New NRC Office Funds Citizen Experts: Intervenor Trust Created to Pay for Public Participation in Nuclear Safety Hearings

If you’ve ever tried to figure out how to weigh in on a government decision that affects your community—like a proposed energy project—you know it’s almost impossible without a law degree and a spare $50,000 for expert witnesses. The NRC Office of Public Engagement and Participation Act of 2025 is designed to change that, specifically within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the agency overseeing nuclear power and materials.

This bill creates a brand new Office of Public Engagement and Participation within the NRC, which must be up and running within 180 days of the law passing. Think of this office as the public’s dedicated liaison, tasked with making sure regular people—and not just industry lawyers—can actually participate in complex NRC safety hearings and decision-making processes. The Director of this office reports directly to the full Commission, not the Chair, which is a structural move designed to ensure independence and prevent the office from being sidelined by internal politics.

The Trust Fund That Pays for Expertise

The most critical piece of this legislation is the creation of the Intervenor Trust Fund. This fund is specifically designed to cover the costs that currently block most people from participating: reasonable attorneys' fees, expert witness fees, and other necessary expenses. For example, if a community group near a nuclear facility wants to challenge a license renewal based on safety concerns, they can’t just show up with a PowerPoint; they need nuclear physicists, environmental lawyers, and engineers. This fund aims to level that playing field.

To access this money, a participant needs to prove two things. First, they must show “significant financial hardship,” meaning they can’t afford to participate effectively without serious trouble. Second, their input must be deemed a “substantial contribution,” meaning their argument is likely to genuinely help the NRC make a better, safer decision. The bill requires the NRC to create plain-language guides on how to apply for this compensation and even allows for participants to get some of the money upfront as a grant once they are approved to join the case.

Opening the Doors to Environmental Justice

Beyond funding, the new Office has a mandate to improve accessibility and transparency. It is required to boost virtual access to meetings and hearings, which is a huge win for anyone who can’t take a day off work and fly across the country to attend a bureaucratic hearing. Crucially, the Office must also help carry out the recommendations from the NRC’s 2022 report on Environmental Justice.

This means the NRC must actively work to ensure that communities historically burdened by environmental hazards—often low-income or minority neighborhoods—have a real voice in decisions about nuclear facilities. For someone living near a power plant, this office is their new point of contact for guidance on how to submit comments or request a hearing, ensuring their concerns about safety and long-term impact are addressed directly. This provision directly links the NRC’s regulatory work to real-world community health concerns.