Energy Department Extends Nuclear Spent Fuel Data Collection Survey
Published Date: 2/20/2026
Notice
Summary
The Department of Energy is extending its Nuclear Fuel Data Survey for three more years, asking nuclear power plant operators and others with spent fuel to keep sharing their info. This helps the government track spent nuclear fuel safely and efficiently. Comments on this extension are due by March 23, 2026, but there’s no new cost for participants.
Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
Three-Year Reporting Extension
The Department of Energy is extending its Form GC-859 Nuclear Fuel Data Survey for three more years and continues to require reporting from all utilities that operate commercial nuclear reactors and others that possess irradiated fuel from commercial reactors. DOE estimates 126 annual respondents, 42 total annual responses, 3,707 annual burden hours, and an annual cost burden of $352,128, and says respondents will have no additional costs other than those burden hours and normal recordkeeping. Comments on the extension are due by March 23, 2026.
Reinstating Projected Discharge Data
DOE is reinstating Section C.2 to collect projected assembly discharge data after pausing it for prior survey periods; this is to capture planned reactor changes such as power uprates and the introduction of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel. Collecting projected discharge data means respondents must provide forward-looking assembly discharge information to help DOE plan spent fuel storage, transport, and disposal.
Form Changes Reduce Reporting Burden
DOE revised Form GC-859 with clarified instructions, definitions, and tables to lessen respondent burden and to avoid unnecessary clarifications. Examples include discontinuing Section B.2 (reactor license data now publicly available), moving non-fuel component reporting to simplify pool reporting, adding clarity in canister reporting, and replacing numeric site IDs with user-friendly names.
Optional Enrichment Data Field Added
The survey adds an optional data field for Assembly-Average Initial Enrichment in Section C.1.1 while retaining the existing Maximum Planar-Average Initial Enrichment field. DOE says having both values helps apply appropriate parameters for criticality, shielding, and thermal analyses and supports better planning for transport and storage.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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