RELEASE: Long Mott Environmental Assessment Marks Progress Toward Modernized NRC Environmental Reviews

WASHINGTON, DC, May 18, 2026 — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has completed its environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed Long Mott Generating Station in Port Lavaca, Texas, ahead of schedule. The NRC issued a finding of no significant impact for the project, determining that the proposed construction permit would not require a full environmental impact statement. The agency concluded that the project’s limited environmental footprint and location at an existing industrial facility justified the use of a more focused environmental review process. Long Mott is the first commercial nuclear reactor project since the implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to not undergo an Environmental Impact Statement.

The project, a joint effort by Dow and X-energy, would deploy four Xe-100 advanced reactors at Dow’s existing Seadrift industrial site and would be among the first to provide both electricity and high-temperature process heat for industrial operations. The NRC’s completion of the environmental review ahead of schedule reflects continued progress toward more efficient, risk-informed licensing of advanced nuclear technologies.

“Using an environmental assessment for the Long Mott project is a significant step toward more appropriately scaled environmental review for advanced nuclear energy,” said Adam Stein, Director of Nuclear Energy Innovation at the Breakthrough Institute. “The NRC’s use of a focused environmental assessment for a project at an existing industrial site shows how environmental review can be both rigorous and appropriately tailored to the actual impacts of a proposed facility. Efficient, right-sized environmental reviews are necessary for the NRC to fulfill its mission statement and enable nuclear power for the benefit of society.”

“The significance of this decision is that the agency applied the correct level of environmental review to the project it was reviewing, and did not succumb to the previous status quo,” said Stein. “That is essential for building a licensing system capable of supporting advanced reactor deployment while preserving the integrity of environmental review.”

Issuance of the environmental assessment does not authorize construction or operation of the Long Mott project. The NRC must still complete its safety review before issuing any construction permit. Operation of the reactors would require a separate licensing action and satisfaction of all applicable NRC requirements before fuel loading and startup.

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Media Contact:

Spencer Toohill

Chief of Staff, Nuclear Energy Innovation

spencer@thebreakthrough.org