By FRANCISCO "A.J." CAMACHO | 07/23/2025 06:30 AM EDT

Many in the industry fear a court win would hamper the nuclear sector and states, but plaintiffs say it would boost innovation.

A high-stakes lawsuit against the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission could force the agency to relinquish some of its authority over licensing smaller nuclear reactors to individual states, at a time when the NRC’s role is already facing challenges.

The complaint, originally brought by nuclear developer Last Energy and the states of Texas and Utah, asserts that the NRC does not have licensing authority over some nuclear microreactors and small modular reactors, or SMRs. If that were the case, states would likely assume oversight of such reactors, barring further congressional action.

It alleges that the NRC’s regulations have stifled innovation and development in the nuclear industry at a time when growing electricity demand is fueling a surge in support for nuclear energy. A settlement could be in the works.

“Although the case is still in its early stages, a successful legal challenge could significantly reshape the regulatory landscape for some reactors in the United States,” said Judi Greenwald, president and CEO of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance. “A patchwork of state-level oversight would hinder the commercialization of new reactors at home and abroad.”

In a statement, the NRC said it had “no comment on ongoing litigation“ but highlighted that it was reviewing three advanced nuclear construction permits.

“The NRC remains aligned with our interagency partners in efficiently regulating and enabling the deployment of nuclear power for America’s energy security while upholding the highest standards of public health, safety, and environmental protection,” the NRC said.

The agency has been in upheaval since President Donald Trump issued a slew of executive orders May 23 aimed at expediting nuclear safety assessments. Shortly after issuing the orders, the Trump administration informed the NRC that it would be expected to grant “rubber stamp” approval to new reactors already tested by the departments of Energy or Defense and sent an email firing Democratic Commissioner Christopher Hanson.

Michael Buschbacher, a partner at law firm Boyden Gray and lead counsel for Last Energy, Deep Fission and Valar Atomics in the lawsuit, contends that the fears of a chaotic regulatory environment are unfounded. He says that under the plaintiffs’ reading of the law, only designs that fall within new NRC-approved safe reactor parameters would skirt the agency’s licensing review.

“No commercial reactor can get away from the federal licensing requirements if it is not safe. And so that, to me, solves almost all of this concern,” he said.

“In terms of implementing it and ‘Do we really want 50 regulators?’ I mean, we already do have that. All kinds of rules apply to all power generation, and different states have different approaches to that. But we’re not adding a new requirement for states to figure out whether a reactor is safe — NRC will still have to do that,” Buschbacher continued, though he acknowledged that some changes to federal nuclear materials regulation might also be necessary.

In any event, diverse state-level approaches could potentially foster regulatory innovation, Buschbacher said, by creating a “race to the top.”

As for what a new NRC regulation should say, “the point is not that it has to adopt this or that specific threshold or methodology,” he said. “Congress did give the NRC authority to figure out what the exact line should be and why, but it didn’t let them just ignore that and say that everything falls under their licensing authority.”

Startups Valar Atomics and Deep Fission, the states of Florida and Louisiana, and the Arizona Legislature joined the lawsuit in the spring. The NRC originally said that the lawsuit was frivolous and violated the federal rules of civil procedure.

But in June the NRC joined the plaintiffs in asking the court to extend a stay on the proceeding until Sept. 29 to pursue “a mutually agreeable resolution that could avoid or limit further litigation in this case.” The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted the motion on June 30.

In May, shortly after being detailed to the NRC, DOGE representative Adam Blake had a series of introductory meetings with NRC commissioners and senior staff in which the lawsuit was raised, a person who was present at one of the meetings, granted anonymity to speak about a private conversation, told POLITICO’s E&E News.

“He thought it was part of his mandate to bring the parties together to facilitate a settlement of that lawsuit,” this person said. “The fact that Blake was there to settle the lawsuit suggests that it was going to be expected for NRC to give them some of what they wanted. Otherwise, why would you settle?”

It was not clear if Blake continued to push the agency toward settling the case after the initial meetings. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 grants the NRC licensing authority over commercial reactors that use fissile nuclear material “in such quantity as to be of significance to the common defense and security, or in such manner as to affect the health and safety of the public.”

