The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has laid out its plans for traversing the government shutdown which began on Wednesday.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent out an approved lapse plan for the independent agency on Tuesday.
Under the plan, when carryover funds at the NRC are all exhausted, activities, including licensing, inspections and permitting, will be paused until the Congress approves the upcoming fiscal budget.
The licensing that will be delayed or discontinued in those scenarios can range from pre-application activities and environmental reviews, as described in the guidance.
NRC’s chief financial officer will be responsible to estimate “the amount of unobligated carryover funds remaining and the number of days the agency can possibly operate before funds are exhausted and shutdown will be required”, according to the guidance. The NRC chair will oversee the execution of the contingency plan.
For the NRC workforce, the independent agency will have 1,837 employees furloughed under the lapse plan. It will retain 571 employees that are “necessary to the discharge of the President’s constitutional duties and powers”, as stated in the guidance.