# 2026-16374: NRC Finalizes Rulemaking Modernization and FACA Alignment Reforms

2026-16374, NRC Modernization: Rulemaking Procedure, Federal Advisory Committee Act Alignment, Access, and Security, is a Federal Register rule from Nuclear Regulatory Commission published 2026-08-11, effective 2026-10-26; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-18).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16374
- As of: 2026-08-18
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Document number: 2026-16374
- Title: NRC Modernization: Rulemaking Procedure, Federal Advisory Committee Act Alignment, Access, and Security
- Type: Rule
- Agencies: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
- Citation: 91 FR 51555
- Published: 2026-08-11
- Effective: 2026-10-26
- Comments close: 2026-09-10
- Significant: no
- Touches household money: yes
- Regulation identifier numbers: 3150-AL46
- Last updated: 2026-08-18

## In one line

NRC Finalizes Rulemaking Modernization and FACA Alignment Reforms

## Summary

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is amending its regulations by streamlining procedural provisions related to information withholding and post-promulgation comment periods; aligning the NRC's regulations with Committee Management Secretariat (CMS) Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) standards; and updating national security eligibility criteria. The goal is to modernize and clarify the NRC's regulatory framework to ensure consistency with government-wide standards and improve administrative efficiency. The scope includes updates to outdated provisions and revisions to ensure compliance with current federal policies. This action is being taken in response to Executive Order 14300, "Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission."

## Effects PRIA read

- Easier Requests to Withhold Documents: benefit, low. If you submit commercial, financial, or proprietary material to the NRC and ask that it be withheld from public view, the NRC changed 10 CFR 2.390 to remove the requirement that you include a statement describing the harm that would result if information were disclosed. The rule retains an affidavi…
- Post-Rule Comment Periods Now Voluntary: cost, low. The NRC amended 10 CFR 2.804 so that the agency 'may' — rather than 'shall' — provide a post-promulgation comment period in specified instances. This makes those post-promulgation comment periods discretionary and could reduce guaranteed opportunities for public comment where exceptions to notice-a…
- Advisory Committees Align With FACA Rules: benefit, low. The NRC revised 10 CFR part 7 to conform its advisory committee rules to GSA's December 16, 2025 FACA regulations. The updates change terminology, chartering, membership appointment steps, reporting, and procedural expectations for NRC advisory committees to match government-wide standards.
- Security Clearance Criteria Codified to SEAD 4: benefit, low. The NRC updated 10 CFR part 10 to replace detailed adjudicatory criteria with a high-level reference to the whole-person concept and to the national security adjudicative standards in SEAD 4. The rule codifies standards already used in NRC Management Directive 12.3 and does not change existing adju…
- NRC Says No Significant Small-Business Cost: benefit, low. Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the NRC certified that this direct final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The NRC's regulatory analysis states the amendments are administrative or conforming and are expected to have minimal economic i…

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- [2026-14341](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-14341): Modernizing Reactor Licensing, Safety Oversight, and Siting Practices, 2026-07-16
- [2026-13687](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-13687): Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act, 2026-07-07
- [2026-12067](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-12067): Fee Schedules; Fee Recovery for Fiscal Year 2026, 2026-06-16
- [2026-08550](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-08550): Licensing Requirements for Microreactors and Other Reactors With Comparable Risk Profiles, 2026-05-01
- [2026-08015](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-08015): Generic Environmental Impact Statement for Licensing of New Nuclear Reactors, 2026-04-24

## Sources
- [2026-16374 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/11/2026-16374/nrc-modernization-rulemaking-procedure-federal-advisory-committee-act-alignment-access-and-security)
- [2026-16374 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-11/pdf/2026-16374.pdf)

## Related
- [Previous: 2026-16370, Reforms to 13 CFR 124.103 To Remove SBA's 8(a) Program's Rebuttable Presumption…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16370)
- [Next: 2026-16388, Powered Micromobility Devices](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16388)
- [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16374 (as of 2026-08-18).