Jon Husted

Nuclear Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing Act of 2025 or the Nuclear REFUEL Act of 2025

This bill directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to license future recycling facilities that reprocess certain spent nuclear fuel (i.e., radioactive waste) under regulations for special nuclear material rather than regulations for production and utilization facilities. The bill applies to domestic facilities that reprocess spent nuclear fuel in a manner that does not separate plutonium from other transuranic elements (i.e., certain radioactive elements). Generally, such recycling facilities reprocess spent nuclear fuel into materials that may be reused as nuclear fuel for electricity.

While there are no commercial reprocessing facilities currently operating in the United States, the bill specifies which regulatory framework the NRC must use when issuing licenses to future facilities by excluding such facilities from the statutory definition of production facility. The licensing process under regulations for special nuclear material has fewer steps than the licensing process under regulations for production and utilization facilities.

This joint resolution nullifies the Energy Conservation Program for Appliance Standards: Certification Requirements, Labeling Requirements, and Enforcement Provisions for Certain Consumer Products and Commercial Equipment rule published by the Department of Energy (DOE) on October 9, 2024. Under the rule, DOE modified its regulations on the energy efficiency of certain types of consumer products (e.g., washing machines and dishwashers) and industrial equipment (e.g., computer room air conditioners). Specifically, it modified certification requirements, labeling requirements, and enforcement provisions for these products and equipment to (1) align reporting requirements with currently applicable energy conservation standards and test procedures, and (2) provide DOE with the information necessary to determine the appropriate classification of products for the application of standards.

This joint resolution nullifies the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule titled Air Plan Approval; Ohio; Withdrawal of Technical Amendment (90 Fed. Reg. 6811) and published on January 21, 2025. Among other elements, the rule reversed a final rule from November 2020 that removed the Air Nuisance Rule (ANR) from the Ohio State Implementation Plan (SIP). The EPA determined its original action to remove the ANR was in error, and this rule reinstates the ANR. (Under the Clean Air Act, states must submit SIPs to comply with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. This ANR was included in Ohio’s SIP.)