The plaintiffs argue that many microreactors and SMRs, like Last Energy’s 20-megawatt design, fall outside the NRC’s licensing authority because they use only small amounts of uranium and have passive safety features.

The NRC’s predecessor, the Atomic Energy Commission, “issued a rule in 1956 that just completely ignored this and said that anything, any civilian commercial reactor, regardless of design or anything else, has to get a construction and operation license,” Buschbacher said.

“Our argument is: Congress drew a line, the agency ignored it. And we brought a suit to say, ‘No, you can’t ignore what Congress told you to do,’” he said.

The Department of Justice, representing the NRC, responded in March with a motion to dismiss the case. The defense’s arguments centered on civil procedure, contending that only federal appeals courts can review NRC rules under the Hobbs Act, that the plaintiffs’ claims are time-barred by the six-year statute of limitations under the Administrative Procedure Act, and that plaintiffs should have worked “cooperatively with the NRC to address their objections to this longstanding and unremarkable rule by petitioning the agency to change it.”

The states and startups counter that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Corner Post v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System last year allows parties newly injured by existing laws to pursue legal challenges. The complaint is one of the first to cite the Supreme Court decision.

DOJ’s response ventured a brief attack on the complaint’s merits, too, arguing that Congress implicitly acknowledged NRC jurisdiction when it passed the bipartisan 2024 ADVANCE Act, which imposes “regulatory requirements for micro-reactors” on the commission and instructs it to streamline the permitting process for advanced reactors.

What exactly a settlement might look like is difficult to predict, said a former senior official with the NRC, granted anonymity due to connections to the parties.

“I think a settlement would likely be an effort to try to get the NRC to have an expedited, simplified process for the ultimate licensing of microreactors,” the former official said. “It could also potentially include some opportunity for state inspection activities.”

One possibility could be that the commission may be close to completing a revised regulation that addresses the key issues raised in the lawsuit, said Keith Bradley, a partner at the firm Squire Patton Boggs.

“It is quite conceivable that the NRC is saying, ‘We have something that’s really close to done, just let us finish it,’” he said.

The agency could also have a “real desire to change” its regulations and may be willing to accept a court order partially vacating the existing rule, Bradley said.

The nuclear industry is split over the lawsuit’s push, and the startup plaintiffs have had little experience with the NRC.

Deep Fission has been in pre-application proceedings with the NRC since May 2024, and Last Energy only engaged with the agency in spring 2025. Valar Atomics has still not contacted or met with the commission.

Valar CEO Isaiah Taylor defended his company’s participation in the lawsuit. “If you believe that the jurisdiction is wrong, why would you engage in the process?” Taylor told POLITICO’s E&E News in an interview.

“Our standing comes from the fact that we’re trying to build reactors here in the United States. We have active customers, we have a site in Utah, and the NRC is wrongly holding jurisdiction over that project. It would be inconsistent of us to be in an NRC process given that,” he continued.

But SMR developers that have longer records of interacting with the NRC tend to oppose the lawsuit’s goals.

“For new reactors to be deployed at a meaningful scale, it will be vital to maintain public trust in the regulator,” said one nuclear company with more than five years of engagement history with the NRC. “A patchwork regulatory environment with inconsistent codes from state to state would present a challenge to developers and reduce efficiency at a time when we should be expediting processes.”

The company, granted anonymity due to fear of political retribution, went on to defend the NRC. The agency’s review timelines have generally shortened in recent years.

“As the nuclear industry evolves, the regulator must modernize in parallel. In recent years we have seen that licensing advanced reactors with the NRC under existing frameworks is possible. We believe the agency is capable of continued innovation,” the company said.

NuScale Power waited 41 months to receive a design certification in 2020, but it waited only 22 months to get a certificate for its new design in 2025. Part of the reduction in time is attributed to similar features in the two designs.

Greenwald with the Nuclear Innovation Alliance thinks that a successful lawsuit would burden both nuclear companies and states.

