The Commission will be demonstrating it is both a firm and a decisive regulator and a source of openness and transparency
– Edited by Mark McFadden –
The Commission will have an ambitious schedule of activities for the remainder of the year that, I believe, will well serve the public by tackling some of the key issues confronting the agency.
By dealing with some of the higher visibility items, the Commission will be demonstrating it is both a firm and a decisive regulator, and at the same time advancing the cause of openness and transparency for which this agency is known.
The meeting schedule is sweeping and it lays important groundwork toward maintaining public confidence in the work we do. The briefing sessions we have scheduled will enable both the Commission and the public to better understand the status of important developments and issues facing the NRC. We will also use these meetings as opportunities to broaden the diversity of stakeholder perspectives and ensure openness through transparency and information sharing.
As we look across the spectrum of topics we will be discussing with the NRC staff in the coming months, the Commission will have a clear focus on the safety of nuclear reactors and materials. I look forward to discussions that can set us on the path to closing out long-standing issues such as fire protection, emerging issues such as the potential to need to oversee the construction of new facilities, and continuing priorities such as cyber-security and emergency preparedness.
I look forward to working collaboratively with my Commission colleagues and the staff to help protect people and the environment.
With that, our first session was today’s briefing on the process for reviewing license extension applications for research and test reactors. This has important implications going forward on the training of new nuclear engineers and potentially for the production of medical isotopes.
A listing of meetings through the calendar year the Commission has agreed to hold include the following items:
• A meeting with the Organization of Agreement States and the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors to discuss nuclear materials safety and security (Sept. 3).
• A briefing on progress in resolving issues associated with the process for verifying new commercial power reactors meet appropriate standards (inspections, tests, analysis and acceptance criteria closure process) (Sept. 22).
• A meeting with NRC employees to provide them with an opportunity to engage the Commission (Sept. 29).
• A session on cyber-security, some of which may be closed to the public. (Oct. 13).
• A session providing a status report on the licensee efforts to transition to a new performance-based method of protecting against the risk of fires at nuclear power plants (Nov. 3).
• A briefing on the NRC’s international activities (Nov. 10).
• A briefing on the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity Small Business programs
(Nov. 17).
• A briefing on a proposed rule to enhance emergency preparedness regulations for nuclear facilities (Dec. 8).
More details on these meetings are available on NRC’s Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/policy-making/schedule.html.