As promised in the National Energy Plan and after months of delay and indecision, the Carter Administration has finally submitted to Congress a bill designed to hasten the process of licensing nuclear power plants. Entitled the Nuclear Siting and Licensing Act of 1978 (NSLA),¹ the legislation proposes reforms in all stages of this process, from the earliest utility planning to the continuing jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) over plant operations. The principal objective of the proposal is to revamp the NRC's trial-type permit and licensing proceedings, which have long been criticized as excessively prone to delay and duplicative of state proceedings, and, where possible, to remove them from the "critical path"² between plant conceptualization and generating capability. Significant portions of the bill are also directed at the encouragement of early site review and approval (site banking), and the development of standardized plant designs. Backers of the Administration proposal claim that it would reduce by up to 50 percent the 10 to 12 years now required to bring a new nuclear facility "on line."³

The bill is reported to be the culmination of 20 successive drafts, a reflection of deep division within the Administration on nuclear policy. Secretary of Energy James Schlesinger, considered a forcedul proponent of nuclear power, argued that the bill should eliminate the administrative and intervenor-induced delays he perceives to be largely responsible for the reluctance of many utilities to "go nuclear" when other alternatives are available, and the resultant decline in the industry's health.⁴ The Council on Environmental Quality, on the other hand, urged that all nuclear licensing be held in abeyance pending the development of credible proposals for dealing with the problem of nuclear waste storage.⁵ As it was finally submitted to Congress, the bill unmistakably bears Mr. Schlesinger's imprint.