“This fragmented approach would undermine the federal government’s and plaintiffs’ shared goal of enabling the efficient and streamlined deployment of advanced reactors. It would also be very expensive and inefficient to have states attempt to duplicate NRC’s highly technical expertise,” she said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed a new Blanket Certificate policy, and as usual it's a rubber stamp for polluters to run roughshod over our climate and communities. Even more dangerous, the Supreme Court just gave Trump king-like powers to dismiss supposedly independent regulators like FERC if they oppose his agenda of fossil fuel “energy dominance.” This Thursday (July16th) Beyond Extreme Energy (BXE) is headed to the FERC offices in Washington D.C. to protest their monthly Commissioners meeting. We'll be hand delivering our collected comments rejecting new 'blanket certificates' policies proposed in May.  You can join us in D.C. July 16th by registering here. We have housing the night before at Luther Place in DC. Join us for an art build there July 15th at 7ish. We'll be at the FERC offices at 888 First St NE Washington D.C. bright and early- usually 7AM-9AM before heading into the FERC meeting at 10AM. You can still help from afar by filing an official comment here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-ferc-we-call-bullshit-on-your-blanket-certificates Join Us in DC July 15th-16th Send a Comment to FERC Donate to BXE Blanket Certificates were originally meant to give efficient approval to small alterations to project proposals that had already been evaluated and permitted. These new blanket certificates, allow for larger projects like LNG terminals and large scale changes that significantly alter the environmental and climate impact of a given project. Instead of having to face new rounds of regulatory work, appeals, and slowed by community push back, these policies allow for companies to simply add new large scale facets to their plans. Last month we strung up a banner made of a blanket (Blanket Certificates - Fast Track to Hell) during the June FERC Commissioner's meeting. We got a lot of verbal support from passersby and FERC staff. Some were upset that Three Mile Isle nuclear reactor was being brought back online, to service Microsoft's massive AI data centers. Should AI data centers be granted blanket certification for their energy plans? NO! Two projects, in particular, demonstrate how these new and expanded blanket certificates can be abused:  Argent LNG - This would be the second biggest LNG terminal in Louisiana, if approved. It would also be a way for BP to test “ultra deepwater” drilling for gas. Yeah, that BP - the one that caused the Deepwater Horizon accident. But because they’re re-using some old pipes and infrastructure for the project, they want the whole thing to be covered by a blanket permit. Green Chile pipeline - Energy Transfer (of Dakota Access infamy) is asking for a blanket certificate to build this 18 mile spur off an existing gas pipeline. But the bigger issue is that Green Chile would only have one customer: the massive data center called Project Jupiter that’s bigger than New York's Central Park, and will need as much as two-and-a-half gigawatts of electricity, more than half of what New Mexico uses right now - and all to be generated by its own private fleet of gas power plants.

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Piece by Karl Grossman and Harvey Wasserman today on CounterPunch -- https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/07/10/nuclear-power-is-now-trump-power-what-could-go-wrong/

Heat wave threatens output at 5 French nuclear reactors

With little time for rivers to cool between hot spells, each successive heat wave raises the risk of nuclear output restrictions.

EDF is set to reduce production at two reactors this week, the first of a series of potential curbs as extreme heat spreads across Europe. France’s nuclear fleet is the backbone of the region’s power system, supplying low-carbon electricity that is routinely exported to neighbors including Germany and the United Kingdom.

Western Europe is in the grip of its third major heat wave so far this year. A high-pressure heat dome, similar to the one that saw record temperatures in June, is forecast to spread across the continent over the next week. Heat wave conditions are already affecting southeast England, France and Spain and are likely to develop in Switzerland and Italy, according to analysis from MetDesk.

Repeated bouts of really hot temperatures are increasing the risk of further disruption to the power system, according to Alessandro Armenia, an analyst at Kpler. With little time for rivers to cool between hot spells, each successive heat wave raises the risk of nuclear output restrictions, even if temperatures don’t surpass those seen earlier this summer, he said.

“We are accumulating extreme events,” Armenia said. “How many times can the system be resilient?”

The most extreme temperatures are forecast in France, where temperatures reached 41.4 degrees Celsius (106.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south and were forecast to climb to 42 C (107.6 F) near the Mediterranean on Wednesday, according to government forecaster Météo-France.

