Combined License, which is an NRC-issued license that authorizes a licensee to construct and (with certain specified conditions) operate a nuclear power plant at a specific site, in accordance with established laws and regulations.

4 This activity can include requests for approvals of license amendments, exemptions, license transfers, code reliefs, and topical reports.

5 These milestone schedules are only applicable to topical reports submitted by licensees or applicants (i.e., persons or entities that either hold a current license or have a license application under NRC review). These milestone schedules do not apply to topical reports submitted by vendors, owners groups, other industry representatives, or pre-applicants.

6 This activity can include 10 CFR 50.55a requests for relief, proposed alternatives, and requests to use later editions and addenda of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel (BPV) and Operation and Maintenance (OM) Codes.

7 This activity includes actions at Part 50 licensed sites that have generally licensed ISFSIs, where only the generally licensed ISFSI remains.


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Background

Section 102(c) of the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA) requires the NRC to develop performance metrics and milestone schedules for “requested activities of the Commission.” Section 3(10) of NEIMA defines “requested activities of the Commission” to include:

(A) "the processing of applications for—
(i) design certifications or approvals; (ii) licenses; (iii) permits; (iv) license amendments;
(v) license renewals; (vi) certificates of compliance; and (vii) power uprates;" and
(B) "any other activity requested by a licensee or applicant."

Section 102(c) of NEIMA also establishes certain reporting requirements for the NRC in the event the NRC issues a final safety evaluation for a requested activity of the Commission later than the NRC established milestone schedule date. Section 504 of the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act of 2024 (ADVANCE Act)—signed into law on July 9, 2024—amended the performance and reporting requirements in Section 102(c) of NEIMA.

On May 23, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14300, “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission,” directing the NRC to take additional actions to reform the NRC. Section 5 of EO 14300 directs the NRC to work “with its DOGE Team, the Office of Management and Budget, and other executive departments and agencies as appropriate” to “undertake a review and wholesale revision of its regulations and guidance documents” and include specific changes as part of this revision. Among these changes, Section 5(a) of EO 14300 directs the NRC to “[e]stablish fixed deadlines for its evaluation and approval of licenses, license amendments, license renewals, certificates of compliance, power uprates, license transfers, and any other activity requested by a licensee or potential licensee, as directed under the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act, rather than the nonbinding ‘generic milestone schedules’ guidelines the NRC has already adopted.” It further states that “[t]he deadlines shall include: (1) a deadline of no more than 18 months for final decision on an application to construct and operate a new reactor of any type, commencing with the first required step in the regulatory process, and (2) a deadline of no more than 1 year for final decision on an application to continue operating an existing reactor of any type, commencing with the first required step in the regulatory process.” Notably, this provision refers to the “final decision on an application” and not the “final safety evaluation.” Section 5(a) also notes that “these are maximum time periods” and directs the NRC to “adopt shorter deadlines tailored to particular reactor types or licensing pathways as appropriate.”

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Page Last Reviewed/Updated Tuesday, June 24, 2025