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2026 Nuclear Energy Conference & Expo (NECX)
August 24–27, 2026
Dallas, TX|Hilton Anatole
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NEPA review changes coming under NRC proposed rule
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is proposing changes to its environmental review regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that agency officials call the most significant in decades.
The proposed rule—published in the Federal Register on Tuesday—streamlines 10 CFR Part 51 and calls for no longer requiring draft environmental impact statements (EIS), adding new categorical exclusions that exempt licensing actions from NEPA review, and reducing the regulatory burden in its environmental reviews, among other things. The NRC will accept public comments on the proposed rulemaking until August 21, with plans to hold a public hearing during the comment period.
E. James (Jim) Reinsch has had a distinguished, 40-year career in the field of nuclear power project management. He joined the American Nuclear Society (ANS) in 2002 and three years later he was elected president of the Society. Since he joined ANS, he has been part of the Education, Training and Workforce Development and Operations and Power Divisions.
He served as senior vice president and Partner of Bechtel Group, and he was the president of Bechtel Nuclear. He directed the company’s global nuclear operations for eight years, presiding over Bechtel Canada, he managed large regions in the U.S. and southwest Asia.
He is member of several international nuclear energy organizations, including the International Nuclear Academy, an honor society of the engineering and scientific community that fosters development and utilization of the peaceful application of nuclear energy in a safe and economic manner.
Reinsch serves on many Board of Directors including Ontario Power Generation Inc., NEI (he is also a member of their Executive Committee), Duke Energy Corporation, Frederick Memorial Hospital, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. He is on the Board of Trustees for Hood College in Maryland.
Additionally, he is involved with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation Committee on Nuclear Power. Reinsch is a member of Rotary International.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Relations and Production from the University of Maryland.
Read Nuclear News from July 2005 for more on Jim.