The dome, fueled in part by atmospheric changes from a developing El Niño and an unusually warm North Atlantic, is expected to trap heat over the region through next week, which is forecast to see temperatures rise 3 C to 6 C above normal in Western Europe.

Successive heat waves have baked soils, damaged crops and increased stress on livestock across southern Europe. Dry vegetation and low humidity have also heightened wildfire risk, prompting the European Union to deploy a record number of firefighters to support countries battling blazes.

Fires have broken out in Portugal, Spain, Greece and France. Near the Spanish border, about 800 firefighters are still working to contain a blaze that ignited earlier this week and has burned more than 49 square kilometers (18.9 square miles).

Swiss nuclear plant shut down due to heatwave

Geneva (AFP) – The reactors at Europe's oldest nuclear plant were shut down Friday, its Swiss operator said, after the heatwave roasting Europe sent temperatures soaring in the river used for cooling.

Issued on: 26/06/2026 - 20:59

Switzerland's Beznau plant, near the northern border with Germany, is Europe's oldest functioning nuclear reactor © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

"The temperature of the Aare River reached 25C again yesterday and today. Sufficient cooling is not in sight," energy company Axpo said on its website.

As a consequence, the Beznau nuclear plant in northern Switzerland, near the German border, "has temporarily shut down both reactors", it said.

Axpo said it was "continuing to monitor the Aare's temperature".

"Once the river cools down or sufficient cooling is forecast, (Beznau) can plan to restart its reactors," it said, adding that the restart would take place after relevant authorities give the green light.

The announcement came as a deadly heatwave choked 150 million people across western Europe with temperatures above 35C.

On Friday, Switzerland beat its June heat record for the second day running, measuring a temperature of 38.8C in Basel, not far from Beznau, a day after measuring 38C at the same station and crushing a record that had stood for nearly 80 years.

France's main energy provider also shut down two nuclear reactors on Thursday as an environmental protection measure to avoid discharging too much hot water into already warming rivers.

Nuclear energy accounts for just over a third of Switzerland's electricity production.

The country has four ageing nuclear reactors, including the two at Beznau.

Reactor 1 was first brought online in 1969, and Reactor 2 in 1971, making it one of the oldest nuclear plants in the world.

© 2026 AFP

Jonesborough, Tennessee, Has a Uranium Problem

A promise of jobs and economic development is not enough to convince people of rural Jonesborough, Tennessee, that a depleted uranium facility is worth the potential risks. They want more safety checks.

by Marina WatersJune 25, 2026

An aerial view of the BWX Technologies plant in Erwin, Tennessee. (Photo from BWXT)

The moment Susanne Fort saw Little Limestone Creek, which makes its way through her property and much of rural Jonesborough, Tennessee, she knew she had found her home. That was in 2010. Now, when she gazes upon the creek’s clear, ever-moving stream, she’s unsure of its future and her own.

“It took me seven years of searching to find this house,” Fort said. “We knew it was a fixer-upper. It’s pre-Civil War, so we were expecting that. Then we walked down and looked at the property — the creek — and we were just sold. It is incredibly beautiful.”

Fort lives about a mile downstream from BWX Technologies, Inc., a nuclear technology, manufacturing, and services company that acquired its Jonesborough site in 2025. BWXT looks to build a new, high-purity depleted uranium (HPDU) manufacturing facility adjacent to its current site. The new facility will help fulfill the company’s 10-year contract valued at $1.6 billion to provide the federal government with HPDU used for national defense technology. According to the company’s website, the company is the federal government’s only U.S. supplier of HPDU. Under the contract, BWXT will create up to 300 metric tons of the material annually.

It’s also created concern in residents.

The Land

Jonesborough is Tennessee’s oldest town, known for its annual National Storytelling Festival in its charming historic downtown. It’s surrounded by views of a green Buffalo Mountain and Cherokee National Forest in the heart of what’s historically been an agriculturally rich area. 

“They say it’s like a hallmark town,” Fort said. “This whole area is kind of like a hallmark area. The history, the houses, the people who’ve been here a long time — it’s just breathtaking. It’s just a really nice place, up to this point.”

