UW SER Research Team Publishes Analysis of Nuclear Facility Licensing

A newly published legal article by the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources’ jurisprudence of underground law and energy (JOULE) research group examines the state and federal procedures through which new nuclear utilization facilities are licensed.

Published in the Ohio State Law Journal, a top-ranked national flagship U.S. law review, the article is titled “Just Nuclear.” It evaluates the licensing and siting processes for advanced nuclear facilities through the lens of procedural justice.

The article was led by Tara Righetti, SER professor of law and the Occidental Chair in Energy and Environmental Policies, and director of JOULE, as part of a multidisciplinary project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy University Program. Co-authors are Madeleine Lewis, associate research scientist in JOULE; Scarlett Forrest, assistant research scientist in JOULE; Rachael Budowle, an associate professor at Virginia Tech University and a UW adjunct professor; and Lainee Jones, a 2025 UW College of Law graduate.

“Rapid load growth is driving an exponential demand for clean, firm power,” says Righetti, who also co-directs SER’s Nuclear Energy Research Center. “With the U.S. government’s ambition to quadruple nuclear energy production and accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors, it is vital to scrutinize who participates in decisions regarding the authorization of those facilities, ensuring that the groups most impacted have a meaningful voice in the process.”

Using TerraPower’s Natrium Reactor in Kemmerer as a core case study, the article analyzes whether existing federal and state regulatory pathways uphold the core tenets of procedural justice: transparency, public participation and accountability. It found that the combination of local, state and federal processes applied to the TerraPower project cumulatively provide greater participation opportunities to people most directly impacted by the project.

“In addition to the ability to influence facility locations through the exercise of land use authority, community members in close proximity to new nuclear generation projects have greater participation rights than the general public in the federal licensing processes,” Lewis says. “Wyoming’s industrial siting process also provides formal opportunities for impact mitigation and public involvement.”

The publication stems from the legal and regulatory analysis milestone report -- titled “Engaging Wyoming Communities in an Environmental Justice Approach for Advanced Nuclear Energy Facility Siting” and led by Budowle -- for the broader U.S. Department of Energy-funded project.

While the TerraPower project received its construction license in March, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is comprehensively revising its licensing regulations. The authors emphasize that legal requirements assuring transparency, accountability and public participation are the bedrock of good governance and public trust. They caution that prioritizing speed over public input could undermine support for nuclear projects, making state-level control even more important.

“Even if federal rules change substantially in a way that limits public involvement, states can assure robust participation rights for their citizens in proceedings related to non-safety matters,” Righetti says. “The role of the NRC is to determine whether a reactor can be safely constructed and operated, but it’s the role of the state to decide whether it should be.”

For more information on siting procedures and the emerging nuclear industry in Wyoming, the JOULE group released community information guides to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the industry’s development. These documents can be accessed on the JOULE website.