Policy and licensing / California
California Public Resources Code § 25524.1: reprocessing condition
California's current code conditions land-use permission and commission certification for nuclear fission thermal powerplants that require reprocessing of fuel rods. The 1994 amendment took effect on 1 January 1995. Named existing units are excepted. This is not an SMR-only statute and it does not approve a reactor.
- Category
- Laws, rules and executive directives
- Status
- In effect
- Instrument
- statute · Cal. Pub. Res. Code § 25524.1 (amended by Stats. 1994, Ch. 1145, Sec. 16)
- Issued by
- California Legislature
- Jurisdiction
- California
- Affects
- Siting
- In effect from
- 1 Jan 1995 · actual · day
- Expiry or completion
- None recorded
- Operative text
- California Law: Public Resources Code section 25524.1 (California Law current section, opened 4 October 2026)
- Last checked · next review
- 2026-10-04 · 2027-04-15
Legal and geographic scope
Current California code. Except named Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 and San Onofre Units 2 and 3, and except a vested right as defined in the section, no nuclear fission thermal powerplant requiring the reprocessing of fuel rods may receive a land-use permit or, where applicable, a commission certification until the stated reprocessing findings are made and reported. The opened subsections do not display a separate vested-right definition. The section states no reactor-size class, and it is not an NRC licensing bar.
Not approved or still pending
The opened code does not record a commission finding that the reprocessing conditions are met or unmet. It does not certify or approve any plant. A California location does not bring a tracked project under this section.
Dated lifecycle
- 1 Jan 1995 · actual · day · Amended — The official code says this section was amended by 1994 chapter 1145, section 16, effective 1 January 1995. The original enactment date is not on this page. The condition is a state land-use and certification limit, not an NRC decision and not an SMR-only rule. (California Law: Public Resources Code section 25524.1)
Definitions in this instrument
- nuclear fission thermal powerplant requiring the reprocessing of fuel rods (§ 25524.1(a)): The section uses this class rather than a small-modular-reactor definition. Named existing Diablo Canyon and San Onofre units are excepted, as is a vested right as defined in the section.
Legal definition used by this instrument only; SMRMap's inclusion rule for SMRs is separate and unchanged.
Related instruments
Projects or designs named by the source
- None. Location in this jurisdiction does not make a project eligible for, or approved under, this measure.
Sources
- California Law: Public Resources Code section 25524.1 (government_primary, accessed 2026-10-04)