Jonesborough meets rural Telford, Tennessee, on Old State Route 34, which is home to rolling pasture land, Little Limestone Creek, and numerous farms and homes spread throughout the East Tennessee hills — along with David Crockett High School, all situated on the rural two-lane road.

“I don’t love the idea of hazardous material transport by this high school, by these farms, with these roundabouts,” said Anna Wright, who lives near the newly rezoned property. “I live a mile from there. If there is an accident with hazardous material transport, that affects a lot of people.”

“There are going to be semis going in and out all the time,” Fort said. “This road can’t handle that. I drive a truck. It’s barely wide enough for a normal truck.”

BWXT expects about one hazardous material truck trip per day with reagents and oxide feedstock coming in and HPDU metal and solidified waste going out, according to the company’s website dedicated to the Jonesborough facility. The company also states it expects about four hazardous-material shipments and non-hazardous deliveries per operating day when the site is fully operational.

To prepare for the shipments, the company looks for a road-widening project to commence via the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT).

“TDOT is beginning development of a State Industrial Access (SIA) roadway improvement project along Old State Route 34 (SR 353) to help serve the needs of BWXT,” Mark Nagi, the regional communications officer for TDOT in East Tennessee, said in an email. 

“The project is very preliminary at this point as we are coordinating with BWXT about their long-range plans for the site, and how they plan to connect to SR 353. This information will help inform the design of the roadway project. At this time, we do not have a schedule or budget developed for the roadway improvements.”

On March 23, 2026, the Washington County Commission approved BWXT’s rezoning request to change its 56-acre property on Old State Route 34 from an agricultural/agricultural business and residential zoning to one suited for high-impact industry.

Hundreds of residents in neon shirts filled the meeting space and two overflow rooms during the commission’s March 23 meeting. A line of residents ready to address the commission in opposition of the rezoning snaked through the room and into the hallway. The community gathered a petition with over 10,000 signatures in opposition. Still the Washington County Commission voted 10-5 to approve the rezoning.

“There’s a risk in life,” Washington County Commissioner Kenneth Huffine said at the March 23 meeting. “I think every time we get in our automobiles we accept more risk every day. What is the risk of doing something? What’s the risk of not doing something?”

The Water and Air

Fort is one of the many residents who has a small family farm in the surrounding area. She worries her animals and those nearby could be at risk.

“Our animals are grazing here,” Fort said. “This impacts our hayfields, our wildlife. We have a lot of hunters. Some families depend on that for a food source. How are you going to support your farmer if the cattle has been drinking from this creek that now has uranium dust in it?”

Fort and other community members are also concerned for local waterways.

“It’s a site that has a flood plain and a very important water source within it,” Anna Wright said. “It requires more vigilance to make sure we have clean drinking water, soil and air…Even in the absence of an accident, it’s still so close to our water table. It’s so close to homes and farms.”

John Dobken, BWXT’s senior manager of media and public relations, told the Daily Yonder the project will not impact Little Limestone Creek. Plans include bridges that would go over the waterway.

According to the company, the HPDU process includes “redundant barriers and safeguards” to prevent contamination of ground and surface water.

“These protections are based on source elimination, engineered containment and system segregation, rather than reliance on monitoring or cleanup after the fact,” stated one of the company’s online responses to community questions.

The property also includes a floodplain, which, residents, such as Gabriel Wilson, who spoke at the March 23 meeting, cite as a concern. In 2024, flooding from Hurricane Helene ravaged southern Washington County, washing away homes, farms, roads, and bridges — all just six miles from BWXT’s Old State Route property.

“You’re voting to put it inches from the floodplain after Helene,” Wilson said, “where our whole community has been traumatized.”

According to the company, the project will keep all facilities outside of the mapped flood zones. Dobken said plans also include a retaining wall above the flood zone to prevent flooding to the site.

“We are putting in retaining walls that will actually enhance the floodplain,” Dobken said, “and make it even more difficult for any flooding to occur. (Increased flooding) would be an extremely remote situation.”

As for emissions from the site, documents show the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation deemed BWXT’s future facility process an “insignificant activity or insignificant emissions unit.” The documents state the facility would release less than five tons of each contaminant and each regulated air pollutant “that is not a hazardous air pollutant,” and less than 1,000 pounds per year of each hazardous air pollutant.

