Co-locating COEs enables the NRC to shift resources to meet the demands of an evolving landscape of ongoing and emergent work and innovate processes to create greater efficiencies. Here are some recent examples:
Spotlight
Other Center of Expertise Activities
Subsequent License Environmental Directorate (SLED)
A temporary team staffed by the Rulemaking and Environmental COEs plus technical experts from disciplines across the agency, this unit was created to ensure that NRC’s environmental regulations, analyses, and guidance fully support the subsequent renewal of nuclear power plant operating licenses
Radioactive Source Security and Accountability
To ensure the legitimacy of license applicants and their intent to use radioactive materials as specified on the license application, the Rulemaking COE launched an expedited rulemaking initiative, utilizing Agile Project Management techniques, that drafted a proposed rule for Commission evaluation and approval in less than six months.
Licensing Framework for Advanced Reactors
The proposed rule to establish new part 53 to the NRC’s requirements in 10 CFR for the licensing and regulation of advanced nuclear reactors was conducted by sharing preliminary rule text with stakeholders and then holding public meetings to obtain feedback on NRC’s proposal, allowing the NRC staff to iterate and refine the draft regulations.
Retrospective Review of Administrative Requirements
An exercise overseen by the Rulemaking COE, staff across the agency are working to identify outdated or duplicative administrative regulations that may be eliminated without having an adverse effect on public health or safety, common defense and security, protection of the environment, or regulatory efficiency and effectiveness.
Streamlined Environmental Impact Statements
To help ensure that Environmental Impact Statements are communicated more clearly and effectively, Rulemaking COE staff used innovative approaches to make the documents more concise and able to be translated into the native languages of the intended audience.
Foreign Ownership, Control, or Domination (FOCD)
Financial COE staff ensure that the requirement in the Atomic Energy Act that a license for a power reactor may not be issued if the Commission knows or has reason to believe the applicant is owned, controlled, or dominated by an alien, a foreign corporation, or a foreign government. To accomplish this vital oversight activity, the Financial COE staff perform in-depth corporate analysis reviews of all entities associated with an initial licensing or license transfer application review. Partnering with staff from the Office of Nuclear Security and Incident Response, Financial COE staff work to identify potential foreign involvement in power reactor licenses and implement associated negation actions.
Environmental Portfolio and Agile Project Management
Environmental reviews continue to transform to ensure that reviews are completed in a timely and efficient manner across the ECOE using a proactive workload management tool that incorporates standardized resource planning with a 5-year look ahead. In addition, for complex reviews (i.e., license renewal, site-specific reviews, Part 50 applications) agile project management is used to identify scheduling impacts while allowing focused work periods during times of heightened workload.
Additional Information
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Page Last Reviewed/Updated Tuesday, July 22, 2025