A group of nine former commissioners of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent a letter Wednesday to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, lending their support to efforts to remove mandatory hearings from the reactor licensing process. The move could speed up the new reactor licensing process by about three to six months and save millions of dollars.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is simplifying procedures for mandatory hearings on licensing commercial nuclear power plants and uranium enrichment facilities.

Earlier this month, Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Christopher T. Hanson sent a letter to the agency’s general counsel, Brooke P. Clark, saying “a fresh look at the mandatory hearing process is warranted.” Hanson directed the Office of the General Counsel (OGC) “to identify efficiencies in these mandatory hearings that will enable the commission to fulfill its statutory obligations while it promotes the responsible stewardship of time and resources,” and gave the office 60 days to provide a paper outlining applicable requirements and options.