Dobken said the company will release a much smaller amount of emissions.

“Even if all of the things we put in place failed, we would still only be putting out 250 pounds a year, which would be much less than the hazardous threshold,” Dobken said. “We’re not putting out anywhere near 250 pounds of uranium particulates. It’s going to be in the order of grams. I think a lot of people saw that number and thought that was what was going out.”

Luke Carter is a longtime resident who lives about seven miles from the newly rezoned site. For Carter, his concern remains in the overall increased risk.

“Things happen. There is a risk. They admit there is a risk,” Carter said. “You increase operations, you increase risks. We don’t want to increase risks. And we don’t want to put it closer to Little Limestone Creek, closer to the groundwater, closer to the watershed. It’s not good.”

Wright hopes to see real-time information related to any hazards the community should be aware of.

“I would feel a lot better, and I would love for BWXT to consider independent, third-party, in-real-time analysis opportunities for the community to have access to,” Wright said. “The people who live here deserve to find out in real time what’s happening with their water, air, and soil. They don’t deserve to find out five years or 10 years later when people get sick.”

The Effects

Along with material for national defense, BWXT plans to bring jobs and economic support to Jonesborough.

The company is slated to add $176 million annually to Washington County’s gross domestic product, according to Alicia Summers, the county’s economic development council executive director. Summers said BWXT’s expansion includes 181 new jobs with an average wage of $55 an hour. The projected capital investment from the company is over $714 million in investments over a five-year period.

“It’s a generational opportunity for us at a time of a very uncertain economy,” Huffine said before voting in favor of the rezoning. “That’s a factor for us to consider.” Fort and other residents, however, believe it will have a negative impact on the area.“They’re saying it’s all about income it’s going to bring in,” Fort said. “I disagree. I think that’s going to kill this area once the word gets out and people find out what they’ve got down the road.”

Concern for the future also brought the community together for a cause that continues. What started as a “Neighbors of BWXT” Facebook group has morphed into the non-profit, the East Tennessee Community Coalition. The group has retained Attorney Matt Grossman of Knoxville and aims to raise money for a legal fund while also spreading community awareness.

“It’s been about community interest,” Carter said. “It’s been about people over politics and representing the interest of local people and local control instead of state and federal. It’s not about Republicans and Democrats.”

Little Limestone Creek stretches about six miles from BWXT until it meets the Nolichucky River, the nearby body of water that saw massive flooding from Hurricane Helene. Fort believes it’s also important for those downstream from the site to be aware of the new facility.

“We’ve been educating and reaching out,” Fort said. “It’s a lot of people to try to reach. That’s our goal, to just educate everybody in East Tennessee.”

Members are also busy testing the soil and the water — an action the community looks to make a regular occurrence.

“We have an opportunity to do our own independent testing,” Wright said. “If that’s not something they’re willing to do, I think as a service to the community, we need to make sure we’re doing it.”

For some, the information gathered will dictate if they leave or stay in the region.

“I can’t in good conscience live here unless I have clear answers,” Wright said. “At the end of the day, I’m not going to live in an unsafe place. I’m not going to raise my kids where I can’t trust the air a mile away. That’s too much for me to bear.”

“It’s one thing to move because you decided to, your job took you somewhere else or there’s another community you feel would be a great fit for your family. It’s another thing to have to execute your plan b, feeling like you’re being evicted from your own home, your farm and your dream.”

Fort is also contemplating her future.

“This will determine if we stay here or not,” Fort said. “It’s something my husband and I have been thinking about. We absolutely do not want to move. We love it here, but I don’t know. They are playing with a lot of people’s lives. It’s not fair. If our kids were small still, we’d already be gone.”

They also say the fight isn’t over.

“We are going to go down having done everything we possibly could if we’re going to go down,” Wright said. “I think the community isn’t going to be quiet.”

Marina Waters is a journalist from East Tennessee with an affinity for stories throughout Southern Appalachia. She has covered everything from breaking national news to deep dives on bitcoin mining in rural Tennessee. Her work has appeared in various publications, including the New York Times.