Revising the Duration of Design Certifications rule (2025)
| What is a significant rule? Significant regulatory action is a term used to describe an agency rule that has had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. As part of its role in the regulatory review process, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) determines which rules meet this definition. |
| Revising the Duration of Design Certifications | |
| Agency: Nuclear Regulatory Commission | |
| Action: Final rule | |
| Type: Other significant rule | |
| Federal code: 10 CFR Part 52 | |
| Estimated cost:[1] $872,307 | |
| Estimated benefit:[1] $4.03 million | |
| Policy topics: Energy | |
The Revising the Duration of Design Certifications rule is a significant rule issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) designed to go into effect on September 15, 2025, that extends the design certification period for nuclear power facilities.[2]
Timeline
The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:
- September 15, 2025
The final rule went into effect.[2]
- August 1, 2025
The comment period ended.[2]
- July 2, 2025
NRC published a proposed rule and opened the comment period.[2]
Background
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Under existing regulations, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issues design certifications for nuclear power plants that must be renewed every 15 years. This proposed regulation would extend this period from 15 to 40 years. The text of the proposed rule notes that "because the NRC considers this action to be non-controversial," the agency used "the 'direct final rule procedure' for this rule." This means that unless the NRC receives "significant adverse comments" during the public comment period, the rule will then go into effect.
Summary of the rule
The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[2]
| “ | The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations to revise the duration of design certifications (DCs). Specifically, this direct final rule replaces the 15-year duration for DCs with a 40-year duration period, both for existing DCs currently in effect and generically for future DCs, including renewals.[3] | ” |
Summary of provisions
The following is a summary of the provisions from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[2]
| “ | The change in duration for DCs will provide more time for a design to be referenced in a license application and more time for the design vendor to accumulate construction and actual operating experience before a design vendor would need to submit a renewal application. In addition, it will reduce unnecessary burdens with no reduction in safety or security. Therefore, the NRC is amending its regulations to change the DC duration to 40 years[3] | ” |
Significant impact
- See also: Significant regulatory action
Executive Order 12866, issued by President Bill Clinton (D) in 1993, directed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine which agency rules qualify as significant rules and thus are subject to OMB review.
Significant rules have had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. These actions may also conflict with other rules or presidential priorities. Executive Order 12866 further defined an economically significant rule as a significant rule with an associated economic impact of $100 million or more. E.O. 14215, issued on February 18, 2025, by President Donald Trump (R), required independent agencies to comply with all aspects of OMB review, including review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The text of the rule states that OMB deemed this rule economically significant under E.O. 12866:
| “ | The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has designated this direct final rule “a significant regulatory action” as defined under section 3(f) of E.O. 12866, though not economically significant under 3(f)(1).[3] | ” |
Text of the rule
The full text of the rule is available below:[2]
See also
- Significant rule
- REINS Act
- Congressional Review Act
- Executive Order 12866
- Executive Order 14215
- Changes to the Federal Register
- Overview of significant federal agency rules
- Overview of significant federal agency rules (2024)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Note: Estimated costs and estimated benefits here refer to estimated quantitative costs represented by dollar amounts. The estimates are a required part of the rulemaking process and are provided in the rule text. For qualitative costs or benefits, see the summaries of rule purpose and provisions.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Federal Register, "Revising the Duration of Design Certifications," accessed July 11, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
