ROCKVILLE, MD. – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will stay committed to independence and safety through the various changes to the agency, NRC Chair Ho Nieh said during the opening panel here Tuesday morning.
Recently appointed chair Nieh opened up NRC’s 38th annual Regulatory Information Conference.
Nieh said there have been a lot of narratives over the past year about the Department of Energy (DOE) and other departments “taking over” the NRC office and its operations, but denied that being the case. The office currently has one DOE employee at the office who occasionally checks in about interagency coordination.
“I really want to put this to rest,” Nieh said. “NRC is doing its own work. Our coordination with the rest of the government is aimed at accelerating the safety and deployment of nuclear technology. This is what our country needs and NRC is a part of Team USA, and we’re trying to make that happen through interagency partners.”
Nieh clarified that NRC’s independence does not mean isolation and will be open to working with DOE and other agencies where it sees fit.
NRC has taken on previous initiatives, such as Project AIM and EMBARK, but did not equate with what the agency expected it to. Nieh said these new reforms, coming through the ADVANCE Act and Executive Order 14300, will be implemented through alignment and the expectation that the agency will reinforce these changes while keeping nuclear safety at the forefront.
Through Nieh’s five years in the private sector, he said he will bring in those expectations of running the NRC. The new mission statement emphasizes advancing nuclear technology by enabling safe and secure use of civilian nuclear power through efficient licensing and oversight.
“It’s not the chairman, it’s not the commission, it’s not the EDO [executive director of operations], it’s got to be really from the staff to own it,” Nieh said. “But it starts with the expectation that these things that we’re doing are going to be ingrained in our day-to-day work.”