Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act

This bill, known as the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, seeks to significantly streamline the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) process for approving nuclear facility construction and operating licenses. It amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to allow the NRC to issue these permits and licenses, or their amendments, without a formal hearing if no person whose interest may be affected requests one, provided there is a thirty-day public notice and publication period. The NRC may even dispense with this notice for amendments determined to involve no significant hazards consideration. A central provision mandates the use of informal adjudicatory procedures for any hearings that are held, thereby moving away from more formal processes. This streamlining also extends to the licensing of uranium enrichment facilities, where hearings are now only required if specifically requested by an affected party, and the previous "on the record" requirement is removed. These amendments are designed to reduce procedural delays and apply to all relevant applications and proceedings currently pending before the NRC or initiated after the bill's enactment, aiming to accelerate nuclear project approvals.